Jordan Weissmann

Where would America be without the muckraking journalists and the publications that champion their work?

California’s relentless clean-air enforcer, Mary Nichols, has divided the automobile industry. After weeks of secret negotiations, the Chair of the State’s Air Resources Board has announced that Ford, Honda VW and BMW of America won’t go along with President Trump’s rollback of Barack Obama’s fuel-economy standards. Nichols claims it’s an “olive branch,” giving car makers the “flexibility” to clean up the air at the same time they continue to market vehicles that make the most money. Brady Dennis of the Washington Post calls it a “big deal,” even if Toyota, GM and 11 other companies revert to Trump’s new federal standards--at least for the moment. Alan Baum is a consultant for both the industry and environmental organizations. He says the four who made the deal with California have a slight lead on their competitors in developing the technology of the future, with China currently far ahead of them all. He says the western car makers are doing a poor job of educating consumers about the benefits of hybrids and electrics. Nichols’s history with the Air Resources Board goes back to the 1970’s. She was named Chair by Republican Governor Arnold Schwartenegger and reappointed by Democrats Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom. She made an international name for herself for years ago when she blew the whistle on Volkswagen for faking emissions tests on the diesel cars it sold for decades all over the world.

Author and University of Michigan professor Alexandra Minna Stern traces the origins of America's burgeoning white nationalist movement.

The annual Iowa State Fair is known as the unofficial start to campaign season.

This week, the political debate dominated political debate.

Playboy Magazine built a culture of objectifying women that doesn't fly in the #MeToo era.

A United Nations expert finds the WikiLeaks founder has been subjected to psychological torture, and media around the globe played a part.

The House and Senate are looking into Facebook’s plan to launch a currency called Libra. Neither side of the political aisle trusts Facebook, believing it's too big.

Accused child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein apparently killed himself over the weekend. He was in the secure housing unit in a Manhattan jail.