Top Items:
Amanda Seitz / Associated Press:
RFK Jr. Cancels $500 Million In Funding For Vaccine Development — The mRNA vaccines are credited with slowing the 2020 coronavirus pandemic. — The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu.
RELATED:
Amanda Seitz / Associated Press:
RFK Jr. pulls $500 million in funding for vaccine development — The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, The Dispatch and CBS News
Aria Bendix / NBC News:
RFK Jr. cuts $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts, dealing major blow to promising area of research — The cuts add to mounting evidence that Kennedy is pursuing an aggressive anti-vaccine agenda. — The Trump administration is terminating 22 contracts focused on developing mRNA vaccines …
Discussion:
Politico, Forbes and The Gateway Pundit
Helen Branswell / STAT:
STAT+: Health secretary RFK Jr. shuts door on U.S. investment in mRNA vaccine research — Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday announced that the government's emergency preparedness agency will no longer fund work on messenger RNA vaccines, delivering a crippling blow …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
Kennedy Cancels Nearly $500 Million in mRNA Vaccine Contracts — That kind of shot was first used during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the health secretary has been sharply critical of the technology. — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has canceled nearly $500 million of grants …
Discussion:
MSNBC, New Jersey Online, STAT, Mediaite, PJ Media, NOTUS and Washington Examiner
Donna Brazile / The Hill:
‘Trumpmandering’ — a nationwide scheme to undermine Black and Hispanic voters — In a desperate power grab to preserve Republican control of the U.S. House in the 2026 elections, President Trump is demanding Republican elected officials in Texas and other states redraw congressional district boundaries.
Discussion:
The Contrarian, American Greatness, New York Magazine and The Guardian
RELATED:
NBC News:
Democrats draw up plans to retaliate if Republicans gerrymander Texas — but they face legal hurdles — California is eyeing a ballot initiative this fall to redraw its House map for 2026 — only if Texas Republicans redistrict to gain more seats. New York Democrats may have to wait until 2028.
Discussion:
The Economist, CNN and MSNBC
Tara Suter / The Hill:
Abbott sues to remove Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu from seat — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has sued to remove Texas House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu from his seat amid a battle between Texas Democrats and Republicans over redistricting. — “What is at stake here?
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
California Democrats Look to Redraw House Map Amid Texas Redistricting War
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, TPR, Axios, The Hill, Democracy Docket, NewsMax.com, Texas Attorney General, Althouse, Politico, Off the Kuff, Raw Story, Bangor Daily News, New York Post, Fox News, Dallas Morning News, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, New York Sun, Boston.com, Straight Arrow News, NOTUS, NBC News, CNN, The Guardian, Mother Jones, NewsNation, Mediaite, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Talking Points Memo, JURISTnews and CBS News
Max Burns / The Hill:
It's Pritzker's party: Hell yes, he's messing with Texas, and he's not sorry
It's Pritzker's party: Hell yes, he's messing with Texas, and he's not sorry
Discussion:
Mediaite, Slate, The Independent, Scripps News, CBS News and Washington Post
CNN:
Top Trump officials will discuss Epstein strategy at Wednesday dinner hosted by Vance — Top Trump administration officials will gather at the vice president's residence Wednesday evening as they continue to weigh whether to publish an audio recording and transcript of Deputy Attorney General …
Discussion:
Washington Post, New Jersey Online, TMZ.com, Joe.My.God., emptywheel, Raw Story, Straight Arrow News, NewsMax.com and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Kelly Rissman / The Independent:
Ghislaine Maxwell told Justice Department she never saw Trump do anything concerning with Epstein, report says
Discussion:
CBS News, Raw Story, New Republic, UPI, New York Post, Mediaite, Bangor Daily News, Fox News, The Hill, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Independent, Newsweek and NewsMax.com
ABC News:
Ghislaine Maxwell, in DOJ interview, said nothing that would be harmful to Trump: Sources
Ghislaine Maxwell, in DOJ interview, said nothing that would be harmful to Trump: Sources
Discussion:
NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, New York Post, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Independent and CNN
Katherine Faulders / ABC News:
Vance expected to host Epstein strategy dinner with Bondi, Blanche, Patel
Vance expected to host Epstein strategy dinner with Bondi, Blanche, Patel
Discussion:
Raw Story and Daily Mail
Washington Post:
Trump threatens federal takeover of D.C. after attack on DOGE worker — Trump floats taking federal control of the city after the man known online as ‘Big Balls’ was injured in a carjacking. Elon Musk also says city should be taken over. — A protégé of Elon Musk …
Discussion:
New York Post, Politico, The Hill, PJ Media, HotAir, MSNBC, NewsNation, WNYW-TV, The Daily Caller, Washingtonian, Fox News, Associated Press, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Independent, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, Newsweek and CBS News
RELATED:
NBC News:
Trump threatens federal control of D.C. following attack on administration staffer known as ‘Big Balls’ — Edward Coristine, the Trump administration employee nicknamed “Big Balls,” was the victim of a carjacking and assault in Washington over the weekend, police said.
Discussion:
Wired, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, New York Times, Fox News, Washington Times, TMZ.com, The Guardian, UPI, Axios, twitchy.com, The Independent, Louder With Crowder, Joe.My.God., Townhall, CBS News, Washingtonian, NewsMax.com, American Greatness, RedState, Raw Story, The Hill and The Post Millennial
David Dayen / American Prospect:
FEMA Employees Reassigned to ICE — Probationary employees who had been on paid leave were told to report to ICE within seven days or lose their jobs. It could signal problems with ICE recruitment. — A number of employees with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) …
RELATED:
Nicole Acevedo / NBC News:
Hundreds of alleged human rights abuses in immigrant detention, report finds
Discussion:
The Independent and Raw Story
President Donald J. Trump / The White House:
Establishing the White House Task Force on the 2028 Summer Olympics — By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, and in anticipation of the 2028 Summer Olympics, it is hereby ordered: — Section 1. Purpose.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, RedState, Breitbart, UPI, NewsNation and Deseret News
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Roger Sollenberger / Drop Site News:
Miss United States Files Restraining Order Against GOP Rep. Cory Mills — Lindsey Langston, a Florida Republican state committeewoman and the reigning Miss United States, has filed a restraining order against Florida Republican Rep. Cory Mills, after reporting him to local and state law enforcement …
Discussion:
TMZ.com, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, Politico and Blaze Media
RELATED:
Adam Wren / Politico:
Playbook: Red state, green light
Playbook: Red state, green light
Discussion:
Indianapolis Star and NewsMax.com
Enjoli Liston / New York Times:
Trump Suggests Vance is MAGA Movement's Heir Apparent — President Trump said Vice President JD Vance was “probably favorite at this point” to succeed him as leader of the hard-right political movement. — President Trump said on Tuesday that Vice President JD Vance was “most likely” …
RELATED:
Molly Redden / ProPublica:
Trump's War on Big Law Means It's Harder to Challenge the Administration — Some of America's largest law firms are refusing to take pro bono and paid legal work from groups that seek to hold the government to account on issues like environmental protection, LGBTQ+ rights and police accountability.
Discussion:
Reuters
Will Saletan / The Bulwark:
The Banality of Weasel — Yesterday, the president of the United States appeared without explanation on the roof of the White House, walked aimlessly for a bit, shouted back-and-forth with reporters, said some hard-to-interpret things about nuclear weapons, gesticulated oddly, and then left.
Discussion:
New York Times, The Dispatch and ABC News
Justin Ray / Columbia Journalism Review:
Glenn Kessler Believes Fact-Checkers Are Getting Easier to Ignore … Last week Glenn Kessler, the longtime writer of the Washington Post's Fact Checker column, announced that he had accepted a buyout, joining dozens of his former colleagues in walking away from the storied institution.
Discussion:
The Independent
Meghan Leahy / Washington Post:
Adult son ‘canceled’ his grandma, uncle and cousin. We are heartbroken. — Grandma's views on women, and uncle and cousin's use of racial slurs, crossed the line for the letter writer's 26-year-old son. — Just now … — Canceled — Canceled: Oh, this is so unfortunate.
mpdc.dc.gov:
MPD Makes Two Arrests in Swann Street Attempted Carjacking — The Metropolitan Police Department announces the arrests of two suspects in an attempted unarmed carjacking that occurred in Northwest. — at approximately 3:00 a.m., the suspects approached the victims, who were standing next to their vehicle …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, Reuters, The Daily Caller and SPD Blotter
Hadriana Lowenkron / Bloomberg:
Trump, Apple to Announce Fresh $100 Billion US Investment — President Donald Trump will announce that Apple Inc. will commit to spend another $100 billion on domestic manufacturing, the latest pledge by the tech giant to increase US production of its products as it seeks to avoid punishing tariffs on its flagship iPhones.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, CNBC, CBS News, AppleInsider, NewsMax.com and Fox Business, more at Techmeme »
Axios:
MAGA expectations soar after DOJ orders Russia grand jury probe — The MAGA movement has spent the past 10 years demanding the arrests of President Trump's political enemies. — Now, for the first time, the levers of power are aligned to pursue that goal from inside the federal government.
Discussion:
New York Times, Civil Discourse …, Raw Story, Fox News, NewsNation, Associated Press, Reuters, Daily Mail, CBS News, Grabien, NBC News, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg
Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:
There Is an Information Blackout at Florida's ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Migrant Detention Camp — Public records related to Florida's so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” migrant detention camp have essentially disappeared into what one expert called a “black hole.” Over 90 pages of contracts reviewed …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Orlando Sentinel and NewsMax.com
Sarah K. Burris / Raw Story:
GOP Senate chief changed consent law as relative faced rape charge involving 13-year-old — The Republican president of Utah's Senate managed to change consent laws after a relative was accused of raping a 13-year-old. — Newsweek reported a Salt Lake City Tribune piece …
Discussion:
LGBTQ Nation
John Bolton / The Hill:
Trump is favoring China over India on trade — As President Trump's tariffs begin to bite more widely, hard data on their actual consequences will soon arrive. Of course, the rationale for many of the tariff levels remains opaque, and, despite the August 1 “deadline,” negotiations continue with several important trading partners.
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg, Washington Post, Foreign Policy, CNBC, New York Times and Semafor
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Senator Marsha Blackburn Will Run for Governor of Tennessee — A conservative Trump ally in the Senate, Ms. Blackburn will now try to become the first woman to serve as governor. — Senator Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee announced on Wednesday that she would run for governor, less than a year after winning another term in the Senate.

