Top Items:
Punchbowl News:
Republicans big bet on Latino candidates — Republicans are leaning into a simple strategy to win over the crucial bloc of Latino voters: recruit them as candidates. … Now, GOP leaders are making a concerted effort to field Latino candidates in these districts to help turn these pro-Trump voters into loyal Republicans.
RELATED:
Owen Dahlkamp / The Texas Tribune:
Newsom will move to redraw California map if Texas redistricts, teeing up national fight — The governor plans to go through the Legislature to usher in a map with more Democratic seats if Texas tilts its map to the right, according to a person with knowledge of Newsom's thinking.
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, NewsMax.com, CBS News, Election Law Blog, Washington Examiner, Blaze Media, Associated Press and Raw Story
Gary Fineout / Politico:
DeSantis says a census redo could be in works amid state redistricting wars … Texas, the nation's second largest state, is already embarking on a mid-decade redistricting that could result in Republicans picking up five additional seats. — Florida picked up an extra congressional seat after the last U.S. Census.
Discussion:
Newsweek, RedState and Florida Politics
The Texas Tribune:
Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats
Texas House Republicans unveil new congressional map that looks to pick up five GOP seats
Discussion:
USA Today, Forbes, CNN, RedState, Sabato's Crystal Ball, The Preamble, American Thinker, Politico, Dallas Morning News, Associated Press, The Guardian, Punchbowl News, The Hill, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Atlantic, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, Votebeat, New York Post, New York Sun, Roll Call, New Jersey Online, Lone Star Left, Strength In Numbers, Washington Times, The Daily Signal, NBC News, New Republic, Axios, Deseret News, NewsMax.com, Raw Story and Pluribus News
Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
Trump's Texas Gerrymander Is Supercharging a New War on Democracy
Trump's Texas Gerrymander Is Supercharging a New War on Democracy
Discussion:
MSNBC, CounterPunch, Democracy Docket, The American Spectator, The Barbed Wire, NPR, Fox News, Democrats, Daily Kos, Politico and PoliticusUSA
David Weigel / Semafor:
Democrats struggle against Trump-waged redistricting battle
Democrats struggle against Trump-waged redistricting battle
Discussion:
New York Times, The Bulwark, Newsbusters, Washington Post, The Hill, Punchbowl News and Washington Examiner
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Senate Confirms Conspiracy Theorist To Lead National Counterterrorism Center — You can't make it up, folks. Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to confirm Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with alarming ties to white nationalists and far-right groups, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post, MSNBC and Blue Virginia
RELATED:
Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
Senate confirms Trump's pick for counterterrorism agency, a former Green Beret with extremist ties — The Senate confirmed President Donald Trump's pick to lead the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, on Wednesday evening as Republicans looked past his connections to right-wing extremists …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Daily Caller, Jewish Insider, Raw Story, Breitbart and The National Pulse
NBC News:
Family of Epstein abuse survivor urges Trump not to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell: ‘A monster who deserves to rot in prison’ — The family of Virginia Giuffre said any leniency extended to Maxwell would go down as “one of the highest travesties of justice” in history.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Fox News and ABC News
RELATED:
Sarah Fitzpatrick / The Atlantic:
Virginia Giuffre's Family Was Shocked That Trump Described Her as ‘Stolen’
Virginia Giuffre's Family Was Shocked That Trump Described Her as ‘Stolen’
Discussion:
Mediaite
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Congressional stock trading ban gets Senate panel's OK … “We have an opportunity here today to do something that the public has wanted us to do for decades, and that is to ban members of Congress from profiting on information that, frankly, only members of Congress have,” Hawley said.
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Washington Examiner:
Trump calls for Pelosi investigation over insider trading: ‘Disgraceful’
Trump calls for Pelosi investigation over insider trading: ‘Disgraceful’
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, New Republic, Politico, New York Sun, New York Post, Roll Call, The Gateway Pundit, NOTUS, RedState, Associated Press, Raw Story, Forbes, The Daily Caller, NewsNation, Florida Politics, Fox Business, twitchy.com, Daily Caller News Foundation, Mediaite, Business Insider and al.com
Greg Otto / CyberScoop:
Army Secretary forces West Point to rescind appointment given to Easterly — The United States Military Academy abruptly ended the appointment of Jen Easterly to a high-profile academic position in West Point's Department of Social Sciences, according to a memorandum issued Wednesday by the Secretary of the Army.
Michael Gold / New York Times:
House Democrats Sue ICE for Barring Them From Detention Facilities — The 12 Democrats accused the Trump administration of violating the law when it turned them away from immigrant detention sites and imposed a new policy limiting congressional access. — A dozen House Democrats who were barred …
Discussion:
Breitbart, New Republic, Denver Westword, Fox News and Newsweek
RELATED:
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
House Dems Sue ICE For Blocking Oversight on Immigration Facilities
House Dems Sue ICE For Blocking Oversight on Immigration Facilities
Discussion:
Congressman Joe Neguse, Reuters, Fox News, CBS News, Deseret News, NOTUS, Salon, Mississippi Free Press, Roll Call, JURISTnews, Los Angeles Times, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Axios
Natasha Korecki / NBC News:
Kamala Harris decides not to run for governor of California — The former vice president gave “serious thought” to a campaign but opted against it, after losing the 2024 presidential race. — Former Vice President Kamala Harris will not run for California governor, she announced Wednesday …
Discussion:
Deadline, Politico, Associated Press, The Hill, Townhall, The Daily Caller, NPR, Advocate, American Greatness, PinkNews, GB News, NOTUS, Breitbart, UPI, Blaze Media, Mediaite, Daily Caller News Foundation, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal, The 19th, Ace of Spades HQ, Washington Examiner, One America News Network, Fox News, Pluribus News, Axios, The National Pulse, New York Times, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Reuters, TheGrio, Scripps News, MeidasTouch News, CBS News, The Parnas Perspective and MSNBC
RELATED:
Department of Homeland Security:
DHS Launches ‘Defend the Homeland’ Nationwide to Recruit Patriots to Join ICE Law Enforcement and Remove Worst of the Worst from U.S. — WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today launched a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) campaign to recruit brave …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Politico, Breitbart and The Independent
RELATED:
Juliana Vandermark / The Richmonder:
This Tuckahoe home won a $1.26 billion contract for an ICE detention center. The owner isn't talking. — On July 18, the Acquisition Logistics Company received a contract worth a reported $1.26 billion from the federal government for the construction and operation of an immigrant detention center …
Minho Kim / New York Times:
Judge Excoriates Trump Officials for Violations of Laws on Voice of America — The judge had ruled that the administration must restore news programming at Voice of America and has brought back only a fraction of the coverage it provided. — A federal judge said Wednesday that it was likely …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Kate Santaliz / Axios:
Scoop: Massie blindsided Mike Johnson on Trump truce — At Rep. Thomas Massie's request, House Speaker Mike Johnson successfully appealed directly to President Trump for a truce, multiple sources told Axios. — But Massie broke the truce just days later, accusing top Republicans of covering up the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Zach Montague / New York Times:
Judge Bars Trump Administration From Punishing 2 Law Professors for I.C.C. Work — A federal judge in New York permanently blocked the government from pursuing penalties against the professors over their assistance to the International Criminal Court. — A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred …
Isabel Gottlieb / Bloomberg:
What Are Trump's Options If His Tariffs Are Ruled Unlawful? — In rolling out the most aggressive tariff regime in the US in nearly a century, President Donald Trump has leaned heavily on emergency powers that had never been used before to impose import taxes.
Discussion:
Reuters, Wall Street Journal, The White House and CNBC
Tim Renaud / The Hill:
Report says radioactive wasp nest was found near South Carolina nuclear facility — AIKEN, S.C. (WCBD) - A radioactive wasp nest was recently found in South Carolina, according to a report from the Department of Energy. — The report says Radiological Control Operations …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Sun, Post and Courier, Metro.co.uk, IJR, The Gateway Pundit and NewsMax.com
Russell Contreras / Axios:
Trump's DOJ rewrites inclusion rules for grant programs — The Trump administration is flipping language about inclusion and diversity on its head to the advantage of white Americans as a requirement to receive federal grants. … - The guidelines say that federal antidiscrimination laws apply …
Discussion:
Inside Higher Ed and US Department of Justice
Lexi Lonas Cochran / The Hill:
Brown University signs deal with Trump administration to restore funding — Brown University on Wednesday announced a deal with the Trump administration that ends three investigations into the institution and restores research funding that was withheld from it.
US Food and Drug Administration:
High Noon Announces Recall of its Vodka Seltzer Beach Pack (12 Pack) Due to Inclusion of CELSIUS® ASTRO VIBE ™ Energy Drink Cans that were Inadvertently Filled with Vodka Seltzer — When a company announces a recall, market withdrawal, or safety alert, the FDA posts the company's announcement as a public service.
Mark Zuckerberg / Meta:
Personal Superintelligence — Over the last few months we have begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves. The improvement is slow for now, but undeniable. Developing superintelligence is now in sight. — It seems clear that in the coming years …
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Magazine, PCMag, Wired, TechCrunch, Bloomberg, Deadline, Variety, The Register, CBS News, UPI, Adweek and Futurism, more at Techmeme »
Wall Street Journal:
The Weirdest GDP Report Ever — The economy grew 3%, but mainly because imports collapsed. Alas, investment fell too. — If you think President Trump's tariff ructions don't affect the economy, take a gander at Wednesday's report for second quarter gross domestic product.
Discussion:
CounterPunch, Raw Story, Politico and Axios
Jack Silvers / The Daily Beast:
MAGA Champion Who Said Trump Would Fight Child Predators Is Arrested on Charges of Being a Child Predator — ISN'T IT IRONIC — Scott Soucek, the husband of a prominent Wisconsin GOP operative, has been accused of possessing child pornography. — A fervent Trump supporter …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
Alan Dershowitz Says He's Suing ‘Bigoted Vendor’ After Being Denied Pierogi — Alan Dershowitz said he is suing a Martha's Vineyard food vendor who refused to serve the former Harvard Law professor pierogi because of his politics. — Dershowitz, a former Democrat who represented President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Zaid Jilani / Washington Post:
I might lean left — but Marjorie Taylor Greene is winning my respect — The congresswoman, who represents my district, has shown genuine political courage lately. — Just now — I'm not a big fan of political labels. They invite people to put you in a box, and the only box I want to be in is one labeled “open-minded.”
Associated Press:
Bessent says new Trump child savings accounts are ‘back door for privatizing Social Security’ — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Wednesday that the Trump administration was committed to protecting Social Security hours after he said in an interview that a new children's savings program …
Ariana Baio / The Independent:
Musk's America Party can't get off the ground and was just to ‘blow off steam’ about Trump's bill … After his fallout with Trump and departure from the White House, Musk is transitioning back to focusing on his various companies and finding firmer footing in the political sphere.
Discussion:
Gizmodo
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump's Epstein Fiasco Worsens as Dems Suddenly Find Big New Weapon — Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but they also call for creative ones. Faced with a criminal president and a GOP congressional majority that's wholly devoted to shutting down any and all transparency …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, Deseret News, ABC News, Washington Times, CNBC and CBS News
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Mysterious ‘Orange Shape’ Raises More Questions About Epstein Footage — NOT ADDING UP — A CBS investigation claims officials may have misled the public about a series of details on Jeffrey Epstein's final night alive. — Experts say there are flaws with the official explanation …
Discussion:
New York Post, The Sun, The Wrap and The Gateway Pundit
Daniel Orton / Newsweek:
Zohran Mamdani Scores 17-Point Lead with Jewish Voters in NYC Mayoral Race — New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani commands a 17-point lead among Jewish voters in the upcoming New York City mayoral race, according to newly released polling. — The survey from Zenith Research …
Discussion:
New York Times, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, The Forward and The Midwesterner
Fox News:
Patel found thousands of sensitive Trump-Russia probe docs inside ‘burn bags’ in secret room at FBI — EXCLUSIVE: FBI Director Kash Patel found a trove of sensitive documents related to the origins of the Trump-Russia probe buried in multiple “burn bags” in a secret room inside the bureau, sources told Fox News Digital.
Robert Tait / The Guardian:
Ex-CIA agent hits back at Tulsi Gabbard after she accused Obama of ‘treasonous conspiracy’ against Trump — Susan Miller says US intelligence chief's allegations were based on misrepresentations of discoveries made by her team about Russian actions — A former CIA officer who helped lead …
Discussion:
The Federalist, Racket News, Blaze Media, New York Times, HotAir and Raw Story

