Top Items:
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:
The Hill, New Republic, Alternet.org, emptywheel, Raw Story, US Newsper, Not the Bee, Politico and Chicago Sun Times
RELATED:
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:
masslive.com, New York Magazine, Must Read Alaska and Newsweek
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
As Trump threatens the WSJ over new Epstein report, his ‘picture’ claim looks sketchy — Responding to a report about his former relationship with Epstein, Trump said, “I never wrote a picture in my life.” The record suggests otherwise. — It's not as if the political world needed …
Discussion:
Axios, HuffPost, Politico, RedState, New Republic, The Hill, Newsweek, CNN, The Independent, Breitbart, USA Today, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, Alternet.org and The Guardian, more at Mediagazer »
Rolling Stone:
Team Trump Was on ‘F-cking Warpath’ to Kill Story About Salacious Letter to Epstein — The Wall Street Journal reports that Trump wrote a birthday note to his “pal” about how they have “certain things in common” — Donald Trump wrote a birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein in the early 2000s …
Discussion:
New Republic, Breitbart, RedState, Newsweek, The Hill, Townhall, The Independent, The Guardian, HuffPost, Forbes, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, NewsMax.com, Alternet.org, New Jersey Online, USA Today, TMZ.com, Blaze Media, Washington Examiner, Politico, Advocate, CNBC and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Wall Street Journal:
Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album. One Was From Donald Trump.
Discussion:
Axios, Esquire, New York Times, Washington Post, HuffPost, The Guardian, Business Insider, The Hill, CNBC, New Republic, Politico, Associated Press, Salon, Telegraph, Daily Kos, BBC, The Contrarian, CBS News, New Yorker, New York Post, Mediaite, USA Today, NBC News, The American Conservative, New Jersey Online, Media Matters for America, Forbes, Townhall, The 19th, Straight Arrow News, The Independent, Megyn Kelly, HotAir, CNN, American Greatness, Truthout, Rolling Stone, Breitbart, Alternet.org, So What, NPR, JURISTnews, Off Message, American Prospect, The Moderate Voice, RedState, The Nation, Ace of Spades HQ, BIG by Matt Stoller, Plain Dealer, Talking Points Memo, Daily Caller News Foundation, Advocate, Daily Mail, IJR, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, Raw Story, New York Magazine, Althouse, GB News, The Status Kuo, PREVAIL, KFTC-TV, New York Daily News, Reason, Metro.co.uk, New York Sun, Vox, MeidasTouch News, Not the Bee, The Gateway Pundit, El País, Semafor, TalkLeft, Washington Examiner, Pharyngula, The Week, Diane Ravitch's blog, Lawfare, emptywheel, Newsweek, Crooks and Liars, Fox News, The Parnas Perspective, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, The National Pulse and Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, more at Mediagazer »
Cameron Adams / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Sketchy Epstein Lie Instantly Exposed
Trump's Sketchy Epstein Lie Instantly Exposed
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story, Daily Mail, New Jersey Online, New Republic and Mediaite
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
America Is a Good Place and Worth Fighting For
America Is a Good Place and Worth Fighting For
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
Charlie Sykes / To the Contrary:
Trump's Love Letter to Jeffrey Epstein
Trump's Love Letter to Jeffrey Epstein
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
Nearly All The Trump II Depredations Run Through DOJ
Nearly All The Trump II Depredations Run Through DOJ
Discussion:
Politico and Crooks and Liars
Alan Sepinwall / Rolling Stone:
Politics, Not Performance, Killed ‘The Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ — Yes, the long reign of late-night has been coming to a slow end due to the internet, but don't be fooled: There's much more than money at the root of this show's demise — At the start of Thursday night's episode …
RELATED:
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, Axios, Variety, Deadline, The Washington Free Beacon, USA Today, New Jersey Online, That Park Place, HuffPost, Plain Dealer, Townhall, Adweek, Associated Press, Fox News, Mediaite, Decider, The Hollywood Reporter, twitchy.com, The Wrap, Mashable, Daily Kos, Raw Story, New York Daily News, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, IJR, Washington Examiner, Rolling Stone and The Week
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:
The Guardian, Plain Dealer, Salt Lake Tribune and UPI, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Tom Jones / Poynter:
Defunding NPR and PBS passed the Senate — and it's a direct hit to rural America — If passed by the House, the cuts will jeopardize emergency alerts and local news access for millions. — As feared, President Donald Trump, with the help of Congress, is making good on his threat …
Discussion:
Puck, USA Today, Variety, Daily Caller News Foundation, Rolling Stone, Axios, LAist, The Nevada Independent, NewsMax.com, The Wrap, Fox News, Truthout and CBS News, more at Mediagazer »
Miriam Waldvogel / The Hill:
How will PBS/NPR cuts impact your local stations?
Discussion:
New York Times, NPR, NBC News, WPSD Local 6, Plain Dealer, Deseret News, PhillyVoice, Raw Story, semipublic.co, OutsideTheBeltway, Variety, Reason, Advocate, Deadline, CNN, RTÉ and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Mediagazer »
Tatum Hunter / Washington Post:
With PBS funding cut, will the next generation be raised by ‘Skibidi Toilet’?
With PBS funding cut, will the next generation be raised by ‘Skibidi Toilet’?
Discussion:
MSNBC, Pen Strokes and USA Today
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:
Scripps News and The Texas Tribune
RELATED:
Berkeley Lovelace Jr / NBC News:
Cost of Obamacare expected to soar as subsidies expire and insurers hike premiums — People who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act could see increases of more than 75% each month, one expert said. — People who get health insurance through the Affordable Care Act …
Anna Wilde Mathews / Wall Street Journal:
Obamacare Insurers Seek Double-Digit Premium Hikes Next Year
Discussion:
Forbes
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:
Raw Story, New Republic and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
An Enigma Wrapped in a Wonderful Secret — Hey, look, former Trump lawyer Alina Habba is apparently about to be out as U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey. Seems good! Now on to the big stuff. Happy Friday. — ‘We Have Certain Things In Common, Jeffrey’ — by Andrew Egger
Discussion:
CNN, Mediaite, NewsMax.com and The Gateway Pundit
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Scoop: Why Dems didn't try to thwart Trump's funding clawback — House Democrats passed up what appeared to be a golden opportunity to block a bill codifying $9 billion in DOGE cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid. In leadership's telling, victory was never a real possibility.
Discussion:
NBC News, NewsMax.com, Off Message and Punchbowl News, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Axios:
Inside the GOP-led plot to defy Trump on the Epstein files
Discussion:
Truthout, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, The Hill and Louisville Public Media
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
Republicans keep voting for bills they say they don't like
Republicans keep voting for bills they say they don't like
Discussion:
UPI, The Gateway Pundit and CNN
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 …
Discussion:
ABC7, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Reuters, Breitbart, Straight Arrow News, UPI, Boston Herald, Raw Story, LAist, WWL-TV, RedState, Townhall, The Daily Caller, Fox News, Deseret News, One America News Network, Todd Starnes, The Gateway Pundit, VINnews, Los Angeles Times, The Post Millennial and Mediaite
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:
Raw Story
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.
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Scoop: Trump's new Alcatraz could cost $2 billion … - A “supermax” prison complex that would cost more than $2 billion. … - A scaled-back prison that would cost $1 billion and not occupy the entire island. — Putting the project out to bid for private prison contractors to build and operate.
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.
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.
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.
Shawn Cohen / Daily Mail:
EXCLUSIVE: ICE Barbie Kristi Noem makes telling move after her cozy living arrangement with Corey Lewandowski is exposed — Donald Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has moved from her private residence into a U.S. military installation, after her cozy living arrangement …
David R. Lurie / Public Notice:
The emerging coup — 🗣️ Paid subscribers make Public Notice possible. If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please sign up and support us. 👇 — Six months into the second Trump administration, two things are becoming clear …
Associated Press:
For Sale: Trump is leveraging power of his office to reap profits for family businesses — If one theme has emerged in President Donald Trump's second term, it's this: He's leveraged the power of his office for personal gain unlike anyone before in history.
Discussion:
ABC News and Fox Business
Ellie Wolfe / The Baltimore Banner:
Conservative legal group with Trump ties sets its sights on Hopkins medical school — A conservative legal group founded by a member of the Trump administration has filed a complaint to the U.S. Department of Justice against the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, alleging racial discrimination.
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:
The Hill, Washington Examiner and The Dean's Report
Reuters:
El Salvador to send detained Venezuelans to Caracas in exchange for Americans held in Venezuela, sources say — El Salvador's government will send detained Venezuelans to Caracas in exchange for Americans held in Venezuela, two U.S. government officials told Reuters on Friday.
Discussion:
CBS News, Bloomberg, The Independent and Newsweek
Sam Sabin / Axios:
Scoop: Top Secret Service official targeted in “swatting” attack — A top Secret Service official was the target of a “swatting” incident at his home on the Fourth of July, according to an agency official. … - The voice on the phone appeared to be trying to mimic the agent's …
Alexandra Marquez / NBC News:
Democrats in a key state want to see their leaders ‘fight’ — and reach across party lines — A growing number of potential presidential candidates are visiting South Carolina, where locals are judging them on two different — but not opposed — categories.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Semafor and IJR

