Top Items:
Politico:
House Republicans at standstill over Epstein drama — House Republicans may choose to scrap several floor votes this week as internal party drama over the release of Jeffrey Epstein files is derailing the work of the Rules Committee. The panel came to a standstill, again …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Democrats and emptywheel
RELATED:
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. ...
Politico:
Playbook: Three big questions about 2026 — With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco — Good morning. It's Tuesday. This is Adam Wren. Drop me a line. — In today's Playbook ... — Are Republicans in better shape in 2026 than conventional wisdom would have you think?
Discussion:
Fox News, The Floridian, The Hill, NewsMax.com and New York Post
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Johnson Says He Won't Hold Vote Calling on Trump to Release Epstein Files This Summer
Punchbowl News:
Where could the House GOP redistrict next?
Where could the House GOP redistrict next?
Discussion:
The Hill, NPR, New York Times, The Texas Tribune, WTOP News, Washington Post, MSNBC, Tallahassee Democrat, New Jersey Globe and The Guardian
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
Democrats Should Get Tough and Quit Negotiating Spending Bills
Democrats Should Get Tough and Quit Negotiating Spending Bills
Discussion:
Roll Call
Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
As MAGA world focuses on Epstein, Trump seeks focus on anything else — In the last 48 hours, Trump has unspooled comments on a litany of controversies, all of which seem designed to distract attention from the Jeffrey Epstein case. — Just now — Over the last 48 hours …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Associated Press and The Guardian
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Matthew Mpoke Bigg / New York Times:
Trump Posts Fake Video Showing Obama Arrest — President Trump shared what appeared to be an A.I.-generated video of former President Barack Obama being detained in the Oval Office. — President Trump reposted a fake video showing former President Barack Obama being arrested in the Oval Office …
Ben Mathis-Lilley / Slate:
Is Trump Really Turning the Tables on the Epstein Story? The Beltway Press's Favorite Source Thinks So. — Let's look at who exactly is making this claim in, uh, every media outlet in the United States. … Over the weekend, every outlet with a Washington newsroom seemed to be wondering the same thing …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Roll Call, The Independent and New Republic
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
Trump's Big Epstein Distraction Isn't Working — Hope and Change the Subject — FACED WITH CONSERVATIVE backlash over the end of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, Donald Trump over the past week has engaged in what can only be described as a monumental distraction campaign.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump's forever grudge ties Epstein files to Russia “hoax”
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com and Townhall
Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Trump Talks About Anything but Epstein on His Social Media Account
Trump Talks About Anything but Epstein on His Social Media Account
Discussion:
New Jersey Online
National Archives:
Records Related to the Assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. — On This Page — The National Archives' Role in Fulfilling Executive Order 14176 — How is the National Archives Making These Records Available? — 2025 Release — Release Notes — Contact Us
Discussion:
CBS News, New York Times, Breitbart, Reuters, RedState, NPR, UPI, USA Today, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Fox News and NewsNation
RELATED:
Bill Barrow / Associated Press:
Trump administration released FBI records on MLK Jr. despite his family's opposition — The Trump administration has released records of the FBI's surveillance of Martin Luther King Jr., despite opposition from the slain Nobel laureate's family and the civil rights group that he led until his 1968 assassination.
Discussion:
Axios, Fox News, Metro.co.uk, WTOP News, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Daily Mail, New York Post and The Post Millennial
Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Tulsi dumps COINTELPRO files on MLK — Speaking of recurring themes in the conservative movement, Trump and Gabbard have decided to go J. Edgar Hoover with a Trump scandal getting traction: … Relatedly, his taking the FBI's smear campaign at face value was a clear sign that David Garrow was well on the way to crankdom.
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Post, Raw Story and New Republic
Dylan Lovan / Associated Press:
Judge gives ex-officer nearly 3 years in Breonna Taylor raid, rebuffs DOJ call for no prison time — A federal judge on Monday sentenced a former Kentucky police officer to nearly three years in prison for using excessive force during the deadly Breonna Taylor raid five years ago …
RELATED:
Reuters:
US judge sentences ex-police officer to 33 months for violating civil rights of Breonna Taylor
Discussion:
WFAA-TV, New York Daily News, The Post Millennial, Washington Post, Salon, CBS News, HotAir and Al Jazeera
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:
NOTUS
Politico:
White House removes Wall Street Journal from Scotland press pool over Epstein bombshell … The White House is removing the Wall Street Journal from the pool of reporters covering the president's weekend trip to Scotland, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told POLITICO.
Discussion:
Washington Post, RTÉ, Raw Story, Lawyers, Guns & Money, CBS News, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Forbes, New Republic, Axios, Deadline, New York Daily News, The Hill, The Independent, The Wrap, Mediaite, NOTUS, MSNBC, The Post Millennial, Daily Kos and NewsMax.com, more at Mediagazer »
Associated Press:
Malcolm-Jamal Warner, ‘Cosby Show’ actor, dies at 54 in Costa Rica drowning — Malcolm-Jamal Warner the actor who played teenage son Theo Huxtable on “The Cosby Show,” has died at age 54 in an accidental drowning in Costa Rica, authorities there said. Costa Rica's Judicial Investigation Department …
Discussion:
People, CNN, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Advocate, New York Times, E! Online, The Black Wall Street Times, Washington Examiner, Lawyers, Guns & Money, NPR, CBS News, Reuters, Mercury News, Rolling Stone, TMZ.com, One America News Network, ABC News, WFAA-TV, Page Six, The Gateway Pundit, The Hollywood Reporter, NewsNation, New York Daily News, Daily Mail, ABC7, New York Post, RedState, NBC News, WJXX-TV, Vanity Fair, Los Angeles Times, The Wrap, Deadline, UPI, Variety, WTOP News, twitchy.com, Plain Dealer, abc7NY, New Jersey Online, Breitbart and Fox News
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
How the crypto industry bought Trump (and by extension DC) — 📰 📱 📰 With corporate outlets like CBS obeying in advance, supporting independent political media is more important than ever. Public Notice is possible thanks to paid subscribers.
Discussion:
The Hill
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Judd Legum / Popular Information:
From Truth Social to bitcoin empire: Trump's $2 billion pivot
From Truth Social to bitcoin empire: Trump's $2 billion pivot
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS News and Crypto Briefing
Amanda Castro / Newsweek:
Pam Bondi Grants Hillary Clinton Email Probe Request Amid Epstein Furor — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced Monday that the Justice Department has released documents related to the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server. — The Context
CBO Publications:
Estimated Budgetary Effects of Public Law 119-21, to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Title II of H. Con. Res. 14, Relative to CBO's January 2025 Baseline — Public Law 119-21 as enacted on July 4, 2025 — CBO estimates that Public Law 119-21 will result in a net increase …
Discussion:
NBC News, American Prospect, Committee for a …, The Guardian, Washington Examiner and New Republic
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Erkki Forster / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Sexual Bragging Comes Back to Haunt Him — NO AGE LIMIT?? — An eyebrow-raising comment Trump made on “The Howard Stern Show” is making the rounds on social media. — President Donald Trump's boasts about dating younger women are making waves as renewed attention falls …
RELATED:
Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Trump's Stunning Response When Asked if He Has Sexual ‘Age Limit’ Resurfaces as Epstein-Mania Boils
Trump's Stunning Response When Asked if He Has Sexual ‘Age Limit’ Resurfaces as Epstein-Mania Boils
Discussion:
The Wrap
Jacob Wendler / Politico:
Trump lashes out at federal judge presiding over Harvard case … “She is a TOTAL DISASTER, which I say even before hearing her Ruling,” Trump wrote in the post to his social media platform, Truth Social. “She has systematically taken over the various Harvard cases, and is an automatic ‘loss’ for the People of our Country!”
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, Bloomberg, Salon, Washington Examiner, Fox News, The Hill, The Harvard Crimson, New York Post, NPR and WBUR
RELATED:
Oliver Darcy / Status:
The Art of the Settlement … For weeks, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, the executives had held firm at $15 million. But Trump's legal team—apparently spooked by a looming court deadline that could move the case out of Amarillo, Texas—had begun dropping their demand.
Financial Times:
Donald Trump: six months in six charts — US president has had profound impact at home and abroad with tumultuous start to second term — It has been six months since Donald Trump began his second term as US president. — In that time he has shaken trading relations with US allies …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Alicia Chen / New York Times:
U.S.-Based Orange Juice Importer Sues Over Trump's 50% Tariff on Brazilian Goods — Orange juice prices in the U.S. are already high. The suit argues that the tariff would lead to retail price hikes of up to 25 percent. — A U.S.-based juice company is suing over President Trump's pledge …
Discussion:
Bloomberg
MSNBC:
Lawrence: Trump is living in abject terror about the Epstein files. His silence proves it. — Harvard argues in court that Trump's federal funding cuts are illegal — Lawrence: Trump's WSJ suit claims he's been damaged. Epstein is the one who did a lot of damage.
Jordain Carney / Politico:
How Schumer is preparing for the fall funding showdown … Those private discussions come as Schumer has stopped short of threatening a shutdown publicly — even as he warns Republicans against pursuing GOP-only spending tactics. — “He is making recommendations and listening to our recommendations …
Discussion:
Axios
Carroll Doherty / Politico:
The Big Polling Question Surrounding Trump and the Epstein Saga … Throughout Donald Trump's decade in politics, his critics have reacted predictably, almost reflexively, to his string of seeming career-ending statements, precedent-shattering policies and perceived missteps.
Discussion:
The Nevada Independent, Newsweek and Fox News
David Edwards / Raw Story:
Michael Flynn floats ‘military trial for Obama’ despite presidential immunity — Disgraced former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn suggested former President Barack Obama should face a “military trial” after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused him of a …
Discussion:
American Thinker, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, RedState and The Daily Caller
Aria Bendix / NBC News:
FDA panel promotes misinformation about antidepressants during pregnancy, psychiatrists say — Nearly all of the 10 panelists emphasized what they said were risks of the drugs. Some claimed, without evidence, that antidepressants don't work at all. — A Food and Drug Administration panel discussing …
Discussion:
New York Times
