Top Items:
New York Times:
Under Siege From Trump and Musk, a Top Liberal Group Falls Into Crisis — Scrambling to pay legal fees, Media Matters has dialed back its criticism, trimmed its staff and contemplated closing entirely. — Media Matters, a nonprofit group that has played a key role in liberal politics …
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Daily Caller, The National Pulse and twitchy.com, more at Mediagazer »
Clare Considine / The Guardian:
Immigration agents told a teenage US citizen: 'You've got no rights.' He secretly recorded his brutal arrest — Video from Kenny Laynez-Ambrosio, 18, puts fresh scrutiny on the harsh tactics used to reach the Trump administration's ambitious enforcement targets
Financial Times:
Cracks widen in Japan and US's interpretation of tariff trade deal — Tokyo officials contest Washington's claim that American investors assured of vast share of profits from joint investment — The US will secure 90 per cent of profits from joint investments with Japan only if it takes …
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Reuters:
Exclusive: US diplomats asked if non-whites qualify for Trump refugee program for South Africans — In early July, the top official at the U.S. embassy in South Africa reached out to Washington asking for clarification on a contentious U.S. policy: could non-whites apply …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
White House Seeks Payments From Other Universities—Including Harvard—After Columbia Deal Sets Precedent — The Trump administration is in talks with several schools about future funding following allegations of antisemitism — The White House is seeking fines from several universities …
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Adam Cancryn / CNN:
What Powell is telling allies as Trump pressures him to resign — Video Ad Feedback — 'It's not new': Jerome Powell corrects Trump over building plan — 'It's not new': Jerome Powell corrects Trump over building plan — Acting Columbia president speaks out after $220 million settlement with Trump admin.
Discussion:
IJR, Daily Kos, The Hill and The Independent
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Nikki McCann Ramirez / Rolling Stone:
Trump Claims Someone May Have Forged His Signature on Birthday Letter to Epstein
Edith Olmsted / New Republic:
“Going to F*** Me”: Trump Crashes Out Over Epstein Chaos
“Going to F*** Me”: Trump Crashes Out Over Epstein Chaos
Discussion:
Raw Story
The Texas Tribune:
Texas GOP Rep. Giovanni Capriglione admits affair, denies abortion allegations — A conservative news site published an interview with a woman who alleges a 17-year affair with the Southlake representative, who said this week he wouldn't seek reelection. — Three days after state …
Discussion:
Current Revolt and Texas Scorecard
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The Barbed Wire:
Author of Texas Abortion Ban Denies He Paid for Abortions Amid Bombshell Allegations from Former Exotic Dancer — State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who authored Texas' “trigger ban” on abortion, said in a statement on Friday that he has never paid for an abortion.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Current Revolt
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Second Whistleblower Backs Up Claims Emil Bove Told DOJ Lawyers To Defy Court Orders — A second whistleblower and former Justice Department attorney has come forward with evidence that corroborates allegations that Trump's judicial nominee Emil Bove directed DOJ attorneys to defy court orders …
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch News:
“Free Ghislaine” Advocate Claims People Connected to White House Contacted Her Before Reaching Out to Maxwell — Jessica Reed Kraus says people “intimately connected to the White House” reached out to her for advice. — As fallout from the Epstein files scandal deepens …
Discussion:
CBS News
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Tommy Christopher / Mediaite:
Trump Demands Reporters Stop Talking About Him And Epstein In New White House Scrum — Claims ‘I Have Nothing To Do With The Guy!’
Trump Demands Reporters Stop Talking About Him And Epstein In New White House Scrum — Claims ‘I Have Nothing To Do With The Guy!’
Discussion:
The Hill, Bloomberg, CBS News, TMZ.com, Newsweek, The Independent, Raw Story, PoliticusUSA, New York Post and The Post Millennial
Washington Post:
Trump administration releases billions it withheld from schools — Lawmakers of both parties had lobbied to release the funds, which support English-language learning programs, teacher training and academic enrichment. — The Trump administration plans to release more than $5 billion …
Discussion:
Axios, The Hill, Politico, USA Today, The Floridian, masslive.com, Chalkbeat, The Colorado Sun, MPR News and FOX 13 Tampa Bay
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Julie Turkewitz / New York Times:
Convicted Murderer Released by Trump From Venezuelan Prison Is Free in U.S. — At least some American officials knew that Dahud Hanid Ortiz had been convicted of a triple murder when he was put on the plane to the United States. — He killed three people in Spain and fled to Venezuela …
Discussion:
The Philadelphia Inquirer, El País and Military and Veteran …
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
SCOTUS's immunity ruling looks even worse now — 🗣️ Paid subscribers keep Public Notice free. If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please sign up and support us. 👇 — Can you believe it has been over a year since the conservatives …
Discussion:
New York Post, Mediaite, HotAir, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, CNN and MSNBC
RELATED:
Jeffrey Toobin / New York Times:
The Line Trump Crossed by Accusing Obama of Treason
The Line Trump Crossed by Accusing Obama of Treason
Discussion:
The Week, El País, The Hill, LewRockwell, The Gateway Pundit, Daily Mail, Staten Island Advance, New Republic, Raw Story, American Thinker and Mediaite
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
FCC to Appoint a Babysitter to Make Sure CBS Isn't Anti-Trump — FCC commissioner Brendan Carr says CBS will have a “bias monitor” who reports directly to the president. … The Federal Communications Commission finally approved an $8 billion merger between Paramount and Skydance on Thursday …
Andrew Freedman / CNN:
Two senior NOAA officials were just placed on leave. Both led ‘Sharpiegate’ inquiry — Two high-ranking officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration with a connection to the likely incoming NOAA administrator were placed on administrative leave Thursday …
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
How Liberalism Sabotages Itself — Our intentional blindness to bad faith is a loophole fascists use to gain respectability and power. — The progressive journalist Mehdi Hasan recently participated in an episode of the popular online series Jubilee, which is a bit like speed-dating, but for public political debate.
Matt Shuham / HuffPost:
I Watched 20 Arrests In Trump's America. Here's What They Looked Like. — “This is fishing in a stocked pool. You tell them, ‘Show up at this location,’ and then they show up and you grab them,” one federal agent involved with immigration court arrests told HuffPost.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Maggie Severns / Wall Street Journal:
YouTuber Tim Pool Wants Answers—and Trusts No One — The right-wing streamer built an empire while stoking suspicion of the government and mainstream media. Will President Trump be his next target?
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Undaunted Search for the Truth — If not for Miami Herald reporter Julie K. Brown, we might never have learned anything about Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking operation, its implication of wealthy, powerful, influential men, and the existence of massive files documenting all of it.
Discussion:
The Dispatch
David Kurtz / Talking Points Memo:
She's Baaack! Trump Re-Installs Alina Habba as U.S. Attorney — A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM's Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. — Habba's Nomination Sacrificed for a Workaround — We're not rid of Trump's utterly unqualified former personal lawyer after all.
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Post, CBS News, MSNBC, National Review, NewsMax.com, Townhall, RedState and Fox News
Andrew Solender / Axios:
“Such bulls**t”: Not every Democrat wants to talk about Epstein … - House Democrats' messaging arm sent members an alert Wednesday urging them to “amplify” a Wall Street Journal report that President Trump is in the Epstein files and demand that “House Republicans stop covering up for Trump.”
Matt K. Lewis / The Hill:
July 2025 is when the Trump era started to end — It took six months into President Trump's second term to get here, but something shifted in Trump World this month. The administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case — including its assertion that a “client list” doesn't exist …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Noam Levey / NPR:
Trump voters wanted lower medical bills. But for millions, bills are about to go up — President Trump rode to reelection last fall on voter concerns about prices. But as his administration pares back federal rules and programs designed to protect patients from the high cost of health care …
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
It's Starting to Smell Like Trump's Watergate — Your Morning Shots correspondents aren't big South Park heads. (Maybe a generational thing?) But we've got to hand it to them—how many goofy cartoons have gotten deep enough under a president's skin to provoke a seething White House response?
Discussion:
BBC and New York Times
Jake Spring / Washington Post:
Park gift shops could remove books on slavery and the Civil War — Among the books flagged for possible removal were “The 1619 Project” and a book about former Interior secretary Deb Haaland. — Just now — National parks employees have raised the idea of removing books on slavery …
Discussion:
Daily Kos
The Hill:
Trump's trip to Scotland: What to know — President Trump departed Friday for a five-day stay in Scotland, where he is expected to meet with British and Scottish officials and visit his properties there. — The White House has described the trip as a “working visit,” …
Discussion:
CBS News, Reuters, HuffPost, New York Times, Metro.co.uk, NewsNation, The Sun, One America News Network, Raw Story, Washington Times, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, NPR, UPI, USA Today, AIRLIVE and Newsweek
John Nichols / The Nation:
Tony Evers Did What Too Many Senior Democrats Have Not — Wisconsin's governor was well positioned to win a third term. Instead, he cleared the way for a new generation of Democrats to run. Others should take note. — Bluesky — Pocket — Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers gave Democrats …
Erik Larson / Bloomberg:
Trump Birthright Order Blocked Again in Fresh Legal Setback — President Donald Trump's executive order limiting birthright citizenship was blocked nationwide for the third time in less than a month, the latest sign that a US Supreme Court decision restricting “universal injunctions” is having little impact on the dispute.
Discussion:
KARE-TV, Washington Examiner and Forbes
Fox News:
Medical staff face charges after allegedly interfering with California ICE arrest — US Attorney warns of consequences for obstruction amid the arrests in California — EXCLUSIVE: Federal authorities arrested a staff member of a clinic in Ontario, California, for allegedly interfering …
Discussion:
American Greatness, FOX 11 Los Angeles, RedState and The Gateway Pundit
Reuters:
Musk ordered shutdown of Starlink satellite service as Ukraine retook territory from Russia — A previously unreported order by Elon Musk to cut satellite communications over a portion of Ukraine disrupted a counteroffensive by Kyiv in the autumn of 2022. Reuters investigated the billionaire's order …
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, Mediaite, Reuters, Al Jazeera, The Sun and PC Gamer, more at Techmeme »
New York Post:
Ghislaine Maxwell gave DOJ info about ‘100 different people’ linked to Jeffrey Epstein, lawyer says — Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell answered questions from Justice Department officials about “100 different people” linked to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, an attorney …
Discussion:
CBS News, The Guardian, Washington Times, Off Message, The Daily Caller, Daily Mail, Associated Press, The Independent, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, Forbes, UPI, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Raw Story, NewsNation, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, The Hill, Metro.co.uk, Newsweek, WTOP News, Scripps News, CNBC and New York Times


