Top Items:
Paul Krugman:
Donald Trump isn't sounding like himself, and that's terrifying. Hi, Paul Krugman here with a brief update on Saturday afternoon. — Not my usual thing. No economics, no analytics, just I felt I needed to say something. On Wednesday, Trump gave a speech, which was... pretty depressing.
Discussion:
Grabien
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Reuters:
Israel preparing for attacks on Iranian energy sites, awaits US green light, official says — Israel is preparing to attack Iranian energy facilities but is awaiting a green light from the United States, a senior Israeli defense official said on Saturday, adding that any such attacks would likely come within the next week.
Discussion:
Mediaite and Al Jazeera
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump threatens Iran with “hell” if Hormuz strait isn't open in 48 hours — President Trump threatened on Saturday that “hell will reign down” on Iran if the regime doesn't agree to open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. — Why it matters: Trump's 10-day deadline to Iran is expected to expire on Monday.
Wall Street Journal:
Top Aides Advise Trump Blasting Iran's Infrastructure Is Fair Game
Discussion:
Raw Story, Townhall, The Guardian and Washington Examiner
Ryan Mancini / The Hill:
Moulton says ‘Iran is winning the war’ after US jets downed
Moulton says ‘Iran is winning the war’ after US jets downed
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
John R. Bolton / New York Times:
Finish the Job: How Trump Can Still Win in Iran
Finish the Job: How Trump Can Still Win in Iran
Discussion:
Townhall
Timothy Snyder / Thinking about:
The Next Coup Attempt — And How to Stop It — We are seven months away from the most consequential midterm election in the history of the United States. Meanwhile, we are fighting a war. These are the structural conditions for a coup attempt in which a president tries to nullify elections and take permanent power as a dictator.
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Steven Poole / The Guardian:
Forget euphemism, Trump is using unabashed viciousness in his language against Iran
Greg Jaffe / New York Times:
Trump Pledged a Quick End to the Iran War, but He Hasn't Explained How
Trump Pledged a Quick End to the Iran War, but He Hasn't Explained How
Discussion:
Drezner's World and New Yorker
United States Department of State:
Secretary Rubio Revokes Green Cards of Foreign Nationals with Ties to Iranian Terror Regime — Last night, the niece and grand niece of deceased Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Major General Qasem Soleimani were arrested by federal agents following Secretary of State Marco Rubio's termination …
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Shane Galvin / New York Post:
Niece, grandniece of slain notorious Iranian Gen. Soleimani arrested by ICE while enjoying lavish lifestyles in LA
Discussion:
The US Sun, The Gateway Pundit and Middle East Monitor
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Trump administration detains relatives of killed Iranian general Soleimani
Trump administration detains relatives of killed Iranian general Soleimani
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times and Israpundit
Washington Post:
Trump files emergency appeal to keep building White House ballroom — “Time is of the essence!” Justice Department lawyers wrote, saying a ruling to pause construction puts the president at risk. — The Trump administration has appealed a federal judge's order to halt the construction …
Discussion:
Raw Story
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Stephen Groves / Associated Press:
Trump administration asks appeals court to pause order halting White House ballroom construction — The Trump administration is arguing that a judge's order to halt construction of a $400 million ballroom creates a security risk for President Donald Trump as it asks a federal appeals court to pause the ruling.
Discussion:
RedState, Al Jazeera, Washington Times and Mediaite
Ryan Mancini / The Hill:
Gen. George says Army deserves ‘leaders of character’ in farewell letter — Gen. Randy George, the U.S. Army's chief of staff ousted by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, on Friday sent a farewell letter saying the Army deserves “leaders of character.” — George thanked Army officials …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner and Mediaite
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Max Boot / Washington Post:
Hegseth's firing of a top general is the latest sign of Pentagon turmoil
Hegseth's firing of a top general is the latest sign of Pentagon turmoil
Discussion:
RedState, HuffPost, Christian Science Monitor, Axios, MS NOW and New York Post
Natalie Fertig / Politico:
Republicans are losing clout in statehouses in another possible sign of midterm trouble … “I think he puts Republicans on the defensive with his actions,” said Dick Wadhams, a longtime consultant and a former state GOP chair in Colorado. “They can't stand it anymore.”
Discussion:
Newsweek, Raw Story and NewsMax.com
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
A subdued Wisconsin Supreme Court race tilts Democrats' way … A packed November election, and the general sense that Tuesday's contest may well be a foregone conclusion, is part of the reason why. — Statewide elections in Wisconsin have often been decided on razor-thin majorities in recent years.
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Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Wisconsin judicial race spotlights state GOP's struggles
Wisconsin judicial race spotlights state GOP's struggles
Discussion:
Raw Story
Sarah N. Lynch / CBS News:
White House is expected to shake up more leadership roles at Justice Department, sources say — Add CBS News on Google — President Donald Trump is likely to make leadership changes involving two more top roles at the Justice Department, sources told CBS News on Saturday.
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, Mediaite, American Thinker and Democracy Docket
Matt Lavietes / NBC News:
Polymarket apologizes for allowing wagers on fate of U.S. pilots downed in Iran — “This is DISGUSTING,” Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts wrote of the now deleted market. — Prediction market platform Polymarket issued an apology for allowing users to place bets on the fate …
Discussion:
The Independent, New York Post, Raw Story, The Hill and New York Times
Bobby Kogan / MS NOW:
Trump's new budget proposal is historic — in one of the worst ways possible — On Friday, the Trump administration submitted its annual budget request to Congress. The document called for dramatically reducing what the United States government does for Americans.
Gerry Doyle / Bloomberg:
US Deploys Bulk of Stealthy Long-Range Missile for Iran War — The next steps in the US military campaign against Iran will commit nearly its entire inventory of stealthy JASSM-ER cruise missiles, drawing them from stockpiles devoted to other regions. — The order to pull the $1.5 million weapon …
Giacomo Tognini / Forbes:
How Peace Envoy Steve Witkoff Got Richer Thanks To Trump And Elon Musk — The real estate mogul-turned-diplomat, whose latest disclosure was released in April, is 15% richer than he was a year ago thanks to his crypto venture with the Trump family and his stake in Musk's SpaceX.
Bianca Quilantan / Politico:
Judge blocks Trump's college admissions data push in 17 states … Massachusetts District Court Judge Dennis Saylor, a George W. Bush appointee, wrote in a late Friday order the survey was created in a “rushed and chaotic manner” and problems with it are being “compounded” …
Discussion:
New York Times, UPI and RedState
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