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
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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 …
Discussion:
NBC News, IJR, Ledger, NewsMax.com, Rolling Stone, NewsNation and Zeteo
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
October 19, 2025 — 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 …
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump's response to ‘No Kings’ marches only proved the protesters' point
Discussion:
Paul Krugman, Vanderbilt Political Review, Mediaite and Semafor
Sarah Fortinsky / The Hill:
Trump calls ‘No Kings’ protests a ‘joke’: ‘I work my ass off’
Trump calls ‘No Kings’ protests a ‘joke’: ‘I work my ass off’
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA, twitchy.com, IJR, Issues & Insights, ABC News, CBS News, France 24, NPR, Raw Story and Newsweek
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.
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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
Los Angeles Times:
Shrapnel fell onto CHP vehicle during U.S. military live-fire exercise over I-5, agency says
Discussion:
California Highway Patrol, The Hill, CBS News, San Diego Union-Tribune, WTTG-TV, Fox News and Orange County Register
NBC News:
Live updates: Trump to host Australian PM at White House
Live updates: Trump to host Australian PM at White House
Discussion:
UPI, Al Jazeera and Reuters
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 …
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Reuters:
China imports no US soybeans in September for first time in seven years — U.S. soybean imports to China drop to zero amid trade tensions — Brazil dominates China's soybean imports with 85.2% share — Trade talks between U.S. and China show signs of progress
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Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
China is well positioned for a trade showdown with Trump
China is well positioned for a trade showdown with Trump
Discussion:
New York Times, Reuters, The Japan Times, Bloomberg and Washington Examiner
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.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner and Raw Story
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, emptywheel and RedState
New York Times:
U.S. Kills 3 on Boat Suspected of Smuggling Drugs for Colombian Rebels — It was the seventh known strike in President Trump's military campaign of attacking, rather than arresting, those suspected of running drugs in the Caribbean. — The U.S. military has killed three men …
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN, USA Today, Reason, Al Jazeera, France 24, Reuters, NewsMax.com, UPI, The Guardian, CBS News, The Independent, Newsweek, OutsideTheBeltway, PJ Media, Semafor, Mediaite, Axios, The Daily Caller, New York Post, One America News Network, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Times, New York Sun, The Hill, Associated Press, israelhayom.com, emptywheel, BBC and NBC News
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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
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 …
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.
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News and The Independent
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.
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.]
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 …
Steve Benen / MSNBC:
With George Santos, Trump finds another convicted congressional Republican to reward — The president has now pardoned or commuted the sentences of most of the Republican congressmen convicted of felonies in the 21st century. — About six months ago, disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Sun, Fox News, Politico, Newsweek and NBC News
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.
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, Slate and Althouse
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.
Discussion:
Orlando Sentinel, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal and The Hill
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 …
Discussion:
New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Newsweek
Eli Stokols / Politico:
Trump's first in-person fundraiser of the 2026 cycle will be for Lindsey Graham … “President Trump's support for my reelection has been tremendously helpful, and I am truly honored to have his endorsement,” Graham said in a statement to POLITICO. “I am thrilled that he would do this, and it is going to be a big, big event.
Discussion:
The Hill
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.
Mike Allen / Axios:
Scoop: John Kirby to head UChicago's Institute of Politics … - Kirby will move to Chicago to head the nonpartisan organization, which was founded by David Axelrod in 2013 with the aim of fostering students' “passion for public service and active engagement in our democracy.”
