Rep. Liz Cheney found herself at the receiving end of a fair but robust challenge on her defense of many new and controversial state voting laws by Axios reporter Jonathan Swan on Sunday.

Rep. Mike Gallagher found himself on the receiving end of a fair and real-time fact check of his Wuhan lab claims in an interview with Fox's John Roberts the next day.

Roberts began his interview citing facts and reports on the no longer treated as fever swap fare Wuhan lab leak theory of the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic. Gallagher ripped into Chinese officials, saying they’ve been “deliberately covering up” evidence that could shed light. He then took aim at Dr. Anthony Fauci. saying the NIAID director was lying and covering up "funding the very research that may have started this entire thing.

Roberts put the foot down on that with quickness.

For his part, Swan conducted a lengthy back-and-forth with Cheney on several topics, and particularly on the voting laws in a revealing exchange. Swan, of course, has a reputation for giving the most elucidating and entertaining interviews in political media circles, and that was on display in this conversation that aired during Sunday evening’s Axios on HBO. And some great follow-up insight, too.

Two different interviews, related in being examples of the exact kind of journalism America needs.

Both Mark Ruffalo and John Cena issued apologies that made news and sparked trending topics on social media already this week, for related reasons.

Cena posted a video of himself speaking Mandarin on the Chinese social media app Weibo, saying he made a mistake by referring to Taiwan as its own country during his promotional tour for Fast & Furious 9. The remarks drew the wrath of China, prompting the actor to say, "I really love, really respect China" in a video that was quickly and absolutely destroyed on social media.

Ruffalo's apology was an open address on Twitter, in which he said that he was sorry for having accused the nation of Israel of “committing genocide" amid growing acts of violence against Jews and anti-Semitic crime in the United States. He said it is not "accurate" and that it's "inflammatory" but did not direct the remarks to Israel or the Israeli people.

As with Cena, the tremendous outrage directed at Ruffalo was not over his original commentary but at the apology.

With Cena, the criticism was that he caved to a genocidal regime against an open, democratic society. In Ruffalo's case, the outrage mostly from the left was for having called an open, democratic society genocidal.

Two very different reactions. Related in some ways, telling in others. And bad, loser behavior to go around.