Top Items:
New York Times:
Trump Deletes Racist Video of Obamas After Outcry — The White House press secretary had dismissed criticism of the clip's racist content as “fake outrage.” But later Friday, the clip disappeared from the president's social media feed. — President Trump posted a blatantly racist video …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Los Angeles Times, New York Sun, Forbes, Newsweek, Diane Ravitch's blog and Althouse
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Trump shares a racist video that depicts the Obamas as primates — President Donald Trump used his social media account to share a video about election conspiracy theories that includes a racist depiction of former President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, as primates in a jungle.
Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:
Trump shares racist video depicting the Obamas as monkeys — The White House defended Trump's post, saying it was “from an internet meme video depicting President Trump as the King of the Jungle.” — Listen to this article with a free account — President Donald Trump shared a video clip …
CNBC:
Trump takes down racist Truth Social post showing Obamas as apes after blowback … The Truth Social account of President Donald Trump on Friday morning removed a racist image showing former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama portrayed as apes after outrage over the post.
Discussion:
CNN, Media Matters for America, Deadline, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Raw Story, Newsweek, Mediaite and WLT Report
Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:
Trump Posts Wildly Racist Video of the Obamas — The president shared an election conspiracy video that included a clip depicting Barack and Michelle Obama as apes — President Donald Trump went on a wild social media posting spree late Thursday night and into Friday morning …
Discussion:
Axios, Straight Arrow News, USA Today, The Guardian, Forbes, The Hill, TheGrio, CBS News, The Wrap, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Don Lemon Show and Crooks and Liars
Cameron Adams / The Daily Beast:
Trump Posts Vile Video of Obamas in Manic Late-Night Rampage — FEED FRENZY — The 79-year-old president spent the night spewing out conspiracy theories. — President Donald Trump shared a racist video of Barack and Michelle Obama as part of a manic late-night Truth Social posting spree.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Daily Caller, Forbes, Raw Story, Louder With Crowder and Just Jared
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
'Most racist thing I've seen out of this White House': Tim Scott slams Trump for post depicting Obamas as monkeys
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Axios, The Hill, NBC News, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Forbes, Salon, New Jersey Online, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, MLive.com, Raw Story, Newsweek and New Republic
Lucy Campbell / The Guardian:
White House takes down Trump's racist video about Obamas after outrage over ‘vile, unhinged’ post - live
White House takes down Trump's racist video about Obamas after outrage over ‘vile, unhinged’ post - live
Asawin Suebsaeng / Zeteo:
BREAKING: Madman President Promotes Racist Video of the Obamas as Apes
BREAKING: Madman President Promotes Racist Video of the Obamas as Apes
Discussion:
New Republic, Variety, Raw Story and Mediaite
Michael Gold / New York Times:
Officials Pressed Schumer to Help Name Penn Station, Dulles for Trump — Administration officials told the top Senate Democrat the president would release frozen funding for the Gateway project if the transportation hubs were renamed for him. — The Trump administration has sought …
Discussion:
Punchbowl News, New York Daily News, The Guardian and Bloomberg
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CNN:
Trump promises Schumer funding for NY tunnel project — if Penn Station and Dulles Airport are renamed after him
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, NewsNation, Reuters, Axios, UPI, NOTUS, Washingtonian, Forbes, New Republic, HuffPost, New York Post, Diane Ravitch's blog, Mediaite, Raw Story, New Jersey Online, KUSA-TV and The Guardian
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Democrats erupt over Trump push to rename Dulles, Penn Station
Democrats erupt over Trump push to rename Dulles, Penn Station
Discussion:
The Independent and Raw Story
Brian Niemietz / Las Vegas Sun:
Border Patrol boss Gregory Bovino tossed from Las Vegas bar — Former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Gregory Bovino was reportedly asked to leave a Las Vegas bar out of safety concerns for the venue's customers. — Days after being removed from his post in Minneapolis …
Discussion:
The Daily Beast and Raw Story
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
GOP's new fear: Losing the Senate in November … But a Democratic takeover of the Senate would be a political earthquake — and neuter his last two years in office. … - Operatives say they've reviewed polling that shows the GOP facing competitive Senate races not just in traditional battlegrounds …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Adam Downer / The Daily Beast:
CNN Data Guru Reveals Trump's Catastrophic ‘Failure’ — LOSING FORMULA — The animated numbers wiz said Trump has a “formula that equals failure.” — CNN's data guru foresees that the president's “failure, failure, failure” will defeat the GOP in the midterms.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Molly Castle Work / MPR News:
Kindey transplant recipient arrested by federal agents in Rochester needs medicine, state representative says — {"type":"doc","content":[{"type":"parag raph", “content”:[{"text":"A man taken into custody in Rochester Thursday by federal immigration agents and now held at the Whipple Federal Building …
Lindsay Kornick / Fox News:
JD Vance should have been sold by his mother for drugs, NYT columnist says — The vice president celebrated his mother's 10th year of sobriety in April — New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie suggested Vice President JD Vance's mother was right to have attempted to sell him for drugs in a Bluesky post on Wednesday.
Adam Wren / Politico:
Faster, Higher, Stronger — Together? — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray — Happy Friday. We made it. This is Adam Wren. Get in touch. — WAITING FOR A CALL: The race to determine who'll likely be the newest member of Congress is too close to call as of this morning.
Discussion:
Jewish Insider
RELATED:
Punchbowl News:
Progressive Mejia on brink of N.J. upset
Progressive Mejia on brink of N.J. upset
Discussion:
Drop Site News, Washington Examiner, New Jersey Online, Politico, New Jersey Globe, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Blaze Media, Gothamist, New York Post, New Republic, Jewish Insider, The Forward, NBC News, Bloomberg, Associated Press, E&E News, Political Wire, New York Times, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, Democrats, HuffPost and Roll Call
Regina Medina / MPR News:
DHS seeks deportation for Liam Conejo Ramos' family — The federal government has filed a motion seeking to end asylum claims for the family of Liam Conejo Ramos, according to the lawyer representing the family. The 5-year-old returned home this week after he was detained with his father …
Discussion:
San Antonio Current, MS NOW, No More Mister Nice Blog, New York Times, New Republic, MinnPost, The Independent and KARE-TV
New York Times:
Iran Is at Work on Missile and Nuclear Sites, Satellite Images Show — Repairs at key missile sites began soon after they were hit by Israeli and U.S. strikes last year, but work at Iran's nuclear facilities has been slower. — Iran appears to have rapidly repaired several ballistic missile …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, HotAir, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Jewish Insider and Christian Science Monitor
U.S. Department of State:
The Next Era of Nuclear Arms Control — Author: U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio — During the Cold War, few negotiations proved as complex as those between the United States and the Soviet Union to limit and reduce their vast nuclear arsenals. They required trust between adversaries …
Elie Mystal / The Nation:
Is Samuel Alito Preparing to Disrobe? — In this installment of Elie v. US, our justice correspondent explores the week's big legal news, including a possible Alito retirement. Also, the anti-trans mob's latest target: tight clothing. — Pocket … Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has a new book coming out.
Wall Street Journal:
‘Ignore It.’ How the Elite Consoled Jeffrey Epstein Over His Crimes. — Newly released emails show Noam Chomsky, Richard Branson and Steve Bannon commiserated with Epstein about his legal troubles and bad press — Since Jeffrey Epstein's death, a parade of powerful people who associated …
Discussion:
New York Post
New York Times:
Trump's Online Drugstore Opens for Business — TrumpRx is aimed at helping patients use their own money to buy medicines. But researchers who study drug pricing warned that many patients could pay too much if they use the site. — President Trump announced the debut of a website …
Discussion:
ProPublica, The White House, Futurism, The National Pulse, STAT, KTSA, New Republic, Straight Arrow News, CNBC, Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Signal, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Truthout, The Maine Wire, Associated Press, Townhall, KOB.com, NPR, France 24, Deseret News, RedState, Politico, Al Jazeera, Raw Story, ABC News, Florida's Voice, NOTUS, The Daily Wire, Financial Times, Axios, WLT Report, New York Post, Grabien, Bloomberg, CNN and NewsMax.com
Eric Tucker / Associated Press:
Key participant in 2012 Benghazi, Libya, attack that killed 4 Americans is in custody, Bondi says — WASHINGTON (AP) — A key participant in the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, that killed four Americans has been taken into custody and will be prosecuted in their deaths …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, New York Times, Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, Washington Post, The Hill, UPI, Ace of Spades HQ, Breitbart, Reuters, RedState, Townhall, New York Post, The Post Millennial, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, WLT Report, The Maine Wire, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, MS NOW, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Mediaite and NewsNation
Josephine Walker / Axios:
DOJ omitted communication from Bondi, Patel in Epstein files, watchdog says — A watchdog group is asking the Justice Department to explain why it hasn't included communication from top Trump administration officials in its release of over 2 million pages tied to Jeffrey Epstein, according to a complaint filed Friday.
Discussion:
The Hill
Michelle R Smith / The Guardian:
Newly revealed emails undermine RFK Jr testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of measles outbreak — Kennedy later said the purpose of his trip had nothing to do with vaccines. US embassy and UN staff at the time said otherwise, emails show — Over two days of questioning during …
Discussion:
The Parnas Perspective, Denver Post, Raw Story and Techdirt
Politico:
Elections overhaul takes center stage in House as hard-right pressure mounts … The issue almost tanked a massive government funding package this week and threatened to extend a four-day partial government shutdown — until Trump intervened and ordered House Republicans to pass the bill without attaching the elections legislation.
Discussion:
Democracy Docket, HotAir, CNBC, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, BizPac Review, NewsMax.com, Fox News, The Daily Signal and NBC News
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
Inside Trump's Takeover of D.C.'s Golf Courses — In early spring, the founders of the National Links Trust met with a White House adviser to talk about the future of golf in Washington, D.C. — The White House adviser, William Doffermyre, who was set to become the solicitor general …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and E&E News
Julie K. Brown / The Epstein Files:
Understanding Epstein's Crimes — “I'm not a sexual predator, I'm an ‘offender’ ... It's the difference between a murderer and a person who steals a bagel,” Jeffrey Epstein told the New York Post in 2011. — Epstein compared raping a 13-year-old girl to stealing a bagel. Let that sink in.
New York Times:
‘Gang Stuff’ and ‘Illicit Trysts’: How Epstein Sought Leverage With the Wealthy — Jeffrey Epstein drafted letters to men like the retail billionaire Leslie Wexner in which he hinted at shared secrets. — Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious sex offender, was drafting a letter to Leslie Wexner …
Discussion:
The Bulwark
NBC News:
How ICE agents are using facial recognition technology to bring surveillance to the streets — Witnesses describe an expansion of biometric surveillance as immigration agents use facial scanning and photography to track targets and bystanders. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE
Discussion:
Politico, Techdirt, American Immigration Council, NewsMax.com, Ars Technica and Wired
Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket:
Federal judge rules DOJ can ‘no longer’ be trusted in voter roll crusade — A federal judge in Oregon issued a sweeping rebuke of the Justice Department's nationwide push to seize state voter rolls, ruling that the department can no longer be presumed to be acting in good faith and warning …
Discussion:
Oregonian
Emily Burack / Town & Country:
International Olympic Committee Asks Fans to Not Boo JD Vance at the Opening Ceremony — The U.S. delegation will be led by the Vice President and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. — Leading the U.S. delegation in Milan for the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony will be Vice President JD Vance …
Discussion:
New York Post, NewsNation, KGW-TV, KUSA-TV, Deseret News, Civil Georgia, Page Six, OutKick, Fox News, MLive.com, France 24 and The Hill
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
What Americans actually want done about ICE — In a letter sent on Feb. 4, 2026, Democratic congressional leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer laid out their 10 key demands for the current fight in Washington over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, and thus Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Discussion:
Navigator Research
Madina Touré / Politico:
Senate education chair blasts Mamdani over revocation of antisemitism executive orders … Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican, argued the rollback of the IHRA-related order risks “misalignment” with federal antisemitism policy, which requires agencies to consider that definition of antisemitism when enforcing civil rights protections.
Discussion:
Senate Committee on Health …, Townhall, IJR, Jewish Insider, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com and Washington Times
European Commission:
Commission preliminarily finds TikTok's addictive design in breach of the Digital Services Act — Today, the European Commission preliminarily found TikTok in breach of the Digital Services Act for its addictive design. This includes features such as infinite scroll, autoplay, push notifications …
Discussion:
Reuters, UPI, TechCrunch, Gizmodo, Agence France-Presse, The Verge, Ars Technica, Associated Press, Politico and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
Dmitri Bolt / Townhall:
Mamdani Invokes the Bible, Buddhism, and Islam in His Latest Anti-ICE Rant — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani signed an executive order on Friday requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to get a judicial warrant before entering NYC buildings — a law that's already been in place since Eric Adams' administration.
Discussion:
New York Post, BizPac Review and The Gateway Pundit
Paul Krugman:
American Decency Still Lives — If you want to accomplish anything in politics, you have to have realistic expectations about voters. Ordinary people aren't deeply informed about policy or politics. They have jobs to do, children to raise, lives to live.
Brian Faler / Politico:
Amazon's tax bill plunges after GOP tax cuts — The 87 percent drop is largely due to a more generous depreciation break in the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act.’ … Also helping, though less important: The law's expanded breaks for businesses research and development expenses.
Discussion:
About Amazon, more at Techmeme »
