Top Items:
Jonathan Stempel / Reuters:
Donald Trump sues Dow Jones, News Corp, Rupert Murdoch, WSJ reporters for libel, court records show — U.S. President Donald Trump filed a lawsuit on Friday against Dow Jones, News Corp (NWSA.O), Rupert Murdoch and two Wall Street Journal reporters, raising claims under federal libel law, court records show.
Discussion:
The Handbasket, New Republic, BBC, Axios, The Hill, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Raw Story, The Post Millennial, Breitbart, Advocate, Townhall, Newsweek, IJR, The Independent, twitchy.com and The Wrap
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Washington Post:
Trump sues Wall Street Journal, Rupert Murdoch over Epstein letter story — The lawsuit accuses the newspaper and its parent company of libel after it published an article about a lewd letter bearing Trump's name among the birthday notes collected as a gift for Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday.
Discussion:
Reuters, Telegraph, Associated Press, Politico, NewsMax.com, Los Angeles Times, Alternet.org, Mediaite, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Townhall, USA Today and So What
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Trump's approval hits new low as Epstein pressure mounts — This is one of those classic weeks in a Trump presidency where too many stories are moving too fast for an individual writer to keep up. There are new tariffs, expansion of deportation operations, a will-he-or-won't-he dance …
Discussion:
Must Read Alaska, Raw Story, Newsweek, New York Magazine and masslive.com
Mike Masnick / Techdirt:
Trump Threatens, Then Sues Murdoch Over Epstein Story Using Tactics His Supporters Used To Call A ‘Massive Attack on Free Speech’ — Donald Trump admitted yesterday that he called Rupert Murdoch and demanded the Wall Street Journal kill its story about Trump's relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Tyler Pager / New York Times:
Trump Says He Doesn't ‘Draw Pictures.’ But Many of His Sketches Sold at Auction.
Discussion:
Variety and New Republic
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
As Trump threatens the WSJ over new Epstein report, his ‘picture’ claim looks sketchy
As Trump threatens the WSJ over new Epstein report, his ‘picture’ claim looks sketchy
Discussion:
CNBC, USA Today, Politico, CBS News, TMZ.com, The Guardian, Newsweek, RedState, Townhall, New Jersey Online, Forbes, HotAir, The Independent, Raw Story, New Republic, Axios, HuffPost, Truth and Consequences and New York Magazine, more at Mediagazer »
Josephine Walker / Axios:
Justice Department asks federal judge to release Epstein grand jury transcripts
Justice Department asks federal judge to release Epstein grand jury transcripts
Discussion:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Newsweek, Reuters, Fox News and Raw Story
NBC News:
Trump sues Wall Street Journal's publisher and 2 reporters over Epstein article
Trump sues Wall Street Journal's publisher and 2 reporters over Epstein article
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, twitchy.com and Raw Story
Business Insider:
Trump files suit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones over Epstein birthday letter story
Trump files suit against Rupert Murdoch, Dow Jones over Epstein birthday letter story
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, USA Today, Scripps News, New Republic, CNN, The Guardian, RedState, MSNBC, WFAA-TV, Townhall, Raw Story, Deadline, New York Sun, Newsweek, The Wrap, The Daily Caller, The Parnas Perspective, The Hollywood Reporter, The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, Axios, HuffPost, Straight Arrow News, JURISTnews, Daily Mail and The Hill
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
FBI agents were told to ‘flag’ any Epstein records that mentioned Trump, Sen. Durbin says — FBI agents assigned to review files in the criminal case against Jeffrey Epstein were instructed to “flag” any documents that mentioned President Donald Trump, Sen. Richard Durbin said
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, NewsMax.com, emptywheel, IJR, Alternet.org, The Hill, US Newsper, USA Today, The Federalist, Mediaite, The Dispatch and New Republic
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Farrah Tomazin / The Daily Beast:
Bondi Ordered FBI to Flag Trump's Name in Epstein Files — PLEASE EXPLAIN! — The AG has been asked to explain her handling of the case. — Attorney General Pam Bondi made FBI agents trawl through about 100,000 investigative files relating to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and …
Discussion:
Axios, Forbes, Raw Story and New Republic
The United States Senate Committee on Finance:
As Trump Downplays Epstein, Wyden Unveils Details of Treasury's Undisclosed Epstein File — Finance Committee Ranking Democrat Continues Years-Long, Follow-the-Money Investigation of Epstein Finances — Watch a video of Wyden deliver his remarks here — Donald Trump says a lot of outlandish stuff.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and The Dean's Report
Elizabeth Crisp / The Hill:
Trump: ‘I absolutely love’ that Colbert ‘got fired’ — President Trump said Friday morning that he was thrilled by the news that CBS is canceling the decade-running “Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” — “I absolutely love that Colbert' got fired,” the president wrote in a post on Truth Social.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Breitbart, Deadline, Variety, That Park Place, Vox, USA Today, The A.V. Club, Ace of Spades HQ, Los Angeles Times, Mediaite, The Wrap, twitchy.com, Decider, Daily Kos, Townhall, The Hollywood Reporter, The Washington Free Beacon, Raw Story, Axios, Adweek, New Jersey Online, Plain Dealer, Fox News, Newsweek, HuffPost, masslive.com and New York Daily News, more at Mediagazer »
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Alan Sepinwall / Rolling Stone:
Politics, Not Performance, Killed ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’
Justin Baragona / The Independent:
CBS staff in turmoil over ‘Trump shakedown’ after Stephen Colbert and The Late Show are canceled
CBS staff in turmoil over ‘Trump shakedown’ after Stephen Colbert and The Late Show are canceled
Discussion:
CNN, Associated Press, RedState, Variety, Los Angeles Times, The A.V. Club, Forbes, The Guardian, The Hill, New York Times, The Contrarian, Megyn Kelly, Newsbusters, Mercury News, Al Jazeera, Real Patriotism …, Gothamist, Fox News, The Wrap, Straight Arrow News, twitchy.com, Mashable, MSNBC and US Newsper, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
U.S.-Venezuela prisoner swap frees Americans for migrants in El Salvador — The Venezuelans, labeled terrorists and violent criminals by President Trump, had been deported to the notorious CECOT prison, setting off a tense legal battle over executive power.
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, CBS News, Scripps News, New York Times, ABC News, Raw Story and USA Today
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New York Times:
Prisoner Swap Frees Americans in Venezuela for Migrants in El Salvador
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner, Democracy Docket, Reuters, The Hill, Politico, NPR, UPI, National Review, NBC News, Bloomberg, RedState, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, NewsMax.com and Daily Kos
David Wildstein / New Jersey Globe:
Habba tells staff she loves her job, hopes to stay as she awaits judicial meeting (Updated) — U.S. Attorney Alina Habba told her staff on Thursday that her tenure as a federal prosecutor could come to an end on Tuesday when she hits the 120-day limit for appointments made by the U.S. Attorney General …
Discussion:
New Republic, Raw Story, Above the Law and NewsMax.com
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Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
An Enigma Wrapped in a Wonderful Secret
Discussion:
CNN, New Jersey Online, The Independent and NewsMax.com
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
America Is a Good Place and Worth Fighting For
America Is a Good Place and Worth Fighting For
Discussion:
Axios, Esquire, RedState, New Jersey Online, American Greatness, Daily Caller News Foundation and Alternet.org
Selena Simmons-Duffin / NPR:
ACA health insurance will cost the average person 75% more next year, research shows — Health insurance premiums are going way up next year for people who buy their insurance on Healthcare.gov or the state-based marketplaces, according to an analysis out Friday.
Discussion:
Peterson-KFF Health …, The Hill, Forbes, The Lever, Daily Kos, Scripps News and The Texas Tribune
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Berkeley Lovelace Jr / NBC News:
Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums
Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums
Discussion:
CNN, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, KFF and Yellowhammer News
New York Times:
Where Congress's Cuts Threaten Access to PBS and NPR — President Trump's proposal to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasters threatens scores of radio and TV stations across the United States that air PBS and NPR programs.
Discussion:
Washington Post, PhillyVoice, Plain Dealer, Salt Lake Tribune, UPI and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
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Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Comedians Pull Off Brazen Epstein Prank Inside Trump Tower Gift Shop — The Good Liars' stunt comes as MAGA backlash to President Donald Trump over the Epstein files grows. — Pranksters this week trolled President Donald Trump by placing Jeffrey Epstein-themed postcards in the gift shop at Trump Tower in New York City.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Raw Story
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Asks Manhattan Court to Unseal Epstein Grand Jury Testimony — The president has been under intense political pressure from his base after Attorney General Pam Bondi withheld portions of investigative files on the disgraced financier. — The Justice Department asked …
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller and CNN
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Mattathias Schwartz / New York Times:
When It Comes to Jeffrey Epstein, Trump Says He Is Ready to Defer to the Courts
When It Comes to Jeffrey Epstein, Trump Says He Is Ready to Defer to the Courts
Discussion:
Salon, Washington Post, The Hill, Civil Discourse …, National Review, The Daily Caller, US Newsper and Raw Story
Génesis Miranda Miramontes / NBC Los Angeles:
3 deputies killed after explosion reported at East LA sheriff's training facility — At least three deputies were killed after an explosion was reported early Friday at an LA County Sheriff's Department training facility in East Los Angeles. — The explosion is believed to have occurred …
Carter Sherman / The Guardian:
Trump administration to destroy nearly $10m of contraceptives for women overseas — As part of president's end to foreign aid, destruction of the long-acting contraceptives will cost US taxpayers $167,000 — The Trump administration has decided to destroy $9.7m worth of contraceptives rather than send them abroad to women in need.
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News and Politico
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Texan Moved Fam to Russia to Flee Woke—Now He's Headed to Ukraine Front Line — FAFO — Derek Huffman, 46, joined the military with hopes of becoming a Russian citizen. His wife said he was duped into a combat role. — An American father who moved to Russia to avoid LGBTQ+ …
Associated Press:
Trump appointees pushed more marble in Fed building renovation White House now attacks — President Donald Trump has looked to the marble finishes and hefty price tag of the Federal Reserve headquarters to claim grounds to fire Chair Jerome Powell, with whom he has tussled for years over interest rates.
Discussion:
Slate, New Republic, Washington Times and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Edward Wu / CNN:
Just 23% of Americans say Israeli military actions in Gaza are fully justified, CNN poll finds — Americans are increasingly skeptical of Israeli actions in Gaza, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS that also finds rising sentiment that the US should pull back on military aid to Israel.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Scoop: Israel seeks U.S. help on deals to move Palestinians out of Gaza … - The spy chief, David Barnea, told White House envoy Steve Witkoff that Israel has been speaking in particular with Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya. … - Barnea suggested that the U.S. offer incentives to those countries and help Israel convince them.
Discussion:
Reuters and Daily Caller News Foundation
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Senators Say Trump Nominated Judge To Their State They've Never Even Met — When a president is nominating someone to be a federal judge, they typically work with the two U.S. senators from that state to vet nominees and ultimately agree on someone together. These are lifetime appointments, after all.
Amalia Huot-Marchand / The Hill:
Indiana's Camp Atterbury to be used to house detained migrants — Indiana's Camp Atterbury and New Jersey's Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst will be temporarily used to detain immigrants lacking permanent legal status, according to a directive from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
New York Times:
E.P.A. Says It Will Eliminate Its Scientific Research Arm — The decision comes after a Supreme Court ruling allowing the Trump administration to slash the federal work force and dismantle agencies. — The Environmental Protection Agency said on Friday that it would eliminate …
Discussion:
Reuters
BBC:
Israel levelling thousands of Gaza civilian buildings in controlled demolitions — Israel has demolished thousands of buildings across Gaza since it withdrew from a ceasefire with Hamas in March, with entire towns and suburbs - once home to tens of thousands of people - levelled in the past few weeks.
Axios:
Inside the GOP-led plot to defy Trump on the Epstein files — Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) is moving forward with plans to force a vote on requiring the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, despite attempts by President Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to take steam out of his efforts.

