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Dave Malloy’s “genre-shattering” album Ghost Quartet, described as a song cycle about love, death and whiskey, turns 10 this year.

The British Museum’s Artist of the Open Road showcases the work of Japanese artist Utagawa Hiroshige, who paved the way for Impressionism.

Metal legends Black Sabbath have just played their final gig in Birmingham — listen to Paranoid, a record that “changed the course of music history.”

As Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron departs, listen to their “warm, earnest, generous, passionate” second album, Vs.

Bartók’s Duke Bluebeard’s Castle, an opera conducted by Karina Canellakis, is described as a gripping “psychological chess game.”

Gaza officials say children killed in Israeli strike while waiting for water

Israel’s military said that a ‘technical error’ had caused a missile to miss its intended target.
A Palestinian boy inspects the site of an Israeli strike that killed Palestinians, gathered to collect water from a distribution point, according to medics, in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip July 13, 2025. Stringer/Reuters

Trump threatens fresh tariffs on Canada

US President Donald Trump also suggested a universal rate of up to 20% in an NBC interview.
U.S. President Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Why Chuck Schumer sees a Republican ‘majority at risk’

The Senate majority leader is more bullish after a tax and spending cuts bill that even Republicans acknowledge needs salesmanship.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerKevin Mohatt/Reuters

Democrats look to Republicans for help undoing Medicaid cuts in Trump’s megabill

The opposition party is notably confident that it can get GOP buy-in for an unraveling — if it can take back power.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerAnnabelle Gordon/Reuters
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politics

Uncertainty reigns at FBI as Bongino weighs resignation over Epstein flap

The bureau’s deputy director “will come back if” the attorney general is “held accountable,” one source told Semafor.
FBI Deputy Directo Dan BonginoGage Skidmore/Creative Commons

Why MAGA can’t move on from the ‘Epstein files’

Republican voters are used to getting what they want from Donald Trump — why stop now?
US President Donald Trump speaks next to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick during a cabinet meeting.Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

‘One more question…’: Brandon Gill puts liberals on the language hot seat

The freshman representative spoke to Semafor about putting Congressional witnesses on the hot seat.
Rep. Brandon Gill.C-SPAN

Immigration worries ease in US

New June polling from Gallup suggests that Trump’s mass deportation agenda might not be as popular as his advisers think.

Why Chuck Schumer sees a Republican ‘majority at risk’

The Senate majority leader is more bullish after a tax and spending cuts bill that even Republicans acknowledge needs salesmanship.

State Department layoffs expected as soon as Friday as reorganization takes effect

Employees at Foggy Bottom are preparing for cutbacks to begin days after the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump administration downsizing plans.

Democrats look to Republicans for help undoing Medicaid cuts in Trump’s megabill

The opposition party is notably confident that it can get GOP buy-in for an unraveling — if it can take back power.

Gavin Newsom talks about 2026, and Democrats hear 2028

The California governor swung through South Carolina with a prescription for a party that’s marked him as a presidential candidate.

Republicans look to an even bigger, more beautiful bill

Lawmakers said this week they’d like a second package to include more spending cuts and more tax cuts.

House’s crypto overhaul faces long haul in Senate

Lawmakers initially promised President Donald Trump they would pass the revamp, along with a separate bill governing stablecoins, by August.

Trump edges closer to Russia hawks — but will the move last?

The president’s latest moves on Ukraine pit him against some of his ‘America First’ allies.
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