Top Items:
New York Times:
In Epstein's ‘Birthday Book,’ a Celebration of His Lecherous Exploits — The book containing 50th birthday tributes to Jeffrey Epstein was released on Monday by the House Oversight Committee. — One friend compared him to the main character in Ernest Hemingway's “The Old Man and the Sea …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Boston.com, Spitfire News, El País, The Sun, Plain Dealer, New York Magazine and TMZ.com
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Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Donald ❤️ Jeffrey — Caution: I'm going to avoid euphemism and reproduce images from the Epstein birthday book because I want everyone to see Jeffrey Epstein through the eyes of the people who knew him best. — Also: You're getting a bonus Secret pod today. Probably around 1:30.
Discussion:
The Dean's Report
NBC News:
Trump calls Epstein birthday letter a ‘dead issue’ — The president has denied that he wrote the letter, which was part of a trove of documents the House Oversight Committee released Monday. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump declined to discuss the letter to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Politico, The Hill, Washington Post, The Guardian, Salon, The Mahablog, Reason, The Parnas Perspective, Raw Story, HuffPost, Mediaite, New Republic, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Rolling Stone, Bloomberg, The Independent, The Wrap, Washington Examiner, Daily Mail, PoliticusUSA and LGBTQ Nation
Ramon Antonio Vargas / The Guardian:
Photo of novelty check suggests Epstein ‘sold’ Trump a woman for $22,500
Discussion:
New Republic, New York Times and Axios
Ross Douthat / New York Times:
Can Trump Deflate the Epstein Scandal?
Wall Street Journal:
See More Pages From Epstein's 50th Birthday Book
See More Pages From Epstein's 50th Birthday Book
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Hill and New York Sun
Paul Caruana Galizia / Financial Times:
Who's who in Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book
Who's who in Jeffrey Epstein's birthday book
Discussion:
Page Six and New York Post
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Every Day, Another Grotesque Secret
Every Day, Another Grotesque Secret
Discussion:
Deadline, New Republic, Mediaite and Raw Story
Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Leavitt: White House would support handwriting expert's examination of Epstein birthday letter
Leavitt: White House would support handwriting expert's examination of Epstein birthday letter
Discussion:
Washington Post, Salon, New Republic, Vanity Fair, Raw Story, Mediaite, Deseret News, NewsMax.com, Advocate, PolitiFact, Al Jazeera, Palm Beach Post, CNN, IJR and New York Sun
Garrett M. Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
ICE is Eating the Soul of America — Four things that show ICE increasingly considers itself outside the law … A big part of this newsletter is trying to mark the moments when America changes — when today is different from before. — A big change happened yesterday …
Discussion:
NBC News
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Gino Fanelli / WXXI News:
ICE agents in the Park Ave neighborhood spark large-scale protest
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Teen Vogue, Block Club Chicago and Daily Kos
Matthew Cunningham-Cook / American Prospect:
DHS Claims Videotaping ICE Raids Is ‘Violence’
DHS Claims Videotaping ICE Raids Is ‘Violence’
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Politico:
John Roberts allows Trump to withhold foreign-aid funds approved by Congress — for now — Chief Justice John Roberts has revived President Donald Trump's bid to slash $4 billion in foreign-aid funding without Congress' approval, adding new urgency to a legal clash over the power of the purse.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Law & Crime
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Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to withhold $4 billion in foreign aid — Chief Justice John Roberts issued an order that blocks a lower court ruling while the Supreme Court decides how to proceed in the case. — WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed the Trump administration …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Post, Fox News, Axios, Bloomberg, MSNBC, Reuters, The Guardian, Raw Story, Michigan Advance, The Daily Caller and The Independent
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Chief Justice Roberts Lets Trump Block Foreign Aid for Now — Acting on his own, the chief justice issued an “administrative stay” pausing a trial judge's ruling while the full court considers the matter. — Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday temporarily paused …
Michael Birnbaum / Washington Post:
White House rebukes Israel over strike on Hamas in Qatar — Trump condemned the attack. Analysts say his mixed messaging on the war emboldened Israel to take unilateral military action. — President Donald Trump on Tuesday condemned Israel's decision to strike a meeting of senior Hamas leaders in Qatar …
Discussion:
Axios, Reuters, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, San Diego Union-Tribune, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Jewish Insider and Mediaite
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Josef Federman / Associated Press:
Israel says it targets Hamas leadership in Qatar's capital as blast heard in Doha
Israel says it targets Hamas leadership in Qatar's capital as blast heard in Doha
Discussion:
Axios, BBC, Reuters, New York Times, CBC News, The Guardian, NPR, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, ABC News, PBS NewsHour, KSTP-TV, The Atlantic, The Hill, Al Jazeera, The Daily Signal, NBC News, Washington Times, Raw Story, Los Angeles Times, The Free Press, Truthout, israelhayom.com, New Republic, Washington Post, The Intercept, Pressenza, Jerusalem Post, Mediaite, NewsMax.com, Jewish Insider, Associated Press, Breitbart, New York Sun, The Forward, Fox News, CBS News, Military and Veteran …, Zeteo, Middle East Monitor, Jewish, WTOP News, Daily Mail, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Caller, Novara Media, UPI, Algemeiner.com, CNBC, The War Zone, Responsible Statecraft, The Sun and The Gateway Pundit
Rusty Surette / KBTX-TV:
A&M Dean removed following student complaints over curriculum — The Department of Justice has also acknowledged the situation and said it would be investigating — COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - A Texas A&M professor under fire by university, state, and federal leaders is under investigation …
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, LGBTQ Nation, OutsideTheBeltway and Adventus
Jen Rice / Democracy Docket:
Missouri House Sends GOP Gerrymander to the Senate — The Missouri House in a 90-65 vote approved a Republican congressional gerrymander, advancing the map to the Senate as part of a national plan to try to rig the 2026 election by eliminating Democratic seats in Congress.
Discussion:
New York Times, CNN, NPR, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, NOTUS, The Hill, Washington Post and UPI
RELATED:
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Trump and Johnson likely doomed in effort to stop Epstein files vote
Discussion:
New York Times, New Republic, Salon, The Daily Signal, MeidasTouch News and Raw Story
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Republicans Shrug at Epstein Birthday Sketch Apparently Signed by Trump
Republicans Shrug at Epstein Birthday Sketch Apparently Signed by Trump
Discussion:
The Bulwark and Meidas+
CNN:
Oliver North marries Fawn Hall, his document-shredding secretary at the center of Iran-Contra scandal — Two key figures in the Iran-Contra affair quietly married last month, nearly 40 years after the scandal rocked US politics and President Ronald Reagan's administration.
Discussion:
New York Post, al.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washingtonian
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Oliver North weds Fawn Hall, his secretary during Iran-contra scandal — The two figures in the 1980s controversy tied the knot last month, according to a Virginia marriage license. — In what can only be described as a uniquely Washington love connection, Oliver North and Fawn Hall …
Discussion:
New York Times
Lindsay Whitehurst / Associated Press:
Supreme Court to quickly consider if President Donald Trump has power to impose sweeping tariffs — The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted an unusually quick hearing on whether President Donald Trump has the power to impose sweeping tariffs under federal law.
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Times, NPR, Associated Press, CNBC, Al Jazeera, Washington Times, Fox Business, The Gateway Pundit, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times
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Justin Jouvenal / Washington Post:
Supreme Court to weigh legality of Trump's tariffs in key economic case
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, CBS News, SCOTUSblog and Washington Times
Anna Bower / Lawfare:
The Judicial Learning Curve — District court judges watch each other struggle with the Trump administration—and adapt. — annabower.bsky.social — Meet The Authors … Around 3:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, a supervisor at the Compass Connections children's shelter …
Discussion:
NOTUS
Axios:
U.S. added 911,000 fewer jobs than first estimated, BLS says — The U.S. economy added 911,000 fewer jobs in the year ending in March than estimated, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Tuesday. — Why it matters: The labor market had less momentum than previously known over the past year …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, CBS News, Breitbart, Fox Business, Associated Press, Bloomberg, HotAir, CNBC, PBS NewsHour, Financial Times, Blaze Media, Wall Street Journal, New York Sun, Issues & Insights, Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, Newsweek, BizPac Review, Washington Examiner, Semafor, Mediaite, New York Post, Washington Times, NewsMax.com, Raw Story and Fortune
RELATED:
Ben Casselman / New York Times:
Job Growth Revised Down by Nearly a Million, Updated BLS Data Shows
Job Growth Revised Down by Nearly a Million, Updated BLS Data Shows
Discussion:
Axios, The White House, Fox Business, Blue Virginia, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Fortune, NPR, The Hill, Deseret News, twitchy.com, Politico, CBS News, UPI and Raw Story
New York Times:
Mamdani Holds Huge Lead in Mayor's Race, Times/Siena Poll Finds — Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in the New York City mayoral race, is way ahead of his three rivals, but his lead would diminish considerably if the field shrank to a two-man race. — Zohran Mamdani has opened …
Discussion:
New York Daily News, NBC News, Fox News, The Liberal Patriot, The Hill, Siena Research Institute, The Texas Tribune, Mediaite, New York Magazine, The Gateway Pundit, Truthout, Hell Gate, Virginia Political Newsletter, New York Sun, Staten Island Advance, The Forward, Deseret News, BizPac Review, Townhall, New Republic, No More Mister Nice Blog, NewsMax.com, Daily Kos and Politico
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Fired CDC director who clashed with RFK Jr. set to testify in Senate — The hearing would give Susan Monarez a high-profile opportunity to respond to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s claims about her ethics and their conversations about vaccines. — Just now — Susan Monarez is set to testify …
Discussion:
Reuters
Politico:
'He's a nut': Hill Republicans sour on Trump housing official Bill Pulte … “I think he's a nut,” one House Republican said of Pulte. (Like others in this story, the lawmaker was granted anonymity to speak candidly about sensitive dynamics within the Trump administration.)
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Examiner and Raw Story
Kaelan Deese / Washington Examiner:
DOJ charges North Carolina light rail attacker DeCarlos Brown Jr. with federal crime — The Justice Department charged the man accused of fatally stabbing a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte light rail train with a federal crime on Tuesday, the latest escalation in a case that has sparked national scrutiny …
RELATED:
New York Times:
Gabbard Retracted Intelligence Report on Venezuela — The report, which remains classified, described work by Richard Grenell, a former top intelligence official in the Trump administration. — Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence, took the unusual step of ordering …
Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
Judge throws out charges against GOP would-be electors in Michigan — The dismissal of the charges is a victory for Trump and his allies and a blow to those who have been calling for accountability for lies about the 2020 election. — A Michigan judge threw out charges Tuesday against Republicans …
Discussion:
Politico, NBC News, Michigan Advance, Votebeat, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, NewsMax.com, KSTP-TV, Axios and Raw Story
RELATED:
CNN:
Florida's surgeon general said he didn't calculate the costs of ending vaccine mandates in the state. But scientists have. — Florida's surgeon general said Sunday that he had not weighed the cost - in terms of infections, hospitalizations or deaths - of ending vaccine mandates in his state.
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Democrats fume at Schumer in closed-door meeting — House Democrats' weekly caucus meeting Tuesday included a vent session towards Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on government funding, Axios has learned. … - “There was anticipatory anger rooted in what went down in March …
Discussion:
NOTUS, Military Times, Raw Story, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA and Associated Press
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court again gives no explanation in ruling for Trump, this time on immigration — The provisional decision only applies to one judge's decision in Los Angeles, but the Trump administration hailed it as a major win as it seeks to ramp up immigration enforcement.
Discussion:
The Hill and BizPac Review
Robert McCoy / New Republic:
Amy Coney Barrett Gives Least Reassuring Answer on Trump Third Term — It's unclear whether President Trump plans to run again in 2028, despite the Twenty-Second Amendment unambiguously barring a president from being elected for a third term. — In a Monday evening interview …
Discussion:
Above the Law, The Hill, Daily Mail and The Independent
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
Vaccine Injuries, Violent Video Games, and Infertility Challenge: RFK Jr. Releases New MAHA ‘Strategy’ Report for Children — “Our young men have sperm counts half what they ought to be,” Kennedy said. … Robert F. Kennedy Jr. released a new “strategy” report from the Make America Healthy Again …
Discussion:
Axios, STAT, PBS NewsHour, Associated Press, Politico, The Hill, NOTUS, Mediaite, The Daily Caller, Newsweek and The Gateway Pundit
Eli McKown-Dawson / Silver Bulletin:
Is Susan Collins toast? — This is the second article in our series on the most interesting 2026 House and Senate races. Make sure to check out the first entry in the series on Georgia's Senate race. — Before we get to the, uh, Maine event, Nate jumping in with a couple of quick announcements.
Dell Cameron / Wired:
Cindy Cohn Is Leaving the EFF, but Not the Fight for Digital Rights — After 25 years at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Cindy Cohn is stepping down as executive director. In a WIRED interview, she reflects on encryption, AI, and why she's not ready to quit the battle.
Discussion:
Electronic Frontier Foundation, more at Techmeme »
Connor O'Brien / Politico:
Congress to vote on repeal of president's Middle East war powers — House Republicans are planning a vote to repeal two laws that authorized military force in the Middle East, amid broader concerns by Democrats and some in the GOP that President Donald Trump is using U.S. troops in inappropriate ways.

