Political Guyentist
Political GuyentistWednesday, July 29, 2026
13 stories·2 news2 not news9 briefs·1 contested·20 cut
1uscontested

Fauci takes the Fifth 111 times as Rand Paul prepares a contempt vote

Questions center on U.S.-funded research and Fauci’s categorical 2021 testimony—not evidence that he created COVID.

Fauci declined to answer every question at a Senate hearing on COVID-19’s origins and the government’s pandemic response. He said Paul’s repeated calls to prosecute him created a real risk that any answer could be used in a perjury case; Paul says Biden’s preemptive pardon removed that risk.

ContextClaims and evidence status: * [FALSE] “Fauci or NIH funded the creation of SARS-CoV-2.” The [NIH says](https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/who-we-are/nih-director/statements/statement-misinformation-about-sars-cov-2-origins) the bat viruses identified in the grant were genetically too distant from SARS-CoV-2 to have caused the pandemic. That does not settle whether a different virus escaped from a lab; it does refute the claim that this documented grant created COVID. * [NOT PROOF] “Taking the Fifth means Fauci is guilty.” Invoking the constitutional protection is not an admission. The live legal question is whether the pardon eliminated every plausible exposure, especially after Paul repeatedly accused Fauci of perjury. * [UNRESOLVED] “The diaries prove where COVID came from.” They show early scientific uncertainty, not the virus’s origin. U.S. intelligence agencies and scientists still disagree, often with low confidence. A committee contempt citation would still need action by the full Senate before it could become a criminal referral; the Justice Department would then decide whether to prosecute.

CBS NEWS21 sources

2us

Trump unveils $22.5 billion Dulles overhaul to replace its infamous people movers

Officials say the redesign would add new terminals, an underground connection system and a United lounge while making the airport easier to navigate.

President Donald Trump said the project would turn what he called “an impossible airport” into one of the world’s best. Trump reviewed 3D models before Wednesday’s unveiling; the administration has not described any design changes he personally made.

ContextThe airport authority was already seeking builders for the first package of its Dulles Revitalization program before Trump’s announcement. That package is estimated at $4.5–$5 billion and covers interconnected projects through 2034—less than one-quarter of the new $22.5 billion headline figure. The administration has not released a comparable cost breakdown or funding plan for the larger proposal.

NYT11 sources

3not newsworld

Africa is projected to drive the next wave of megacity growth

Luanda could overtake São Paulo around 2045 and Shanghai late in the century.

São Paulo’s population has grown about sixfold since 1950 and Shanghai’s nearly ninefold, but the JRC projections have São Paulo declining after 2020 and Shanghai peaking around 2050. Luanda, Cairo, Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa keep climbing through 2100 in the model; Luanda rises from about 9.8 million people in 2020 to 30.7 million.

ContextThe chart tracks a fixed cohort of the world’s 100 most populous cities in 2020, using standardized city boundaries rather than each country’s official definitions. Values through 2020 come from the Global Human Settlement Layer. After 2020, the European Commission’s 2025 CRISP model projects population and built-up-area changes across roughly 1,000 functional areas, then distributes them among 1-square-kilometer cells using past trends, national population projections and proximity to settlements, roads and water. The post-2020 paths depend on national population forecasts, past settlement patterns and assumptions about where growth will locate inside each urban region; different migration, fertility or land-use paths would change the result.

OUR WORLD IN DATA1 source

4not newslongform

Cambridge professor Jason Arday faces plagiarism claims involving more than 100 thesis passages

The Telegraph found identical or near-identical passages from a 2009 dissertation; Cambridge and Liverpool John Moores say he was cleared.

The paper compared Arday’s 401-page 2015 Ph.D. thesis with a 2009 dissertation by education scholar Paula Zwozdiak-Myers and identified more than 100 passages it described as identical or nearly identical. Arday cited Zwozdiak-Myers 17 times, but many of the questioned passages did not credit her where the language appeared.

THE TELEGRAPH7 sources

Wednesday · The daily brief

Jul 292026

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Executive summary4 stories

News news2

  1. Fauci takes the Fifth 111 times as Rand Paul prepares a contempt voteQuestions center on U.S.-funded research and Fauci’s categorical 2021 testimony—not evidence that he created COVID.
  2. Trump unveils $22.5 billion Dulles overhaul to replace its infamous people moversOfficials say the redesign would add new terminals, an underground connection system and a United lounge while making the airport easier to navigate.

Not news news2

  1. Africa is projected to drive the next wave of megacity growthLuanda could overtake São Paulo around 2045 and Shanghai late in the century.
  2. Cambridge professor Jason Arday faces plagiarism claims involving more than 100 thesis passagesThe Telegraph found identical or near-identical passages from a 2009 dissertation; Cambridge and Liverpool John Moores say he was cleared.

News news2 stories

1.) CBS NEWS: Fauci takes the Fifth 111 times as Rand Paul prepares a contempt vote

Questions center on U.S.-funded research and Fauci’s categorical 2021 testimony—not evidence that he created COVID.
Documented points of disputeNIH funded an EcoHealth Alliance subaward for bat-coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.3 details
  • NIH funded an EcoHealth Alliance subaward for bat-coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. A 2023 HHS inspector-general audit found that NIH and EcoHealth missed opportunities to monitor the work, including a progress report submitted nearly two years late and an experiment that NIH said crossed a viral-growth reporting threshold.
  • In 2021, Fauci told Congress categorically that NIH had not funded “gain-of-function” research in Wuhan. NIH officials later acknowledged that the work fit the term’s broad scientific meaning; Fauci says he was using the narrower federal definition for especially risky research. That distinction is real, but his categorical answer obscured it.
  • Fauci’s diaries show that he and other scientists considered a laboratory origin early in 2020 before he publicly leaned toward natural spillover. That makes scrutiny of how the public case was presented legitimate; the entries alone do not prove a cover-up.

[TS] This has been a recurring theme and a difficult test question for Republicans, but Trump was, in fact, the president in 2020.

Fauci was the head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), plus a presidential adviser. NIAID is not an independent agency. Trump possessed the authority to dismiss Fauci all on his own and at any time. Instead of dismissing him, Trump called Fauci a “disaster” and an “idiot” late in the 2020 campaign. And what did he do on his last full day in office? Awarded Fauci a presidential commendation.

All of the fury at the hearing yesterday around social distancing, masks, school closures, and any other COVID policies happened under Trump in 2020 (which continued under Biden). And yet, no Republican will dare claim or mention this or that the ultimate responsibility rested with Trump.

Red take

The strongest case against Fauci is about candor and oversight, not conspiracy. U.S. money reached risky coronavirus work in Wuhan, NIH and EcoHealth failed to monitor it properly, and Fauci answered a broad public question with a narrow regulatory definition. His diaries also show more private uncertainty about a lab origin than his public messaging conveyed. Congress is entitled to determine whether he gave the public and lawmakers a complete account.

Blue take

Oversight is warranted, but Paul keeps collapsing three different claims into one: NIH funded coronavirus research; COVID may have leaked from a lab; therefore Fauci funded or covered up the creation of COVID. The first is true, the second remains unresolved, and the third is unsupported. After years of public threats to prosecute him, taking the Fifth is a rational legal response—not evidence that the conspiracy theory is true.

2.) NYT: Trump unveils proposed $22.5 billion Dulles overhaul to replace its infamous people movers

Officials say the redesign would add new terminals, an underground connection system and a United lounge while making the airport easier to navigate. The announcement did not provide a construction timeline, identify a funding source or clarify the project’s approval status.

Quick bites9

  1. DOE isn’t systematically using foreign nuclear-cleanup lessons

    GAO

    Britain says it saved at least £2 billion ($2.6 billion) by using risk to decide which low-radioactivity waste actually required repository disposal; Canada expects to finish one priority site nearly 30 years early; and Britain and France use replica test facilities to troubleshoot and train before touching live sites. GAO says DOE shares too few such lessons across its 15 U.S. cleanup sites—even though DOE estimates the remaining mission could cost $641 billion to $840 billion and last until 2100.

  2. Tax Foundation models the tradeoffs in 86 tax reforms

    TAX FOUNDATION

    The guide puts a price and modeled economic effect on 86 federal tax changes relative to current law. One example: it estimates cutting the top income-tax rate from 37% to 35% would add $625.3 billion to the 2027–36 primary deficit while raising long-run GDP 0.2%; raising it to 50% would reduce the deficit by $1.60 trillion before economic feedback, but by only $411.2 billion after the model accounts for weaker growth, with long-run GDP down 1.4%.

  3. Two terawatts of proposed power are waiting for grid connections

    LAWRENCE BERKELEY NATIONAL LABORATORY

    U.S. interconnection queues held 2,061 gigawatts of proposed generation and storage at the end of 2025—down 10% from 2024 but still more than twice the country’s existing generating capacity. Solar, storage and wind made up 1,742 gigawatts; the median wait from application to operation exceeded five years. Queue entry is not a construction guarantee: only 13% of capacity requested from 2000–2020 was operating by the end of 2025.

    Currently showing What is waiting to connect
    What is waiting to connect
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    2,061 gigawatts are waiting to connect to the U.S. grid A stacked bar shows 773 gigawatts of solar, 749 of storage, 220 of wind, 253 of natural gas, and 66 of other resources in active interconnection queues at the end of 2025. 2,061 GW are waiting to connect to the grid More than twice the capacity of the existing U.S. generating fleet 85% is solar, storage or wind 1,742 GW combined 0 2,061 GW Solar 773 Storage 749 Wind 220 Gas 253 Other 66 Queue entry is a development proposal, not a construction commitment. Source: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

  4. Americans call billionaires elite

    THE ARGUMENT

    In a July 20–26 national poll, 77.1% of registered voters called billionaires elite—versus 60.1% for celebrities, 47.9% for business executives, 42.9% for elected officials, 12.2% for government employees, 11.7% for college professors and 9.4% for journalists. The Argument designed and weighted the 3,000-voter online survey; Verasight recruited respondents by text, online targeting and address-based sampling. Full margin of error: ±2.0 points.

    See the poll chart

    Share of registered voters who classify each group as eliteShare of registered voters who classify each group as elite

    The chart compares the full set of groups tested. The percentages are shares of registered voters who selected each group; respondents could select more than one.

5 more quick bitesSame day, same run — headlines only until you open one

  1. Mortgage payments consumed more income in 1979–80 than in 2024

    JESSICA RIEDL

    For a median new home with 20% down, Riedl calculates principal and interest consumed 31.1% of median household income in 2024—below 35.4% in 1979, 40.9% in 1980 and 34.8% in 1990.

    Mortgage principal and interest as a share of median household incomeMortgage principal and interest as a share of median household income

  2. AI use is spreading at home and at work

    ST. LOUIS FED / GALLUP

    Weekly generative-AI use outside work among U.S. adults ages 18–64 rose from 28.7% in Q3 2024 to 44.6% in Q1 2026. Separately, Gallup found 52% of employees use AI at work at least occasionally, but only 30% use it several times a week and 15% daily; 47% say their organization has integrated AI tools, up six points in one quarter. These are different surveys, populations and usage thresholds, so the home and workplace percentages should not be compared directly.

    Currently showing AI use outside work
    AI use outside work
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    Outside-work generative AI use climbed 16 percentage points in 18 months The share of U.S. adults ages 18 through 64 who used generative AI outside work in the prior week rose from 28.6520 percent in the third quarter of 2024 to 44.6405 percent in the first quarter of 2026. Outside-work AI use climbed 16 points in 18 months Share of U.S. adults ages 18–64 using generative AI outside work in the prior week PERCENT 45 35 25 28.7% 44.6% Q3 ’24 Q1 ’25 Q3 ’25 Q1 ’26 Quarterly readings rose in every period shown. Change from Q3 2024 to Q1 2026: +16.0 points. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (FRED) Quarterly series; values shown to one decimal

  3. Senate goes on record to oppose any possible pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell

    AXIOS

    The Senate unanimously passed a nonbinding resolution opposing any pardon or clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell.

  4. Trump asks Supreme Court to overturn $83.3 million E. Jean Carroll case

    NYT POLITICS

    Trump asked the Supreme Court to erase E. Jean Carroll’s $83.3 million defamation award, arguing presidential immunity shields his statements.

  5. Exclusive: Musk plans massive push for GOP in midterms

    AXIOS

    Musk is reviving America PAC for a 2026 GOP turnout push; he has not disclosed the budget, but the PAC spent more than $260 million in 2024.

Not news news2 stories

3.) OUR WORLD IN DATA: Africa is projected to drive the next wave of megacity growth

Luanda could overtake São Paulo around 2045 and Shanghai late in the century.

Projected population of selected megacities, 1950–2100Our World in Data; data: European Commission Joint Research Centre, 2025

4.) THE TELEGRAPH: Cambridge professor Jason Arday faces plagiarism claims involving more than 100 thesis passages

The Telegraph found identical or near-identical passages from a 2009 dissertation; Cambridge and Liverpool John Moores say he was cleared.
The documented allegations go beyond one thesisNathan Cofnas published side-by-side comparisons of 36 thesis passages.3 details
  • Nathan Cofnas published side-by-side comparisons of 36 thesis passages. Separately, Purdue biochemist David Sanders reviewed a 63-page dossier prepared for Times Higher Education and told Retraction Watch he found “extensive plagiarism.”
  • A 2023 correction to Arday’s 2018 paper changed or removed 18 of 31 interview quotations and deleted claims about NVivo coding and an independent review of transcripts. Retraction Watch found that some original quotations resembled language attributed to participants in another published study.
  • Cambridge says Arday was cleared of allegations involving his thesis and journal articles. Liverpool John Moores, which awarded the doctorate, also says its investigation found no plagiarism. Neither university has publicly released a detailed comparison explaining those conclusions.

Arday’s widely publicized biography is separate from the plagiarism evidence. Arday and public profiles have said he:

  • did not speak until age 11 and could not read or write until 18;
  • was a youth player at a professional football club and was on the verge of turning professional in snooker;
  • completed 30 marathons in 35 days, then 300 miles on a treadmill in three days;
  • worked with more than 70 charities and raised more than £5 million, according to a 2024 profile.

Those claims should be read as biographical claims, not as facts disproved by the text comparisons. The marathon challenge had a contemporaneous fundraising page and press coverage; the other claims have largely been repeated from profiles and Arday’s own accounts.

See three side-by-side text comparisons

These are three comparisons published by Nathan Cofnas, placing passages from Arday’s 2015 thesis beside passages from Paula Zwozdiak-Myers’s 2009 dissertation.

Side-by-side comparison of Arday and Zwozdiak-Myers passagesSide-by-side comparison of Arday and Zwozdiak-Myers passages

Second side-by-side comparison of Arday and Zwozdiak-Myers passagesSecond side-by-side comparison of Arday and Zwozdiak-Myers passages

Third side-by-side comparison of Arday and Zwozdiak-Myers passagesThird side-by-side comparison of Arday and Zwozdiak-Myers passages