Mike Baker

Teens calling Idaho's suicide hotline are being told they can't proceed with the conversation without parental consent. Many of the callers are then hanging up. Idaho approved a strict parental consent law last year. idahocapitalsun.com/2025/08/29/i...

After pleading guilty to tax crimes, Paul Walczak was set for prison and $4.4M in restitution. Then his pardon application noted how much money his mother had raised for Trump. Then she attended a $1M-per-person dinner at Mar-a-Lago. 3 weeks later, a full pardon. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/27/u...

Minnesota lawmaker shootings: • State Rep. Melissa Hortman (D), has been assassinated. Her husband was also killed. • State Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife were also shot. They underwent surgery. • Police exchanged gunfire with gunman, who then escaped. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06...

NYT sources: President Trump was so enraged by NYT coverage of Air Force One security issues that the White House directed Kash Patel to oversee a leak investigation. Patel began running the probe from inside the White House instead of FBI headquarters. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/11/u...

The atmosphere here is incredible, rivaling the Super Bowl parade from just a few months ago. What a year for Seattle and football.

What a terrible loss for Portland and for journalism. I don't know of anyone who loved the city more than Zane. He put himself in harm’s way and told hard truths. He documented realities that undermined a world’s worth of Portland mythmaking. www.oregonlive.com/portland/202...

JUST IN: Brand new research on adolescent screen time finds a correlation between screen hours and sleep deficiency. Data collection, analysis and chart via my middle schooler. n= 50

15% of high school seniors in Washington State say they had an alcoholic drink in the prior month. That's down from 40% in 2010.

This shooting in Colorado happened several years ago, but the details have stuck with me ever since. Here is the story on what happened when several men with guns converged in the town square. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/u...

Just 6 days after securing his latest NASCAR victory, Kyle Busch has died from an illness at the age of 41. www.nytimes.com/athletic/729...

Each day, Americans are spending about $800 million more on gas and diesel than they were a year ago. The total increased fuel cost since the Iran War began? $45 billion. www.wsj.com/economy/cons...

This is a fascinating story about Seattle’s socialist mayor, Katie Wilson. Last year, she called on people to boycott Starbucks, one of the city’s major corporations. Now she has some regret. The comments, she said, “caused more harm than good.” www.nytimes.com/2026/05/17/u...

Oh boy. In March, as we prepared an article about the political influence of billionaires, Sen. Tim Sheehy preemptively attacked my reporting. Numerous influencers then amplified the senator’s post, including Trump Jr., Riley Gaines, and DC_Draino. But there's a twist... 1/5