Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Administration Live Updates: Johnson Shutting Down House Early to Block Epstein Vote — Where Things Stand — Epstein case: Speaker Mike Johnson said he would shut the House down early for its summer recess to head off Democratic demands for votes on calling for the release of files …
Discussion:
NBC News, Meidas+, Associated Press, The Hill, NPR, Washington Post, New Republic, The Nation, MeidasTouch News, Representative Tim Burchett, NOTUS, HuffPost, Los Angeles Times, NewsNation, The Stranger, The Daily Caller, The National Desk, Vanity Fair, American Greatness, RedState, KVUE-TV, Washington Times, Daily Mail, Townhall, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Guardian, New York Magazine, New York Daily News, Semafor, NewsMax.com, CBS News and Political Wire
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William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Why the Epstein Coverup Matters — Jeffrey Epstein damage control continues at the Justice Department, with Pam Bondi announcing this morning that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche is seeking a prosecutorial interview with Epsitein's co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, One America News Network, So What and Off Message
emptywheel:
Trump's Defense Attorney Todd Blanche Will Meet with Sex Trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell to Make a Deal for His Client — Trump Defense Attorney Todd Blanche and Pam Bondi just announced that Blanche will meet with Ghislaine Maxwell and discuss potential cooperation deals with her.
Discussion:
MSNBC, Raw Story, ABC News, The Hill, El País, Metro.co.uk, Florida Politics, Daily Mail, New York Daily News, israelhayom.com, New Jersey Online, The National Pulse, The Gateway Pundit, Mediaite, New York Post, RedState, The Post Millennial, The Independent, USA Today and Washington Examiner
Axios:
House grinds to a halt as GOP tries to shut down Epstein votes — House Republicans have virtually stopped work on all major legislation leading up to their six-week summer recess to avoid taking votes on forcing the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. … - “They're certainly not making it easier for themselves. ...
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, CNN, Politico, Puck, Reason, The Hill and Washington Examiner
Axios:
House bails early for its August recess amid Epstein files uproar
Discussion:
NBC News, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, CNBC, New York Sun, The Gateway Pundit, Scripps News and Democrats
Joe Perticone / The Bulwark:
Trump to Hill Republicans: I Will Make Your Summer Hell
Trump to Hill Republicans: I Will Make Your Summer Hell
Discussion:
Axios, KFOX-TV, NOTUS, The Hill, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, NewsNation and Business Insider
Martha McHardy / Newsweek:
Republicans Shut Down House Floor to Avoid Epstein Vote
Republicans Shut Down House Floor to Avoid Epstein Vote
Discussion:
Associated Press and PoliticusUSA
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
House GOP leaders grapple for way out of Epstein crisis
House GOP leaders grapple for way out of Epstein crisis
Discussion:
The Independent and Raw Story
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Mike Johnson Shuts Down House Early To Block Vote On Jeffrey Epstein Files
Mike Johnson Shuts Down House Early To Block Vote On Jeffrey Epstein Files
Discussion:
New York Times
Mychael Schnell / The Hill:
Mike Johnson swipes at GOP's Massie: ‘Bless his heart’
Mike Johnson swipes at GOP's Massie: ‘Bless his heart’
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Raw Story, New Jersey Online and Reuters
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Reaches Out to Ghislaine Maxwell, a Longtime Epstein Associate
Justice Dept. Reaches Out to Ghislaine Maxwell, a Longtime Epstein Associate
Discussion:
Axios, ABC News, Fox News, The Hill, New Republic, USA Today, UPI, Wall Street Journal, Blaze Media, CBS News, Raw Story, Washington Times, CNBC and Al Jazeera
Carroll Doherty / Politico:
A Polling Analyst Digs Into Trump's Ratings and the Epstein Saga
A Polling Analyst Digs Into Trump's Ratings and the Epstein Saga
Discussion:
The Hill, The Independent, The Nevada Independent and Newsweek
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Deputy Attorney General seeking meeting with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell
Deputy Attorney General seeking meeting with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell
Discussion:
Associated Press, NBC News, Politico, The Contrarian, Raw Story, CNN, Salon, The Hill, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, New Republic, Forbes, NewsMax.com and TMZ.com
Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:
Trump Goes Full Fascist: 'Whether It's Right or Wrong, It's Time to Go After People' — The president is desperate to turn the nation's attention away from his ties to Jeffrey Epstein … He spent the weekend suggesting prominent Democrats should be prosecuted over bogus right-wing conspiracy theories …
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Eli Stokols / Politico:
Deflecting Epstein questions, Trump urges DOJ to ‘go after’ Obama … “I don't follow it too much,” he said of the Epstein drama, urging the press to cover what he called “the other witch hunt” — an alleged plot by Obama to rig the 2016 election. … “This was treason,” Trump declared.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump Flips Out at Republican Lawmaker Exposing the Party on Epstein — President Trump is excoriating another one of his own party members for asking him for basic transparency on the Jeffrey Epstein case. — Representative Thomas Massie, who filed a bipartisan discharge petition …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Politico, Townhall, Mediaite, Fox News, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com and The Free Press
Punchbowl News:
Epstein mess freezes the House — again
Epstein mess freezes the House — again
Discussion:
Politico, Fox News, MSNBC, Fox Business, 24sight News, The Hill, MeidasTouch News and Washington Examiner
Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Outraged Trump supporters not placated by DOJ's actions on Epstein
Outraged Trump supporters not placated by DOJ's actions on Epstein
Discussion:
HuffPost, Data For Progress and New Jersey Online
Mollie Hemingway / The Federalist:
Top Intelligence Officials Contradicted Brennan: ‘No Intelligence’ To Support Key Russia Hoax Claim
Top Intelligence Officials Contradicted Brennan: ‘No Intelligence’ To Support Key Russia Hoax Claim
Discussion:
CNN, The Daily Caller, Ace of Spades HQ, Sanity Clause and The Hill
Alex Gangitano / The Hill:
Trump says Obama should be top target in DOJ probe into intel report
Trump says Obama should be top target in DOJ probe into intel report
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Daily Mail, The Gateway Pundit, LewRockwell, Daily Kos, One America News Network, twitchy.com and CBS News
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump escalates anti-Obama campaign, says he's ‘guilty’ in treasonous scheme
Trump escalates anti-Obama campaign, says he's ‘guilty’ in treasonous scheme
Discussion:
The National Pulse, New Jersey Online, New York Post, Mediaite, Bloomberg, National Politics and The Hill
Tracey Tully / New York Times:
Bypassing Habba, Judges in New Jersey Name New Top Federal Prosecutor — Alina Habba's term as interim U.S. attorney was set to expire on Tuesday. New Jersey's two Democratic senators had accused her of pursuing “frivolous and politically motivated prosecutions.”
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Republicans propose naming Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump — The House Appropriations committee passed an amendment that would rename the theater, months after President Donald Trump took over the performing arts center. — The Kennedy Center's Opera House could soon be called the …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone and The Independent
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Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
House GOP moves to rename Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
House GOP moves to rename Kennedy Center Opera House after Melania Trump
Discussion:
Scripps News, ABC News, USA Today, Fox News, Daily Mail, Deadline, NewsMax.com and Raw Story
David Folkenflik / NPR:
NPR news chief announces she's leaving days after Congress kills federal funding — NPR's editor in chief and acting chief content officer Edith Chapin told colleagues Tuesday morning that she has decided to step down. — The veteran news leader's announcement comes just days …
Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
FEMA Urban Search and Rescue Chief Resigns, Citing Agency ‘Chaos’, Colleagues Said — Ken Pagurek had told colleagues the Trump administration was causing ‘chaos’ inside FEMA and creating dangerous delays in disaster response. — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's urban search …
RELATED:
Gabe Cohen / CNN:
FEMA search and rescue chief resigns after frustration with Texas flood response — The head of FEMA's Urban Search and Rescue branch, which runs a network of teams stationed across the country that can swiftly respond to natural disasters, resigned on Monday.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, MSNBC, Media Matters for America and NOTUS
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
‘Those days are over’: Trump books draw lackluster sales … “Everyone is desperately looking for the next Michael Wolff or James Comey for next year, but it's not clear there could ever be one again,” said one concerned publisher, referencing two of the authors with biggest book successes of Trump's first term.
Discussion:
CNN
Tosin Akintola / Reason:
Rent Prices Are Falling Fast in America's Most Pro-Housing Cities — Rental prices in some of the country's largest cities are falling—some by almost 45 percent, according to new data from Five Star Cash Offer, a real estate investment firm that operates as a direct cash homebuyer.
Discussion:
Fox News
Chris Cillizza / The Daily Beast:
Hunter Biden Really Needs to Shut It — QUIET TIME — Why is he talking? Why is he still talking? — OPINION — Let's establish a few quick facts about Hunter Biden: He has never been elected to anything, ever. His business acumen appears to amount, largely, to having the last name “Biden.”
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Post, So What, New York Magazine, The Hill, AOL, NewsMax.com, New York Sun, NOTUS, The Wrap and New Jersey Online
Alice Speri / The Guardian:
Revealed: Harvard publisher cancels entire journal issue on Palestine shortly before publication — As Harvard's feud with Trump escalated, so did tensions over an ‘education and Palestine’ issue of a prestigious journal. Scholars blame the ‘Palestine exception’ to academic freedom
Ankush Khardori / Politico:
Trump's WSJ Lawsuit Raises a New Constitutional Question … The president can sue you, but you can't sue him. — It seems like an absurd thing to say but that's effectively the reality of our legal system today, one that has become increasingly alarming during Donald Trump's second term.
Discussion:
Axios
The Catholic Herald:
Self-proclaimed Catholic fascist fired after Jubilee appearance — The self-proclaimed Catholic fascist who recently appeared on an episode of Surrounded by the popular YouTube channel Jubilee has lost his job following the programme's release. The debate, which first aired on Sunday …
Walter Olson / The UnPopulist:
A Manhattan Institute Manifesto Would Give this President Sweeping Power to Force University Compliance with Right-Wing Demands — Many persons I'd think would know better have affixed their names to a new and highly illiberal set of demands on colleges and universities.
Paul Krugman:
Has Brazil Invented the Future of Money? — And will it ever come to America? — Last week the House passed the GENIUS Act, which will boost the growth of stablecoins, thereby paving the way for future scams and financial crises. On Thursday the House also passed a bill that would bar …
Discussion:
Financial Times and Crypto Briefing
Jason Beeferman / Politico:
Zohran's Bronx Science tales — MAMDANI PLAYS HOOKY: He's just like us. He got detention. He cut class to get lunch. He says he's bad at math. — Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani graduated from the public, test-in, competitive Bronx Science High School in 2010.
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Military Says It Will ‘Continuously’ Monitor Bathrooms to Comply With Anti-Trans Order — An internal memo obtained by 404 Media also shows the military ordered a review hold on “questionable content” at Stars and Stripes, the military's ‘editorially independent’ newspaper.
James Liddell / The Independent:
Bernice King's demand comes after Tulsi Gabbard announced the release of thousands of documents tied to Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1968 assassination — Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s daughter has urged Donald Trump to release the full, unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files after thousands …
Bloomberg:
Marcos Meeting With Trump Yields 19% Tariff for Philippines — President Donald Trump said the US reached an agreement with the Philippines setting a 19% tariff on the country's exports, the latest pact ahead of an Aug. 1 deadline. — Trump initially imposed a 17% rate for the US ally in April …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, The Hill, Axios, Reuters, USA Today, CNBC, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, One America News Network, Washington Times, New York Post, CBS News, Fox Business, NewsMax.com, UPI, Washington Post, New York Times, NewsNation, The Gateway Pundit, Human Events and The Japan Times
Cameron Adams / The Daily Beast:
Epstein Victim Blasts Trump for Lying: 'He's Caught' — OFFICE POLITICS — The president just keeps trying to distance himself. — An artist who accused Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell of sexual assault nearly 30 years ago has called out Donald Trump for “lying” about an alleged incident in the late financier's office.
Peter Eavis / New York Times:
U.S. Steel Producers Raise Prices After Tariffs Stymie Imports — Steel producers like Cleveland Cliffs and Steel Dynamics both said this week that they raised prices after President Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on imports. — American steel makers are raising prices …
David Gilbert / Wired:
Everything Is a ‘False Flag’ Now — Conspiracy theories about so-called false flag attacks have been around for decades. But as trust in media and public institutions craters, every single major news event is now being labeled as fake. — As President Donald Trump struggles to contain …

