The Age of Trump, despite the opportunities it brings to investigative journalism, is hardly a “golden age,” John Nichols argues: Cutbacks and layoffs have crippled the nation’s news media—not in covering just the White House, but state and local government as well. The New York Daily News provides a vivid example of the crisis.

Also: The Democrats need to retake control of the Senate if they are to have a chance of preventing Trump from transforming the Supreme Court into a right-wing bulwark. Harold Meyerson of The American Prospect analyzes the political battles in key states—and the factors that may weaken Brett Kavanaugh in his confirmation hearings.

Plus: Trump has done something genuinely new as president: He specializes in creating uncertainty. Nomi Prins talks about the economic consequences for us, and for our future: the danger of chaos, and entropy.