FiveThirtyEight’s top stories this week

A [FiveThirtyEight]( email [Popular This Week] Sunday, July 16, 2023 [1. How Pennsylvania’s Governor Turned A Collapsed Bridge Into A Political Win]( [538_4x3_PennsylvaniaGovernor_v01_GV]( When it comes to infrastructure repair jobs, this one had everything: a 24/7 livestream, TikTok star construction workers, a giant NASCAR jet dryer, Gritty and the Phillie Phanatic riding on a firetruck. In June, a tanker truck crashed underneath Interstate 95 — a critical highway through Philadelphia that sees around 160,000 vehicles per day — killing the driver and causing the overpass to collapse. Experts originally estimated it could take months to repair the highway and reopen the vital artery, but less than two weeks later, six new temporary lanes were opened to allow traffic to flow while the permanent repairs are completed. [Read more]( [2. Why A Third-Party Candidate Might Help Trump — And Spoil The Election For Biden]( [Final U.S. Presidential Debate Between President Trump And Democratic Candidate Joe Biden]( We don’t need to have major-party presidential nominees to have a conversation about a third-party spoiler candidate affecting the 2024 presidential election. Faced with the prospect of a rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump, at least two alternatives have already emerged: The bipartisan No Labels organization is working toward fielding a centrist presidential ticket, while Cornel West, a well-known public intellectual and political progressive, has launched a bid for the Green Party’s nomination. [Read more]( [3. Which 2024 Candidates Had The Best — And Worst — Campaign Launches?]( [SlackChat_7_11_v01_DG]( Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited. [Read more]( [4. Biden Says The Economy’s Doing Great. Lots Of His Own Voters Don’t Believe Him.]( [GettyImages-1509242901_1]( The economy is doing well. Americans just don’t believe it. [Read more]( [5. How Vivek Ramaswamy Became A Major Presidential Candidate]( [2024-TOC-REP_Vivek-Ramaswamy_4x3_v03_dnl]( According to FiveThirtyEight’s definition, there are currently 11 major Republican candidates for president. Ten of them have previously held or currently hold major elected office (president, senator, governor, representative, mayor) — and then there’s Vivek Ramaswamy. But you wouldn’t guess at his lack of political experience from how he’s performing (at least so far). The Ohio businessman and first-time candidate has managed to poll higher than three current or former governors and receive about as much Google search interest as a former vice president and a former U.N. ambassador. [Read more]( [6. The Supreme Court Had A Few Surprises This Year. That Doesn’t Make It Moderate.]( [538_4x3_SupremeCourtWrapUp_v01_ks]( The second full term under the most conservative Supreme Court in modern history concluded last week, with major rulings on affirmative action, President Biden’s student debt forgiveness program and anti-discrimination law. [Read more]( [7. Extremist-Related Mass Killings Have Been On The Rise]( [ExtremistShootings_v03_DG]( Just days after a gunman opened fire in a suburban outlet mall in Texas in May, killing eight people, his far-right extremist views became apparent. His online posts and profile, the symbols on the clothing he wore and even his tattoos revealed white-supremacist, neo-Nazi and misogynistic incel ties. While these views are shocking, the fact that the shooting was committed by someone who held them was not. Data on mass killings in the U.S. shows a growing share of violent attacks, as well as attempted or planned attacks, have ties to extremism. [Read more]( [8. Why Biden Probably Won’t Get A Serious Primary Challenger]( [US President Joe Biden]( It’s July in the year before a presidential election, and a first-term president is running for reelection. Most of the time, nothing about this situation would merit more than a passing acknowledgment: The incumbent would face little intraparty opposition, and the media would be almost entirely focused on the other party’s presidential primary. [Read more]( [9. What Happened In This Year’s Supreme Court Term?]( [SlackChat-AmeliaThomsonDeVeaux-JohnRobertsCushyGig-4×3-v01-ks]( Welcome to FiveThirtyEight’s politics chat. The transcript below has been lightly edited. [Read more]( [10. The Supreme Court Killed Biden’s Student Loan Forgiveness Plan. What Does That Mean For 2024?]( [Biggest Cases Loom As Supreme Court Hits Homestretch]( On Friday, the last day of this year’s term, the Supreme Court struck down President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan. The court concluded in a 6-to-3 ruling that the president overstepped his executive authority by making such a large-scale change to the program via a waiver, as laid out in a 2003 law. Chief Justice John Roberts was joined by the five other Republican appointees to the court. “The [2003 law] provides no authorization for the Secretary’s plan even when examined using the ordinary tools of statutory interpretation — let alone ‘clear congressional authorization’ for such a program,” Roberts wrote. [Read more]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Weekly Listen [Play]( [Politics Podcast: What’s So Special About ‘Bidenomics’?]( [FiveThirtyEight] [View in browser]( [ABC News]( [Unsubscribe]( Our mailing address: FiveThirtyEight, 47 West 66th Street, New York, NY 10023.