Top Items:
New York Times:
How Trump and His Advisers Miscalculated Iran's Response to War — In the lead-up to the U.S.-Israeli attack, President Trump downplayed the risks to the energy markets as a short-term concern that should not overshadow the mission to decapitate the Iranian regime.
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump tells Axios there's “practically nothing left” to target in Iran — President Trump told Axios in a brief phone interview Wednesday that the war with Iran will end “soon” because there is “practically nothing left to target.” — “Little this and that... Any time I want it to end …
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Mediaite, The Week, The Independent, Agence France-Presse, Middle East Monitor, IJR, WDEF-TV and CBS News
Franklin Foer / The Atlantic:
The Obvious Is Taking Its Revenge on Trump — The reasons other U.S. presidents avoided war with Iran are becoming all too evident. — In the least charitable—and probably accurate—view, President Trump went to war with Iran out of a delusional faith in himself.
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
Trump says Kushner helped convince him to go to war with Iran
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Politico, Mediaite and The Hill
Jennifer Rubin / The Contrarian:
Trump's Delusions Come at Americans' Expense
John Cornyn / New York Post:
Sen. Cornyn: Why the SAVE Act matters more than the filibuster — If a man takes a swing at you and barely misses, that doesn't make him a pacifist — it just means he has bad aim. — Standing still and giving him a second free swing wouldn't be wise or honorable; it would be foolish.
Discussion:
NOTUS, New York Times, HotAir, The Hill, Fox News, Ace of Spades HQ, RedState, The Post Millennial, Townhall and Washington Examiner
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Calen Razor / Politico:
Capitol agenda: GOP wants to move past the SAVE America Act — Congressional Republicans aren't allowing President Donald Trump's SAVE America Act ultimatum to uproot their legislative agenda ahead of the midterms. Lawmakers made clear Tuesday they're eager to wash their hands …
Jordain Carney / Politico:
John Thune says he's ready to take the filibuster heat … Thune, confident of his support from fellow Republican senators, brushed off the criticism in an interview Tuesday. — “It just kind of comes with the territory,” he said. “You just roll with it, you know. It's the times in which we live.”
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Raw Story, Roll Call, New York Sun, RedState, The Daily Signal, BizPac Review, Washington Examiner and Election Law Blog
Kyla Guilfoil / NBC News:
Trump nominee withdraws after senators press him on remarks about Jews, Israel and ‘white culture’
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Fox News, The Guardian, NewsMax.com, Reuters, Advocate, NOTUS, IJR, Raw Story, Mediaite and Deseret News
NBC News:
Sen. John Cornyn flips on the filibuster to pass SAVE America Act as Trump weighs endorsement
Sen. John Cornyn flips on the filibuster to pass SAVE America Act as Trump weighs endorsement
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo and BizPac Review
Scott Nover / Washington Post:
Pentagon bars press photographers over ‘unflattering’ Hegseth photos — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's staff took issue with images taken in a rare briefing last week and decided to shut out photographers from two subsequent news conferences. — The Defense Department has barred press photographers …
Discussion:
The Wrap, twitchy.com and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »
Glenn Thrush / New York Times:
Bondi Is Said to Move to Military Housing Because of Threats — The attorney general relocated from a Washington apartment to a base in the area within the past month, according to people familiar with the situation. — Attorney General Pam Bondi has quietly relocated to one of several military bases …
Discussion:
The Independent, Mercury News, TMZ.com, New Republic, RedState, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, Mediaite and Althouse
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Tim Balk / New York Times:
Joe Rogan Says Trump's Supporters Feel ‘Betrayed’ by Iran War — The influential podcast host described the conflict as a sharp reversal from the policies the president had campaigned on. — Joe Rogan, the influential podcast host, said on his show Tuesday that the war in Iran was “crazy” …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Bulwark, Raw Story, BizPac Review, The Wrap, Mediaite and Newsweek
Jonathan Saul / Reuters:
US Navy tells shipping industry Hormuz escorts not possible for now — The U.S. Navy has refused near-daily requests from the shipping industry for military escorts through the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war on Iran, saying the risk of attacks is too high for now, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
Reuters, Washington Examiner, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, Bloomberg, Asia Times, Daily Kos, Human Events, IJR, Forbes, DNYUZ, Washington Times, The Maritime Executive, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, NOTUS, RedState, The Spectator, Mediaite, Al Jazeera, UPI, CNBC, The Preamble and Politico
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Iran's Control of Hormuz Means It's Exporting More Oil Today Than Before the War — Tehran is letting ships carrying its crude go through the strait, while it scares off others — Iran is exporting more oil through the Strait of Hormuz than before the war, showing it is in control …
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Times, PJ Media, USNI News, CNBC, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Semafor, Al Jazeera and The Hill
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
Dire Straits: The Iran War Is Run by Idiots
Discussion:
New York Times and AL-Monitor
Natasha Bertrand / CNN:
Iran begins laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, sources say
Iran begins laying mines in Strait of Hormuz, sources say
Discussion:
GZERO, The Hill, CBS News, Fox News, Gizmodo, RedState, Axios, The Independent, Townhall, Digby's Hullabaloo, Straight Arrow News, The Guardian, Politico, NPR, Forbes, France 24, The American Conservative, Bloomberg, DNYUZ, Reuters, MercoPress, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, The Week, The US Sun, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Times Now, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Blaze Media, New York Sun, The Maritime Executive, Scripps News, Semafor, New York Post, 19FortyFive, Raw Story, Mediaite, Metro.co.uk, The Verge, The Japan Times, New Republic, The Daily Wire, Middle East Monitor and Fortune
New York Times:
U.S. at Fault in Strike on School in Iran, Preliminary Inquiry Says — Outdated targeting data may have resulted in a mistaken missile strike, according to the ongoing military investigation, which undercuts President Trump's assertion that Iran could be to blame.
Discussion:
Zeteo, Futurism, Raw Story and The Guardian
New York Post:
The untold reason Kristi Noem's alleged lover Corey Lewandowski did ‘whatever the f-k I want’ at DHS — WASHINGTON — Embattled Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's top aide and alleged lover Corey Lewandowski bragged that he could do “whatever” he wanted as a powerful federal official …
Discussion:
NBC News
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Dozens of U.S. service members in Kuwait suffered serious injuries, including burns, brain trauma and shrapnel wounds, sources say — Add CBS News on Google — An Iranian drone attack in Kuwait that killed six U.S. service members in the early hours of the war with Iran was more severe …
Discussion:
DNYUZ
Politico:
The White House isn't panicking about oil prices. That may change in a few weeks. … “Assuming the economy continues to turn around once the active part of the war is concluded, you'll have the whole summer from May through August to ride the turnaround,” the person said.
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Independent, MS NOW and Raw Story
RELATED:
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
Dems score upset win in New Hampshire special election, giving GOP fresh reason to worry — Heading into Tuesday's state legislative special election in New Hampshire, Republicans had reason to be cautiously optimistic. The race was in a district that Donald Trump won by 9 points in 2024 …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner and Democrats
RELATED:
David Nir / The Downballot:
Democrats win GOP seat in New Hampshire, notching 10th straight special election flip
Democrats win GOP seat in New Hampshire, notching 10th straight special election flip
Discussion:
The Guardian and The Hill
Ankush Khardori / Politico:
Why DOJ Hasn't Charged Anyone Else From the Epstein Files … But more than a month after the release, something like the opposite has happened. — A variety of public figures in the U.S. have incurred professional and reputational consequences as a result of socializing with Epstein …
Discussion:
CNBC, CNN, NewsMax.com and Raw Story
RELATED:
New York Times:
New Iranian Leader Was Wounded Early in the War, Iranian and Israeli Officials Say — Officials say Mojtaba Khamenei's legs were hurt, but the circumstances as well as the extent of his injuries were unclear. He has remained out of view since being announced as leader three days ago.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Free Press, Washington Times, The Guardian, The US Sun, Reuters and NewsMax.com
RELATED:
Karim Sadjadpour / The Atlantic:
The Iranian Regime Doubles Down
Lawrence Hurley / NBC News:
Poll: Confidence in the Supreme Court drops to a record low — The latest NBC News poll shows that the percentage of voters with a “great deal” or “quite a bit” of confidence in the court is at the lowest ebb since the question was first asked in 2000. — The percentage of voters …
Discussion:
Forbes, Newsweek and Above the Law
Raphael Satter / Reuters:
Exclusive: Foreign hacker in 2023 compromised Epstein files held by FBI, source and documents show — A foreign hacker compromised files relating to the FBI's investigation of the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during a break-in at the bureau's New York Field Office three years ago …
Discussion:
Gizmodo and Modern Diplomacy, more at Techmeme »
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
How Trump's War on Iran Is Hastening the Coming MAGA Crack-Up — Congratulations are in order for Donald Trump: His attack on Iran is the most unpopular American war in modern history. The New York Times compared support for Trump's war with initial support for nine other wars going back to World War II …
Discussion:
Strength In Numbers
Miles Parks / NPR:
Americans are split on wanting the National Guard to monitor voting, a new poll finds — Close to half of Americans support the idea of the National Guard at polling places to monitor this November's midterm elections — something that would be illegal if ordered by the federal government …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog and Election Law Blog
RELATED:
Ariel Wittenberg / Politico:
A data center opened next door. Then came the high-pitched whine. … STERLING, Virginia — Lindsay Shaw was happy when she found out a data center was going up 100 meters from her front door. — Unlike most of her neighbors, she preferred a supercomputing hub to a shopping mall, which might bring a crush of car traffic.
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
California 2026 Poll: Swalwell Takes Lead in Governor Primary, 25% undecided; Election for LA Mayor Wide Open — A new Emerson College Polling/Inside California Politics survey of the June primary for Governor finds Congressman Eric Swalwell leading the open primary with 17%, followed by Steve Hilton …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller and Noble Predictive
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Ordered Justice Department Reversal on Law Firm Sanctions — ‘I never signed off on that,’ the president told aides — The Justice Department's surprise reversal last week on defending the White House's sanctions against law firms came after an angry outburst by President Trump, according to people familiar with the matter.
Taylor Giorno / NOTUS:
Lobbyist Quietly Pleads Guilty After Embezzling $1 Million From Venture Capital PAC — Jonas Murphy, the now-former director of government affairs at the National Venture Capital Association, faces up to 10 years in prison. — Copy — A $9,180 shopping spree at a Manhattan clothing boutique.
Discussion:
Election Law Blog
Ryan King / New York Post:
Trump bashes Massie as worse than Cheney, Kinzinger ahead of Kentucky visit — WASHINGTON — President Trump laced into his top GOP congressional adversary, Rep. Thomas Massie, as the worst Republican in Congress ever, as he gears up for a trip to Kentucky.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, NBC News, Fox News, The Hill, Washington Times, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Reuters, WUKY, Instapundit, Roll Call and DNYUZ
Nathan Goldman / Forbes:
Washington's 9.9% Millionaire Tax Raises Fears Of Wealthy Exodus — Following a 24-hour debate, the Washington State House passed Senate Bill 6346, a tax on people earning more than $1 million per year, by a vote of 51-46. The tax would apply beginning in 2028, with the first payments due in 2029.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, The Post Millennial, RedState, Peter Abbarno and Drew Stokesbary
Politico:
House GOP eyes reconciliation process to pass Middle East war aid — It's just one option being considered as Republicans seek to advance the White House's biggest priorities.

