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Mike Judge Presents: Tales From the Tour Bus

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S2 e8 - betty davis, s2 e7 - morris day and the time, s2 e6 - james brown pt. 2.

The raucous adventures of some of music’s most legendary artists, as told by those who knew them best. Featuring animated interviews with former bandmates, friends and other erstwhile associates, who share uncensored anecdotes about these artists, brought to life with animated reenactments and woven together with live-action archival performance footage and photos.

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Tales From the Tour Bus

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Mike judge presents: tales from the tour bus.

S1.E1 ∙ Johnny Paycheck

S1.E2 ∙ Jerry Lee Lewis

S1.E3 ∙ George Jones and Tammy Wynette (Part One)

S1.E4 ∙ George Jones and Tammy Wynette (Part Two)

S1.E5 ∙ Billy Joe Shaver

S1.E6 ∙ Waylon Jennings (Part One)

S1.E7 ∙ Waylon Jennings (Part Two)

S1.E8 ∙ Blaze Foley

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‘Tales From the Tour Bus’ Review: Mike Judge’s Clever Cartoon is Outlaw Country’s ‘Drunk History’

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“You don’t like country music, do you? You think it’s corny and twangy and kind of stupid? Well, you could be right, but it’s always good to keep an open mind.”

Like most fans of country music, Mike Judge is sick of people dismissing his musical genre of choice. A New Mexico native and consistent chronicler of working class folks from small American towns, it should come as no surprise to even casual fans that the “King of the Hill” creator has a penchant for musicians like Johnny Paycheck, Jerry Lee Lewis, and George Jones; so much so, he’s created a new, unique documentary series to honor their most madcap memories.

Though it’s unlikely to win over any of the haters Judge repeatedly alludes to, his latest primetime animated venture should entertain and inform devotees on the creator or country music.

Related Stories ‘Presumed Innocent’ Review: Jake Gyllenhaal Burns Through a Bloated, One-Note Courtroom Drama ‘The Boys’ Season 4 Boasts Extra Bite

“Mike Judge Presents Tales From the Tour Bus ” is both exactly what it sounds like and so much more: Blending live-action archival footage with animated sequences of interviews and reenactments, Judge brings in various collaborators of the country music artists spotlighted in each half-hour episode and animates the stories they tell. When Johnny Paycheck’s former bandmates talk about him showing up for a court date shirtless, a hand-drawn version of Paycheck sits in front of the judge, middle fingers raised to the sky, and naked from the waste up.

The talking heads are animated, too. (The only parts that aren’t animated are choice archival photos and videos.) Judge himself only appears in animated form, but he’s front-and-center in the series: His name’s at the front of the title, and he’s center-frame telling tales from the bus. Though he fades into occasional narration as the episodes progress — ceding time to those who lived the stories they’re recounting — his presence remains, thanks, in part, to the style in which they’re told.

Judge uses his introductions — sitting on the bus with a beer in the deepened, spill-proof cup-holders, a guitar hanging next to an open window, and a framed photo of Tammy Wynette behind his head — to frame each story in a wider historical context. He compares Johnny Paycheck to N.W.A. in both how many records each sold and by asking why the latter was more controversial than the former, despite similarly dicey off-stage activities (not that Judge is unaware of the reason).

The episodes don’t necessarily respond to these comparisons in any antagonistic or pertinent manner; largely, it’s storytelling for the sake of storytelling. The above quote is the first thing Judge says in the pilot, and this dry methodology of his is used to juxtapose the insanity of what these men have done. Each episode starts with the jocular intro:

The following is about real people and real events. However, due to the passage of time and, in some cases, indulgence in both controlled and illicit substances, details of some tales are a bit hazy.

The details that survived an onslaught of booze, drugs, and the slow tick of time are quite telling. These icons have lived in Matthew McConaughey’s sense of the word . Multiple episodes feature gunfire aimed at other human beings, including two instances where someone is shot in the head and survives. George Jones gets tied to a tree after accosting a man outside his home. There’s a wrestling match in a public bathroom because a jealous musician grabbed his wife’s ex-lover’s penis.

The subjects describing such stories do so with a casual tone but emphatic pride emulated by the series itself. Sometimes they’ll provide remembered or imagined dialogue for a scene and the animated sequence depicting it will incorporate their voices, “Drunk History” style, rather than as straight narration. Mostly, though, these figures are fascinating themselves, even in animated form, such as the unforgettable image of Jimmy McDonough, a music writer, sitting behind his kitchen table with a pair of shades on his face and a black cat perched prominently next to him.

It’s as though the cat was so important to the character it couldn’t be left out when the animators went to work, and that’s a credit to the style of the series. At its core, “Tales From the Tour Bus” is a very simple show: Its primary objective is to honor these fascinating individuals by sharing their stories with a wider audience. That could’ve been done without the animation, but Judge, as a storyteller himself, maximizes his potential audience by infusing sly humor into every visual inch of the show. Even the editing can evoke a chuckle, and that might just be enough to make a few dismissive music fans show some respect to these legends.

“Mike Judge Presents Tales From the Tour Bus” premieres Friday, September 22 at 10 p.m. ET on Cinemax.

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Tales from the Tour Bus

Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, Sep 7 - 9, 2023, Hunt Valley, MD

Hopkinsville Juneteenth bus tour to highlight community’s African American history

The Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County are partnering with Visit Hopkinsville to offer bus tours on Saturday that educate riders on African American history in the local area.

The bus tour is closely modeled after Hopkinsville’s African-American History Cell Phone Tour, a self-guided audio experience that individuals can dial into and hear more information on over a dozen historic sites.

Alissa Keller, executive director of the Museums of Historic Hopkinsville-Christian County, said she hopes these tours will help highlight the community’s diverse background.

"We don’t have separate histories. We may have separate stories, but all those stories come together into one greater, greater representation of who we are as a community,” Keller said.

The tour showcases cemeteries, medical clinics, churches, and Attucks High School, which used to serve the community’s Black students before school integration.

Keller said one of her favorite stops is the Union Benevolent Cemetery Number Five on Vine Street.

“The land for Vine Street was purchased in 1866, by local African-Americans who would have just been very recently emancipated from slavery. They bought this land and created this Benevolent Society... So it gave them a place to bury their loved ones when their loved ones passed away.”

Busses will load up Saturday afternoon at the Hopkinsville Boys & Girls Club. Each tour can hold up to 10 people, and are first-come, first serve. Tours will take place at 1:15, 3:15 and 4:15 p.m., and will last around 45 minutes.

These historic tours will coincide with Hopkinsville’s Juneteenth Celebration. That event, hosted by representatives of historically Black fraternities and sororities known as the Divine Nine, will include music, food, a fashion show and other entertainment. That event will run Saturday from 1 to 6 p.m. at the Hopkinsville Boys & Girls Club.

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Our 10 Best Golden Ring Tours of 2022

Journey to Russia’s Golden Ring with us and let us take you back in time to medieval Russia when the Tsars ruled. The Golden Ring is a set of beautiful, ancient and mysterious Russian cities not far from Moscow. Tours can be combined with any of our Moscow tours and customized to fit your plans and budget. Our most popular classic tours are listed below. Please click on the tour details to learn more or contact us for more information about our Golden Ring tours using the form at the bottom of the page. Feel free to also schedule a call with one of our Russian travel specialists. Many travelers have found this to be the best way to together, create an unforgettable customized tour for you.

Sergiev Posad, Russian Vatican

This short tour takes you to Sergiev Posad, the temporary residence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church. You will visit the magnificent Trinity St. Sergius Monastery which is included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage.

• Schedule Tour can be started on any day
• Route Moscow - Sergiev Posad - Moscow
• Languages English-speaking guide is guaranteed. Other languages are on request.
• Accommodation The following hotel options are available: This is a one-day tour, accommodation is not included.
• PRIVATE TOUR This is a private tour, there won't be other people in your group

Sergiev Posad and Vladimir

This Golden Ring tour covers two ancient Russian towns. Vladimir dates back to the XI century and is one of the oldest and most important towns along the ring. Sergiev Posad dates back to the XIV century and is sometimes called the Russian Vatican.

• Route Moscow - Sergiev Posad - Vladimir - Moscow

Sergiev Posad and Suzdal

This short tour takes you to Serviev Posad, the temporary residence of the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and Suzdal, a quiet, beautiful town with an ancient Kremlin and a museum of wooden architecture.

• Route Mocsow - Sergiev Posad - Suzdal - Moscow

Vladimir and Suzdal

This tour includes two very important towns on the Golden Ring. Vladimir dates back to the XI century and it is one of the oldest towns along the ring. Suzdal is full of old churches, wooden houses and the sounds of bird song and the ringing of church bells.

• Route Moscow - Vladimir - Suzdal - Moscow

Express Golden Ring (hotel in Vladimir)

Although this tour covers only a small section of the Golden Ring, it is probably the most beautiful part. You will visit Suzdal with its beautiful old churches, Vladimir with its famous Golden Gate and the small village of Bogolyubovo.

• Route Moscow - Vladimir (overnight) - Bogolyubovo - Suzdal - Moscow
• Accommodation The following hotel options are available: 3 stars - 4 stars

3 Gems of the Golden Ring

This Golden Ring tour covers three ancient Russian towns: You will learn about Russia�s tumultuous history in Vladimir, listen to the church bells ringing in beautiful Suzdal and admire the grandeur of Sergiev Posad, sometimes called the Russian Vatican.

• Route Moscow - Sergiev Posad - Vladimir - Suzdal - Moscow

Express Golden Ring (hotel in Suzdal)

This tour covers two ancient Russian towns and one ancient village along the route of the Golden Ring. You will visit Vladimir dating back to the XI century, Suzdal with its ancient churches, and the marvelous, tranquil village of Bogolyubovo.

• Route Moscow - Suzdal (overnight) - Bogolyubovo - Vladimir - Moscow

Highlights of the Golden Ring

Travel to the Golden Ring with us! Visitors will enjoy this tour to 6 ancient Russian towns along the Golden Ring. This Golden Ring tour takes you through Suzdal known as the Russian Mecca, majestic Kostroma, beautiful Yaroslavl and Vladimir. You will truly feel the heart and soul of Russia.

• Route Vladimir - Bogolyubovo - Suzdal - Kostroma - Yaroslavl - Rostov Veliky

Classic Golden Ring

Visitors will enjoy this tour to 6 ancient Russian towns along the Golden Ring. This tour takes you through Suzdal known as the Russian Mecca, majestic Kostroma, beautiful Yaroslavl and Vladimir. One of our most popular tours, you will truly feel the heart and soul of Russia.

• Route Moscow - Vladimir - Bogolyubovo - Suzdal (1 night) - Kostroma (1 night) - Yaroslavl (1 night) - Rostov - Sergiev Posad - Moscow

Treasures of the Golden Ring

This is our most complete tour across the entire Golden Ring. You will visit magnificent Vladimir, serene Bogolubovo, picturesque Suzdal, majestic Kostroma, beautiful Yaroslavl, ancient Rostov Velikiy, and Sergiev Posad sometimes called the Russian Vatican.

• Route Moscow - Vladimir - Bogolubovo - Suzdal (2 nights) - Kostroma - Yaroslavl (2 nights) - Rostov - Pereslavl Zalessky - Sergiev Posad - Moscow

Ancient Russia, the Beginning

The Central European part of Russia is known for its ancient towns. On this tour you will make stops in the most important towns of the Silver Ring - Velikiy Novgorod, Pskov, Izborsk and Pechory. Each of these towns are home to unique monuments of Russian history and culture.

• Route St. Petersburg - Novrogod (1 night) - Pskov (2 nights) - Izborsk - Pechory - Smolensk (1 night) - Moscow

Just returned from a fanstastic and rich experience in moscow, the Golden cities and St. Petersbrg. We felt taken care of as if we were royalty! our guides were extremely knowledgable and so we learned so much and gained such an appciation for the people, the struggles and the country. Witout the guide and driver, we would have just appreciated the architecture but learned nothing. You helped at every turn - this could not have been a better experience and we cannot thank you enough.

I just want to inform you that we have completed our trip to Russia. We really enjoyed the arrangement you have made for us, from the airport transfer, picking up our Bolshoi tickets, the hotel in Moscow, and of course the Golden Ring tour itself. Our tour guide, Irina, provided us with a lot of information on the buildings and history, which make our following visits to Moscow+St. Petersburg more rewarding. Thanks again for making our visit to Russia a wonderful one.

The Golden Ring of Russia

The Golden Ring is a group of medieval towns and cities that form a ring to the northeast of Moscow. These towns played a significant role in early Russian history and in the formation of the Russian Orthodox Church. The towns are full of ancient Russian architecture from the Middle Ages including kremlins (walled fortresses), monasteries, cathedrals and churches. Visiting the Golden Ring will give you a chance to go back in time and imagine a Russia that used to be. The cities are associated with Russian Princes and knights, early Tsars such as Ivan the Terrible, the Mongol invasions and many other historical figures and events. Listening to the history and legends told by your experienced guide will evoke memories of storybooks and fairy tales. The towns of the Golden Ring are all in the Russian countryside which is beautiful – full of forests and fields and rivers and lakes. Apart from the Golden Ring, we also offer tours to the Silver Ring of Russia. These tours include such famous towns as Veliky Novgorod and Pskov. Your time in these ancient areas will be a great break from the bustle of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Walk along ancient Kremlin walls and see the onion domes rising from cathedrals where time has stopped, or follow paths along old riverbanks – travel back in time with our Golden Ring tours. An unforgettable adventure awaits.

Tours to the Golden Ring

Our Golden Ring tours are offered as land only where you arrange your own airfare and we meet you at the airport and handle everything else. You can easily book the discount tickets yourself through our own discount internet ticket office . Please browse our discount air tickets section to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions From Our Travelers

How far are the golden ring cities from moscow.

The Golden Ring cities are located within 2-4 hours drive of Moscow. The distance by road between Moscow and Suzdal is 219 km (3-4 hours drive), between Moscow and Sergiev Posad – 73 km, nearly a 2 hour drive. However, the distance between the cities of Golden Ring is rather short: e.g. between Vladimir and Suzdal it’s only 37 km.

Which cities of Golden Ring are worth visiting?

The following cities are the most well-known and attract the most attention: Suzdal, Vladimir and Sergiev Posad. If you have more than 1-2 days, we recommend Yaroslavl, Rostov Veliky and Kostroma.

Why do people call this group of cities the “Golden Ring”?

The cities of the Golden Ring, located northwest of Moscow, are spread out in a ring shape. The term was created in 1967 by historian and journalist Yuri Bychkov who wrote travel articles under the name “Golden Ring” because his route took the shape of a ring as he travelled through these cities.

How to get to the Golden Ring cities of Russia?

You can travel by train from Moscow to Vladimir, Sergiev Posad, Kostroma, Rostov Veliky and Yaroslavl. Alternatively, you can order a private tour and go by car with a private driver

What can I do while visiting the Golden Ring cities and towns?

Golden Ring cities and towns are very different from Moscow and St Petersburg. Instead of visiting art museums and ballet performances, you can enjoy exploring local Kremlins and fortresses, ancient churches and monasteries, listening to the church bells ringing, enjoying local foods and drinks, visiting banyas, spending time in pristine nature, and strolling along the Volga river.

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Biden Loves to Tell Tall Tales. We Cut Them Down to Size.

By President Biden’s account, he was a fierce civil rights activist in his youth, had an uncle who fell prey to cannibals and used to drive an 18-wheeler.

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By Linda Qiu

Reporting from Washington

In President Biden’s telling, he was a teenage civil rights activist, a former trucker, the first in his family to go to college and the nephew of a cannibalism victim.

All of these claims stretch the truth or are downright false. But Mr. Biden persists in telling personal tales with rhetorical flourishes and factual liberty when he works a room or regales an audience. They are a way to connect with voters, emphasize his “middle-class Joe” persona and charm his audience.

Despite Mr. Biden’s penchant for exaggerating details when recounting episodes from his life, these autobiographical embellishments differ in scale and significance from the stream of lies about a stolen election peddled by his opponent, former President Donald J. Trump.

A White House spokesman, Andrew Bates, said that Mr. Biden had “brought honesty and integrity back to the White House” and that he shared life experiences that had shaped his outlook.

Here are some of the president’s most repeated yarns.

Connecting with his audience through hyperbole

What Was Said

“In our last debate, when I was 29 years old, the first question he was asked at the debate was, ‘Do you have any regrets, Senator Boggs?’ And he said, ‘No.’ Then we came to the very end of the debate, where I spoke and then he was to conclude. He stood up, and he said, ‘You know, I was asked if I had any regrets. I said no, but I have one: Had Joe Biden gone to the Naval Academy when I appointed him, he’d still have seven months left on and wouldn’t be able to run.’” — in a May commencement speech at the United States Military Academy

Mr. Biden has repeatedly recounted this tale to graduating cadets at various military academies and to families of service members: In high school in the 1960s, he had been nominated to attend the United States Naval Academy by Senator J. Caleb Boggs of Delaware, his Republican opponent in his first Senate race. Mr. Boggs, Mr. Biden sometimes adds, later lamented that Mr. Biden had declined to accept the nomination in a 1972 debate. It is an anecdote that dates as far back as 2010, when Mr. Biden said in a speech that Mr. Boggs had “considered” him for the academy.

It is possible that this nomination occurred, but The New York Times could not verify Mr. Biden’s claim.

The academy does not have any records of Mr. Biden receiving a nomination or an appointment, said a spokeswoman, Ashley Hockycko, but it does not possess preliminary applications or requests made to congressional offices.

Mr. Boggs started his first term as senator in January 1961. If the current deadline is any indication, members of Congress have until Jan. 31 to submit nominations to the Naval Academy. Mr. Biden graduated from high school that June and began his first semester at the University of Delaware that fall. The Delaware Historical Society, which houses Mr. Boggs’s Senate records, could find only his nominations to the Naval Academy from 1962. Mr. Biden’s name was not on that list.

Similarly, The Times was unable to verify Mr. Biden’s retelling of that 1972 debate. Newspaper articles detailing debates and events attended by Mr. Biden and Mr. Boggs in September and October of that year did not mention any questions about regrets or the nomination. In his 2007 autobiography, “Promises to Keep,” Mr. Biden wrote of only one debate, and did not include any reference to the nomination.

It is also unclear what Mr. Boggs, in Mr. Biden’s telling, could have meant by suggesting Mr. Biden would have still been committed to the academy or the armed services for another seven months. Midshipmen at the Naval Academy attend for four years and serve for at least five years in the Navy or Marines after graduation. Had Mr. Biden attended the academy instead of the University of Delaware in 1961, he would have still been able to run against Mr. Boggs in 1972.

What WAS Said

“I used to drive an 18-wheeler.” — at an April campaign event in Florida

Mr. Biden often repeats this claim when attending events with union members. The White House cited Mr. Biden’s job driving a school bus during law school. In the 1970s, he also took a 500-mile trip as a senator on a cargo truck.

“As a matter of fact, the first organization I ever joined was the N.A.A.C.P. Didn’t get to vote until you were 21 in those days, but I got involved in civil rights when I was 15.” — at an N.A.A.C.P. event in Michigan in May

“She said, ‘Remember when they were desegregating Lynnfield, the neighborhood? It was 70 homes, built, suburbia. And I told you there was a Black family moving in, and people were down there protesting. I told you not to go down there. And you went down, remember that? And you got arrested, standing on the porch with a Black family.’” — in an interview with Howard Stern in April

For decades, Mr. Biden has occasionally suggested that he played a greater role in the civil rights movement than he actually did. While there is corroboration of Mr. Biden’s participation in a few desegregation events, he has also said he would not consider himself an activist in the movement. There is no evidence that he was ever arrested.

The White House said that there are countless moments in any person’s life that local newspapers opt not to cover and that Mr. Biden was proud to have stood up against segregation in his youth.

The Washington Post detailed several other instances of the anecdote Mr. Biden is relaying, through his mother, of his arrest as a teenager while protesting for civil rights. In some cases, Mr. Biden has said he was 13 or that the police brought him home.

Local newspapers reported that in spring 1959, when Mr. Biden was 16, a Black family moved into an all-white neighborhood in Wilmington, prompting residents to protest against integration. Police officers described the demonstrators as a mob, some armed with fire bombs, and arrested seven people, including four teenagers for possessing fireworks . (The house was bombed and destroyed later that year.)

Mr. Biden joined the N.A.A.C.P. during his first political race for New Castle County Council in 1970, when he was in his late 20s, according to a 2019 Washington Post article that included an interview with the former president of the Delaware N.A.A.C.P.

Highlighting and exaggerating his middle-class roots

“I’m the first in my family ever to go to college.” — at a May campaign event in Detroit

Mr. Biden described his maternal grandfather, Ambrose Finnegan Sr., as the “only person in the house with a college degree” in his 2007 autobiography. According to Mr. Finnegan’s 1957 obituary , he attended and played football for Santa Clara College in California. Mr. Biden has previously said that he was the first on the Biden side of the family to go to college.

“Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 will pay an additional penny. I hope you’re all able to make $400,000. I never did.” — at an April campaign event in Pennsylvania

“She said, ‘Did you read today’s paper?’ I said, ‘They don’t have today’s paper — Wilmington paper, Delaware — where I’m with Leahy up in Vermont. And she said, ‘Well, let me read it. Top of the fold, headline, Biden, poorest man in Congress.’” — at a March campaign event in Nevada

For much of his political career, Mr. Biden was among the least wealthy members of Congress. With a net worth of negative $166,500, Mr. Biden was listed by the newspaper Roll Call as the poorest member in 1990, the first year it began compiling net worth rankings. (The News Journal, based in Wilmington, reported the ranking on page 33, not the front page.)

He continued to rank near the bottom for net worth throughout his decades-long career in the Senate. According to Mr. Biden’s tax returns , he and his wife, Jill, earned less than $400,000 almost every year from 1998 to 2016. But they earned more than $400,000 in 2013 and in every year since 2017, ranging from $408,733 in 2013 to more than $11 million in 2017. (The president’s yearly salary, under federal law, is $400,000.)

Stories too good to be true

“Ambrose Finnegan — we called him Uncle Bosie — he was shot down. He was Army Air Corps before there was an Air Force. He flew single engine planes, reconnaissance flights over New Guinea. He had volunteered because someone couldn’t make it. He got shot down in an area where there were a lot of cannibals in New Guinea at the time.” — in remarks to reporters in April

In his 2007 autobiography, Mr. Biden wrote that he often heard family lore about his hero uncle, Ambrose Finnegan Jr., who was a pilot during World War II. But his suggestion that Mr. Finnegan was shot down and cannibalized in New Guinea is not supported by military records or anthropologists.

According to the agency of the Pentagon that accounts for the missing or those taken prisoner during war, Mr. Finnegan, a second lieutenant, was a passenger on an aircraft that crashed into the ocean on the north coast of New Guinea in May 1944 after its engines failed. Three men, including Mr. Biden’s uncle, were lost in the crash while a fourth was rescued by a passing barge. There are no indications that the plane was shot down or that Mr. Finnegan was flying the plane.

Mr. Finnegan would have been an unlikely victim of cannibalism in New Guinea, anthropologists and locals told PolitiFact and The Guardian. Studies of cannibalism in the country have noted that victims tended to be enemies from warring tribes as an act of revenge or deceased relatives as part of a mourning ritual.

Mr. Biden shared his account of Mr. Finnegan’s death after visiting a war memorial in Scranton, Pa., that bore his uncle’s name. The story was meant to highlight Mr. Biden’s commitment to equipping troops and honoring veterans, the White House said.

“I was getting on the train, and one of the senior guys at Amtrak — I became friends with all of them after all the years, and I’ve ridden 36 years as a senator — and he comes up to me — his name is Angelo — and he comes over and says, ‘Joey, baby!’ He grabs my cheek, and I thought they were going to shoot him. And I said, ‘Ang, what’s the matter?’ He said, ‘I just read in the newspaper’ — because they keep meticulous mileage about how many times you — how many miles you use an aircraft for the United States Air Force as vice president. ‘I just read in the paper, Joey, you traveled 1,200,000 miles on Air Force Two.’” — in a speech in Nevada in December

This story, as told, stretches credulity. Mr. Biden logged 1.2 million miles on Air Force Two in early 2016, according to himself . Angelo Negri, the conductor, retired from Amtrak in 1993 and died in 2014. It is possible that Mr. Biden mistook another conductor for Mr. Negri: He recounted in 2009 speaking with an unnamed Amtrak employee, who also called out to him, “Joey, baby.”

Linda Qiu is a reporter who specializes in fact-checking statements made by politicians and public figures. She has been reporting and fact-checking public figures for nearly a decade. More about Linda Qiu

Our Coverage of the 2024 Election

Presidential Race: News and Analysis

Donald Trump told a group of America’s most powerful executives that he intended to cut the corporate tax rate  to 20% from 21%. Elsewhere, in a closed-door meeting with G.O.P. House members, Trump disparaged the city where his party’s convention will be held .

As he considers his vice-presidential pick, Trump has sought advice on key factors , including who will match up best on the debate stage against Vice President Kamala Harris.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that he would cut military spending by half  by the end of his first term as president, finding support for his blend of populist economic rhetoric, isolationist foreign policy leanings  and government skepticism.

The movie mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, Biden’s secret weapon against Trump, always sought scary villains in his films. Now he has found what he considers a real-life one in Trump .

Exhausted and Underwhelmed : The Grand Rapids area helped deliver Michigan to Trump in 2016 and Biden four years later. Many voters long for new options .

A Top Democrat’s Attack : Most of the party’s leaders want to avoid too much focus on Trump’s felonies. JB Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, feels differently .

Protest Zone : The U.S. Secret Service, after pressure from Republican officials, has agreed to make a Milwaukee park near the Republican National Convention off limits to protesters .

Minimizing a Political Disadvantage : The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold access to a widely available abortion pill frustrated antiabortion activists. But it allowed Republicans to dodge a potentially toxic issue  in the midst of a tight presidential race.

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Putin offers truce if Ukraine exits Russian-claimed areas and drops NATO bid. Kyiv calls it ‘absurd’ Updated 7 hours ago

Russian President Vladimir Putin promised Friday to “immediately” order a cease-fire in Ukraine and start negotiations if Kyiv began withdrawing troops from the four regions annexed by Moscow in 2022 and renounced plans to join NATO. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected what he called an ultimatum by Putin to surrender more territory.

Putin’s remarks came as Switzerland prepared to host  scores of world leaders  — but not from Moscow — this weekend to try to map out first steps toward peace in Ukraine.

They also coincided with a meeting of leaders of the  Group of Seven leading industrialized nations  in Italy and after the U.S. and Ukraine this week signed  a 10-year security agreement  that Russian officials, including Putin, denounced as “null and void.”

Putin blasted the Switzerland conference as “just another ploy to divert everyone’s attention, reverse the cause and effect of the Ukrainian crisis (and) set the discussion on the wrong track.”

His demands came in a speech at the Russian Foreign Ministry and was aimed at what he called a “final resolution” of the conflict rather than “freezing it,” and stressed the Kremlin is “ready to start negotiations without delay.”

Broader demands for peace that Putin listed included Ukraine’s recognition of Crimea as part of Russia, keeping the country’s nonnuclear status, restricting its military force and protecting the interests of the Russian-speaking population. All of these should be part of “fundamental international agreements,” and all Western sanctions against Russia should be lifted, Putin said.

“We’re urging to turn this tragic page of history and to begin restoring, step-by-step, the unity between Russia and Ukraine and in Europe in general,” he said.

Putin’s remarks, made to a group of somber Foreign Ministry officials and some senior lawmakers, represented a rare occasion in which he clearly laid out his conditions for ending the war in Ukraine, but it didn’t include any new demands. The Kremlin has said before that Kyiv should recognize its territorial gains and drop its bid to join NATO.

Zelenskyy, in Italy for the G7 meeting, said Putin’s proposal was not new and was in the form of an “ultimatum,” comparing it to actions by Adolf Hitler in seizing territory that led to World War II.

“What Putin demands is to give them a part of our territories, those occupied and not occupied, talking about several regions of our country,” he said.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry called Putin’s plan “manipulative,” “absurd” and designed to “mislead the international community, undermine diplomatic efforts aimed at achieving a just peace, and split the unity of the world majority around the goals and principles of the U.N. Charter.”

Besides seeking to join NATO, Ukraine wants Russian forces out of its territory, including the Crimean Peninsula that was illegally annexed in 2014; the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity; and that Russia be held accountable for war crimes and for Moscow to pay reparations to Kyiv.

Russia launched its a full-scale invasion in February 2022. After Ukrainian forces thwarted a Russian drive to the capital, much of the fighting has focused in the south and east, where Moscow illegally annexed four regions, although it doesn’t fully control any of them.

Zelenskyy adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on social media there was nothing new from Putin and that the Russian leader “voiced only the ‘standard aggressor’s set,’ which has been heard many times already.”

“There is no novelty in this, no real peace proposals and no desire to end the war. But there is a desire not to pay for this war and to continue it in new formats. It’s all a complete sham,” Podolyak wrote on X.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Putin “has illegally occupied sovereign Ukrainian territory. He is not in any position to dictate to Ukraine what they must do to bring about a peace.”

Austin added that Putin “started this war with no provocation. He could end it today if he chose to do that.”

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg added that “this is not a peace proposal. This is a proposal of more aggression, more occupation, and it demonstrates in a way that that Russia’s aim is to control Ukraine.”

Putin insisted that Kyiv should withdraw from all four annexed regions entirely and essentially cede them to Moscow within their administrative borders. In Zaporizhzhia in the southeast, Russia still doesn’t control the region’s administrative capital with a pre-war population of about 700,000; in the neighboring Kherson region, Moscow withdrew from its biggest city and capital of the same name in November 2022.

Putin said if “Kyiv and Western capitals” reject his offer, “it is their business, their political and moral responsibility for continuing the bloodshed.”

The Kremlin has repeatedly aired its readiness for peace talks with Kyiv and blamed the West for undermining its efforts to end the conflict.

Putin went further Friday and claimed his troops never intended to storm Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, even though they approached the city.

“In essence, it was nothing other than an operation to force the Ukrainian regime to peace. The troops were there to push the Ukrainian side to negotiate, to try and find an acceptable solution,” he said.

Moscow withdrew from Kyiv in March 2022 and described it a goodwill gesture as peace talks between the two began, but the pullback took place amid fierce Ukrainian resistance that significantly slowed down Russia’s battlefield advances.

Putin also claimed that in that same month, he told a foreign official he wasn’t ruling out withdrawing forces from the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions and ceding occupied parts of them back to Ukraine, as long as Kyiv allowed Russia to have a “strong land connection” to Crimea.

He said the official planned on bringing that proposal to Kyiv — which Moscow “welcomed,” as it generally welcomed “attempts to find a peaceful resolution of the conflict.” But the Kremlin then annexed both regions, along with the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, citing the results of sham “referendums” it staged there. Putin mentioned those and said, “The matter is closed forever and is no longer up for discussion.”

In Friday’s fighting, Russian defenses shot down 87 Ukrainian drones, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said, most of them launched against the Rostov region, home to Russia’s southern military command, but no deaths or damage were reported in one of the biggest Ukrainian drone barrages of  the war .

In Russia’s Belgorod region on the border, part of a residential building collapsed in the town of Shebekino after Ukrainian shelling, Belgorod Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said. Three people were injured, he said.

Ukraine’s military has been on the back foot in recent months, with its troops outnumbered by the Kremlin’s forces and running short of ammunition and weaponry due to delays in promised Western military aid.

Russia has battered Ukraine with drones, especially its power grid. It fired 14 missiles and 17 Shahed drones overnight, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defense systems downed all the drones as well as seven missiles, it said.

The attacks injured six people in the Donetsk region, where residential buildings were hit, officials said.

A Russian drone struck a bus near the village of Esman in the northern Sumy region, injuring three women. Authorities say 20 passengers were in the bus at the time.

Also Friday, Russia returned to Ukraine the bodies of 254 of its soldiers, Kyiv said. Once identified, the bodies will be returned to relatives, according to Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

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‘Vote for Abortion’ Bus Tour and Rally Show the Power of Grassroots Organizing

An extraordinary grassroots activation took place this past Saturday at 8 a.m., when two buses full of organizers, activists, celebrities, politicians, doctors and influencers braved the Phoenix heat—which would top out at 107 degrees by the afternoon—to set out on the inaugural Vote for Abortion Bus Tour and Rally, a nationwide campaign to register voters and protect abortion access and reproductive healthcare during another contentious and precarious election season.

First stop on the tour was the Uptown Farmer’s Market in North Phoenix, with its selection of local vendors, hosted on the grounds of a sprawling Baptist megachurch. This might seem like an imposing venue when you’re wearing “Vote for Abortion” T-shirts, but that didn’t stop dozens of enthusiastic volunteers from entering the fray to pass out free Julie emergency contraception and talk to people about registering to vote.  

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Actor Jodie Foster and media strategist Patti Röckenwagner were among those determinedly approaching every person they could to encourage voter registration. Even when Foster was told she “couldn’t be here wearing a shirt like that” by one vendor or Röckenwagner got drawn into a five-minute, but mostly cordial, conversation with a man who proclaimed “abortion is murder,” they remained cheerful and undeterred. And while there were some apathetic passersby, just as many were excited and supportive, ready and willing to go to the polls in November. When one woman expressed a desire to have a “Vote for Abortion” T-shirt of her own, Foster took her shirt right off her back and gave it to her.

“This is really about fundamental human rights. And it’s no accident that it’s happening now,” Foster told me an hour later back on the bus, as we moved on to our next destination. “I’ve lived under so many different administrations, but I’ve never felt the kind of war on civil rights that we’re feeling now. And the new generation doesn’t know.”

Foster worries that some voters, especially young voters, have been so affected by extremist propaganda that they’ve become apathetic.

“They’re trying to get you to think it’s hopeless and to not engage,” she added. “That’s the really dangerous part, is the hopelessness.”

I’ve lived under so many different administrations, but I’ve never felt the kind of war on civil rights that we’re feeling now. And the new generation doesn’t know. Jodie Foster

Dr. Hiral Tipirneni, an emergency room physician who’s twice run for Congress in Arizona to “to fight for healthcare rights and access and equity,” shared Foster’s sense that voting is integrally important to combating the effects of restrictive reproductive rights laws, and especially cited the push to get abortion protection on the ballot in Arizona this fall.

Curtailing reproductive freedoms is “going to impact everybody, especially the younger generation,” so voting is imperative, urged Tipirneni. “As a healthcare professional, we don’t want anyone else dictating how to best care for our patients. We know this should be based in science and in medicine and not in politics.”

Tipirneni was one of several doctors who joined the Vote for Abortion tour and rally, a cohort that included Dr. DeShawn Taylor, CEO of Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix, who spoke passionately at the rally about the importance of her work as an abortion provider. Representatives of Doctors for Fertility (DFF), a national group that formed after being inspired by grassroots organizing around reproductive healthcare in Nebraska, were also on the bus and out interacting with the public, including Drs. Serena H. Chen, Lucky Sekhon, Stephanie Gustin and Abigail Delaney.

As a healthcare professional, we don’t want anyone else dictating how to best care for our patients. We know this should be based in science and in medicine and not in politics. Dr. Hiral Tipirneni

“As a fertility doctor, we have seen and we’ve predicted that with the overturn of Roe , that all facets of reproductive care would be impacted,” said Dr. Gustin, who lives and works in Omaha. “We’ve seen it happen in states like Alabama, and we know that there are plenty of states that are at risk for losing access to not just abortion care, but fertility care, IVF care.”

Dr. Delaney further emphasized the importance of thinking nationally rather than just regionally: “It’s not fair for certain women to have different healthcare needs and different healthcare rights in different states.” She hopes that ballot initiatives like the one in Arizona and the advocacy work of organizations like Vote for Abortion and Doctors for Fertility can help restore protections that were in place pre- Dobbs .

But these efforts have to go beyond Arizona and other battleground states, argued Dr. Chen, a co-founder of DFF who works in the ostensibly “safe” state of New Jersey: “We are literally criminalizing healthcare in the United States. People in New Jersey think that if you throw a doctor in jail or threaten to throw a doctor in jail in Texas that [they’re] going to be fine.” Instead, abortion bans and restrictions on reproductive rights are “basically dismantling the healthcare system, and that doesn’t affect just pregnant women.”

Dr. Sekhon, based in New York, also believes in the importance of representation from the medical profession across state lines.

“It speaks volumes when you have the privilege to work somewhere where you’re not threatened with these restrictions,” she said. “But you still care enough about all patients, regardless of their zip code, having access to the full spectrum of reproductive care.”

Actress and advocate Busy Philipps, who grew up in Arizona and still has family here, experienced firsthand the importance of accessible reproductive healthcare when she had an abortion at 15 that granted her continued agency over her own life. On our way to our next stop, Maya Day Club, one of the hottest destinations for bachelor and bachelorette parties in the Southwest, Philipps lamented the shock she still feels every time a decisive blow is dealt against abortion access.

“It was a long game always. It was always a plan. Incremental change is hard for people to wrap their heads around,” said Philipps. “And I know it’s hard for young idealistic people to wrap their heads around. I get it because I would love to burn everything to the ground as well. I also know—and we have the playbook from another side—that incremental change is why Roe fell.”

It was the fall of Roe v. Wade , said Philipps, that “made it very abundantly clear to me that we have no choice but to continue to show up, use our voices, tell our stories free of shame, and not be afraid to stand up for equality, which is what reproductive justice is all about.”

And I know it’s hard for young idealistic people to wrap their heads around. I get it because I would love to burn everything to the ground as well. I also know—and we have the playbook from another side—that incremental change is why ‘ Roe ‘ fell. Busy Philipps

Amanda Zurawski, whose own harrowing experience under Texas’ near total abortion ban led to her almost dying after a medically necessary abortion was delayed until she went into septic shock, is glad to engage in advocacy work as part of the Vote for Abortion activation. Activists in Arizona have “done a lot of work to protect abortion care in this state,” said Zurawski.

“But what’s scary is that if we have the wrong people in office in November, nobody’s going to be safe because they will enact a total abortion ban nationwide. Even on a local level, if you elect the wrong people, as we know in Texas, things can change very quickly, and so we’re just trying to get people to realize that you might feel like you’re safe, but really no one is safe with the wrong people in office.”

Exactly, added her husband, Josh. “You have to keep voting because if you stop and you let your guard down, things can change so fast.”

At Maya Day Club, most of the volunteers stayed outside, handing out free emergency contraception to a growing contingent of bikini-clad twenty-somethings lining up to get in despite the noon-day heat. Philipps and a few others ventured inside the club , where they secured tables and mingled—and left feeling inspired by the enthusiasm of the poolside partygoers who seemed genuinely invested in reproductive rights in Arizona and other states from which some were visiting.

“I would say probably over half of the people I spoke to were registered to vote and were planning on voting, so that felt really great,” said Elsa Collins, co-founder of The Ideateur , a social impact and political consulting group, after emerging from the club and re-boarding the bus. A lot of her work is with the Latina community, and she’s painfully aware of the way restrictions on women’s reproductive health especially adversely affect Black and brown women.

“Birth control should be accessible,” urged actress and advocate Melissa Fumero, who was handing out emergency contraception to the people in line, “These are fundamental human rights to me. It’s astonishing that it’s such a debate.”

Lilliana Vazquez , an Emmy-winning host, content creator, and stylist, added how important it is to raise awareness, particular among younger demographics, with just the kind of grassroots action made possible at the day club: “It’s not just a decision for you; it’s a decision for your community. And it’s ultimately a decision that has impact far reaching beyond these four years or the four years that come after it.”

If family is central to you, if community is central to you, if your mom, your sister, women—if people are important to you, then this is an issue that you want to vote on. Lilliana Vazquez

Vazquez never thought that her own reproductive healthcare would be at risk, so she thinks it’s vital to remind people the power they have when the vote. “I think automatically abortion is such a hot topic, but it goes so far beyond that,” she stressed. “If family is central to you, if community is central to you, if your mom, your sister, women—if people are important to you, then this is an issue that you want to vote on. You want to expand women’s rights, you don’t want to contract them, right?”

By the time the Vote for Abortion buses made it to the 2 p.m. Freedom Rally in front of the Arizona legislature, it was well over 100 degrees, but neither the volunteers nor the attendees were deterred by the heat. Led by host Deja Foxx —a social media influencer who became an activist as a teen in Tucson, Ariz., advocating for comprehensive sex ed—the rally included an impressive panoply of speakers, including Foster, Dr. Taylor and Zurawski, as well as Vote for Abortion co-organizer Jenny Kay, state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton (D), activist Parris Wallace and multi-platinum recording artist and advocate  Lauren Jauregui .

“We’re reclaiming freedom and autonomy over our bodies and that’s what unites us,” said Foxx, at the opening of the rally. Arizona is a fulcrum in the fight for reproductive rights and systemic change can only happen from the ground up. Philipps, for her part, urged Arizonans to pay attention; after all, “we only need to flip two seats in each chamber at the state level in order to completely shift the power in the state.”

This is a critical and urgent moment, in Arizona and elsewhere.

“We as a country have inherited fucking trauma,” said Philipps. “I do think, unfortunately, because of the tales we tell, we’re expecting a Superman to come along and save it all. That does not exist.” Instead, she added, “There’s an opportunity and a real chance to turn it around and to make this state more reflective of the diversity and the people that live in it.” And that’s definitely something worth fighting for.

Why It’s So Important That an Arizona State Senator Is Speaking Out About Needing an Abortion

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To Counter Anti-Democracy Efforts, It’s Time to Invest in Florida Year-Round

U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms . has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms . today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you . For as little as $5 each month , you’ll receive the print magazine along with our e-newsletters, action alerts, and invitations to Ms . Studios events and podcasts . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .

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