This is the Tangle Sunday Edition, a brief roundup of our independent politics coverage plus some extra features for your Sunday morning reading.

What the right is doodling.

Gary Varvel | Creators Syndicate

What the left is doodling.

John Deering | Creators Syndicate

Suspension of the Rules

Isaac, Ari and Kmele let loose a bit in this week’s episode, discussing Sen. Rand Paul’s son hurling antisemitic remarks at Rep. Mike Lawler and Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s possible political ambitions. Plus, what were some lessons the media should have learned from the Covid-19 pandemic?

Check out the latest here!

Monday, May 11.

The Supreme Court of Virginia’s redistricting ruling. On Friday, May 8, the Supreme Court of Virginia struck down a redistricting measure recently passed by voters that would have allowed the legislature to adopt a new congressional map designed to give Virginia Democrats a 10–1 advantage in the U.S. House. In a 4–3 decision, the court found that the process of putting the measure on the ballot violated the state constitution, affirming a county judge’s ruling. The decision will keep the current map — under which Democrats have a 6–5 advantage — in place for the 2026 midterms. 

Our take: “This ruling is obviously a big win for Republicans and a huge blow to Democrats. On one hand I’m glad for that, because I cheer anytime a gerrymandering attempt fails. On the other hand I’m discouraged, because Trump and Republicans instigated this war and now they’re being rewarded for it.”

Reader Survey:

Tuesday, May 12.

The latest in Iran. Over the past week, the United States and Iran have exchanged communications over plans to end the war between the countries, though talks have yet to produce a breakthrough. On Monday, May 11, President Donald Trump said the pause in fighting is on “life support,” calling Iran’s most recent response to a U.S. peace proposal unacceptable. Separately, the Strait of Hormuz remains mostly closed to commercial traffic, with the U.S. and Iran exchanging fire in the waterway over the past two weeks. 

Our take: “A timeline of events shows how unreliable the U.S. and Iran are as narrators. It also shows that, despite our military successes, Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz is a disaster. I don’t know how we proceed from here, but I don’t like our options.”

Reader Survey:

Wednesday, May 13.

The hantavirus outbreak. On Monday, May 11, 18 Americans returned to the United States from a cruise ship where passengers had contracted a rare strain of hantavirus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) transported the passengers to specialized quarantine facilities in Nebraska and Georgia; one American tested positive for the virus. As of Saturday, May 16, three deaths — a Dutch couple and a German woman — ten confirmed cases have been linked to the cruise ship outbreak. Health officials say the risk to the general public remains low.

Our take: “It’s tempting to compare this outbreak to the onset of Covid-19, but the situations are very different. Hantavirus is deadly and scary, but its transmissibility is low and the cases are being closely tracked. We should all be careful not to overreact and to closely vet any information we learn before sharing it.”

Reader Survey:

Thursday, May 14.

The latest economic news. On Tuesday, May 12, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for April, which showed an increase of 3.8% from a year earlier, slightly higher than economists’ expectations. The latest inflation figures represent the highest annual increase since May 2023, up from 3.3% in March. On a month-to-month basis, prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.6% after rising 0.9% in March. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.4% for the month, its highest pace since January 2025. Separately, on Wednesday, May 13, the Senate confirmed Kevin Warsh to be the next Federal Reserve chair by a 54–45 vote.

Our take: “The economic shocks of the Iran war have fully arrived. Inflation could now persist long after the immediate conflict ends. Warsh has a tall task ahead of him, and his independence from the White House is a key test.”

Reader Survey:

Friday, May 15.

Over the past month, Executive Editor Isaac Saul has been on a speaking tour, visiting colleges around the country. He concluded his tour with closing remarks at a journalism conference at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, where he theorized about the real dividing lines between Americans today. You can read Isaac’s address here.

What just happened.

Here’s a rundown of the major stories that have broken since our newsletter on Thursday.

• On Thursday, Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe met with Cuban intelligence officials and security official Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro in Cuba to discuss the country’s ongoing energy crisis. Ratcliffe reportedly told the officials that cooperation between the United States and Cuba is possible if Cuba makes “fundamental changes” to its government. (The meeting)
• On Thursday, the Supreme Court extended its stay of a federal appeals court’s ruling that blocked mail-order distribution of mifepristone, a medication abortion drug. The Court’s order will permit mifepristone to continue to be available via the mail while a lawsuit challenging its distribution plays out in lower courts. Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented. (The order)
• On Thursday, Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks resigned, saying he wanted to spend more time with his family. Banks is the third high-level Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official to depart in the past two months, following DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Todd Lyons. (The resignation)
• On Thursday, Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough ruled that some provisions of Republicans’ plan to provide approximately $70 billion in immigration enforcement funding in a budget reconciliation package did not comply with the chamber’s Byrd Rule and must be struck from the bill in order to pass it via reconciliation. (The ruling)
• On Friday, President Trump concluded his visit to China, telling reporters that he has not decided whether to proceed with an arms package deal with Taiwan, which Chinese President Xi Jinping opposes. Trump also said that he and Xi discussed a nuclear deal between the countries, and including Russia, that would limit the nuclear warheads in their arsenals. (The debrief)
• On Friday, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) commuted the sentence of Tina Peters, a former county clerk who was convicted in a scheme to illegally examine voting machines in an attempt to prove the results in the 2020 presidential election were fraudulent. Polis said he believed Peters, 70, received an overly harsh sentence. (The commutation)
• On Friday, the Supreme Court rejected a request by Democratic officials in Virginia to use a new congressional map recently approved by voters but struck down by the Supreme Court of Virginia. (The rejection)

Reader essay.

The author’s 10-year reunion | Photo from James Breen

This week, Tangle reader James Breen writes in defense of the high school reunion. Even though “high school felt more like a random sampling of four years of my life,” he writes, the value of the reunion lies in the ability to reflect and reconnect both with old friends and near strangers.