News Above the Noise—Week of August 16, 2026
1. Democrats Are Betting Their 2028 Future on a New Road Map
The Democratic Party’s national committee voted Saturday to overhaul which states get the first say in choosing its 2028 nominee, bumping Iowa and New Hampshire down the list after decades up front. Chairman Ken Martin defended the shake-up as a way to better represent the party’s coalition. Still, the change hasn’t gone over smoothly everywhere, with pushback already brewing over how the new order came together. Read more here.
2. Journalists Traveling With the President Learned About Trump’s Secret Plane Swap Only After Landing
Sophie Dennison-Gibby says she never expected a routine act of kindness to end with a U.S. marshal walking her away from her family in handcuffs. She was taken to a Park Police facility, processed, and released hours later, only to learn the real cause of the damage may have been a botched repair job. Read more here.
3. Why Are We Jealous of Our Closest Friends?
One researcher admits she used to envy her friends’ kitchens, before realizing the fix had nothing to do with her kitchen at all. Psychologists say that kind of digging is where the real payoff is, but most people avoid it because the feeling is so uncomfortable to sit with. They also flag a more corrosive version of the emotion that’s worth learning to spot. Read more here.
4. The Simple Habit That May Lower Your Cancer Risk
The study is among the first to closely compare how different everyday movements affect cancer risk, tracking everything from a short stroll to a quick dash for the bus. Scientists then modeled what would happen if people replaced portions of their sitting time with each type of activity. What they found upends some assumptions about what actually counts as “enough.” Read more here.
Editor's Note: Every week, The Sunday Paper's team of journalists sift through the news to find what Rises Above the Noise, makes sense of what's happening in the world, and provides hope for your week to come. While we do our best to provide our own informative summary of each piece, some publications require their own subscriptions beyond our control.
Please note that we may receive affiliate commissions from the sales of linked products.
