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12:00 PM ET, October 20, 2025

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 Top Items: 
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
No Kings was a huge success.  Just look at Trump's response.  —  Public Notice is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  ✊ Subscribe to PN ✊  —  Before the No Kings rallies that took place across the country on Saturday, Republicans were desperate …
Discussion: The Nation, NPR and Strength In Numbers
RELATED:
Paul Krugman:
Civil Resistance Confronts the Autocracy  —  While MAGA's spin was both insane and revealing, the No Kings Day 2 Marches were a major step towards taking our country back.  —  Last Saturday's No Kings Day 2 was awesome to behold.  The very best of America shone through.
Discussion: Politico
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
Trump's over-the-top reaction to the ‘No Kings’ events was proof of their success  —  The “No Kings” events were intended to send a powerful message to an increasingly authoritarian figure, who appeared rattled by the national dispatch.  —  A few days before millions of his detractors held …
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
All last week, Republican leaders tried to portray the No Kings protests scheduled for Saturday, October 18, as “Hate America” rallies.  G. Elliott Morris of Strength in Numbers partnered with Atlanta-based science newsroom The Xylom to estimate that as many as 8.2 million people turned out yesterday to oppose the Trump administration.
New York Times:
Artillery Shell Detonated Over Interstate 5 During Marines' Celebration, California Officials Say  —  The mishap, during an anniversary celebration for the Marine Corps attended by the vice president and defense secretary, underscores safety concerns that Gov. Gavin Newsom voiced before Saturday's event at Camp Pendleton.
RELATED:
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Long Live ‘No Kings’  —  “Members of Congress say they're happy military troops are getting paid during the shutdown,” Politico reports, “but not necessarily that President Donald Trump is claiming vast power over the federal spending process to do it.”  —  Yeah, we can see what they mean.
Discussion: Salon and Washington Post
Politico:
Lawmakers bemoan Trump's latest power grab: Troop pay
Discussion: Punchbowl News
Miles Bruner / The Bulwark:
My Last Day as an Accomplice of the Republican Party  —  SINCE DONALD TRUMP DESCENDED that golden escalator in 2015, the Republican party has devolved into a cult of personality that mirrors the worst authoritarian regimes of the last one hundred years.  —  For ten years, the GOP has waged …
Discussion: Raw Story
RELATED:
New York Times:
America Still Has a Political Center, and It's the Key to Winning  —  American politics today can seem to be dominated by extremes.  President Trump is carrying out far-right policies, while some of the country's highest-profile Democrats identify as democratic socialists.  Moderation sometimes feels outdated.
Discussion: Sanity Clause and Raw Story
Politico:
Prosecutors may move to oust James Comey's defense lawyer … The prosecutors asked the judge to quickly approve a proposal for a “filter team” of lawyers to sift through evidence in Comey's criminal case that could clarify Fitzgerald's role in the eight-year-old disclosures — without breaching Comey's attorney-client privilege.
Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
China is well positioned for a trade showdown with Trump  —  Rare earths are not the only Chinese product that America would struggle to replace  —  Like boxers before a championship bout, America and China are trash talking each other.  —  Last week, Scott Bessent, the US Treasury secretary …
RELATED:
Reuters:
China imports no US soybeans in September for first time in seven years
Discussion: Fortune and Bloomberg
Alan Elrod / Liberal Currents:
Sex Is Gay, Rape Is Epic, No Fatties: Young Right-Wing Men Are Obsessed With Male Power and Male Bodies  —  The group chat leak reveals what over a decade of incel messaging and Bronze Age Pervert have done to Young Republicans. … This text exchange is part of the cache of messages sent in a Telegram group chat by Young Republicans.
Washington Post:
Officials, locals undercut Trump claims about Venezuela drug boats  —  Trump says the U.S. is blowing up boats carrying deadly fentanyl to the United States.  U.S. and other officials say the route under attack carries cocaine and marijuana to Europe and Africa.  —  Just now
RELATED:
New York Times:
Colombia's Leader Accuses U.S. of Murder, Prompting Trump to Halt Aid
New York Times:
U.S. Kills 3 on Boat Suspected of Smuggling Drugs for Colombian Rebels
Steve Vladeck / One First:
184. The Massive Stakes of Trump v. Illinois  —  The Trump administration's 29th emergency application—to let it deploy federalized National Guard troops in Chicago on a profoundly dubious factual predicate—is a make-or-break moment for the Court.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” …
Discussion: The Contrarian, Slate and emptywheel
Scott Pelley / CBS News:
Fired Justice Department lawyer says he refused to lie in the Abrego Garcia case  —  Erez Reuveni, a fired Department of Justice lawyer who's now blowing the whistle, says he witnessed a disregard of due process and for the rule of law at the DOJ.  —  Reuveni previously won commendations …
Discussion: Raw Story and New Republic
Politico:
ICE is hiring dozens of health workers as lawsuits, deaths in custody mount … The detention centers — which currently hold more than 60,000 people — are overcrowded and the use of hastily constructed facilities like tent cities makes it easier, public health officials said …
Audrey Dutton / ProPublica:
Idaho Banned Vaccine Mandates.  Activists Want to Make It a Model for the Country.  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up for Dispatches, a newsletter that spotlights wrongdoing around the country, to receive our stories in your inbox every week.
Discussion: CNN
CNN:
Federal agency overseeing US nuclear stockpile will furlough most of its workforce starting Monday  —  The federal agency responsible for overseeing and modernizing the US nuclear stockpile will furlough the vast majority of its staff Monday as the government shutdown drags on, according to the Department of Energy.
Jerusalem Demsas / The Argument:
No Kings wasn't cringe  —  At 10:16 a.m., the Berkeley No Kings march kicked off.  A crowd full of men, women, students, seniors, babies, and dogs left the campus meetup spot to march west through the college town.  —  Three young women leading the pack giggled, realizing they hadn't fully thought through their chant strategy.
Discussion: America, America and The Hill
Patricia Lopez / Bloomberg:
Food Prices Could Go Even Higher After These ICE Raids  —  The US Labor Department is sounding a stark warning that the Trump administration's immigration crackdown has devastated the ranks of agricultural workers and now may threaten the food supply.  —  It's bad news for farmers …
Charlotte Clymer / Charlotte's Web Thoughts:
The Six Day Peace  —  [This blog will always be free to read, but it's also how I pay my bills.  If you have suggestions or feedback on how I can earn your paid subscription, shoot me an email: [email protected].  And if this is too big of a commitment, I'm always thankful for a simple cup of coffee.]
Gary Shteyngart / New York Times:
The Tactical Frivolity of the Chicago No Kings Protest  —  On the morning of Oct. 18, after giving a reading at the University of Chicago, I decided to take a cab up to Grant Park to attend Chicago's No Kings march.  The two-hour demonstration took place beneath the city's downtown skyscrapers on a slightly overcast day.
Discussion: Washington Post, Althouse and Slate
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Supreme Court agrees to review law that bars drug users from having firearms  —  The case concerns the same law that former President Joe Biden's son Hunter Biden was convicted of violating before being pardoned by his father.  —  WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether …
Mattathias Schwartz / New York Times:
Judge Demands Answers on Trump Immigration Crackdown in Chicago  —  A federal judge has ordered operational leaders of the crackdown to appear before her on Monday to be questioned about their tactics and their use of tear gas.  —  Federal officials are expected to appear before a judge …
Discussion: CNN, ABC7, UPI and NewsMax.com
David Gilmour / Mediaite:
Fox News Host Laura Ingraham Gets Into Business With Donald Trump Jr.  —  Fox News host Laura Ingraham, one of the network's most prominent primetime personalities, has been named as a board member of a new special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) led by Donald Trump Jr.
Elissa Nadworny / NPR:
As deadline for Trump's colleges compact looms, schools signal dissent  —  Monday is the deadline for a handful of universities to agree to a list of commitments that align with the Trump administration's political priorities, in exchange for preferential access to federal funds.
Andy Kroll / ProPublica:
What You Should Know About Russ Vought, Trump's Shadow President  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Join us Nov. 5 for a virtual discussion about our yearlong investigation into Russell Vought.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
ICE boosts weapons spending 700%  —  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has sharply increased its spending on weapons in 2025, according to an analysis of federal government contracting data by Popular Information.  Records from the Federal Procurement Data System reveal that ICE …
Bloomberg:
Charles Koch-Funded, Anti-Tax Groups Harden GOP Shutdown Stance  —  Influential conservative groups with deep pockets are pushing Republicans to demand steep concessions from Democrats in exchange for extending health care subsidies, a move that risks prolonging a US government shutdown now in its 20th day.
Los Angeles Times:
Shrapnel fell onto CHP vehicle during U.S. military live-fire exercise over I-5, agency says  —  The U.S. military exercise that shot live-fire artillery rounds over Interstate 5 on Saturday dropped metal shrapnel onto a California Highway Patrol protective services detail for Vice President JD Vance, agency officials said Sunday.
 
 
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 More Items: 
Eli Stokols / Politico:
Trump's first in-person fundraiser of the 2026 cycle will be for Lindsey Graham
Discussion: The Hill
Mike Allen / Axios:
Scoop: John Kirby to head UChicago's Institute of Politics
Discussion: The Daily Caller
Steven Erlanger / New York Times:
Senior German General Says Europe Must Do All It Can to Help Ukraine
Discussion: Foreign Policy
Anthony Esolen / American Greatness:
Ten Million Dukes
NBC News:
Live updates: Trump to host Australian PM at White House
Discussion: UPI, Al Jazeera and Reuters
Arne Delfs / Bloomberg:
Germany's Merz Leans Into Far-Right Messaging to Counter AfD
Discussion: Politico and Reuters
 Earlier Items: 
Hayes Brown / MSNBC:
Trump's revenge tour is putting the ‘petty’ in petty tyrant
Discussion: The Contrarian
Politico:
Trump told Zelenskyy he'd try to end the war ‘on the current line’ in difficult White House meeting
Elena Schneider / Politico:
Progressive candidate recruitment org urges Dems to invest beyond Blue Wall
nltimes.nl:
Dutch intelligence services cut back on sharing information with U.S
Washington Post:
Travel ban separates Cuban families, divides community loyal to Trump
Discussion: Raw Story
Kelby Vera / HuffPost:
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Ups The Ante As He Calls For A General Strike
Politico:
Trump struggles to crack tariff piggy bank
Discussion: Cafe Hayek
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
Netflix agrees to acquire WBD's studios and streaming business in an $82.7B cash-and-stock deal, including debt, to close after WBD splits in two in Q3 2026

Alexandra Steigrad / New York Post:
Sources: Forbes has cut ties with dozens of contributing writers; one exec said Forbes needs to ensure the contributor model is “financially sound”

Liam Scott / Columbia Journalism Review:
A look at the First Amendment Watch's SLAPP Back Initiative, a US SLAPP tracker; in 2024, 69 of 500 cases involved the media, of which 46 were dismissed

 
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