Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed suggested he could build an unlikely coalition that includes supporters of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), arguing that many voters who follow the Georgia Republican will ultimately back his campaign. The comments come as El-Sayed, a Democratic socialist backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and now Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), continues to rack up high-profile endorsements in Michigan’s closely watched Democratic Senate primary against Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). During an interview with Politico’s Dasha Burns, El-Sayed was asked about ideological overlap between himself and Greene, including opposition to AIPAC, skepticism toward continued U.S. funding for Israel, and criticism of rising healthcare costs. Burns asked whether those similarities could help him build “this new coalition with people like MTG.” “Look, she’s said a lot of things I disagree with too,” El-Sayed replied. “I will just say this: I wouldn’t be surprised. When you ask me about why establishment, elite Democrats are so worried about me, it’s because there are a lot of people who listen to her who are going to vote for me in the general election.” “They’re not afraid I’m going to lose,” he continued. “They’re afraid I’m going to win.” Rather than distancing himself from Greene’s audience, El-Sayed argued that many of the issues motivating her supporters also resonate with his left-wing campaign. “The fact that MTG agrees with those points should not be all that uncommon, because they’re just obvious things to say,” El-Sayed said while discussing healthcare costs and foreign policy. He went on to argue that both major parties have been captured by corporate interests, singling out pharmaceutical companies, health insurers, hospitals, and the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC. “When you have a public consensus that’s here … and then a political consensus that’s over here, the difference is usually somebody’s money,” he said. Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed on Marjorie Taylor Greene: “There are a lot of people who listen to her who are going to vote for me in the general election.” He tells @dashaburns their common ground on issues like Israel and health care “should not be all that… pic.twitter.com/d22Q8RelEo — POLITICO (@politico) July 20, 2026 The interview comes as left-wing leaders continue to flock to El-Sayed in one of the Democratic Party’s highest-profile ideological primary battles of the 2026 cycle. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez headlined a campaign rally for El-Sayed in Michigan over the weekend as part of their “People versus the Powerful” tour. “Right now, there is a very clear choice before us,” Ocasio-Cortez told supporters. “We can choose $50 million and counting in dark money trying to buy the state of Michigan, or we can choose Dr. Abdul El-Sayed.” Sanders likewise framed the race as a test of whether outside spending could determine the Democratic nominee. “This is an election which will show the nation whether AIPAC and other billionaire-funded super PACs can spend tens and tens and tens of millions of dollars to buy a U.S. Senate seat,” Sanders said. On Monday, Warren became the latest national figure to endorse El-Sayed, praising his pledge to reject corporate PAC money while taking aim at Stevens’ outside support. “Michiganders deserve a senator who will fight for you, not for special interests running millions of dollars in TV ads to buy this seat,” Warren said in a video announcing her endorsement. “Abdul is the only candidate in this race who can build the grassroots movement needed to win in November.” The race has emerged as a proxy battle between the Democratic Party’s democratic socialist wing and its establishment leadership. While Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez, and Warren have lined up behind El-Sayed, Stevens has secured endorsements from retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). The winner of the August 4 Democratic primary will likely face former Republican Congressman Mike Rogers in November in one of the Democrats’ top Senate pickup opportunities as they seek to reclaim the majority.

The Justice Department announced Monday that it seized more than 1,000 internet domains used to illegally stream matches during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The crackdown, dubbed “Operation Offsides,” ran throughout the month-long tournament and resulted in the seizure of more than 1,000 websites and the blocking of nearly 2,000 domains, according to the DOJ. Investigators said they received more than 3,000 leads.  “The sustained effort to seize more than a thousand domains dedicated to illegally streaming the World Cup confirms the administration’s commitment to intellectual property rights and to the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division said in the release. Homeland Security Investigations Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin warned that many illegal streaming sites also expose users to malware and payment theft.  “Criminals operating these unauthorized platforms are already willing to break the law when they stream copyrighted World Cup games, they might also be planning to inject malware or steal your payment information,” Millhollin said. “Protect your online presence and enjoy the finals with official streaming partners.” The DOJ said the seized domains were “illegally offering users copyright-protected content in the form of real-time streams”. FIFA, beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, the Motion Picture Association’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and Warner Brothers helped investigators identify the sites. The DOJ replaced and seized websites with a federal seizure notice.  U.S. Department of Justice The operation expanded on an enforcement action announced last month that resulted in the seizure of nearly 400 domains. Separately, the DOJ said its International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property program participated in “Operation Red Card,” an international effort targeting digital piracy and counterfeiting linked to the World Cup in Colombia.  

Democratic leaders across the South are sounding the alarm over what they see as a lack of urgency and investment from their party following the Supreme Court’s decision to limit race-based redistricting. Politico published a report detailing deep grievances from black lawmakers and activists across the Deep South, who say the Democratic Party has largely abandoned them by focusing resources on battleground states while neglecting red ones. “Folks who lead our party go to swing states like North Carolina and Georgia, but states like Mississippi and Tennessee and Alabama and South Carolina are really neglected and are really forgotten and are really treated as if it is inevitable that we’ll always stay in such systems of what I call apartheid type of politics,” Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones told Politico.  The anxiety is especially acute among Democratic voters in deep-red states following the landmark Supreme Court ruling that triggered a nationwide redistricting arms race. In the decision, a majority of justices struck down a Louisiana congressional map favoring Democrats and significantly limited how states may use race in drawing congressional districts. Since then, Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Tennessee have redrawn their congressional maps, building on Republican gains in Texas, North Carolina, and Missouri. Speaking to Politico, Florida House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell claimed there is a coordinated effort to suppress black voters. “Republicans in the Legislature and the Supreme Court have said that it’s okay to turn back the clock and reverse civil rights progress in this country,” Driskell said. “They’re basically giving these Southern states what they have consistently and persistently wanted, which is to suppress Black voices.” Some Southern Democrats feel their power is evaporating in real time and, in part, blame their party’s leadership for dropping the ball.  “The Democrats sort of allowed for this behavior to regularly happen,” said Yolanda Renee King, the granddaughter of Martin Luther King Jr., noting the party’s failure to strengthen the Voting Rights Act under President Joe Biden. “I think that there could have been an opportunity before this second surge in MAGA. As of right now, I’m not sure if we necessarily have the infrastructure for that.” The geographic divide has been on full display in recent months as Democratic leaders have focused on putting out political fires in Maine while scrambling to contain a growing socialist movement that has successfully tossed out a string of longtime incumbents. In June, leftist candidates backed by New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani ended the political careers of three NYC Congressional Democrats. In July, another DSA-aligned candidate ousted a nearly 3o-year incumbent in Colorado. For many black Democrats, there is a growing sense that the party is focused on making blue districts even bluer and managing troubled candidates elsewhere while losing sight of its most loyal voting bloc. Those tensions spilled into public view over the weekend in Texas, where state Rep. James Talarico (D) is seeking to beat Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in what many Democrats view as a must-win Senate race. “So you stay here, you answer our questions, or you suffer the consequences,” one voter shouted at a Talarico town hall event about black outreach.  “I’m happy to engage,” Talarico replied. “I appreciate you being here, and I appreciate you traveling in.”  “I did it for my people, not for you,” the woman fired back.  #TexasSenate James Talarico is pressed by attendee at Houston town hall on Black voter outreach. Attendee received some applause among the crowd. pic.twitter.com/UMlGTyM22N — Politics & Poll Tracker

President Donald Trump’s Department of Education is imposing a new accountability test on colleges, with programs that fail risking access to federal student loans. Institutions receiving federal student aid must prove their graduates earn more money than comparable workers, or students will lose access to federal loans for those programs. The programs will be evaluated over three consecutive years and must meet the earnings benchmark in at least two of those years.  The Department of Education called the new rule “long-overdue.” Total student loan debt has ballooned to nearly $2 trillion, and defaults are hitting record highs, with one in five borrowers in default. The alarming rate is despite efforts under the Biden administration, which paused federal student loan payments during the COVID pandemic through fall 2024. The average cost of college for a four-year degree in the United States is $153,080. Private Universities take that total even higher with an average price tag of $234,512.  Education Secretary Linda McMahon argued that too many colleges have prioritized enrollment and tuition over preparing students for successful careers. “We have constructed an educational theme park – flashy, fun, but not practical for those seeking opportunity and advancement,” she said. “Schools are boosting revenue by marketing the fun to students, even if they don’t complete their degrees. For too long, badly calibrated financial incentives have driven universities to squeeze tuition revenue from taxpayers and young, impressionable individuals instead of preparing them for rewarding and remunerative careers.”  College enrollment has also declined in recent years. The share of high school graduates enrolling in college peaked at roughly 70% in 2016 before falling to 62% in recent years. Higher education has also experienced a wave of closures, with roughly 60 colleges shutting down annually out of approximately 4,000 degree-granting institutions nationwide. More than half of Gen Z says their college degree is a “waste of money” with 41% of Millennials expressing the same frustration and 20% of Baby Boomers. Many employers are dropping college degree requirements for jobs.  The Department of Education said the new accountability measure was developed through a negotiated rulemaking process earlier this year and is intended to better protect both students and taxpayers. 

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” delivered the biggest opening weekend of the director’s career, generating $264.1 million worldwide, including $139.6 million internationally and $124.5 million domestically, according to Variety.  “The Odyssey” has become the biggest worldwide opening of Nolan’s career, a record previously held by “The Dark Knight Rises” (2012), which earned $249 million, and “The Dark Knight,” which earned $198 million, as the outlet noted.  The film’s record-setting debut comes despite pre-release criticism from some conservatives over several casting decisions. After seeing the movie, however, many have praised Nolan’s latest epic. Several conservatives admit that despite a lot of build-up about casting decisions Nolan made, including putting in transgender-identifying actress Elliot Page as a male character and race-swapping Helen of Troy by casting Lupita Nyong’o, the movie is absolutely worth seeing.  Ben Shapiro, Editor Emeritus of The Daily Wire, had heaps of praise for the film, saying there were flaws, but they weren’t enough to spoil the entire movie. “Nolan is unparalleled. He’s the best director working today, without a doubt. He just creates iconic movie after iconic movie,” Shapiro said during his review.    He also said Matt Damon shined as the movie’s lead. “I think he’s great in nearly everything. He sort of disappears into the part in a way that he doesn’t in a lot of other movies. He’s great as Odysseus.” As for other casting decisions, Shapiro was also full of praise, save for a few of the more glaring choices. “Robert Pattinson as Antinous is an excellent antagonist. He’s sleazy and gross. Tom Holland as Telemachus is excellent, well cast. Anne Hathaway does a great job as Penelope,” he said. Shapiro said Nyong’o was actually a fine choice of Helen of Troy unless Nolan was going to cast an actual Greek star in her place. “So, I know a lot of people were like, ‘Oh my god, Lupita Nyong’o is supposed to look like Diane Kruger.’ I don’t know. Diane Kruger doesn’t look very Greek. She’s German,” Shapiro said. “Lupita Nyong’o is a beautiful woman. But here’s the thing, actually, in the script, Nolan goes out of his way to explain that the war wasn’t really launched over Helen being gorgeous.” Shapiro did mention Page’s casting as Sinon, saying it was an “absolute puzzler” from Nolan because the actress is “about 5’2 and 105 pounds soaking wet and has the voice of a woman. It doesn’t work.” Madeline Fry Schultz reviewed the film for The Daily Wire’s Upstream, calling it, “a big, glorious summer blockbuster based on a pillar of the Western canon. It explores mercy, hospitality, vengeance, family bonds, honor, and, of course, homecoming.”  Like Shapiro, she said the issues with the film don’t outweigh the benefits. “With the ‘Odyssey’ controversy, conservatives are getting hung up on the details (some more troublesome than others) when the headline is that one of Hollywood’s best directors just made a three-hour-long film about a father returning home to his family, facing terrifying monsters and deftly wielding his bow and arrows on the way.” “It’s beautifully shot, it has mass appeal, and there’s little in the film itself to subvert Homer’s epic tale, which is now reaching a new audience,” Schultz wrote.  Another Upstream reviewer pointed out what many others were saying: that the film is infused with Christian themes. “Christian morality has become so deeply embedded in Western life that even secular people treat many of its assumptions as universal. They reject Christianity as a religion while continuing to believe that compassion is superior to force, that the weak and downtrodden possess inherent moral worth, that guilt should result from cruelty, and that forgiveness rather than retaliation is a sign of strength,” Rob Henderson wrote. “Nolan can’t resist placing a Christian (or secular Post-Christian) moral code within a pagan hero.” Critics and audiences agree that, despite its flaws, “The Odyssey” is a masterpiece. It currently has a 95% critical rating and an audience score of 97%.