Top Items:
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:
Associated Press and CNN
RELATED:
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:
emptywheel and Democrats
Punchbowl News:
Epstein mess freezes the House — again — Speaker Mike Johnson may as well send the House home today. In fact, they probably should've taken the week off. — The House Rules Committee, the speaker-controlled panel charged with shaping legislation for the floor, is completely frozen …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch News, Raw Story, HuffPost and The Hill
The Bulwark:
Why the Epstein Coverup Matters — In free societies, government coverups are difficult. In authoritarian ones, they're routine. — Jeffrey Epstein damage control continues at the Justice Department, with Pam Bondi announcing this morning that Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche …
Discussion:
CNN, Off Message and Florida Politics
Politico:
Playbook: Three big questions about 2026
Playbook: Three big questions about 2026
Discussion:
Fox News, The Floridian, The Hill, NewsMax.com and New York Post
Punchbowl News:
Where could the House GOP redistrict next?
Where could the House GOP redistrict next?
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, NPR, The Texas Tribune, WTOP News, Washington Post, MSNBC, Tallahassee Democrat, New Jersey Globe and The Guardian
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Johnson Says He Won't Hold Vote Calling on Trump to Release Epstein Files This Summer
Johnson Says He Won't Hold Vote Calling on Trump to Release Epstein Files This Summer
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
Jordain Carney / Politico:
Schumer's strategy for avoiding a shutdown strategy scramble
Politico:
House GOP eyes exit over Epstein meltdown
House GOP eyes exit over Epstein meltdown
Discussion:
The Hill, Puck, ABC News, The Independent, Breitbart, CBS News and New Republic
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump's forever grudge ties Epstein files to Russia “hoax” — President Trump is redirecting his fury over the Jeffrey Epstein files into one of MAGA's oldest obsessions: punishing Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the officials involved in the 2016 Russia investigation.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, LewRockwell, Townhall and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Cleve R. Wootson Jr / Washington Post:
As MAGA world focuses on Epstein, Trump seeks focus on anything else
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and The Guardian
Ben Mathis-Lilley / Slate:
Is Trump Really Turning the Tables on the Epstein Story? The Beltway Press's Favorite Source Thinks So.
Is Trump Really Turning the Tables on the Epstein Story? The Beltway Press's Favorite Source Thinks So.
Discussion:
The Guardian, NewsMax.com, Roll Call, The Independent and New Republic
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
Trump's Big Epstein Distraction Isn't Working
Trump's Big Epstein Distraction Isn't Working
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
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:
New York Times, CBS News, Mediaite, Breitbart, NPR, Reuters, RedState, UPI, USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media, The Hill, 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
Discussion:
MSNBC, Axios, Fox News, Metro.co.uk, WTOP News, MeidasTouch News, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, Daily Mail, The Post Millennial and KARE-TV
Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Tulsi dumps COINTELPRO files on MLK
Tulsi dumps COINTELPRO files on MLK
Discussion:
Washington Post, ABC News, twitchy.com, Raw Story, New Republic and New York Post
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, Poynter, RTÉ, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, CBS News, New York Daily News, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Axios, Deadline, New Republic, The Hill, The Independent, The Wrap, Mediaite, NOTUS, MSNBC, The Post Millennial, Daily Kos and NewsMax.com, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
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, Page Six, OutsideTheBeltway, New York Times, The Black Wall Street Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, NPR, CBS News, E! Online, Reuters, Rolling Stone, Mercury News, One America News Network, TMZ.com, Washington Examiner, ABC News, WFAA-TV, The Gateway Pundit, The Hollywood Reporter, NewsNation, Daily Mail, New York Post, New York Daily News, ABC7, NBC News, RedState, Los Angeles Times, WJXX-TV, Vanity Fair, The Wrap, Deadline, UPI, Variety, WTOP News, twitchy.com, Plain Dealer, abc7NY, New Jersey Online, Breitbart and Fox News
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
From Truth Social to bitcoin empire: Trump's $2 billion pivot — Since President Trump's election in November, the price of bitcoin has skyrocketed. On Election Day 2024, one bitcoin traded below $75,000. Last week, bitcoin reached an all-time high of over $123,000. (On Monday, it hovered around $118,000.)
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CNBC, CBS News and Crypto Briefing
RELATED:
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
How the crypto industry bought Trump (and by extension DC)
How the crypto industry bought Trump (and by extension DC)
Discussion:
The Hill
Elizabeth Williamson / New York Times:
Big Law Firms Bowed to Trump. A Corps of ‘Little Guys’ Jumped in to Fight Him. — Solo practitioners, former government litigators and small law offices stepped up to help challenge the Trump administration's agenda in court after the White House sought to punish many big firms.
Joshua Keating / Vox:
Trump and Netanyahu weren't on the same page for long — Fighting in Syria exposes a US-Israel rift. … One month ago, while announcing US airstrikes targeting Iran's nuclear program, President Donald Trump said that he and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had worked together as a team …
Discussion:
Israpundit, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Reuters and New York Times
Dan De Luce / NBC News:
Trump's intelligence chiefs try to rewrite the history of the 2016 election — Five years ago, Marco Rubio said there was “irrefutable evidence of Russian meddling.” Now, Tulsi Gabbard says that claim is “treasonous” and should be criminally investigated.
Discussion:
The Federalist, American Thinker, HuffPost, American Greatness, CBS News, NPR, NewsNation, New York Post, HotAir, twitchy.com, Mediaite, Townhall, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and The Bulwark
RELATED:
Glenn Kessler / Washington Post:
Tulsi Gabbard's ‘seditious conspiracy’ claim is based on thin gruel
Tulsi Gabbard's ‘seditious conspiracy’ claim is based on thin gruel
Discussion:
Mother Jones, The Dispatch, The Federalist and One America News Network
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 …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, New York Times, NBC News, The Black Wall Street Times, WAVE-TV, Courier-Journal, Christian Science Monitor, UPI, Salon, WFAA-TV, Washington Examiner, New York Daily News, FOX 11 Los Angeles, The Gateway Pundit, Axios, NewsNation, Fox News, NewsMax.com, Al Jazeera, Washington Post, The 19th, CBS News, HotAir and WTOP News
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
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Deputy Attorney General seeking meeting with Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell — Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that he is seeking a meeting with Jeffrey Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell. … - “No one is above the law—and no lead is off-limits,” he wrote.
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
Samantha Hancox-Li / Liberal Currents:
We Need to Talk About Pedocon Theory — The connection been Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epstein is no accident, but reveals a deep logic at the heart of reactionary politics. … I would prefer here a precise accounting of Jeffrey Epstein's history of pedophilia. Unfortunately, much remains unknown.
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
New poll: Democrats lead House generic ballot; deportations unpopular; Musk party flops — Results from the July Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll — Summary of main poll findings: — Americans remain deeply dissatisfied with the political status quo and increasingly pessimistic …
Discussion:
USA Today and Political Wire
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.
Zach Montague / New York Times:
Trump's Student Arrests, and the Lawsuit Fighting Them, Tread New Ground — The Trump administration's efforts to deport foreign students who espoused pro-Palestinian views under a little-used foreign policy provision have no obvious legal parallel. — The four veteran immigration agents …
Discussion:
New Yorker
Aurelien Breeden / New York Times:
U.S. Says It Will Withdraw From U.N. Cultural Organization, Again — A decision to pull out of UNESCO was the latest move by the Trump administration to cut ties with international organizations. — The United States said Tuesday that it would withdraw from UNESCO, the United Nations cultural organization …
Discussion:
Fox News, Reuters, The Guardian, RTÉ, Associated Press and israelhayom.com
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
Louise Perry / New York Times:
The Perverse Economics of Assisted Suicide — In June, lawmakers in my native country, Britain, approved plans to legalize assisted suicide. If the bill becomes law, England and Wales will join more than a dozen countries and 11 U.S. states in permitting medically assisted dying.
Discussion:
Commonplace

