Top Items:
Don Moynihan / Can We Still Govern?:
RFK Jr. is bad for your health — The Centers for Disease Control shitshow is a microcosm of the mismanagement of the Trump era. It also demonstrated some extraordinary courage among principled public servants, who were willing to lose their jobs to draw attention to damage being done to public health.
Discussion:
STAT, The Hill, Washington Post, Townhall, CT Mirror and New York Times
RELATED:
The Guardian:
Who is Jim O'Neill? CDC chief set to bolster RFK Jr plan to remake vaccine policy
Discussion:
Newsweek, Techdirt, WSVN-TV, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Axios, CNN, NBC News, Associated Press, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Zeteo, New York Sun and New York Magazine
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
White House taps top RFK Jr. deputy as acting CDC director
White House taps top RFK Jr. deputy as acting CDC director
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, STAT, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, The Independent, New York Post, NBC News, Axios, Politico, WATN, UPI, WXIA-TV, ABC News, The Guardian, Newsweek, Advocate and VINnews
MedPage Today:
Read the Resignation Letters of Top CDC Officials
Read the Resignation Letters of Top CDC Officials
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Hill, STAT, Forbes, Raw Story, Vox, twitchy.com, Slow Boring, The Gateway Pundit and Bloomberg
Elizabeth Cooney / STAT:
Crisis within CDC is spilling into real world, experts say
Crisis within CDC is spilling into real world, experts say
Discussion:
New York Times and The Independent
Josephine Walker / Axios:
RFK Jr. renews attack on antidepressants after church shooting
RFK Jr. renews attack on antidepressants after church shooting
Discussion:
The Hill, NBC News, Salon, Newsweek, The Independent, LGBTQ Nation and New Republic
Washington Post:
CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives
CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives
Discussion:
MedPage Today, STAT, The Guardian, The Wrap, The National Pulse, Fox News, Gay City News, New York Sun, VTDigger, Roll Call, Reason, Blaze Media, Raw Story, Senator Bernie Sanders, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Politico, CNBC, Wall Street Journal, Daily Kos, Newsweek, American Greatness, The Hill, The Japan Times, New Republic, Genetic Literacy Project, Axios, WTTG-TV and MSNBC
Axios:
Massive CDC walkout erupts amid internal chaos
Massive CDC walkout erupts amid internal chaos
Discussion:
Reuters, CNN, The Guardian, MSNBC, RedState, New Republic and Politico
Greg Jaffe / New York Times:
Pentagon Is Reinstalling Portrait of Confederate General at West Point Library — The Pentagon is putting back up a portrait of Gen. Robert E. Lee at the military academy, as the Trump administration seeks to restore honors for American figures who fought to preserve slavery.
Discussion:
Mediaite and NewsNation
Devlin Barrett / New York Times:
Emil Bove Continued to Work at Justice Dept. After Judicial Confirmation — The code of conduct for federal judges does not appear to apply to Mr. Bove, who has yet to be sworn in. But his continued presence at the department has raised eyebrows. — Emil Bove III, a senior Trump …
Edward-Isaac Dovere / CNN:
Trump cancels Kamala Harris' Secret Service detail that was extended by undisclosed Biden order — President Donald Trump revoked Kamala Harris' Secret Service protection on Thursday, according to a copy of a letter reviewed by CNN. — Former presidents receive Secret Service protection for life.
Discussion:
Axios and New York Times
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Seung Min Kim / Associated Press:
Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former VP Harris, AP sources say
Trump revokes Secret Service protection for former VP Harris, AP sources say
Discussion:
New York Times and Reuters
Politico:
White House declares $4.9B in foreign aid unilaterally canceled in end-run around Congress' funding power … The White House budget office said Friday morning that President Donald Trump has canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid by using a so-called pocket rescission — furthering …
Discussion:
New York Post
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Joni Ernst won't seek reelection to Senate in 2026, sources say — Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa has told confidantes she plans to reveal next week that she won't seek reelection in 2026, multiple sources familiar with the matter told CBS News. — Ernst's announcement is scheduled for Thursday, the sources said.
Discussion:
Mediaite
New York Times:
CVS Holds Off on Offering Covid Vaccines in 16 States — The country's largest pharmacy chain said it needed a C.D.C. panel to recommend the shots before it could offer them nationwide. — CVS, the country's largest pharmacy chain, is currently not offering Covid vaccines in 16 states …
Discussion:
New Jersey Online and Senate Committee on Health …
Zoë Schiffer / Wired:
The White House Apparently Ordered Federal Workers to Roll Out Grok ‘ASAP’ — A partnership between xAI and the US government fell apart earlier this summer. Then the White House apparently got involved, per documents obtained by WIRED. — The White House appears to have instructed leaders …
Shane Galvin / New York Post:
Minneapolis school shooter Robin Westman's mother Mary Grace not cooperating with cops, hires criminal defense attorney — The mother of transgender Minneapolis mass shooter Robin Westman is not cooperating with police in the investigation — and has hired a criminal defense attorney in the wake …
Discussion:
twitchy.com, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Time, NewsMax.com and Associated Press
RELATED:
Associated Press:
DOJ drops charges against another client of AG Pam Bondi's brother Brad — A DOJ spokesperson says AG Pam Bondi “had no role” in the decision. — Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks with reporters during a briefing with President Donald Trump in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington.
Nina Agrawal / New York Times:
Pediatric Brain Cancer Trial Group to Be Phased Out — A network of hospitals and cancer centers dedicated to early phase trials of novel treatments will no longer receive federal funding. — A respected network of hospitals and cancer centers is halting enrollment in clinical trials …
Ryan Grenoble / HuffPost:
Alabama Republican Booed Out Of Town Hall While Attempting To Defend Trump — It seems people don't like Trump's “big, beautiful bill.” — A Republican Senate candidate who was booed out of his own town hall says left-wing agitators are the reason he ducked out the back door while the crowd chanted, “Shame!
Discussion:
al.com, New Republic, Raw Story and Reason
RELATED:
Stuart Anderson / Forbes:
Trump Deals A New Immigration Blow To International Students — Stuart Anderson writes about immigration, business and globalization. — SaveComment — The Trump administration has proposed a new rule to limit international students to fixed periods of entry, making enrolling at U.S. universities more precarious.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, masslive.com, The European Conservative, IJR, The Hill and Reason, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Higher Prices Are Coming for Household Staples — Companies from Hormel to Ace Hardware forecast prices rising as the costs of Trump's tariffs are passed on to consumers — U.S. companies have an unwelcome message for inflation-weary consumers: Prices are going up.
Molly Taft / Wired:
FEMA's Chaotic Summer Has Gone From Bad to Worse — MADE IN CHINA — Why China Builds Faster Than the Rest of the World — ZEYI YANG
Priscilla Alvarez / CNN:
Exclusive: Trump administration plans to send hundreds of Guatemalan children in government custody back to home country — The Trump administration is moving to repatriate hundreds of Guatemalan children in government custody who arrived in the United States alone, according …
J. David Goodman / New York Times:
Texas House Advances Anti-Abortion Bill — Legislation aimed at curtailing mail-order abortions in Texas cleared a decisive hurdle, part of a broader push by abortion opponents to limit the procedure even in states where it is legal. — Lawmakers in Texas moved decisively on Thursday …
Discussion:
Texas Scorecard and LifeNews.com
Felicia Schwartz / Politico:
Steve Witkoff's go-it-alone diplomacy is frustrating US and European officials — President Donald Trump's surprise Anchorage summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin could have been a signature achievement for Steve Witkoff, the developer-turned-diplomat who facilitated the meet up.
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Atlantic
New York Times:
2 Weeks, 1,000 Arrests: How a Surge of Feds Changed D.C. Policing — Crime has fallen since federal agents started policing the streets of Washington in large numbers. Court records show that they have been involved in about a third of arrests that resulted in prosecution, many of them for minor offenses.
Discussion:
HuffPost
New York Times:
How the Future of the Fed Came to Rest on Lisa Cook — President Trump's effort to oust the Federal Reserve governor has kicked off a landmark legal battle, one that will have far-reaching consequences for the institution's independence. — Ten days ago, Lisa Cook was one of seven members …
Discussion:
The Economist, Deseret News, Washington Times, New York Sun, The Guardian, Washington Post and New York Daily News
Courtenay Brown / Axios:
Fed's go-to inflation gauge creeps higher as trade war ramps up — An indicator closely watched by the Federal Reserve showed mixed progress on inflation in July: overall numbers held steady, but a key gauge heated up for the fourth straight month. … - But core PCE, which excludes food …
NBC News:
Jan. 6 rioter Ashli Babbitt offered full military funeral, Air Force confirms — Babbitt, 35, was an Air Force veteran who was fatally shot by Capitol police while protesting Donald Trump's defeat in the 2020 presidential election. — The Air Force has offered full military funeral honors …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, KOKI-TV, Politico, New York Post, The Independent, MSNBC, Raw Story, Times of San Diego, Task & Purpose, Military and Veteran …, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Judicial Watch, HuffPost, The Hill, Washington Times and NewsMax.com
Katie Tarrant / Washington Post:
A GOP lawmaker aims to define Trump's Big Beautiful Bill before Democrats — The fight over the bill comes with enormous stakes for the party as Republicans race to describe the legislation as spurring the economy and benefiting “working-class” Americans. — Just now
Tom Hals / Reuters:
Exclusive: Military feared mistakes in LA deployment could have ‘far-reaching’ implications, records show — As President Donald Trump began his push to send the National Guard and Marines to U.S. cities, military leaders privately questioned whether the troops had received proper training and warned of the …
Matthew Lapierre / CBC News:
Quebec plans to table bill banning prayer in public — ‘The proliferation of street prayer is a serious and sensitive issue,’ minister says — The Quebec government intends to present a bill banning prayer in public. — Secularism Minister Jean-François Roberge said in a statement Thursday …

