Top Items:
New York Times:
The Art of Letting Trump Claim a Win, While Walking Away Stronger — By withholding soybean purchases and rare-earth exports, China extracted relief from U.S. tariffs and delayed export controls, without conceding much in return. — When Xi Jinping walked out of his meeting with President Trump …
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New York Times:
Judge Skeptical Over Trump Administration Decision to Suspend Food Stamps — The arguments at times appeared to frustrate the judge, who promised to rule soon on a suit filed by roughly two dozen states seeking to ensure people don't go hungry as a result of a budgetary dispute.
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USA Today:
Republicans' refusal to fund SNAP will hurt their own voters most. They don't care.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Bloomberg, CNN, Fox News, Washington Examiner and Los Angeles Times
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
Today is the twenty-ninth day of the government shutdown, and the House of Representatives …
Today is the twenty-ninth day of the government shutdown, and the House of Representatives …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and Punchbowl News
Washington Post:
Judge says she'll likely order Trump administration to send SNAP funds to states
Judge says she'll likely order Trump administration to send SNAP funds to states
Discussion:
Axios, The Message Box, Staten Island Advance, LGBTQ Nation, UPI, Bloomberg, Bangor Daily News, The Atlantic, The Hill and Popular Information
David Gilbert / Wired:
No, SNAP Benefits Aren't Mostly Used by Immigrants
No, SNAP Benefits Aren't Mostly Used by Immigrants
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, USA Today, masslive.com, Media Matters for America, Al Jazeera and Tallahassee Democrat
Tom Nichols / The Atlantic:
Trump Is Very Confused About Nuclear Weapons — The president says he wants to resume nuclear testing but doesn't seem to know why. — Just before heading to his meetings with the leader of China, the president of the United States issued some comments about nuclear weapons, or “nuclear,” as he tends to call them.
Discussion:
Fox News, Telegraph, The Hill, New York Times, New Republic, The Daily Signal, Reuters, Associated Press, HuffPost, CNN, The Independent, The Kyiv Independent, Sputnik News, The Sun, Al Jazeera, Instapundit, The Week, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, CBS News, KRDO, France 24, The Japan Times, Raw Story, New York Post, NewsMax.com, WUSA, Bloomberg, Scripps News, Politico, Mediaite and American Greatness
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Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Trump orders Pentagon to begin testing nuclear weapons ‘immediately’
Discussion:
Axios, Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, Reuters, The Guardian, Breaking Defense, Townhall, France 24, Agence France-Presse, Sputnik News, New York Times, NewsMax.com, The Western Journal, Mediaite, HuffPost, The Independent, The Daily Caller, The Verge, Gizmodo, Raw Story and Washington Examiner
Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
Trump's comments on nuclear testing upend decades of US policy. Here's what to know about it
Trump's comments on nuclear testing upend decades of US policy. Here's what to know about it
Discussion:
New Republic, Foreign Policy, NPR, Slate, Sputnik News, Palm Beach Post, Los Angeles Times, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, Metro.co.uk, MeidasTouch News, El País, New York Times, Reuters and UPI
pbump:
Yes, most Americans oppose the East Wing demolition. But... It's one of those sentences one can write about the second Trump administration that would have seemed ludicrously hyperbolic one year ago, but it is nonetheless true: The president of the United States unilaterally obliterated …
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Washington Post:
Most Americans oppose East Wing demolition for Trump ballroom, poll finds — Fifty-six percent say they oppose President Donald Trump's decision to tear down part of the White House to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom building. — Just now — Americans oppose President Donald Trump's demolition …
Discussion:
CBS News, MSNBC, ABC News, New Jersey Online, The Verge, Straight Arrow News and Syracuse Post-Standard
Jacob Wendler / Politico:
Americans oppose Trump's White House ballroom by 2-to-1 ratio, new poll finds
Americans oppose Trump's White House ballroom by 2-to-1 ratio, new poll finds
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Forbes and Staten Island Advance
The Atlantic:
Top Trump Officials Are Moving Onto Military Bases — Stephen Miller, Marco Rubio, Kristi Noem, and others have taken over homes that until recently housed senior officers. — The former white house adviser Katie Miller—mother of three young children, and wife of the presidential right-hand man Stephen …
Discussion:
New Republic, The Independent, Advocate, Mediaite and The Parnas Perspective
Brendan Ruberry / Semafor:
British newspaper spoke to the wrong de Blasio, not an ‘imposter’ — The Scoop — The man at the heart of a high-stakes mix-up that rippled through global political journalism in the final days of the New York mayoral campaign was neither “falsely claiming” to be former Mayor Bill de Blasio …
Discussion:
New York Sun, The Hill, The Wrap, Mediaite, The Guardian, Washington Post, Associated Press, The New World, HuffPost, New York Times and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »
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Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
What We Choose to Nazi — Good morning to everyone, including Long Island wine importer Bill DeBlasio—who accidentally provoked a minor media scandal this week when a reporter from the Times of London emailed him seeking comment on Zohran Mamdani's policies.
Discussion:
The New World, Althouse and CNN, more at Mediagazer »
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Confused Trump, 79, Asks How to Walk Off Stage — STRANDED — The president looked lost as it was time to leave introductions with China's Xi Jinping. — President Donald Trump's meeting with his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping got off to an awkward start as the president looked lost trying …
Discussion:
Washington Post
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Politico:
‘Amazing meeting’: Trump touts progress on multiple fronts with China after meeting Xi
Discussion:
Forbes, BBC, Axios, Breitbart, The Register, Taipei Times, Associated Press, New Republic, New York Times, The Guardian, New York Sun, NewsMax.com, Euractiv, El País, The Hill, France 24, The Korea Herald, NPR, Washington Examiner, RTÉ, The Sun, Bloomberg, New York Post, Deseret News, Bangor Daily News, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, Reuters, Washington Post and Daily Mail
Joe Perticone / The Bulwark:
SCOOP: Trump Swaps Decorated Admiral With 33-Year-Old DOGEr — The highly unorthodox personnel change affects a critical government research role. — ∙ Paid — THE EXPERIENCED HEAD OF A CRITICAL OFFICE that helps organize important technical research and disburse billions of dollars …
Discussion:
New Republic
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Doug Bock Clark / ProPublica:
“Biblical Justice, Equal Justice, for All”: How North Carolina's Chief Justice Transformed His State and America — In early 2023, Paul Newby, the Republican chief justice of North Carolina's Supreme Court, gave the state and the nation a demonstration of the stunning and overlooked power of his office.
Discussion:
City & State Pennsylvania
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
It Sure Looks Like Kash Patel Used the FBI's Jet to Go on a Date … FBI Director Kash Patel met his girlfriend at Penn State this past weekend to watch a wrestling match—but his travel to the university stadium appears to have been on the American public's dime.
Discussion:
The Independent, Mock Paper Scissors and Raw Story
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Sarah Owermohle / CNN:
Confirmation hearing delayed for Trump's surgeon general nominee as she goes into labor with her first child — The Senate hearing for President Donald Trump's nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, is postponed as the nominee goes into labor with her first child, according to a Senate Health …
Discussion:
NBC News, Washington Post, Fox News, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, The Hill, CBS News, The Guardian, UPI, MPR News, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, NPR, Wall Street Journal, MSNBC, Bloomberg, New York Post and Mediaite
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Lauren Gambino / The Guardian:
New York declares state of emergency to help food banks in government shutdown - US politics live
New York declares state of emergency to help food banks in government shutdown - US politics live
Discussion:
The Hill, One America News Network and RedState
CNN:
Exclusive: Three-star general pushed out amid tensions with Hegseth — A three-star general serving on the Pentagon's Joint Staff has been pushed out of his position following months of sustained tensions with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to people familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, Task & Purpose, NewsMax.com and The Independent
New York Times:
Florida Universities to Stop Hiring Foreign H-1B Workers Under DeSantis Plan — The governor's announcement follows a Trump administration plan to charge institutions $100,000 to bring in workers from other countries using the visas. — Gov. Ron DeSantis directed Florida education officials to …
Punchbowl News:
Ohio Republicans cut redistricting deal with Dems … Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. Political ads courtesy of AdImpact. — PUNCHBOWL NEWS PRESENTS — Our new weekly show, Fly Out Day, brings you inside the most consequential decisions shaping Congress with the people at the center of the story.
Discussion:
NBC News, Politico, New York Times, Reason, Election Law Blog, Semafor, Washington Times and New York Sun
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
This Man Is the Face of the Future — Greg Bovino is next. — ∙ Paid — 1. Il Bovino — Please watch this short clip. It's under two minutes. And then lets talk about what you see. — First: You see Chicago police officers at the scene outside the Chicago courthouse.
Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Pentagon orders ‘quick reaction force’ of 500 troops per state: Reports — The National Guard is building a “quick reaction force” (QRF) of some 23,500 troops trained in crowd control and civil disturbance that can be ready to deploy to U.S. cities by early next year, according to a leaked memo reported by multiple outlets Wednesday.
Discussion:
Task & Purpose and The Guardian
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New York Times:
Geert Wilders's Party for Freedom Loses Seats in Dutch Election — A center-left party was poised to become the country's largest political party, according to exit polls. The anti-immigrant Party for Freedom, led by Mr. Wilders, was expected to lose 12 seats.
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Barbara Moens / Financial Times:
Liberal leader poised to become next Dutch prime minister
Liberal leader poised to become next Dutch prime minister
Discussion:
Politico, The National Pulse, The Sun, Los Angeles Times, France 24, RTÉ, Reuters, The New World, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Euractiv, Associated Press and Breitbart
New York Times:
How a Former Trump Golf Club Worker Was Mistakenly Deported to Mexico … Alejandro Juarez stepped off a plane in Texas and stood on a bridge over the Rio Grande, staring at the same border that he had crossed illegally from Mexico 22 years earlier. — As U.S. immigration officials unshackled …
Discussion:
New Republic
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
Farm-state Republicans finally reach their breaking point … So far, the burst of objections has not generated a U-turn from the administration, which is going ahead with a beef import plan that Trump officials argue will both lower steak and hamburger prices for American consumers …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Hackwhackers and Hopium Chronicles
Wall Street Journal:
Binance Boosted Trump Family's Crypto Company Ahead of Pardon for Its Billionaire Founder — Giant crypto exchange facilitated $2 billion purchase of World Liberty's stablecoin and built its technology; clemency for Changpeng Zhao surprised some in administration
Discussion:
So What, The Independent, Popular Information, Political Wire and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Dell Cameron / Wired:
ICE Wants to Build a Shadow Deportation Network in Texas — A new ICE proposal outlines a 24/7 transport operation run by armed contractors—turning Texas into the logistical backbone of an industrialized deportation machine. — US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is exploring plans …
Discussion:
Axios, Source New Mexico and The Colorado Sun
Joe Sommerlad / The Independent:
JD Vance says only ‘really terrible’ people mistreat dogs - apparently forgetting his cabinet colleague shot hers dead — Vice President overlooks Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem's notorious execution of her puppy, Cricket in a discussion on animal cruelty and personal morality
Discussion:
New York Post, The Independent, HuffPost and Raw Story
Wired:
Federal Workers Are Barely Making It Through the Government Shutdown — The US government shut down 30 days ago. WIRED spoke with more than a dozen federal workers who have struggled to pay bills, worked side gigs, and relied on free food programs to get by.
Discussion:
Politico, Washington Examiner, Washington Blade and The Guardian
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
New York City Mayor and New Jersey Governor 2025 — New Jersey Voters Give Sherrill Slight Edge; Mamdani Holds 25-Point Lead over Cuomo in NYC — The final Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill surveys of the New Jersey election for Governor and the New York City election for Mayor find …
Selena Simmons-Duffin / NPR:
Trump pushes an end to medical care for transgender youth nationally — Access to gender-affirming care for transgender youth will be dramatically restricted by the Trump administration under new proposals by the Department of Health and Human Services. — NPR has obtained the draft text …
Discussion:
Advocate, New York Times, Erin In The Morning, RedState and Politico
The Guardian:
Revealed: ICE violates its own policy by holding people in secretive rooms for days or weeks — Guardian analysis finds ICE increasingly keeps people in holding rooms with little oversight, as some facilities see a 600% rise in detention length — Immigration officials …
Discussion:
Washington City Paper

