Hey Dippers,
From political breakups to public health breakdowns, we’re covering Tucker Carlson’s exit from the GOP, millions losing health coverage, and more.
Today’s read time is 3 minutes and 26 seconds.
- The Daily Dip Editor
CHECK OUT YESTERDAY’S SHOW AD-FREE BELOW
Nostalgia Nerd
On this day in 1947, a private pilot's report near Mount Rainier sparked what term that would become synonymous with UFO sightings for decades to come? (answer revealed below!)
(hint: movement, not shape)
Before We Dip In (TL;DR)
In today’s issue:
Carlson exits GOP, calls Israel stance immoral. 🏛️
Cities test sewage for community drug trends. 📜
Five million lose health coverage in one year. 🏥
Plus, take today’s poll and check out the Nostalgia Nerd quiz answer down below!
POLITICS
🏛️ Carlson Quits Republican Party, Citing Israel Policy as Final Straw
Conservative commentator Tucker Carlson announced he is leaving the Republican Party, saying the GOP’s prioritization of Israeli interests over American ones is something he can no longer support. Carlson called the party’s position immoral and said he expects others to follow him out.
His exit prompted sympathetic responses from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Rep. Thomas Massie, who expressed similar frustrations with the party’s direction. Figures like Nick Fuentes and Laura Loomer disagreed, while Senate Republicans are separately divided over the administration’s Iran policy and the SAVE America Act.
The backdrop: Democratic primary turnout has significantly outpaced Republican participation, even in traditionally GOP districts. Carlson emphasized he would not be joining the Democratic Party.
🌉 CRASHING OUT LIVE IS COMING TO SAN FRANCISCO!
Did you know San Francisco is built on buried Gold Rush ships? During the California Gold Rush, abandoned ships in San Francisco Bay sank and were later buried as the city expanded, with downtown construction still occasionally uncovering pieces of them under modern streets.
It’s basically a city built on top of abandoned chaos…which feels very Crashing Out-coded.
Crashing Out Live comes to the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre on September 11. If you’re in the SF area, grab your tickets now 🎟️.
Won’t be in San Francisco but interested in attending in other cities? Check out the rest of the tour lineup here 🏙️.
VIP Upgrade Available: We also have tickets for a post-show Meet & Greet with Philip DeFranco and Alex Pearlman ✨.
LAW & POLICY
📜 Cities and Schools Are Testing Sewage to Track Community Drug Use
A growing number of local governments are testing wastewater for traces of illicit drugs, using methods developed during COVID-era sewage surveillance. Tempe, Arizona leads the effort, having built its own lab to reduce costs and speed up turnaround after state and federal budget cuts.
The approach has expanded to schools in Missouri and New Mexico, truck stops in Kentucky, and large events like the Super Bowl and Mardi Gras. The White House endorsed the practice in 2025, though privacy advocates raised concerns about potential stigmatization of neighborhoods that test positive.
The limit: Legal experts note the testing cannot identify individuals and does not violate constitutional protections. Officials in Tempe said the data showed drug activity across income levels, including in affluent neighborhoods, challenging assumptions about where substance abuse concentrates.
Dipper Poll
:📈 Today’s Poll: Sewer Surveillance
Cities and schools are testing sewage for drug use to detect community trends early. The data cannot identify individuals, but neighborhoods and schools could face stigma from positive results.
Tell us your take:
Should local governments test wastewater to track drug use in communities?
HEALTH
🏥 Five Million Lose Health Coverage as Medicaid Cuts and ACA Subsidies Compound
Roughly five million Americans lost health insurance over the past year following Medicaid cuts and the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. Medicaid and CHIP enrollment fell by roughly 3.8 million, while ACA marketplace plans dropped by 1.2 million, according to advocacy group Protect Our Care.
The subsidy expiration led to average premium increases of 114%, from roughly $888 to $1,904 per year for marketplace enrollees. The Congressional Budget Office projects an additional 15 million Americans could become uninsured by 2034 under current policy, with proposed work requirements expected to push even more off the rolls.
The scale: The law includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years. Health policy experts warn that people without coverage delay care until conditions worsen, which can lead to preventable deterioration and earlier deaths.
Fun Facts
🥕 Food: Carrots were originally purple, white, and yellow, with the orange variety bred by Dutch growers in the 17th century. Proof that rebranding existed long before marketing departments.
🏛️ Conflict: In 1932, Australia sent soldiers with machine guns to cull emus destroying farmland, but the birds scattered, regrouped, and outlasted the operation in what became known as the Great Emu War. Australia: 0, birds: 1.
☄️ Astronomy: If two pieces of metal touch in space, they can permanently bond together. Even in the vacuum of space, some friendships move too fast.
🤯 WTF: Lake Vostok in Antarctica has been sealed beneath 2.5 miles of ice for roughly 15 million years and may still contain living organisms adapted to total darkness and extreme pressure. Earth’s oldest unopened time capsule.
TODAY’S QUIZ ANSWER:
Flying saucers
On June 24, 1947, private pilot Kenneth Arnold reported seeing nine bright, fast-moving objects near Mount Rainier, Washington while searching for a downed plane. A newspaper reporter paraphrased his description of their motion as flying saucers, and the phrase entered the language overnight. Within weeks, hundreds of similar sightings were reported across the country, launching the modern UFO phenomenon.
Poll Results From June 23, 2026
Did you take today’s poll?
Show Notes
Looking for more specific details on each story? Click here for the full show notes for yesterday’s PDS episode.
Over and Out...
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