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3:05 PM ET, July 18, 2025

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RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Jeffrey Epstein's Friends Sent Him Bawdy Letters for a 50th Birthday Album.  One Was From Donald Trump.  —  The leather-bound book was compiled by Ghislaine Maxwell.  The president says the letter ‘is a fake thing.’  —  It was Jeffrey Epstein's 50th birthday, and Ghislaine Maxwell was preparing a special gift to mark the occasion.
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 …
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
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 …
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: Axios, CNN, Mediaite and NewsMax.com
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
America Is a Good Place and Worth Fighting For
Discussion: New Jersey Online
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:   Nearly All The Trump II Depredations Run Through DOJ
Charlie Sykes / To the Contrary:
Trump's Love Letter to Jeffrey Epstein
Discussion: Wall Street Journal
Stephen Fowler / NPR:
Trump repeats threat to sue ‘Wall Street Journal’ after its report on his Epstein ties
Giselle Ruhiyyih Ewing / Politico:
Trump rails against ‘NOTHING’ Epstein case after WSJ 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.
RELATED:
Inae Oh / Mother Jones:
Colbert's Cancellation Is a Dark Warning  —  CBS's decision marks a dangerous new stage for the culture at large.  —  On Thursday, Stephen Colbert, the beloved, sharp-tongued comedian and host of the Late Show, announced that CBS was cancelling the legendary franchise.
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
CBS to Cancel ‘Late Show With Stephen Colbert’ Citing ‘Financial Decision’
Justin Baragona / The Independent:
CBS staff in turmoil over ‘Trump shakedown’ after Stephen Colbert and The Late Show are canceled
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.
RELATED:
NPR:
Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding and foreign aid
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.
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 …
Discussion: CNN, Forbes, The Hill and KFF
Anna Wilde Mathews / Wall Street Journal:
Obamacare Insurers Seek Double-Digit Premium Hikes Next Year
Discussion: Forbes and KFF
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.
RELATED:
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:   Republicans keep voting for bills they say they don't like
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: Bloomberg and Newsweek
RELATED:
ProPublica:   He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared.
Reuters:   El Salvador to send detained Venezuelans to Caracas in prison swap for Americans, sources say
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 …
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.
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.
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 …
Eric Katz / GovExec.com:
Trump creates ‘Schedule G’ to add more political appointees to agencies top ranks  —  President Trump created another new category of federal employee on Thursday evening, issuing an executive order to expand the number of political appointees who do not require Senate confirmation and will serve …
Discussion: Washington Times
RELATED:
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Creating Schedule G in the Excepted Service
Discussion: Federal News Network and E&E News
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 …
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.
Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
‘Five-Alarm Fire’: Texas Dem Sounds Off on Trump's Bid to Gerrymander Midterms  —  The president has demanded that Texas Republicans redraw the state's electoral map in an off-cycle ploy to create more GOP House seats  —  Congressional midterms are an inevitable ordeal for sitting presidents.
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.
Brooke Shafer / The Hill:
ICE will soon have nation's Medicaid data: What to know  — Agreement will allow ICE officials access to 79M patients' data  — Information includes addresses, racial information and more  — Opponents concerned over data privacy, civil rights issues
Discussion: USA Today and Wired
 
 
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 More Items: 
Lee Moran / HuffPost:
Comedians Pull Off Brazen Epstein Prank Inside Trump Tower Gift Shop
Discussion: Raw Story
Olivia Julianna / The Contrarian:
How Many More Have to Die Before Texas Gets Serious About Preparedness?
Discussion: WFAA-TV
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Third Biden aide refuses to answer Oversight questions: Comer
Reuters:
Trump loyalist Katie Miller crosses battle lines to continue work for Elon Musk
Discussion: Raw Story
Samantha Cole / 404 Media:
White House Partners With PragerU to Make AI-Slopified Founding Fathers
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
White House struggles to defend Trump's ‘Unabomber’ anecdote amid ridicule
Discussion: Alternet.org
 Earlier Items: 
John D. Hutson / The Bulwark:
The Dangerous Plan to Turn Military Lawyers Into Immigration Judges
Sawyer Loftus / ProPublica:
The USDA Wouldn't Let Her Give Up Her House When She Couldn't Pay Her Mortgage. Instead, It Crushed Her With Debt.
Discussion: Bangor Daily News
New York Times:
The Seeds of Democratic Revival Have Already Been Sown
Discussion: Los Angeles Times
Mike Fox / MSNBC:
ICE detentions are an affront to the Fourth Amendment — and we're all paying the price
Discussion: The Daily Signal
Andreas Kluth / Bloomberg:
The State Department Upheaval Makes China Great Again
Associated Press:
For Sale: Trump is leveraging power of his office to reap profits for family businesses
Discussion: ABC News and Fox Business
ABC News:
Unreleased Epstein files include logbooks for private island, records show
Discussion: Alternet.org
Meredith Kile / People:
Ex-Casino Boss Claims Trump and ‘Best Friend’ Jeffrey Epstein Were Once Caught Bringing Underage Girls to Casino Floor
Discussion: Mediaite and New Republic
 

 
From Techmeme:

Bloomberg:
Sources: WBD begins exclusive talks with Netflix to sell its film and TV studios and HBO Max; Netflix is offering a $5B breakup fee if the deal isn't approved

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

A.J. Vicens / Reuters:
US and Canadian authorities warn that Chinese hackers are using the Brickstorm malware to install backdoor access within unnamed government and IT entities
 
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