Having realized that young white men in America are becoming more conservative than ever, the Democrat Party set out to find leftist white men who could run for office and try to relate to their concerns.
The result was James Talarico and Graham Platner.
MORE: Putin’s claims about the battlefield are incompatible with available evidence and suggest that the Russian military command is not providing Putin with accurate intelligence about the reality of Russian battlefield performance.
Russian advances have largely stagnated while Ukrainian forces have achieved some tactical successes in 2026. ISW continues to assess that the Russian military command’s repeated exaggerations have likely given Putin a false perception of the battlefield situation.
ISW has observed evidence that Russian forces have seized 99.77 percent of Luhansk Oblast, 79.93 percent of Donetsk Oblast, and 74.99 percent of Zaporizhia Oblast as of June 5. Even including areas in which Russian forces have infiltrated but do not control falls short of Putin’s claims.
ISW assesses as of June 5 that Russian forces maintain a presence (either through advances or infiltrations) in 99.77 percent of Luhansk Oblast, 80.82 percent of Donetsk Oblast, and 75.7 percent of Zaporizhia Oblast.
Ukrainian forces have liberated more territory than Russian forces seized in April and May 2026, highlighting Russia’s dwindling battlefield performance and Ukraine’s successes in halting the Russian Spring-Summer 2026 offensive.
Russian forces are struggling to advance in 2026 at the same rates that Russian forces did in 2025, in part due to successful Ukrainian ground counterattacks that have liberated tactically significant areas and Ukraine’s growing mid-range strike campaign that is inhibiting Russian logistics and ability to sustain attacks on the frontline.
Given current trends, it remains unclear that Russian forces will be able to seize the Fortress Belt or the remainder of Donetsk Oblast at all.
Chicago lost the Bears this week. A team that's been in the city since 1921.
They didn't lose them to a bigger market or a better deal. The Bears decided they'd rather be a tenant in Indiana than deal with Illinois for one more year.
Think about how badly you have to run a place for that to be the smart move.
They lost them for two reasons.
The people running Illinois would rather villainize a builder than keep one. And they're bad at their jobs.
In 2021 the Bears spent $197M on the old Arlington Park racetrack.
Before they could break ground, Cook County valued the empty lot at $192M (Bears said $60M). They were salivating at the chance to extort a building that didn't even exist yet.
That fight dragged on for years.
The Bears were ready to put $2B into the stadium. All they wanted was a promise the county wouldn't reassess them into oblivion, plus $855M for infrastructure everyone uses. Roads, transit, utilities. A $3B project, two thirds of it private money pouring into Illinois.
Springfield had since 2021 to get this done. They dragged it to the final night of session, passed it through the Senate at 3:39AM, and the House went home without voting.
So now it's all gone.
The funniest part? This started because Cook County tried to grab the tax early. They knew a built stadium would pay $53M a year. Now they get under $4M on a vacant lot. No jobs, no buildout, no new anything.
Congrats on fighting for scraps and losing the whole prize.
Pritzker: they're "an $8.5B valued business" that doesn't need propping up.
But be smart for a second. Almost every NFL city throws in public money for a stadium. Not charity. The return is real. Tourism, hotels, restaurants, jobs, game days, property tax on a huge development. The math works.
Indiana did the math. While Illinois sat on it for years, Indiana passed a bill in months, put up $1B, and took the team.
And the Bears took a worse deal to get there. In Illinois they were going to own their stadium. In Indiana they rent it from the state. A team that wanted to build its own home gave up ownership just to escape Chicago.
Nobody won but Indiana. The Bears lost their stadium. Illinois lost the team, the $2B, and $53M a year in taxes.
Pritzker after they left: "I wasn't willing to give up billions of dollars of taxpayer money to give it to a billionaire-owned family or team."
There it is. "Billionaire-owned."
That's how Democrats talk about any business right before they run it out of town. Call them a billionaire, act like you're saving working families, take a victory lap while the tax base drives across the state line.
Meanwhile they're running the whole state into the ground. And you already know how this ends. You're living in it.
Pensions are $143B in the hole, worst in the country and not close. You pay $6,285 a year in property taxes, double the $2,969 national average, for a city that's $1.15B in the red. The mayor called its finances "the point of no return."
When you run things this badly, you sell what's left.
They leased the parking meters for 75 years to Morgan Stanley and a sovereign wealth fund in Abu Dhabi. Took $1.15B and burned through it in two years. The investors already made it all back, with 58 years left to collect.
Sold the Skyway. Sold the downtown garages. Every asset that made money, gone for one check.
But a fixed property tax rate for a team that's been here 106 years? That's "propping up billionaires."
Companies are leaving. Boeing for Virginia. Caterpillar for Texas. Citadel for Miami. In 2023 alone Illinois lost 56,000 people and $6B in income to other states. The ones who left earned a third more than the ones who moved in.
Indiana didn't outbid anyone. AAA credit, 16 years straight. A $676M surplus. Fourth-lowest debt per person in the country. They just weren't a disaster.
Illinois could have collected $53M a year. It chose zero. Ignore all the bad management but make sure to stick it to those evil, pesky billionaires.
Yes, girl, they will. These gals are 12 and 10 now, and they can’t really remember our lives then, but they know Mom held it together the best she could, with the help of God and family, and it was pretty damn good.
🚨 NOW: The Trump White House has just SHOT DOWN a major fake news story claiming Chief of Staff Susie Wiles is planning to "QUIT" after the midterms because she's fed up with President Trump's Cabinet picks
WILES: "To be crystal clear, I am not going anywhere. I am honored and proud to serve President Trump, proud of our team and remain fully committed to advancing his agenda on behalf of the American people." 🔥
"Some in the media have spent a decade trying to manufacture drama around President Trump and people who work for him. They were wrong then, and they are wrong now."
The DIVISION WON'T WORK!
So far tonight
2124Z: US forces announce the seizure of the tanker Davina as part of the Iran blockade
2200-2220Z: Explosions reported in the Strait of Hormuz/Qeshm
2348Z: CENTCOM confirms Iranian forces fired drones into the Strait, US forces conducted airstrikes in response
Hoosiers, help me welcome the Chicago Bears to our great state!
We look forward to building a partnership as strong as the '85 Bears defense, creating opportunities and economic growth that will benefit our state and the Bears organization for decades to come.
An NFL franchise in Northwest Indiana will be an economic boost to the entire region like we haven’t seen before.
Thank you to Speaker Huston, the legislature, and Mayor McDermott for their partnership. I also want to thank the entire Chicago Bears organization for their partnership and commitment in making this move a reality.
Welcome to Indiana!