Top Items:
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
MAGA Dolt Hegseth Accidentally Reveals Big Hole in Trump Victory Claim — Now that Donald Trump has backed off his threat to obliterate a nation of 93 million people, his propagandists are already retconning it into proof of his Solomon-like foresight and wisdom.
Discussion:
Off Message, Raw Story and Reuters
RELATED:
New York Times:
Once ‘Ultra MAGA’, Trump Supporters Fume About Iran on Truth Social — A growing chorus of disaffected Trump supporters is sounding off in the replies to his posts on the social media platform he founded. — The people logging into Truth Social each day tend to count themselves among …
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
It's Not a TACO. It's a Surrender. — Iran 1, Trump 0 — William Kristol, Andrew Egger, and Jim Swift — Well, that was all pretty dumb, wasn't it? Happy Wednesday. — Trump Surrenders — I'm old enough to remember when President Trump assured us, “There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!”
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, New York Times, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, Jewish Insider, 19FortyFive, The Hill, Stars & Stripes, Al Jazeera, Xinhua, Concord Monitor, Mediaite, IJR, MS NOW, Israpundit, The American Conservative, Townhall, Council on Foreign Relations and RedState
Cate Martel / The Hill:
Trump, Iran claim victory under shaky ceasefire deal — Thank you for signing up! — The latest in politics and policy. Direct to your inbox. Sign up for the 12:30 Report newsletter — It's Wednesday. I can't get over how stunning the photos have been from the Artemis II mission.
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNBC, Politico, Reuters, Straight Arrow News, Breitbart, Washington Times, Al Jazeera, Adam Kinzinger, Zeteo, Raw Story, Washington Examiner and NOTUS
Financial Times:
Iran demands fees for ships passing Hormuz during ceasefire — Country's oil exporters' union says toll to be paid in cryptocurrency and vessels monitored for weapons — Iran will demand that shipping companies pay tolls in cryptocurrency for oil tankers passing through the Strait of Hormuz …
Politico:
‘We lose the midterms’: Republicans worry Iran might have already cost them Congress … “This war in Iran almost cements the fact that we lose the midterms in November — the Senate and House,” the person said. — The concerns are compounded by Republicans' underperformances in a spate …
Discussion:
New York Post, CBS News, NewsMax.com, Roll Call, Punchbowl News, Raw Story and spiked
Politico:
‘Seems like losing’: What the US hasn't won in Iran … Yet the hardliners who have ruled Tehran for the past 47 years are still in charge. Iran still possesses its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — one of President Donald Trump's key reasons for starting the war.
Julian Borger / The Guardian:
Middle East ceasefire in serious doubt as Israel assaults Lebanon and Iran blocks oil tankers — Inclusion of Lebanon is significant difference in interpretation of truce agreed at 11th hour on Tuesday — The fate of the two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict looked uncertain on Wednesday …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, The Hill, France 24, Politico, New York Times, NBC News, Reuters, Council on Foreign Relations, Telegraph, Christian Science Monitor, Foreign Policy, One America News Network, Mercury News, MercoPress, New York Sun, Fox News, Los Angeles Times, Straight Arrow News, The American Conservative and GB News
Phillips P. OBrien / Phillips's Newsletter:
Midweek Update #5; This Is No TACO: This Is Complete US Strategic Failure
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Zeteo, Newsweek, The Hill, Public Notice, Washington Post, NextDraft, The Mahablog and Townhall
Associated Press:
Live updates: US, Israel and Iran agree to a tentative ceasefire, even as the terms remain unclear
Live updates: US, Israel and Iran agree to a tentative ceasefire, even as the terms remain unclear
Discussion:
Agence France-Presse, Reuters, NPR, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, CBS News, UPI, KING-TV, France 24, Breitbart, The Forward, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, The Hill, WUSA, PoliticusUSA, 19FortyFive and RedState
New York Times:
After Cease-Fire, Ship Traffic in Strait of Hormuz Remains Throttled
After Cease-Fire, Ship Traffic in Strait of Hormuz Remains Throttled
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, The Hill, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Truthout, Raw Story and 19FortyFive
Robby Soave / The Hill:
Megyn Kelly: I'd still back Trump even if he dropped a nuke — Dems are worse!
Megyn Kelly: I'd still back Trump even if he dropped a nuke — Dems are worse!
Robert Mackey / The Guardian:
Trump and former loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene trade jabs as Maga split over Iran widens - US politics live
Trump and former loyalist Marjorie Taylor Greene trade jabs as Maga split over Iran widens - US politics live
Discussion:
Raw Story, Wonkette, Newsweek and NewsMax.com
David Strom / HotAir:
Then: Trump Is INSANE and Will Drop Nukes! Now: Trump Is a Coward for Not Nuking Iran!!
Then: Trump Is INSANE and Will Drop Nukes! Now: Trump Is a Coward for Not Nuking Iran!!
Discussion:
The American Spectator and Ace of Spades HQ
New York Times:
White House Secures Foreign Steel for Ballroom Project — ArcelorMittal, a European steel maker, is donating tens of millions of dollars of foreign steel for President Trump's new ballroom. — President Trump has championed the U.S. steel industry, promising to strengthen …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Christopher Hale / Letters from Leo:
The Pentagon Threatened Pope Leo XIV's Ambassador With the Avignon Papacy — The Free Press has documented a closed-door Pentagon meeting in which a senior Trump official lectured Pope Leo XIV's ambassador on American military supremacy. — ∙ Paid … Make A One-Time Gift to Support My Work
Discussion:
The Parnas Perspective, New Republic and The Independent
Reuters:
Hezbollah pauses attacks under US-Iran ceasefire, sources close to group say — Israel carried out its heaviest strikes on Lebanon since the conflict with Hezbollah broke out last month, killing more than 250 people on Wednesday even as the Iran-aligned group paused its attacks under a two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Axios, Associated Press, ABC, The Times of Israel, New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Los Angeles Times, NBC News, The Guardian, Reuters, Fox News, The Hill, Drop Site News, UPI, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Daily Caller, France 24, Metro.co.uk, Townhall, Meidas+, THE INSIDER and Mondoweiss
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Israel Says Deal Doesn't Extend to Fighting in Lebanon
Discussion:
RNS, New York Times, Associated Press, Foreign Policy, Forbes, The Atlantic, Raw Story, New York Post, Jacobin, Home & Away, The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Deseret News
Yaroslav Trofimov / Wall Street Journal:
Gulf States Fear an Emboldened Iran after Trump's Cease-Fire
Gulf States Fear an Emboldened Iran after Trump's Cease-Fire
Associated Press:
More than 100 killed as Israel strikes central Beirut after saying Iran truce doesn't apply there
More than 100 killed as Israel strikes central Beirut after saying Iran truce doesn't apply there
Discussion:
Associated Press, Drop Site News, The Hill, Reuters, Newsweek, Mediaite, Al Jazeera, Bangor Daily News, Newsbusters, KSLNewsRadio, Washington Post, MPR News, NewsMax.com and Truthout
HuffPost:
Pam Bondi Backs Out Of Deposition On Jeffrey Epstein — DOJ claims the former U.S. attorney general can just ignore a House committee's subpoena because she's not in the job anymore. — WASHINGTON — Former Attorney General Pam Bondi is backing out of a deposition scheduled for later …
Discussion:
New Yorker, CNN, CBS News, The Hill, Rolling Stone, Associated Press, Forbes, New York Sun, New York Times, Axios, Washington Times, Roll Call, New York Post, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, The Independent, The Guardian, Raw Story, Deseret News, MS NOW, UPI, The Daily Signal and NBC News
RELATED:
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Pam Bondi still on the hook for Epstein testimony, Oversight panel says
Discussion:
Scripps News, Talking Points Memo and Truthout
Adam Pack / Fox News:
Ousted AG Bondi declines Epstein deposition, but lawmakers say subpoena still holds
Ousted AG Bondi declines Epstein deposition, but lawmakers say subpoena still holds
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, The Hill, NPR, NOTUS and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Weighs Punishing Certain NATO Countries Over Lack of Iran War Support — U.S. troops could be shifted toward alliance members in president's good graces — WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is considering a plan to punish some members of the NATO alliance that he believes …
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, Newsweek, The US Sun and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
US Department of Justice:
Former Army Employee and Top Secret Clearance Holder Arrested and Charged with Leaking Classified National Defense Information — For Immediate Release — The FBI arrested Courtney Williams, 40, of Wagram, North Carolina yesterday and a federal grand jury indicted her today in connection …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, Associated Press, twitchy.com, Daily Caller News Foundation and The Gateway Pundit
RELATED:
Shaun Gallagher / WRAL-TV:
Army veteran charged with leaking classified Delta Force secrets to journalist — Courtney Williams, a U.S. Army Special Operations veteran, faces federal charges for allegedly transmitting classified military tactics and procedures to journalist Seth Harp for his 2025 book on Fort Bragg.
Chris Nesi / New York Post:
Crazed homeless man accused of slaughtering Iryna Zarutska on train found incompetent to stand trial — The deranged homeless man accused of savagely butchering Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, on a Charlotte light rail train has been found “incapable to proceed” on state murder charges.
Natalie Hausmann / Democracy Docket:
Liberal Chris Taylor clinches Wisconsin Supreme Court seat in a win for voting rights — Chris Taylor, a Dane County state appeals judge, has secured a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court in a major win for Democrats heading into the midterms. — Taylor, a former circuit court judge …
RELATED:
Andrew Howard / Politico:
‘A wow moment’: Democrats' election hot streak goes scorching
‘A wow moment’: Democrats' election hot streak goes scorching
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, CNN, USA Today, Raw Story, Sabato's Crystal Ball, New York Magazine, Mercury News, Fox News, CNBC, New Republic and The Independent
Politico:
Newly created Polymarket accounts bet big on US-Iran ceasefire in hours before Trump's announcement … One of these wallets, created Tuesday around 10 a.m. ET, placed roughly $72,000 in bets at an average price of 8.8 cents. The buy-in for each betting event ranges from $0 to $1 each …
Axios:
Anthropic loses bid to block Pentagon blacklisting in DC court — A federal appeals court in D.C. on Wednesday denied Anthropic's request to pause enforcement of the Pentagon's designation of the company as a supply chain risk. … The ruling comes after a federal judge in a San Francisco court …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Times, The Information, NewsMax.com, Wired and Reason, more at Techmeme »
Michael R. Sisak / Associated Press:
Long Island architect Rex Heuermann pleads guilty to murdering 7 women and admits he killed another — A Long Island architect who led a secret life as a serial killer pleaded guilty on Wednesday to murdering seven women and admitted he killed an eighth in a string of long-unsolved crimes known as the Gilgo Beach killings.
Discussion:
NBC News, Fox News, New York Times, The Daily Caller, Washington Times, The Hill, The US Sun, The Daily Wire, KING-TV, Rolling Stone, New York Magazine and IJR
Paul Krugman:
Ignorance and Ignominy — So the world's greatest military power went to war with a poor, medievalist theocracy. It was an incredibly uneven match. Here's are the GDPs of Iran and the United States in 2024: — Yet Iran won. The Iranian regime has emerged far stronger than it was before …
Discussion:
DeLong's Grasping Reality
TMZ.com:
STORMY DANIELS' LAWYER MICHAEL AVENATTI RELEASED FROM PRISON I'm Back in Hollywood, Baby!!! — EXCLUSIVE — Michael Avenatti — the blustery lawyer who repped Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Donald Trump and then went to prison for ripping her and other clients off — is now a free man.
Discussion:
HotAir, Mediaite, Fox News, Washington Times, Blaze Media, NewsMax.com, Above the Law, Raw Story and The Daily Caller
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
Trump appointee Ed Martin claims executive privilege in bid to evade misconduct charges — Ed Martin, the hardline MAGA Republican serving as President Donald Trump's pardon attorney, is attempting to claim executive privilege in a bid to evade misconduct charges from attorney ethics regulators in Washington, D.C.
Discussion:
New York City Bar Association and Raw Story
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
Trump DOJ rallies behind convicted informant who lied to FBI about Biden — Alexander Smirnov was sent to prison for lying to the FBI. So why are Trump-aligned prosecutors trying to set him free? — This likely escaped the attention of many Americans, but in the last Congress …

