Top Items:
Sophia Cai / Politico:
White House to agencies: Prepare mass firing plans for a potential shutdown … The move marks a significant break from how shutdowns have been handled in recent decades, when most furloughs were temporary and employees were brought back once Congress voted to reopen government and funding was restored.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, GovExec.com, HotAir, CNBC, The Hill, CBS News, Punchbowl News, RedState, The Daily Signal, To the Contrary, Axios, The Independent, Wake Up To Politics, New York Post, New Republic, Heatmap News, UPI, Straight Arrow News, Magnolia Tribune, Mediaite, NPR, Roll Call, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Bloomberg and Federal News Network
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Riley Beggin / Washington Post:
White House begins plan for mass firings if there's a government shutdown — Funding will run out next week if Congress doesn't act. — President Donald Trump's administration instructed federal agencies Wednesday night to prepare for mass layoffs if the government shuts down Oct. 1, after federal funding runs out.
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Sun and Washington Examiner
Politico:
Republicans' shutdown blame game is fracturing … And then there's President Donald Trump, who delved even deeper into the culture wars Tuesday when he accused the other party of seeking to “force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors” as part of the negotiations …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Raw Story, The Hill, Deseret News, Fox News, PBS NewsHour, LGBTQ Nation and New York Times
CNN:
White House budget office threatens mass firings if government shuts down
Discussion:
Politico, Michigan Advance, Washington Times, The National Pulse, Wall Street Journal, WTOP News, The Hill, Axios and Fox News
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
September 24, 2025 — Hours after delivering his delusional and offensive speech …
Tony Romm / New York Times:
White House Eyes New Round of Mass Layoffs if Government Shuts Down
White House Eyes New Round of Mass Layoffs if Government Shuts Down
Discussion:
Scripps News, The Hill, CBS News, Reason, The Parnas Perspective, The Independent and NewsMax.com
Politico:
Russ Vought dares Dems to shut it down
Russ Vought dares Dems to shut it down
Discussion:
New York Times, The Hill, Bloomberg and Business Insider
Carrie Johnson / NPR:
Former special counsel Jack Smith warns that rule of law is ‘under attack’ — The federal prosecutor who built two criminal cases against President Trump is sounding the alarm about dire threats to the legal system. — In his first public remarks since leaving the Justice Department …
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Lawfare:
The Situation: Choose Your Own Adventure: Lindsey Halligan Edition — Any way you play, you lose. — benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org — annabower.bsky.social — Meet The Authors … The Situation on Sunday pondered the removal of the acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia …
Discussion:
Raw Story and The Bulwark
ABC News:
Newly appointed US Attorney will attempt to charge James Comey despite prosecutors finding no probable cause: Sources — Trump demanded the DOJ prosecute the former FBI director. — Former FBI Director James Comey testifies before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Washington D.C., June 8, 2017.
Discussion:
IJR, CNBC, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Townhall, Deseret News, CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Ace of Spades HQ
Associated Press:
Justice Department to try to charge ex-FBI Director James Comey, AP sources say
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Washington Post, CBS News, One America News Network, Fox News, FOX 32 Chicago, The Daily Caller, American Greatness, IJR, israelhayom.com, Raw Story, Straight Arrow News, Blaze Media, HotAir, New York Times, UPI, Washington Times, Democracy Docket, Mediaite, NOTUS, ABC News and MSNBC
Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department Officials Race to Charge James Comey as Deadline Looms
Justice Department Officials Race to Charge James Comey as Deadline Looms
Discussion:
New Republic and Raw Story
Sarah N. Lynch / Reuters:
US prosecutors to seek indictment of former FBI Director Comey in Virginia
US prosecutors to seek indictment of former FBI Director Comey in Virginia
Discussion:
NBC News, MSNBC, The Gateway Pundit, Not the Bee, NewsMax.com, The Post Millennial and New York Sun
Washington Post:
Hegseth orders rare, urgent meeting of hundreds of generals, admirals — The Pentagon has summoned military officials from around the world for a gathering in Virginia. Even top generals and their staffs don't know the reason for the meeting. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …
Discussion:
CBS News, NewsMax.com and The Post Millennial
NBC News:
Democratic anger at their own party fuels 2026 primaries — With the party's image at record lows and declining even among Democratic voters, candidates for Senate see an opening to win by positioning themselves against leaders. — When Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow decided in February …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Ballotpedia
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Dan Merica / Washington Post:
Schumer becomes a campaign trail punching bag for some Democrats
Discussion:
New Jersey Online and Politico
Wired:
The Story of DOGE, as Told by Federal Workers — WIRED spoke with more than 200 federal workers in dozens of agencies to learn what happened as the Department of Government Efficiency tore through their offices. — In August, months after Elon Musk left the federal government …
Discussion:
GovExec.com, New York Times, Daily Kos, FOX 32 Chicago, Washington Examiner, Washington Times, The Hill, Daily Mail, Raw Story and Associated Press
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Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
Lower Than Cowards — The surrender of America's elites — “We have to speak out against this bully,” Jimmy Kimmel said in an emotional monologue after returning to ABC on Tuesday. The network had suspended him, under pressure from the Trump administration, for remarks last week …
Discussion:
New York Times and HuffPost, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Dallas ICE Facility Shooting Leaves One Detainee Dead and Two Injured — The shooter, who killed himself, also wounded two detainees in an attack that raised new fears about political violence in the United States. — A sniper perched on a nearby rooftop fired at a U.S. Immigration …
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
DHS to boost security at ICE offices after deadly attack … That same Dallas ICE facility was the target of a bomb threat just last month. Local law enforcement called in a bomb squad and staff were forced to shelter in place. — In a Wednesday social media post, President Donald Trump …
Discussion:
MSNBC, National Review, Fox News, PJ Media, Department of Homeland …, El País, Townhall, The Spectator Australia, New York Post, Washington Post, The Daily Signal, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, American Greatness, Washington Times, Blaze Media, New Republic, The Federalist, NewsMax.com, The Post Millennial, CBS News, RedState, The New Neo, Breitbart, ABC News, Christian Science Monitor, Rolling Stone, Mediaite and The Hill
NBC News:
Live updates: 1 dead, 2 in critical condition after shooting at Dallas ICE facility
Live updates: 1 dead, 2 in critical condition after shooting at Dallas ICE facility
Discussion:
CNN, New York Post, Reuters, Washington Post, Raw Story, Fox News, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, New York Times, New Republic, Townhall, Newsbusters, CBS News, The Hill, The Free Press, WTOP News, The Guardian, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, Esquire, NewsMax.com, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, OPB, GovExec.com, Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, Mediaite, RUMBLE, Instapundit, PBS NewsHour, Deseret News, The Washington Free Beacon, NOTUS, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, The Texas Tribune, Talking Points Memo, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Blaze Media, Clayton Cramer, Axios, Breitbart and Straight Arrow News
Juliette Jabkhiro / Reuters:
French court to deliver verdict in Sarkozy corruption trial — Former French president had denied charges, claims political motivation — Sarkozy remains influential in France despite legal issues — Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy will soon be imprisoned after he was sentenced …
Discussion:
Associated Press, France 24, The Guardian, Euronews, Modern Diplomacy, New York Times, Al Jazeera and WTOP News
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Wall Street Journal:
Inside the White House Struggle to Tame the Epstein Crisis — Finger-pointing, disorganization and unforced errors by Trump advisers made the problem worse; ‘Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?’ — President Trump had reached his limit. — It was mid-July, and some of his longtime allies …
Discussion:
New Republic, Raw Story, Washington Post, New Jersey Online, The Independent, Mediaite, Washington Examiner and Newsweek
Paul Krugman:
Why Is Trump Bailing Out Argentina? — In its dealings with other countries, Donald Trump's administration is following a clear agenda of undermining liberal values, fomenting discord and withdrawing critical financial support. One of the administration's first acts was to drastically cut funding …
Discussion:
Drezner's World, Raw Story, emptywheel, Semafor, UnHerd, Wall Street Journal, UPI, The Spectator Australia and Bloomberg
Ken Klippenstein:
Exclusive: The ICE Shooter's Politics — We publish what mainstream media won't. For updates and to support our work, please subscribe — The deadly sniper attack on a Dallas ICE facility this morning seemed straightforward, with “ANTI-ICE” engraved on unspent shell casings recovered from the scene, per the FBI.
Discussion:
HotAir, The Left Hook with Wajahat Ali, New York Post, The Daily Caller, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Fox News and Breitbart
New York Times:
Trump, Vance, the Economy: 11 Voters Discuss — Over the summer, some pollsters found declining support for President Trump among young people. — In a Pew survey in August, for instance, 69 percent of Trump voters under 35 said they approved of his performance.
CNN:
Top GOP and White House allies working behind the scenes to prevent Epstein vote on House floor — Top congressional Republicans and White House allies are working behind the scenes to prevent a politically charged floor vote to release the government's Jeffrey Epstein case files next month …
CNN:
‘We either win or die’: Trump State Dept. nominee tried to erase thousands of tweets, many inflammatory — Jeremy Carl, a top Trump State Department nominee, deleted thousands of social media posts, many demonstrating a history of inflammatory commentary— including incendiary posts about race …
Alan Elrod / Liberal Currents:
Charlie Kirk, Martyrdom, and America's Authoritarian Apostles — The entanglement of fascist politics and Christian imagery is not new, and it is dangerously powerful. — I want to begin by once again condemning the murder of Charlie Kirk and extending my sorrow to his widow and children.
Addison Kliewer / KOCO:
Ryan Walters to resign as Oklahoma state superintendent for private sector job — State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Wednesday that he will resign from office and take a job in the private sector. — State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced Wednesday that he will resign from office and take a job in the private sector.
Discussion:
New York Times, KXII-TV, Washington Examiner, NBC News, The Guardian, Diane Ravitch's blog, Raw Story, NonDoc, LGBTQ Nation, The Atlantic, Advocate, NOTUS, Fox News, KGOU, Not the Bee, MSNBC and UPI
Catherine Bouris / The Daily Beast:
Stephen Miller's Wife Drops Cringe-Inducing Sexual Brag — ¡OLÉ! — Katie Miller joked about her husband being a “sexual matador” in an interview with Jesse Watters. — Katie Miller, wife of Stephen Miller and former Elon Musk devotee, made an appearance on Jesse Watters Primetime …
Discussion:
Atlanta Black Star, The Independent, The Daily Caller and Mediaite
Corey G. Johnson / ProPublica:
A New Lawsuit Alleges the Gun Industry Exploited Firearm Owners' Data for Political Gain — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published. — Two major law firms accused the National Shooting Sports Foundation …
Bloomberg:
Ex-Fed, Treasury Officials Back Fed's Cook in Trump Fight — A bipartisan group of former Treasury secretaries, Federal Reserve chairs and other experts urged the US Supreme Court not to let President Donald Trump fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook, arguing that the health of the economy is at stake.
Discussion:
New York Times

