| |  |  | | | | Devin Nunes's Family Farm Is Hiding a Politically Explosive Secret | | | Devin Nunes has a secret. Nunes is the California Republican and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who has become famous in the Trump era for using his position as a battering ram to discredit the Russia investigation and protect Donald Trump at all costs, even if it means shredding his own reputation and the independence of the historically nonpartisan committee in the process. First elected to Congress in 2002, Nunes wasn't always like this. At one time he was known for his independent streak. When a new class of radical House Republicans pushed its leadership to shut down the government in 2013, Nunes attacked them as "lemmings with suicide vests." In 2015, during another tumultuous period of House GOP infighting, I interviewed a broad cross section of the chamber's Republican leadership, and Nunes stood out for comments he made about how his colleagues and constituents were siloed in right-wing echo chambers and increasingly reliant on this or that "conspiracy theory" rather than "something that is mostly true." In hindsight, he was prescient about the direction of his party: A few years later, a bona fide conspiracy theorist, one who credited Alex Jones with his victory, was elected president. Instead of continuing the fight, Nunes served on the president's transition team and became Trump's most important defender in Congress. He has used the Intelligence Committee to spin a baroque theory about alleged surveillance of the Trump campaign that began with a made-up Trump tweet about how "Obama had my 'wires tapped' in Trump Tower." Indeed, Nunes has worked closely with the White House to investigate the FBI rather than the FSB (the KGB's successor), most famously by attempting to undermine the Russia investigation by releasing a partisan report—the so-called "Nunes memo"—that cherry-picked evidence to accuse the FBI of bias in its effort to obtain a warrant to monitor the communications of Carter Page, a Trump foreign-policy advisor. Nunes has always been reliably conservative, but on some issues, he has broken with his party. He has long supported moderate immigration reform, for instance, including amnesty for many undocumented people living and working in the U. S. But as Trump has instituted a draconian policy of zero tolerance for all undocumented people and argued that every undocumented individual should be deported, Nunes has been silent. More recently, as Trump and the House Republicans have celebrated Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the agency's aggressive tactics, Nunes has followed suit. On CaRepublican.com—a Nunes-created news site, which mimics the Drudge Report—he now regularly highlights articles attacking Democrats for being insufficiently supportive of ICE's raids and deportations. Which brings us back to Nunes's secret. READ MORE | | | | |  |
| | | | | Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V Track With Kendrick Lamar Has a History as Bizarre as the Album Itself | | | | Given how long its been in the works, there are a lot of weird little stories hidden in Lil Wayne's Tha Carter V. Originally announced in 2012, the album was supposed to be released in 2014, held in purgatory by a label dispute. Days before its initial release Wayne tweeted that his mentor and Cash Money boss Birdman refused to release the album. The next year, Wayne sued Cash Money for $51 million to part ways with the label. Three years later, the legal disputes between Wayne and Birdman have been settled for an undisclosed amount, which has allowed for the release of Tha Carter V. Read On | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The True Stories Behind Your Favorite Horror Movies | | | | There's something a little more comforting about a horror movie when you know it could never happen. A Quiet Place is jarring, sure, but there's no hard proof that a blood-thirsty monster is going to nix you if you step on a creaky board. But when you find out that a scary movie was based on something that possibly happened? That's messed up on a whole different level. These are 10 horror movies that were inspired by real-life events—you know, if that's what you fuck around with. Read On | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Drake's Is Bringing Back Classic Ivy Style This Fall | | | | Menswear is always moving. More influences than ever are entering the fray, and, frankly, it can all get a little exhausting sometimes. Thank the sartorial gods, then, for a brand like Drake's. The London-based company manages to feel fresh season after season, but never goes so far afield that you have to recalibrate your expectations entirely. We caught up with Drake's creative director Michael Hill to talk about the Ivy-meets-England look of the new clothes and accessories, the state of proper dressing in the world today, and how a guy can extricate himself from the tedium of the trend cycle. Read On | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | An Oral History of the First Time We Heard 'Shallow' | | | | In the four months since the release of the trailer for A Star Is Born, the Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga (excuse me, Stefani Germanotta) vehicle, many of us (me) have thought about little else. The trailer is one of the best stand-alone pieces of art of the past five years, easily, high-drama and with a self-importance that feels earned, rather than manipulative; the music is perfectly teased, starting with a few notes of Cooper singing a song in his low, gritty, country voice, and then exploding at 1:46 with Gaga's already-iconic climax, "AWWWAWAWAWWWWW." When the full song finally arrived Thursday morning, my co-workers all had different experiences with the piece; all important, some controversial. In an act of journalism, I recorded them, and, thus, present to you the Oral History of the First Time We Heard "Shallow." Read On | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 10 Reasons Why You Should Buy a Honda Civic | | | | The Honda Civic exemplifies automotive excellence, effortlessly mixing driving fun with efficiency and practicality. Available as a sedan, coupe, or hatchback—each with a variety of powertrain options—the 10th-generation Civic excels in every guise with precise steering, a well-tuned suspension, and a precisely assembled interior. The sportier models (our favorites) landed a spot on our 10 Best Cars list for 2018 for taking those same virtues and marrying them with even sportier behavior. Read On | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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