Top Items:
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:
The Parnas Perspective, Raw Story, Salon, New Republic, Wonkette, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Newsweek
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 …
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Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Epstein Returns at the Worst Time for Trump
Discussion:
ABC News, The Wrap, Breitbart and New York Post
Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
Trump faces heat from MAGA base on ‘America First’ agenda, Epstein
Trump faces heat from MAGA base on ‘America First’ agenda, Epstein
Discussion:
Newsweek, The New World, New Republic, Lawyers, Guns & Money and The Hill
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Trump Officials Say Nancy Mace's Support for Epstein Petition Could Cost Her in South Carolina
Trump Officials Say Nancy Mace's Support for Epstein Petition Could Cost Her in South Carolina
Discussion:
The Independent, New York Magazine, Raw Story, FITSNews, Democrats and New York Post
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
He's Acting Pretty Damn Guilty
He's Acting Pretty Damn Guilty
Discussion:
HuffPost, Axios, The Independent and USA Today
The Harvard Crimson:
Email Cache Reveals How Former Harvard President Larry Summers Stayed in Jeffrey Epstein's Orbit — A new cache of emails released by a House committee paints a vivid portrait of the relationship between former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers and convicted sex offender Jeffrey E. Epstein.
Discussion:
New Republic, Time, New York Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite and The Onion
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Charlie Warzel / The Atlantic:
The Dumb Truth at the Heart of the Epstein Scandal
Discussion:
Wired, New York Times, MSNBC, The Wrap, Metro.co.uk, WBUR and NBC News
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 …
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Christine Wang / Axios:
BBC apologizes to President Trump for documentary edit
Discussion:
Townhall, MSNBC, BBC, Associated Press, New York Post, CBS News, Reason, The Wrap, France 24, Metro.co.uk, Al Jazeera, Politico, Mediaite, The Hill, Variety, Telegraph, Bloomberg and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
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:
Fox News, New York Post, NOTUS, Forbes, The Guardian, Breitbart, Blaze Media, Raw Story, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Caller, American Greatness, HotAir, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Independent, New Republic, Axios, RedState, Mercury News, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial, CBS News, Townhall, MSNBC, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Ace of Spades HQ, twitchy.com, The National Pulse, IJR and NewsMax.com
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Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Top officials present Trump with military options for Venezuela in the coming days — Senior military officials on Wednesday presented President Trump with updated options for potential operations in Venezuela, including strikes on land, according to multiple sources familiar with the meetings at the White House.
Discussion:
Newsweek, Washington Examiner, Reuters, The Sun, The Gateway Pundit, NOTUS, NewsMax.com and Mediaite
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Mark Hertling / The Bulwark:
No, Venezuela Is Not a ‘Small Latin American Country’
Discussion:
New York Times, Foreign Policy and WBUR
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 Daily Beast, Washington Post, The Hill, NewsMax.com and Raw Story
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:
The Times of Israel
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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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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
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:
ABC News, Axios, New York Times, NBC News, NOTUS, New Republic, emptywheel, Civil Discourse …, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Fox News, UPI and Above the Law
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:
NBC News, US Department of Justice, Sacramento Bee, Democracy Docket, MSNBC, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, Washington Times, The Bulwark, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Axios, Politico, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Deadline, Salon, Newsweek, FOX 11 Los Angeles, New York Magazine, Raw Story, The National Pulse, NOTUS, NewsMax.com, JURIST and UPI
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 …
RELATED:
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, The Daily Signal and Block Club Chicago
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 …
Washington Post:
U.S. visas can be denied for obesity, cancer and diabetes, Rubio says — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. will consider chronic health conditions and even factors like retirement age as reasons to deny visas to immigrants. — The Trump administration has directed visa officers …
Discussion:
The Korea Herald, The Daily Caller, Straight Arrow News and Axios
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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, CBS News, Raw Story, Mediaite and House Committee …
Sana Muneer / The Daily Free Press:
BU College Republicans president says he called ICE to ‘detain these criminals’ at Allston Car Wash — The president of Boston University College Republicans wrote on X he called the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement requesting it detain employees at Allston Car Wash, the site of a Nov. 4 raid where nine employees were arrested.
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, WBUR and Boston.com
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, WTIC, The Daily Caller, Fox Business, Al Jazeera, Reuters, NewsMax.com and al.com, more at Techmeme »
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:
LewRockwell, The Independent and Raw Story
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
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 Daily Beast, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit, IJR and DOWNWITHTYRANNY!
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
Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
Federal workers question whether the longest government shutdown was worth their sacrifice — Jessica Sweet spent the federal government shutdown cutting back. To make ends meet, the Social Security claims specialist drank only one coffee a day, skipped meals, cut down on groceries and deferred paying some household bills.
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Times, Associated Press, Boston Herald, WHAS-TV, Wall Street Journal, Scripps News and CNN
Nia Prater / New York Magazine:
Ghislaine Maxwell Is Living It Up With Unlimited Toilet Paper — What we know about her alleged special privileges at prison camp. — Earlier this week, Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee announced that Jeffrey Epstein's convicted accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell intends …
Discussion:
The Independent, MSNBC and CNN
Marisa Kabas / The Handbasket:
WH claims ‘inflation tamed,’ per DoorDash stats. Company says that's not in its report. — It comes the same week we learned the WH would likely not release key economic reports for October. … The White House posted a blog on its website earlier this week announcing “NEW DATA: Lower Prices, Bigger Paychecks.”
Jessica Schulberg / HuffPost:
Tremane Wood Receives Last-Minute Clemency, Sparing Him From Execution — His case marks only the second time Gov. Kevin Stitt has commuted a death sentence since entering office in 2019. — MCALESTER, Okla. — Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) granted clemency to 46-year-old Tremane Wood on Thursday …
Discussion:
Balls and Strikes, Associated Press, NonDoc, Law Dork, UPI, New York Times, New York Daily News, ABC7 and CBS News
Pedro Rodriguez / Washington Examiner:
America First Legal adds Byron Donalds as plaintiff in US Census Bureau lawsuit — EXCLUSIVE — America First Legal added Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) on Wednesday as a plaintiff to a lawsuit against the U.S. Census Bureau in an amended complaint. — The lawsuit, filed by the University …
Discussion:
America First Legal, The Daily Caller and Joe.My.God.

