Opinion Category: News

The threat to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program has sent Social into a tailspin, and for weeks it’s been searching for a way to save it. Although it looked as though a conservative Republican plan put forth by Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina might be a solution, it was Senate Minority […]

After 50 years at the helm of Rolling Stone, Jann Wenner is giving up his controlling stake in the magazine. The New York Times reported on Monday that Jann and his son Gus—who’s the chief operating officer of Wenner Media—have decided to sell their remaining 51 percent share. The news comes just a year after […]

The second installment of the Destiny series has been out for roughly two weeks, which is just enough time for Social to conclude that it’s well worth a purchase. Destiny 2 is available now for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with a PC version coming on Oct. 24. The online-only first-person shooter shares some Halo […]

It’s a rivalry that has raged in the streets and in the malls (or what’s left of them) for decades. Adidas, or Nike? Nike wins on paper, according to CNN Money, but Nike’s Jordan brand just got dunked on by Adidas, which has outsold it for the first time in history. Adidas isn’t suffering from […]

Despite failure at every effort so far to whack Obamacare, the GOP remains committed to its long-standing goal of repealing (and maybe replacing) the Affordable Care Act. A last-minute vote against the so-called skinny repeal by Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) saved the ACA in July, but now another attempt to do it in is being […]

The UK’s controversial vote to withdraw from the European Union took place nearly 15 months ago, and the British government is still trying to figure out how exactly to make that a reality. The latest hiccup in the Brexit plan involves a rift between Prime Minister Theresa May and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, both of […]

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos might have public schools in her crosshairs, given her staunch support of private and charter systems, but two comedians stepped forward on Sunday night at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles to defend them, or at least the ones in Washington, D.C. Dave Chappelle, who attended D.C. public schools, and John […]

From all indications, mother! is the ultimate high-risk, high-reward movie—viewers are leaving theaters either loving it or absolutely abhorring it. The film premiered last Friday in the U.S. and has a star-studded cast including Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris and Michelle Pfeiffer. The plot is hard to follow and features countless biblical allegories, but […]

As Republicans gear up for one last go at Obamacare repeal with the Graham-Cassidy Bill, Democrats are pushing ahead with a radically different plan. Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) unveiled his “Medicare for All” bill, which, as the name suggests, would introduce a single-payer healthcare system handled by the government rather than a combination […]

Floyd Mayweather’s fight with Conor McGregor may have been the top-billed bout of 2016 so far, but there’s one boxing match that aficionados of the “sweet science” believe will be remembered as the fight of the year. Saúl “Canelo” Álvarez and Gennady “G.G.G.” Golovkin, middleweights considered among the most evenly matched fighters in recent memory, […]

Sean Spicer’s appearance aside, the 2017 Emmy Awards were met with applause and approval on Sunday night. Hosted by Stephen Colbert, the Emmys honed in on the topic no one can escape: President Donald Trump and the state of politics in the U.S. After an opening musical number to that effect, Colbert waved at the […]

From James Bond flicks to the Jason Bourne series, movies about espionage and human killing machines are almost always a sure bet. This year’s latest effort comes courtesy of Lionsgate, which released American Assassin last week. Despite opening against the hotly anticipated It remake and the mind-bending Jennifer Lawrence thriller Mother!, Assassin held its own […]

Apple’s official foray into facial recognition isn’t getting the buzz the company might have been hoping for. At last Tuesday’s event in Cupertino, Calif., the tech giant unveiled a facial recognition feature for its fancy new $999 iPhone X. It’s supposed to replace the old ways a user would unlock an iPhone—i.e. typing in a […]

President Trump’s recent bipartisan push has been giving him the slightly more favorable headlines he’s been known to crave. But when it comes to a legislative solution for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, Twitter and President Trump can’t come to a consensus on A) if a deal with Democrats is a good idea and B) […]

Mainstream media has been more under fire than ever since the 2016 presidential campaign bred an epidemic of fake news, online and on-air. According to a Harvard-Harris Poll in May, 84 percent of voting Americans said that mainstream news is unreliable. Although that skepticism may have been enhanced by fake news found on Facebook and […]

On Friday, NASA space probe Cassini plunged into Saturn after a 20-year mission to the ringed planet. But this was no catastrophic disaster for NASA. In fact, it sent the probe on its crash course, destroying it to make sure it wouldn’t slam into Saturn’s moons once fuel ran out. The fiery end for Cassini […]

President Donald Trump has alleged many times, most prominently before his victory in the Election of 2016, that voter fraud is a serious problem in the U.S. “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally,” he said last […]

Solar power, once a subject of skepticism on social media, is finally having its day in the sun. The natural energy has been getting cheaper for years, and companies that invested early in sun power are starting to see serious growth, according to USA Today. That could translate into big savings for homeowners, who stand […]

A couple of Silicon Valley bros are facing the wrath of Social—specifically, Twitter—after announcing a startup with a name that’s rubbing a lot of people the wrong way. Paul McDonald and Ashwath Rajan are former Google employees with a not-so-revolutionary idea: a pantry box service they’re calling “Bodega.” The pantry boxes would be located in […]

Martin Shkreli, the 34-year-old bad boy of the pharma industry, hasn’t shown a strong propensity for common sense and knowing when to stop talking. This week that’s coming back to bite him big time. Shkreli was convicted in August of three counts of fraud but remained out of prison on $5 million bail. He’s been […]

It’s never fun being caught with your pants down, but Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) is taking it in stride. Early Tuesday morning, Cruz’s official Twitter account hit the like button on a pornographic video. When staffers noticed, they took the tweet down and reported it, but screenshots had gone viral and theories about Cruz’s late-night […]

Can hanging out with an uglier friend make you more attractive? Scientists think so, according to a 2016 University of London study, and now it looks as though none – other than President Donald Trump might, too. His most recent guest – both at the White House and the Trump International Hotel in Washington — […]

While the iPhone X (pronounced ten) emerged from Apple’s Tuesday event in Cupertino, Calif., as the star of the show, the company also unveiled a slightly less glamorous alternative: the iPhone 8. Set to be released on Sept. 22, it’s the next baby step up from the iPhone 7 and starts at $699, with the […]

Denny’s appears to be embracing a marketing strategy so ridiculously stupid that Social has no choice but to love it. The chain restaurant found itself as the butt of some poop-related jokes this week after one of its mascots made waves for his unseemly appearance. That would be “Sausage,” which, at best resembles an undercooked […]

Former White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon might have left the Trump Administration, but he’s not going quietly. In a 60 Minutes interview with Charlie Rose that aired on Sunday, Bannon didn’t hold back, calling himself a street fighter and filling the air space over Washington with war cries and score-settling. Among the most controversial […]

Once seen by some as the best investment since solid gold, Bitcoin is taking a bit of a battering. The Bank of China cracked down earlier this week on its trade, prohibiting initial coin offerings that would sell Bitcoin to Chinese investors to finance startups. As a result, Bitcoin’s average trading price is down five […]

Miss America 2018 hit the airwaves on Sunday night, and Miss North Dakota Cara Mund took home the top prize after inspiring viewers with hopes of becoming her state’s first female governor. But in her quest for votes, Mund missed a key constituency, one that was won over by Miss Texas Margana Wood. Social is […]

Perhaps rushing to judgment after one game is foolish, but it’s hard to blame Cleveland Browns fans for doing just that. The team lost its Week One matchup to the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-18, but the relatively close game—and a solid performance at quarterback—offered a glimmer of hope for the NFL’s most downtrodden franchise. DeShone Kizer, […]

If news reports from Texas in the wake of Hurricane Harvey are to be believed, one huge aid organization might be in need of serious assistance. Houston City Councilman Dave Martin recently urged the public not to donate to the Red Cross, calling the organization “inept” and “disorganized.” “Don’t waste your time, don’t waste your […]

Myanmar isn’t the first country most people associate with the word “genocide,” but that could change as awareness of the Rohingya people’s plight increases around the world and online. The Rohingya, an ethnic minority of Muslims in Myanmar, have suffered several waves of violence from the Burmese military, with the most recent crackdown on the […]

The Wire creator David Simon is back with a new HBO show that looks as though it has a solid shot at success. The Deuce, which officially premiered on Sunday, is the brainchild of Simon and frequent collaborator George Pelecanos. It focuses on New York City in the ‘70s and ‘80s—specifically, the widespread prostitution and […]

French companies Kering and LVMH made headlines just prior to the start of New York Fashion Week—and for a good purpose. The companies, which collectively own well-known brands such as Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Marc Jacobs, announced a joint decision last Wednesday to prevent models who are size 0, or French size 32, […]

The opioid epidemic in the United States is raging on, and Social lays the blame more at the feet of doctors than of drug companies. Surgeon and author Atul Gawande added fuel to that fire during a Sept. 8 Vox podcast when he was asked who was responsible for the current crisis. “We started it,” […]

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos first expressed skepticism about Obama-era “guidance” on how to handle allegations of sexual assault on college campuses in July. That month, she met with sexual assault survivors, college administrators and men’s rights advocates to elicit their thoughts. Last Thursday, DeVos finally announced during an address at George Mason University that changes […]

When Colorado baker Jack Phillips declined to bake a cake for a gay wedding in July 2012, he probably didn’t foresee the magnitude of the legal battle that would erupt around him. Phillips went on to challenge the state law that said he was wrong to refuse the couple, and five years later the case […]