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5:50 PM ET, July 17, 2025

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Oliver Darcy / Status:
Trump's WSJ Epstein Fury … On Thursday, anticipation rippled through political and media circles as insiders awaited a potentially explosive Wall Street Journal story examining Donald Trump's ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein.  The article, said to be in the works for days …
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
A Crisis of MAGA Faith  —  How's this for a vibe check: A Quinnipiac University poll yesterday found that a whopping 63 percent of voters disapprove of how the Trump administration is handling the Epstein-files controversy, with a scant 17 percent approving.  Happy Thursday.  —  What Would William of Ockham Say?
Discussion: The Editorial Board and Raw Story
Washington Post:
White House defends handling of Epstein files, chides press for coverage  —  White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration's handling of the case of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, saying “some of the most trusted voices in the Republican Party movement” …
Sarah Beth Hensley / Associated Press:
Trump underwent vascular testing because of leg swelling: White House
Katherine Tully-McManus / Politico:
Russ Vought: Appropriations process ‘has to be less bipartisan’  —  Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought isn't interested in giving assurances to lawmakers on Capitol Hill that the White House will abide by any bipartisan spending agreements made this year.
RELATED:
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Trump's Budget Chief Gives The Middle Finger To Congress And The Constitution  —  Russ Vought said to expect more massive spending cuts because Trump is “not cowing to a legislative branch's understanding of its own authorities and powers.”  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's budget …
Catie Edmondson / New York Times:
Senate Approves Trump's Bid to Cancel Foreign Aid and Public Broadcast Funds  —  The bill to claw back $9 billion in congressionally approved spending passed over the objections of Republicans who said it abdicated the legislative branch's power of the purse.
Politico:
Maurene Comey warns her former colleagues: ‘Fear is the tool of the tyrant’ … NEW YORK — One day after being fired by the Justice Department, Maurene Comey told her former colleagues that “fear is the tool of a tyrant,” appearing to take aim at the upper ranks of DOJ and perhaps the president …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Prosecutor Fired by Trump Calls Fear the ‘Tool of a Tyrant’  —  Maurene Comey, who helped prosecute Jeffrey Epstein and Sean Combs, was dismissed without a detailed explanation.  She is the daughter of James B. Comey, a longtime adversary of President Trump.
emptywheel:   Pam Bondi Fired the Avenger of Sex Trafficking Victims on Donald Trump's Personal Authority
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Justice Dept. Asks for 1-Day Sentence for Ex-Officer Convicted in Breonna Taylor Raid  —  The move was a stunning reversal of Biden-era efforts to address racial disparities in local law enforcement.  —  The Justice Department's civil rights chief has asked a federal judge to sentence …
RELATED:
Perry Stein / Washington Post:   DOJ seeks one-day sentence for officer in raid that killed Breonna Taylor
CNN:   Justice Department says former officer convicted in Breonna Taylor raid should get one day in jail
Associated Press:
Trump administration hands over Medicaid recipients' personal data, including addresses, to ICE  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials will be given access to the personal data of the nation's 79 million Medicaid enrollees, including home addresses and ethnicities …
Punchbowl News:
7/17/25 ☀️ AM: … “If Texas goes, we are going.” … Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the chair of the delegation, hosted the meeting with Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar.  —  California Democrats were overwhelmingly on board with drawing a new map, but members want input in how the lines are drawn.
RELATED:
Matthew Goldstein / New York Times:
This Democrat Won't Let Go of the Jeffrey Epstein Case, Either  —  Senator Ron Wyden has found that four banks waited until Mr. Epstein's arrest on federal charges to flag $1.5 billion in suspicious transactions.  Mr. Wyden wants the documents made public.  —  President Trump and his administration …
Politico:
Looming Epstein vote has Republicans eager to leave Washington … Questions about the late convicted sex predator have exploded inside the GOP since the Justice Department announced earlier this month it had concluded there was no foul play involved in his 2019 death while in federal custody and there is no …
RELATED:
The Hill:
Speaker Johnson eyes GOP-led Epstein documents measure to quell outrage
Discussion: NOTUS, Alternet.org and NewsMax.com
Sara Boboltz / HuffPost:
Democratic Senators Walk Out Of Trump Judicial Nominee Emil Bove's Hearing
NPR:
Senate approves cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid programs  —  The Senate has approved the Trump administration's $9 billion rescission package aimed at clawing back money already allocated for public radio and television — a major step toward winding down nearly six decades of federal funding …
RELATED:
Miami Herald:
Alligator Alcatraz isn't meant for minors.  A 15 year old ended up there anyway  —  In the rush to open a detention camp in the Florida Everglades for “some of the most vicious” migrants illegally in the country, state and federal officers detained a 15-year-old boy with no criminal record …
Discussion: Raw Story
Philip Bump / Washington Post:
When institutions crumble, strongmen step in  —  Trump wants to be the sole authority.  With trust in institutions cratering, he sees his opportunity.  —  What would it take to put the swirling conspiracy theories about Jeffrey Epstein to bed?  Nothing complicated; just an authoritative …
Discussion: Gallup, The Hill and KFTC-TV
Makena Kelly / Wired:
DOGE Put Free Tax Filing Tool on Chopping Block After One Meeting With Lobbyists  —  A key operative from DOGE initiated plans to potentially kill Direct File, the free tax filing tool developed by the IRS, after offering assurances it would be spared from cuts.
Discussion: Sludge
Becky Morton / BBC:
Voting age to be lowered to 16 by next general election  —  Sixteen and 17-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election, under government plans to lower the voting age.  —  The pledge is part of a raft of measures being introduced through a new Elections Bill.
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador  —  The flight manifests for three legally contested deportation flights from Texas to El Salvador contain dozens of additional, unaccounted for passengers than a previously published Department …
Discussion: New Republic and Just Security
Eric Umansky / ProPublica:
Former NYPD Commissioner Accuses Mayor Adams of Running “Criminal Enterprise” and Cites ProPublica Investigation  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  What Happened …
Ben Berkowitz / Axios:
Trump's Coke push will cost thousands of farm jobs, corn group warns  —  President Trump's push to switch the sweetener in Coke to cane sugar could cost thousands of U.S. jobs, an influential corn industry group said. … - The company later issued a statement that did not confirm …
NBC News:
Trump administration shuts down LGBTQ youth suicide hotline  —  The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ youth service, which has provided queer youths with specialized services since 2022, was officially terminated Thursday.  —  The Trump administration on Thursday afternoon officially terminated …
John Thornhill / Financial Times:
Disinformation warriors are ‘grooming’ chatbots  —  Russian hackers are exploring ways to inject propaganda into the training data of generative AI models  —  Is the EU a good thing?  Rows have raged over that question for many years so I turned to the newly launched ChatEurope for a fresh take.
Rümeysa Öztürk / Vanity Fair:
“Even God Cannot Hear Us Here”: What I Witnessed Inside an ICE Women's Prison  —  Tufts University doctoral student Rümeysa Öztürk opens up for the first time about her shocking arrest and 45 days in a South Louisiana processing facility.  She recalls the generous …
Discussion: ACLU
Charlie Nash / Mediaite:
Ex-Trump Casino President Tells CNN He Reprimanded Trump for Showing Up With ‘Best Friend’ Epstein and 19-Year-Old Girl  —  Jack O'Donnell, the former president of Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City, told CNN on Wednesday that he once reprimanded President Donald Trump in the 80s …
Discussion: New Republic and The Independent
NPR:
Trump's been on a win streak.  The Epstein controversy could distract from it  —  President Trump and the Justice Department's handling of documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case is threatening to distract the public from his string of wins and take over his agenda, according to a Republican strategist Alex Conant.
Naomi Feinstein / Miami New Times:
Is Florida Quietly Removing Alligator Alcatraz Contracts from Public Database?  —  On Tuesday, Orlando lawmaker Anna Eskamani accessed the contract documents on the website.  The next day, they were gone.  —  Audio By Carbonatix … State contracts related to Alligator Alcatraz …
Discussion: Raw Story
CNN:
Top oversight Democrat sends letter to Fox News demanding answers on edits to Trump's 2024 Epstein comments  —  A top oversight Democrat sent a letter on Thursday to Fox Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott demanding answers about Fox's editing of a Donald Trump interview …
Discussion: MSNBC, New Jersey Online and Raw Story
US Department of Justice:
Mexican National Charged in Federal Criminal Complaint with Staging Fake Immigration ‘Kidnapping’  —  For Immediate Release  —  U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California  —  LOS ANGELES - An illegal alien from Mexico has been charged in a federal criminal complaint …
 
 
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 More Items: 
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Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Fascism For First Time Founders
Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:
Oversight Chair Comer warns DC council to approve Commanders stadium before August recess
Discussion: NewsMax.com
Bloomberg:
US Set to Impose 93.5% Tariff on Battery Material From China
Discussion: New York Times
Pema Levy / Mother Jones:
The State Department Guts Its Office Combating Human Trafficking
Discussion: New Republic and Raw Story
Lauren Kaori Gurley / Washington Post:
Here legally since 1999, thousands of immigrants have 60 days to leave
 Earlier Items: 
David French / New York Times:
‘Superman’ Is MAGA Kryptonite
Discussion: Pharyngula
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Republicans shrug off laundry list of scandals, advance Emil Bove's judicial nomination
Tessa Stuart / Rolling Stone:
Democratic Voters Who Skipped 2024 Election Want Candidates Like Bernie, AOC
Discussion: The Independent
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Goodbye, separation of church and state
 

 
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Kurt Wagner / Bloomberg:
Sources: Meta is considering deep budget cuts to its metaverse efforts in 2026, potentially as high as 30% and most likely including layoffs as early as January

Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Apple says general counsel Kate Adams and policy chief Lisa Jackson will retire, and Jennifer Newstead, Meta's former chief legal officer, will replace Adams

Will Oremus / Washington Post:
Two studies suggest AI chatbots can shift political views more effectively than TV campaign ads, especially by presenting many claims, regardless of accuracy
 
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