Top Items:
ProPublica:
Firm Tied to Kristi Noem Secretly Got Money From $220 Million DHS Ad Contracts — The company is run by the husband of Noem's chief DHS spokesperson and has personal and business ties to Noem and her aides. DHS invoked the “emergency” at the border to skirt competitive bidding rules for the taxpayer-funded campaign.
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Epstein Returns at the Worst Time for Trump — Since his return to office, President Donald Trump has missed few chances to flex the power he wields over the nation's most formidable institutions and its wealthiest people. So when the White House announced that Trump would host the latest …
Discussion:
New York Post, The Parnas Perspective, Breitbart, The Wrap, The Daily Beast, ABC News and The Hill
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Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Epstein Scandal Is Now a Chronic Disease of the Trump Presidency — Read the e-mails—this isn't going away anytime soon. — Washington scandals can metastasize in the most unexpected ways. The classic example of this is the long-running Whitewater investigation in the nineteen-nineties …
Discussion:
Politico
New York Times:
America First? Some Trump Supporters Worry That's No Longer the Case. … President Trump has been dining with Wall Street bigwigs. He has embarked on an opulent revamp of the White House at a time when Americans are struggling to pay their bills. He has expressed support for granting visas …
Discussion:
Washington Post
New York Times:
Trump Administration Prepares Tariff Exemptions in Bid to Lower Food Prices — If the proposal goes into effect, it would be the latest rollback of one of President Trump's key economic policies over concerns about affordability. — The Trump administration is preparing broad exemptions …
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Noor Nanji / BBC:
BBC apologises to Trump over Panorama edit but refuses to pay compensation — The BBC has apologised to US President Donald Trump for a Panorama episode that spliced parts of his 6 January 2021 speech together, but rejected his demands for compensation. — The corporation said the edit had given …
Discussion:
New York Times, Telegraph, UPI, Columbia Journalism Review, Washington Post, Fox News, The Daily Sceptic, HotAir, RedState, Mediaite, Straight Arrow News, New Republic, Semafor, Washington Examiner, New York Sun, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, Bloomberg, Reuters, The Sun, Deadline, Ace of Spades HQ, Joe.My.God. and The Daily Caller, more at Mediagazer »
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Christine Wang / Axios:
BBC apologizes to President Trump for documentary edit
BBC apologizes to President Trump for documentary edit
Discussion:
Reuters, Townhall, MSNBC, Al Jazeera, France 24, Politico, CBS News, New York Post, The Wrap, Metro.co.uk, Reason, The Hill, Variety, Mediaite, BBC, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit and Telegraph, more at Mediagazer »
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
How a 17-Year-Old Girl Became Enmeshed in the Matt Gaetz Scandal — A 17-year-old with a homeless parent wanted money for braces and ended up having sex for money with powerful men. She wants the public to have a fuller understanding of how she was victimized. — She was 17 and a high school junior in Florida.
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Post, The Parnas Perspective, The Independent, Salon, LGBTQ Nation, Newsweek, Wonkette, New Republic, Mediaite and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Brian Slodysko / Associated Press:
Top Fannie Mae officials ousted after sounding alarm on sharing confidential housing data — A confidant of Bill Pulte, the Trump administration's top housing regulator, provided confidential mortgage pricing data from Fannie Mae to a principal competitor, alarming senior officials …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Daniel Lippman / Politico:
Trump taps Ingrassia for new role after texting scandal … “It's been the greatest honor to serve Secretary [Kristi] Noem and President Trump, alongside all of you,” he wrote in Thursday's email. He added, “I genuinely feel this is the strongest group of political appointees anywhere …
Discussion:
The Independent, The Daily Beast, Jewish Insider, Raw Story, Washington Post, NewsMax.com and The Hill
New York Times:
Memo Blessing Boat Strikes Is Said to Rely on Trump's Claims About Cartels — Accounts of a secret Justice Department memo offer a window into how administration lawyers approved the president's desired course of action. — A secret Justice Department memo blessing President Trump's boat strikes …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., LewRockwell, Raw Story and The Independent
Department of Homeland Security:
Secretary Noem Gives TSA Officers $10,000 Bonus for Above and Beyond Service During Democrats' Shutdown — Trump administration rewards public servants who kept airports safe despite the Democrats' games — HOUSTON, Texas - On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem announced …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, New York Times, Fox News, The Hill, Federal News Network, The National Pulse, One America News Network, Blaze Media, Houston Public Media, The Daily Caller, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, New York Sun, Joe.My.God., CBS News, Washington Times, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, Newsweek, PinkNews and National Politics
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Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The Dumb Truth at the Heart of the Epstein Scandal — When QAnon meets Veep — Some generations get a nationally televised car chase featuring O. J. Simpson fleeing police in a white Bronco. Others get the communal adrenaline rush of frantically “CTRL-F”-ing a House Oversight Committee trove of Jeffrey Epstein's emails.
Discussion:
The Guardian, Wired, New York Times, MSNBC, The Wrap, Metro.co.uk, WBUR and NBC News
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Lisa Friedman / New York Times:
Trump Administration Revokes Biden Ban on Drilling and Mining in Alaska Wilderness — The decision to allow oil and gas drilling in Alaska's ecologically sensitive North Slope has the support of the state's governor and senators. — The Trump administration announced Thursday that oil …
Discussion:
E&E News, NewsMax.com, The Hill, RedState and Washington Examiner
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Colin Demarest / Axios:
Hegseth announces Operation Southern Spear in “America's neighborhood” — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced Operation Southern Spear, which he said will target “narco-terrorists” and shield “our homeland from the drugs that are killing our people.”
Discussion:
CBS News, Joe.My.God., NewsMax.com and The Sun
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Katherine Doyle / NBC News:
Trump official refers Rep. Eric Swalwell for a federal criminal probe over alleged mortgage fraud — Swalwell is the latest Democrat to face mortgage fraud allegations from Federal Housing Finance Agency head Bill Pulte, who sent a letter to the Justice Department on Wednesday.
Discussion:
The Hill, Punchbowl News, MSNBC, SFist, Forbes, Fox News, The Guardian, New York Sun, New York Post, New York Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, NOTUS, Raw Story, New Republic, Mercury News, Blaze Media, Townhall, American Greatness, Washington Examiner, RedState, twitchy.com, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, CBS News, The Independent, Breitbart, The Post Millennial, HotAir, The National Pulse, Ace of Spades HQ, IJR, NewsMax.com and Joe.My.God.
Rob Davies / The Guardian:
Donald Trump pardons UK billionaire and former Tottenham owner Joe Lewis — Lewis was fined $5m and given three years probation by New York judge over ‘brazen’ insider trading scheme — Joe Lewis, the British billionaire and former owner of Tottenham Hotspur FC, has been pardoned …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, The Hill and The Times of Israel
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Washington Examiner:
Gorsuch warns about this ‘greatest danger’ facing the country today — Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch was on Fox and Friends on Thursday morning to promote his new children's book, Heroes of 1776. — During his interview with Fox News's Lawrence Jones, Gorsuch discussed the contents of his book …
Discussion:
Fox News, The Gateway Pundit and The Federalist
Piper Hudspeth Blackburn / CNN:
Display about Black soldiers in World War II removed from US military cemetery — In the winter of 1944, as some of the bloodiest fighting in World War II ramped up in Europe, 19-year-old then-1st Sgt. Jefferson Wiggins, along with hundreds of other Black soldiers, were tasked with burying the dead in the southern Netherlands.
Discussion:
Washington Post and The Independent
Thomas Chatterton Williams / The Atlantic:
The Left's New Moralism Will Backfire — Under Trump, progressives have embraced the rhetoric of “moral clarity.” It won't help their cause. — In the age of MAGA, ideological lines that once distinguished left from right have blurred. Republicans who said they were willing to die …
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Ed Martin's peculiar view of pardon power — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🏛️🏛️ Subscribe to PN 🏛️🏛️ — Let's get one thing straight: Ed Martin, President Donald Trump's pardon attorney, is a buffoon.
Punchbowl News:
3 dozen House members have already called it quits … That's how unpleasant it's become to serve in the House of Representatives these days. — Six of those members — all Democrats — are in their 70s and 80s, retiring after long tenures in politics. — But the vast majority …
Discussion:
Axios
Associated Press:
Justice Department sues to block California US House map in clash that could tip control of Congress — The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week, joining a court battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026.
Discussion:
US Department of Justice, NBC News, Sacramento Bee, UPI, JURIST, Raw Story, Al Jazeera, Democracy Docket, MSNBC, Washington Examiner, Politico, Washington Post, New York Magazine, The Guardian, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Axios, Deadline, Wall Street Journal, The National Pulse, The Hill, FOX 11 Los Angeles, Bloomberg, Washington Times, The Bulwark, Newsweek, NOTUS, Salon, NewsMax.com and WTOP News
Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Megyn Kelly Eviscerated Over Epstein Remark: ‘This Is Career Ending’ — BEYOND THE PALE — The right-wing host said she did not view the sex trafficker as an “actual pedophile” until recently, among other head-scratching remarks. — Megyn Kelly has been eviscerated for suggesting Jeffrey Epstein …
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Raw Story, Metro.co.uk, The Independent, The Wrap, New Republic, Salon, Newsweek, al.com, LGBTQ Nation, Mediaite, HuffPost and IJR
Chicago Tribune:
Letter from Chicago broadcast veterans: Federal immigration agents have traumatized us and eroded our rights — You know us. — For years, you watched and listened to our coverage of the Chicago area. As journalists, we did our best to bring you accurate, objective information about the people, events and issues that mattered.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Block Club Chicago and The Daily Signal
Alan Blinder / New York Times:
Texas A&M Tightens Rules on Talking About Race and Gender in Classes — The university system will ban advocacy of “race or gender ideology, or topics related to sexual orientation or gender identity” without approval. — Texas A&M University System regents voted Thursday to limit …
Discussion:
IJR, Washington Times, MyNorthwest.com, NewsMax.com, Texas Standard and Joe.My.God.
NOTUS:
A Tennessee Special Election Could Test Whether a Blue Wave Is Coming in 2026 — Democrats are expected to lose. But by how much? — Copy — Just about everyone agrees Republicans will win a special House election in a deep-red Tennessee district next month. Both parties are watching the race closely anyway.
Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:
Blurred lines: how Michael Wolff aspired to be part of elite circles he wrote about — The writer who features prominently in newly released Jeffrey Epstein emails has achieved extraordinary access but faced questions about his journalistic ethics — In 2003 David Carr, the New York Times's late …
Discussion:
The Wrap, IJR, The Gateway Pundit, DOWNWITHTYRANNY!, The Daily Beast and ABC News
The Guardian:
US designates four European anti-fascist groups as terrorist threats — State department claims groups in Germany, Italy and Greece ‘conspiring to undermine foundations of western civilization’ — The US state department has announced that it will designate four European self-described anti-fascist groups …
Politico:
Judge appears skeptical of Lindsey Halligan's appointment as interim US attorney … Currie seemed particularly concerned that a portion of the grand jury proceedings that led to Comey's indictment was “missing,” leaving certain aspects of Halligan's interactions with the grand jury unreviewable.
Discussion:
CNN, ABC News, Axios, Civil Discourse …, New Republic, New York Times, emptywheel, Washington Examiner, NOTUS, Raw Story, Fox News, Above the Law, UPI and NBC News
Wall Street Journal:
Verizon to Cut About 15,000 Jobs — Telecommunications company is looking to reduce costs as it works to stem customer losses — Verizon Communications is planning to cut roughly 15,000 jobs, looking to reduce costs as it contends with increased competition for both wireless service …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, WTIC, The Daily Caller, Fox Business, Reuters, NewsMax.com and al.com, more at Techmeme »
Christopher Condon / Bloomberg:
Janet Yellen Says the US Is Undermining Its Economic Success — The former Treasury secretary warns that Trump's attacks on the rule of law, the Fed and universities threaten the foundations of American prosperity. — In May 2024, eight months before the end of her tenure as US Treasury secretary …
Stephanie Saul / New York Times:
Indiana Professor Removed From Class Over White Supremacy Lesson — The professor will no longer be able to teach a class on diversity after she showed students a diagram that included the “Make America Great Again” slogan as an example of white supremacy. — A professor who showed …
Discussion:
The Independent
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Senators distance themselves from controversial payout provision … “Oh definitely,” Graham said at a news conference after the passage of the government funding bill. “And if you think I'm going to settle this thing for a million dollars — no. I want to make it so painful …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Raw Story, CBS News and Mediaite
Hunter Walker / Talking Points Memo:
JD Vance Received a Dire Warning About the Groyper Takeover of the GOP From a Strange Source — The call warning of a dangerous tide of extremism in Donald Trump's Washington is coming from inside the house — the vice president's house. — And this alarm bell that things are going way too far …
Discussion:
Rod Dreher's Diary
