Good morning and Happy Friday! Thanks for being here today.

So yesterday was wretched if you care about ethical journalism… or a functioning democracy, because you can’t have one without the other.

I guess we can start with Mike Vrabel and Diana Russini, though I am sick to death of talking about this story. I am, however, more sick of debating it with people who have no concept of the code of ethics journalists are supposed to abide by. Last week, ESPN reported that part of what led to Russini’s (extremely indignant) resignation from The Athletic was her failure (or inability) to back up her claims that she and Vrabel were at an adults-only hotel in Sonoma with a group of other people.

The story got even messier yesterday when Page Six dropped photos of Russini and Vrabel appearing affectionate at a bar in 2020. That, alongside Vrabel’s admission that he’d “had some difficult conversations” with those closest to him, and that he’ll miss Day 3 of the NFL Draft for counseling, has convinced a lot of people that Vrabel and Russini’s relationship was, indeed, exactly what the Sedona photos made it look like. Also, what kind of counseling lasts for one day?

And look, as I keep saying, I don’t care what people do in their private lives. I’m not involved in either of their marriages, and I really don’t care who is stepping out on their spouse and who isn’t. However, from a professional point of view, I am absolutely livid that people are excusing a reporter who is known for scoops for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a source.

I feel, as a journalist, that my biggest duty is to my readers. That is who I write for, and that’s whose approval matters to me. Part of earning and maintaining that trust is being as transparent as I can about how I go about my reporting. If Russini and Vrabel do, indeed, have a relationship that’s more than we’ve been led to believe, her very public resignation letter was a blatant lie to her readers. To me, that’s unforgivable for a reporter.

“Oh, but Julie, what about Mike Vrabel? He’s getting off scot-free!?“ If I were one of Mike Vrabel’s players, coaches, or front office colleagues, I would be furious that he might have given up confidential information to a journalist. However, I am not one of Vrabel’s players, coaches, or front-office colleagues, and I believe that journalistic integrity is more important to our democracy than whatever code NFL coaches are supposed to follow. I am a woman and a journalist who has picked her way across the minefield of being a woman in sports media, and was often accused of getting my job by sleeping with my boss. Weekly, sometimes daily. It was mean, misogynistic, and it sucked. The real sexism is that women in sports media constantly have to defend their right to work in the space.

Yes, I’m super-salty about it.

But that wasn’t even the worst of it for journalism yesterday. Not by a long shot. There was also this incredible gaffe by NBC 5 Chicago, which loves to tell its readers to lean into AI. I’m sure this is completely unrelated.

If you’re confused, that’s not Richard M. Daley. That’s his father, Richard J. Daley, who would be 124 years old if he were alive today. You would think the black-and-white photo and the fact that he’s dressed exactly like a guy in 1968 would have tipped someone off. Look at the mics! They’re ancient. Pictures… don’t look like this anymore. All this shot is missing is the black squiggles you see on really old movies.

I don’t know if this was AI, sloppiness, or fatigue, but for a Chicago outlet to post this is unfathomable. Not a single person caught this before it went up? This is sort of like the New York Times posting a photo of Andrew Giuliani and saying it’s Rudy.

For reference, this is Richard M. Daley, who once had me lean on his back while he bent over and pulled my stiletto heel out of a storm grate outside City Hall, while Roland Burris looked on, completely bewildered. It was a weird day. Anyway.

And finally, the hand-wringing continues over how, exactly, journalists should protest at the White House Correspondents Dinner, where an inexplicably invited Donald Trump reportedly plans to roast them all to their faces. Gasp! Do you mean Jake Tapper’s pocket-square protest won’t be enough?

There’s a very easy answer, and it’s called “why the hell are you attending a dinner to celebrate Freedom of the Press with a guy who abhors the press and calls them names in the first place?” What’s next? Celebrating vaccines with RFK Jr? Celebrating the miracle of life with Jeffrey Dahmer? Celebrating sobriety with Pete Hegseth? And speaking of Hegseth…

CBS has invited Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Trump adviser Stephen Miller to be their “special guests” and sit at their table at this stupid dinner. I give you Bari Weiss’s reasoning here in three moves:

We need to come up with a new word for the feelings journalists who have been laid off or otherwise pushed out of the industry feel when they see who has risen to the top of the field. What an absolute mess our industry is.

BUT! In a bit of schadenfreude, CBS News anchor Tony Dokoupil, whose ratings have sunk to historic lows, has also lost the newsroom.

It never ceases to amaze me how little these people think of anything beyond their own interests.

In other news: The ACLU and Amnesty International warn the world about traveling to the US for the World Cup; a US soldier is busted by Polymarket; Trump’s views on women, in one image; and The High Note.

Here we go.

I’m not running any ads today because all I was offered this week were ads for AI companies. If you’d like to contribute to LMP and support independent media, you can become a paid subscriber, leave a tip, or even just share on social media.

I’ve been playing organized soccer since I was six years old, and I’ve never been as unenthused about a World Cup in my life as I am about this one. I’ve been waiting for FIFA to take matches out of the US and move them to Canada and Mexico, but instead, they gave Donald Trump the FIFA Peace Prize, so I guess we’re stuck with a Trumpified World Cup. Joy.

At least the ACLU and Amnesty International are doing their part to keep foreigners out of ICE detention centers.

Keep in mind that, in the last six months, ICE has detained an Irish grandmother with a green card, an 85-year old French woman and US military widow who overstayed her visa, a British man who worked at a Montana senior living center, and a Norwegian woman with diabetes who ICE nearly killed. At this point, no one is safe.

I never thought I would see the day that I would warn my friends overseas that it’s not safe to come to the US right now, but here we are.

A US soldier has been arrested after winning $410,000 on Polymarket by betting on the ouster of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro.

He used classified information to place a bet on Polymarket. (pinches bridge of nose and sighs). These are the same guys who accuse the left of not loving America enough.

Finally, the DOJ does something useful. I anxiously await the arrests of all those who placed bets on the price of oil and the bombing of Iran.

I have never seen a better definition of the old axiom “a picture’s worth a thousand words.” Those women you can barely see behind Trump and all the dude in red ties are the University of Georgia women’s tennis team, who won the NCAA Championship this year.

The women in this picture are (back row) Anastasiia Lopata, Mai Nirundorn, Aysegul Mert, Sarah Branicki, and Alexandra Vecic; (middle row) Tatum Buffington, Guillermina Grant, Haley Gaudette, and Sofia Rojas; and (front row) Mell Reasco and Hayden Mulberry.

I have nothing to add to this picture. Absolutely nothing. It’s *chef’s kiss*.

Each Day, I do my best to leave you with a smile on your face, a song in your heart, and the will to fight another day.

The penis protestor has been freed!

Finally, some good news:

Good will win out, always. Even when shaped like a penis.

Finally, I was listening to this again today, and though I’ve shared it before, it remains my favorite cover of all time. Enjoy.

Hey, survive and advance out there today, kids. Don’t let the bastards get you down. Have a great weekend!

Follow Julie on Bluesky and Instagram so she can get another book contract.