Despite Elon Musk’s enshittification of Twitter, to borrow a term from the novelist and culture critic Cory Doctorow, his rebranded social media platform is still useful to journalists like me to communicate with certain people and to promote good stories, even if its algorithm now seems to further reward clickbait, disinformation, and right-wing trolls.

But Musk has transformed the company’s comms apparatus into a scorched hellscape governed by mindless, nonhuman decision-making—which is ironic given the antipathy Musk has expressed about bots on his platform. I experienced the rot myself recently, after X locked up my account for “unusual behavior” that supposedly violated its rules. That was all the explanation I got.

Hours before, interestingly, I’d quote-tweeted a post from Musk wherein he mocked the notion of Americans living on land stolen from Indigenous people. At best, it was a really dumb joke, not the sort of thing most people would want to share with 180 million people—which is how many followers Musk has.

We live on stolen land.

By “we”, I mean us mammals.

In 2007, after Paul Ross Evans pleaded guilty to leaving a bomb outside of a women’s health clinic in Austin, he assured the judge: He never meant for anyone to get hurt. “Except,” he clarified, “for the abortionists.”

For almost two centuries, the moniker “abortionist” has branded those who help terminate pregnancies as illegitimate, dangerous, and, in turn, allowable targets of violence. Before Roe v. Wade, the label turned midwives and doctors into criminals to be cracked down on by the state. After the 1973 decision, right-wing movements continued to deploy the term to imply only back-alley doctors performed abortions.

In 2022, the sobriquet showed up once more in the halls of power: “Abortionist” was used four times in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, channeling a fraught history.

Until the late 1800s, abortion and reproductive health were primarily handled by women—midwives, many of whom were Black, Indigenous, or immigrants. As medicine professionalized, male doctors viewed this skilled group as a threat to their business. Birth, they argued, ought to take place in a hospital. “The midwife is a relic of barbarism,” Dr. Joseph DeLee, a prominent 20th century obstetrician, proclaimed, “a drag on the progress of the science and art of obstetrics.”

The restructuring of gynecological medicine went hand in hand with a budding movement to criminalize abortion. In 1860, governors of every state received a letter from the president of a young organization, the American Medical Association. Ghostwritten by Horatio Storer, a Harvard-educated surgeon, the letter was part of an AMA campaign touting a new idea: Abortion should be illegal because life begins at conception—not, as previous laws considered, at “quickening,” when fetal movements are first detected. Under this logic, as Storer made it his mission to convince the masses, practically all abortions should be a crime.

Manchester City is anticipated to present an altered lineup when they confront Arsenal this weekend, following the injuries sustained by John Stones and Kyle Walker during the international break.

Stones and Walker are integral components of the City squad, often proving to be decisive factors in matches involving the defending champions. However, their absence due to injuries suffered while on England duty means they will be sidelined for the crucial fixture against Arsenal.

Despite City boasting one of the most financially endowed squads in global football, with ample talent to fill the void left by Stones and Walker, Martin Keown anticipates that their absence could make City more vulnerable and easier to defeat compared to when they have the duo in their lineup.

He writes in the Daily Mail:

‘Guardiola will be forced into changing his backline which, from right to left, will most likely consist of Manuel Akanji, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol and Nathan Ake. 

Micah Richards asserts that the true Premier League title race is between two teams, dismissing Liverpool’s chances of clinching the title.

Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City want to be the champions of England at the end of this campaign in one of the tightest races in many a year.

Liverpool is second only on goal difference, as they have the same points as the table-topping Gunners.

City is following both clubs closely and remains the favourite because of their recent history in the competition.

If asked to pick two teams that are the favourites, most people will choose Liverpool and City because both clubs have been the main sides winning the league and fighting for titles most recently.

Bryan Robson has predicted who he thinks will be English champions at the end of this season.

This is one of the toughest races to predict, as Arsenal, Liverpool and City are separated by just a point in the top three spots in the league standings.

They have left every team behind them to fight for other European spots, but which of them will win the title?

Table-topping Arsenal are the most inexperienced on paper, as they have not won the league in two decades.

Liverpool and Manchester City have been foes in recent seasons, and City is chasing an impressive four consecutive league crowns.

Pundit Chris Sutton has given his prediction for the upcoming match between Manchester City and Arsenal.

Arsenal, currently in top form, will aim to sustain their unbeaten streak into 2024 as they travel to the Etihad Stadium. Meanwhile, City faces the risk of falling four points behind Arsenal in the title race should they suffer a defeat in this fixture.

With both clubs eager for victory, the match is anticipated to be fiercely contested, with each side giving their all for a chance to emerge triumphant after 90 minutes.

Under the guidance of Mikel Arteta, Arsenal has enjoyed a remarkable run of form this year, which has culminated in their ascent to the summit of the Premier League table. As such, they are widely regarded as the team to beat in 2024.

However, City presents a formidable challenge, especially on their home turf, and will likely be the toughest opponent Arsenal will face this season.

Manchester City midfielder Rodri has commented on the Premier League title race this season and admits they have to win their remaining matches, which starts with the fixture against Arsenal.

Arsenal visits the Etihad this weekend to face City in a must-win game for both clubs as the Gunners seek to ensure they remain at the top of the league standings.

Liverpool will have a chance to go top before Arsenal and City meet because the Reds play a few hours earlier.

Arsenal’s game against City is the match of the weekend, and Rodri knows his team has no more margin for error, as they have already lost enough games.

Speaking ahead of Arsenal’s visit, he said, as quoted by the Daily Mail:

Ben White sparked controversy during the last international break by refusing to return to England duty.

Since departing from the World Cup camp in Qatar, the defender has abstained from representing his country and has made himself unavailable for selection.

This decision comes as a significant setback for the Three Lions, considering White’s exceptional form at club level, where he has been a regular starter for Premier League leaders Arsenal.

With ambitions to triumph in Euro 2024, England had hoped to harness White’s talents, recognising his potential to play a pivotal role in their campaign. However, his current unavailability poses a challenge to their aspirations.

In his pre-match press conference ahead of Arsenal’s crucial fixture against Manchester City this weekend, manager Mikel Arteta was questioned about White’s decision.

Donald Trump’s attacks on President Joe Biden have become familiar, but on Friday they reached a new level of terrifying. The former president posted a video on his Truth Social platform featuring a truck with an image of President Biden hog-tied on the tailgate, as if he’d just been kidnapped. 

“It’s indirect incitement, inspiring someone else to do the dirty work.”

This type of messaging is part of a specific routine for Trump—one that we’ve been reporting on for years. It’s called “stochastic terrorism,” a type of rhetoric from a leader that smears another person or group so that they are more likely to be attacked by the leader’s supporters, while the leader is able to deny any involvement. My colleague Mark Follman reported on Trump’s use of stochastic terrorism—and how it’s spread through the GOP—in 2022: 

Trump made this form of incitement a hallmark of his presidency, galvanizing extremists by railing against and dehumanizing his “enemies.” The country saw the devastating consequences when his supporters stormed Congress to obstruct certification of the presidential election. And now a growing number of Republicans are emulating Trump’s technique.

“While these attacks may defy specific predictability,” threat assessment experts Molly Amman and Reid Meloy wrote in a 2021 study in the journal Perspectives on Terrorism, “their likelihood is greatly increased by the public demon­ization process.” Repetition and saturation through social media and news coverage further amplifies the effect, they observed.

Friday’s post from Trump is undoubtedly extreme and dangerous, but it’s unlikely to illicit widespread outrage or condemnation because he has succeeded in normalizing this type of speech. David Corn wrote about this phenomenon in September:

Mikel Arteta is indeed effecting a transformation at Arsenal through his mindset and training methodology, rendering the Gunners a formidable opponent on the field.

Prior to his tenure at the Emirates, when Arsenal faced formidable opponents such as Liverpool and Manchester City, the prevailing expectation was often a defeat. However, since Arteta took charge and began instilling a new culture and mentality within the club, there has been a noticeable shift in a positive direction.

Arteta approaches each game uniquely, meticulously preparing his team to maximize their chances of success. This dedication to thorough preparation has yielded tangible results, with Arsenal securing victories against top-tier rivals like Liverpool and Manchester City at home this season.

A notable instance illustrating Arteta’s unconventional approach occurred when he was filmed blasting out Liverpool’s iconic anthem, “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” while preparing for a match against the Reds. While it remains uncertain if similar methods are employed for every opponent, the effectiveness of Arteta’s strategies is undeniable.

As Arsenal gears up to face City once again this weekend, there’s anticipation regarding Arteta’s approach to preparation. While the specifics remain undisclosed, Arteta’s track record suggests that his meticulous planning and innovative methods could once again play a pivotal role in Arsenal’s performance on the pitch.

Arsenal has emerged as one of the clubs monitoring Brazilian prodigy Messinho, as he continues to impress and establish himself as one of the most promising young talents worldwide.

At just 16 years old, Messinho hails from Palmeiras’ highly productive academy and has already showcased his abilities as a standout player for various Brazilian youth national teams.

Despite his youth, numerous top European clubs view him as a player with the potential to significantly enhance their squads and are poised to pursue him once he becomes eligible for a move to Europe.

Currently, these clubs are merely admirers, with a report from Mundo Deportivo indicating Arsenal’s interest in the young talent.

Arsenal boasts one of the most renowned academies globally, with manager Mikel Arteta consistently promoting the club’s top youth prospects.

Arsenal women face Chelsea women in the FA Women’s Continental Cup Tyres final, on Sunday 31st March. kick-off 3PM UK, at Molineux Stadium in Wolverhampton. You can watch all the action live on BBC2 (coverage starts at 2.30PM UK), BBC iPlayer and The FA Player.

Last year, Arsenal Women defeated Chelsea 3-1 to win the trophy. Is that going to be repeated? That is the question all gunners are asking themselves.

The Gunner women believe that they can win the game. Beth Mead made this obvious in an interview with ArseBlog. Looking ahead to the match against Chelsea, the Arsenal attacker believes the club wants to overcome its London rivals, win games, and win trophies, even if Arsenal Women haven’t been consistent in doing so. Beth was also optimistic about what a quality group this Arsenal team has, noting that some of her teammates can do incredible things on the pitch. But they need to improve their connections more, after which we should see our Gunners as a force to be reckoned with:

“Of course, we’ve got a bunch of amazing players that can do amazing things on the pitch, but it’s now knitting it all together.

“This Arsenal team are hungry to win trophies. Over the last so many years, we’ve not done that so consistently. You want to beat Chelsea, you want to win games, and ultimately, that’s what we’ll be out to do. And, of course, we would love to retain the cup again, but although it’s not always pretty, we always do want to go out and win games.”

Arsenal face Manchester City on Sunday at the Etihad Stadium in a game that, at the end of the season, could be remembered as the one that decided the title battle.

A significant victory this weekend is crucial for our Gunners’ chances of winning the league.

Mikel Arteta will need to field his strongest eleven. But I’d like us to concentrate on the attack he could field. Which forward line should he play? I believe he should field an attack featuring Gabriel Jesus, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka.

Saka, if fit, is ‘undroppable’ on the right wing. Kai Havertz should start as a striker; he has been fantastic in recent weeks, spearheading the Arsenal attack with his fine link-up with Martin Odegaard. There’s a strong argument that the German international is more influential in attack than in midfield. He has scored four goals in his last six games for Arsenal, and dropping him from the attacking line would be scandalous. Gabriel Jesus, a left-winger, could be an excellent option if Gabriel Martinelli is out. Leandro Trossard is an excellent player, but he lacks the energy that Martinelli brings to the left wing. Jesus, who is recognised for his ability to spark Arsenal’s attack, might be an excellent left-wing alternative. As James Benge told Charles Watts on YouTube:

“If Martinelli’s fully fit he goes in my team. I don’t like normally talking about the sort of narratives about players being up for games, but I don’t believe that Gabriel Jesus wouldn’t be up for this game.

As a kid, I spent countless hours watching The Amanda Show, a sketch comedy series starring Amanda Bynes that aired on Nickelodeon from 1999 to 2002. The show was created by Dan Schneider, who went on to helm many of the channel’s most beloved series, including Drake and Josh and iCarly. In addition to providing plenty of laughs, it was a rare example of a children’s show that took the comedic talents of its young star seriously. But after watching the new docuseries Quiet on Set, I know my fond memories of watching The Amanda Show will never be the same. 

The four-part docuseries aired on Max and Investigation Discovery earlier this month, and a surprise fifth episode is in the works for next week. The show explores the dark side of Dan Schneider’s tenure at Nickelodeon, painting him as a temperamental, manipulative boss with a disturbing habit of inserting sexual innuendos into scenes with child actors. Details of Schneider’s conduct began to leak out in 2018, when Schneider left Nickelodeon amid allegations of abusive behavior. The New York Times reported in 2021 that an internal investigation had found Schneider was verbally abusive to staff, while a 2022 Business Insider investigation highlighted his controlling demeanor and sexism in the writers room. 

On set, Schneider’s crew included two now-convicted sex offenders. In 2004, Jason Handy, a production assistant, was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading no contest to performing lewd acts on a child, distributing sexually explicit material, and child exploitation. The same year, dialogue coach Brian Peck pleaded no contest to two charges related child sexual abuse against an anonymous child actor and was sentenced to 16 months in prison. Quiet on Set’s biggest bombshell is that Peck’s victim was Drake Bell, a star of Drake & Josh and a regular on The Amanda Show. 

The documentary chronicles the Schneider years at Nickelodeon through interviews with former cast and crew members, journalists who reported on the scandal, and the parents of child actors. It also resurfaces moments of inappropriate humor from Schneider’s shows that seem alarming in retrospect: In one scene, a 16-year-old Ariana Grande, a cast member on Schneider’s Victorious, attempts to “juice” a potato while moaning suggestively. 

What cuts deeper is that so many people in the industry allowed such a toxic environment to fester—from the parents of child stars who failed to speak up to the industry insiders who wrote letters in support of Peck.

The fourth episode, originally slated to be the last in the series, ends with Bell sharing how the abuse impacted him emotionally. In the last shots, we see Bell and his dad walking off the documentary set, then the camera cuts to a sunset. As the credits rolled, I felt a mix of anger and hopelessness. While the filmmakers had done a skillful job of laying out the allegations against Schneider, the show also left many questions unanswered. Schneider declined to be interviewed for the documentary, though it included a written statement from him, saying his content went through many levels of approval before it aired. (Nickelodeon provided a statement to the documentary saying it “investigates all formal complaints as part of our commitment to foster a safe and professional workplace.”) After the documentary, Schneider offered a lackluster mea culpa in a softball interview with a former iCarly cast member, where he muddled his apology with asides that his behavior was caused by “inexperience” and letting pressures get to him.

A federal judge on Friday granted a preliminary injunction that will force New Jersey to redo its controversial ballot design, known as the county-line ballot, a move that could fundamentally alter elections in a state long rife with allegations of political corruption. 

The ruling is a victory for Rep. Andy Kim, who last month sued the state’s counties to end the use of the design. But Friday’s decision, which at one point had been seen as a critical step in Kim’s campaign to replace the now twice-indited Sen. Bob Menendez, may carry less importance for those efforts. That’s because Tammy Murphy, wife to Gov. Phil Murphy and Kim’s opponent ahead of the June Democratic primary, announced last week that she was suddenly dropping out. Despite never having held office and being a registered Republican until 2014, Murphy had been backed by the state’s political machine and therefore widely perceived as unbeatable.

Still, the ruling’s potential effect on future elections, especially if it survives a likely appeal by county clerks, could be massive. My colleague Nina Wang explains:

Strong party endorsements offer an outsized electoral advantage in New Jersey’s primaries. Nineteen of the state’s 21 counties design their ballots in an extraordinarily confusing way that tips the scales toward local bigwigs’ favorite candidates. On ballot sheets, party bosses can put their top picks on the county line—a list of candidates endorsed for all seats currently up for election, from county clerk all the way to the presidency. Challengers who lack the bosses’ favor are often kicked to “ballot Siberia,” where they are likely to be ignored by voters.

“Today’s decision is a victory for a fairer, more democratic politics in New Jersey,” Kim said in a statement. “It’s a victory built from the incredible grassroots work of activists across our state who saw an undemocratic system marginalizing the voices of voters, and worked tirelessly to fix it.”

It’s easy to see the glaring hypocrisy of Brian Pritchard, the Republican official in Georgia and outspoken election denier, who was found guilty this week of voting illegally nine times. A judge apparently did not buy Pritchard’s claims that he had been unaware that his probation from felony forgery charges had not ended when he illegally cast his vote. All this is ironic considering voter fraud is an enduring conservative boogeyman despite scant evidence that such rampant fraud exists. 

Yet any schadenfreude that might be derived from Pritchard’s voting violations, which resulted in an order on Wednesday to pay a $5,000 fine and receive a public reprimand, is short-lived. It seems stunted by another piece of headline-making voter fraud news this week: A Texas court of appeals reversed a five-year prison sentence for Crystal Mason, a Black woman who voted illegally in 2016 after unintentionally casting her ballot while technically still a felon under Texas law. (The state bars convicted felons from voting until a supervised release has been completed.) 

In the simplest terms, the reversal is good news; it’s hard not to feel emotional reading Mason’s statement celebrating that she will remain a “free Black woman.” But the wildly disparate punishments handed to Mason and Pritchard—a white man—over incredibly similar offenses once again underscores the deep flaws of a system borne out of a push to fix a virtually nonexistent problem. That Mason’s ordeal happened under the watch of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who led the war on voter fraud while under indictment for securities fraud, adds to the dissonance. But for conservatives who have long relied on voter fraud fears to block ballot access, that whiplashing dissonance is precisely the point. As my colleague Pema Levy wrote in 2019:

Raising fears of fraud in order to make it harder for people—particularly people fitting certain demographic profiles—to vote didn’t start with [the Trump] administration, or even in the past 100 years. As Harvard University historian Alexander Keyssar lays out in his 2000 book, The Right to Vote: The Contested History of Democracy in the United States, the tactic dates back to the early decades of the 19th century. Throughout US history, politicians and activists ginned up stories about fraud in order to keep their opponents from the polls. “Legislative debates were sprinkled heavily with tales of ballot box stuffing, miscounts, hordes of immigrants lined up to vote as the machine instructed, men trooping from precinct to precinct to vote early and often,” he writes. 

Put another way, these laws were never meant to hurt Brian Pritchard. This week, we were reminded of that once again. 

Today marks one year since Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia on what American officials say are false charges of espionage. He has been held in jail ever since.

Members of Russia’s Federal Security Service—the country’s intelligence agency, also known as the FSB—detained Gershkovich while he was on a reporting assignment in the city of Yekaterinburg, according to the Journal. Gershkovich had deep familiarity the country: his parents fled the Soviet Union in the 1970s. He had full press credentials from Russia’s foreign ministry and had reported from Moscow for Agence France Press and the Moscow Times before joining the Journal in January 2022. Russia has not publicly presented evidence of its espionage claims against Gershkovich, the Journal reports. 

Since his arrest—which marks the first time an American journalist has been held on such charges in Russia since the end of the Cold War—Gershkovich has been in Russia’s notorious Lefortovo prison, where he spends 90 percent of his day in a small cell, according to the paper. Earlier this week, a Russian court extended Gershkovich’s pre-trial detention by three months, until June 30. The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the extension, calling it “another cynical affront to press freedom by the Russian authorities.” 

In a letter published today, Journal editor-in-chief Emma Tucker called Gershkovich’s detention “a blatant attack on the rights of the free press,” adding that “given the lessons of history and the arbitrary power of the Russian state, if there is a trial, we would expect a guilty verdict—something we would view as a travesty of justice.” A conviction could carry a sentence of 10 to 20 years, the Journal reports.

Roger Carstens, the Biden administration’s special envoy for hostage affairs, told the New York Times that the US government is involved in “intensive efforts” to secure the releases of Gershkovich and ex-Marine Paul Whelan, who has been in Russian custody since 2018 and was sentenced to 16 years in prison on espionage charges, which American officials also deny.

n the afternoon of January 6, 2021, as election deniers armed with Tasers and tomahawks overran the US Capitol, Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) handed his colleague and close friend Eric Swalwell a pen. “Here,” he said to the California Democrat. “Stick this in their neck if they get close to you.”

The Marine veteran, who’d seen combat in Iraq, leaped on a table and began issuing instructions to other panicked lawmakers, showing them how to don the gas masks secured under their chairs: “Tear gas will not kill you. But it’s important to remain calm. If you hyperventilate, you may pass out.” If necessary, Gallego told himself, he could use his own pen as a weapon to take a more lethal one from a rioter.

Three years later, the battle for American democracy continues, and Gallego, locked in one of the most pivotal contests of the 2024 election, is again attempting to hold the line. Along with close matchups in Ohio and Montana, his Senate race in Arizona for the seat Kyrsten Sinema is vacating could be one of a handful that decide control of the upper chamber and, with it, the future of our republic. Donald Trump, facing 88 criminal counts, has promised to usher in MAGA on steroids if reelected, including mass deportation and sweeping bans on gender-affirming care. A Democratic-­led Senate would be one of the last fortifications against his agenda.

As if to further underscore the stakes, Gallego’s opponent is the former TV news anchor turned Trump sycophant Kari Lake. A prolific purveyor of conspiracy theories, Lake claims not only that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump but also that she was robbed of the Arizona governorship in her 2022 race. If Trumpism is akin to a religion, Lake views herself as one of its martyrs. “You can call us extremists. You can call us domestic terrorists,” she declared during one campaign event in 2022. “You know who else was called a lot of names his whole life? Jesus.”

Lake’s loss two years ago is just one indicator that Arizona is turning away from Trump-style conservatism. Though Trump won the state by 3.6 percent in 2016, he lost it in 2020 by about half of a percent. In 2022, all of the major statewide candidates Trump endorsed were defeated. But the state is certainly not a Democratic stronghold, either. Of roughly 4.1 million registered voters, there are some 236,000 more Republicans and 197,000 more independents than there are Democrats. To win, Gallego “has to appeal to a cross ­section of voters,” says former Arizona Democratic Party Chair Jim Pederson, “particularly moderate Republicans.”

At the start of a slickly produced 19-minute YouTube video titled “How T.Rex Arms Got Started,” Lucas Botkin, the company’s 30-year-old founder, runs through an obstacle course. A guitar-­heavy soundtrack plays as Botkin, decked out in tactical gear and filtered through overwrought video effects, picks off targets with a variety of handguns and rifles. We briefly see the course from his eyes, first-person-shooter style.

When the drums bang to a halt, the video cuts to an interview where Botkin explains his company’s mission. “We try to produce thought-provoking content and educational content that inspires people to understand their obligations to God and country and their responsibilities,” he says, over more shooting footage. “Then we equip them with the equipment necessary so they can fulfill those obligations and those responsibilities with maximum effectiveness.”

T.Rex Arms, a Tennessee-based, family-­run, Christian firearms accessory company—think holsters, body armor, and the like—is at the forefront of what extremism researchers call GunTube, an ecosphere of gun influencers whose videos peddle a wide range of conservative content. The company has more than 1.5 million YouTube subscribers; its origin story video has been viewed more than 900,000 times. Botkin, who can cut a nerdy presence when digging into gun minutiae, has nearly half a million Instagram followers and enough right-wing cachet to have been an ambassador for Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA and have earned an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show the month before he left the network.

“They are jacks of all trades,” says Meghan Conroy, who monitors extremist influencers for the Atlantic Council’s Digital Forensic Research Lab. What separates T.Rex Arms from the rest of the gun community, she says, is its “masterful ability to create content that appeals to so many different people.” While some of its most popular videos offer product reviews and shooting tips, they are accompanied by a wide range of political content, including interviews with conservative officials and activists. In weekly “T.Rex Talks,” Lucas and his brothers sit in a dimly lit studio to discuss America in decay, and how like-minded, God-oriented people can save it. They often reference the end times and urge their viewers to seize control before things get worse. “They’re selling products,” says Max Rizzuto, another Atlantic Council researcher, “and the product is ideology, too.”

The Botkins “were pushing every single one of the narratives that we’ve seen emerge out of the right-wing space.”

For example, in the days following the 2020 election, Lucas and his older brother, Isaac, a designer at the company who frequently appears on T.Rex Talks, discussed journalism. “We’re at a place right now where a lot of people don’t trust the mainstream media,” Isaac said, to which Lucas quickly replied, “Reasonably so.” The brothers argued reporters should be held accountable for their coverage of topics like Covid-19 and Black Lives Matter protests. “I’m starting to wonder when a news network will be actually prosecuted for things that they say that result in the death of people, which I think has happened in the past four years,” Lucas said. “It results in people getting killed, or businesses just getting burned, looted. Theft. And they’re not being held responsible for it.” Lucas went on to predict that economic collapse was “very likely” in his lifetime: “The way we live can be radically different 30 years from now.” In another stream, he warned of the “apocalyptic” prospect of a nationwide gun ban.

One month after releasing a line of gilded high-tops for $399, Donald Trump revealed on Tuesday a new item: the Bible. “All Americans need a Bible in their home, and I have many,” the former president explained in a video promoting the country singer Lee Greenwood’s version of a King James translation, the “God Bless the USA Bible.”

“It’s my favorite book,” Trump added.

Throughout the rest of the clip, as if daring us into a collective disgust, Trump swerved through random opportunities to rail against bureaucrats and a country under threat—all while hawking a holy text.

But his latest sales pitch also prompted some legitimate questions. Such as: What the hell is going on? And: Excuse me? Here, we try to answer some of the queries.

So, that first question—what the hell—but more formally: What exactly is Trump promoting and how much will it cost me to shell out for this?