Top Items:
The White House:
First Lady Melania Trump's Statement — Good afternoon. — The lies linking me with the disgraceful Jeffrey Epstein need to end today. — The individuals lying about me are devoid of ethical standards, humility, and respect. I do not object to their ignorance, but rather …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Meidas+, Fox News, Robert Reich, CBS News, New York Magazine, Raw Story, The Guardian, Salon, The Preamble, Agence France-Presse, IJR, The Independent, TMZ.com, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, NPR, Newsweek, GB News, CNBC and Just Jared
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Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Melania Trump Desperately Tries to Distance Herself From Epstein — On Thursday, Melania Trump tried to deny having any connections to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, but the internet quickly produced receipts. — The first lady said in prepared remarks at the White House that the first time she met …
NBC News:
Melania Trump denies ties to Jeffrey Epstein and calls for Congress to hold a hearing for survivors — In a rare, unexpected public statement at the White House, the first lady said she “never had a relationship” with Epstein. — ADD NBC NEWS TO GOOGLE
Discussion:
Notes from the Circus, The Guardian, Raw Story, The Daily Wire, Reuters, Mediaite and Newsweek
Shawn McCreesh / New York Times:
Melania Trump Says She Was Not Associated With Jeffrey Epstein — Responding to what she said were smears, the first lady said she never had knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's abuse and was not a victim of his. She called for a congressional hearing for his victims.
Reuters:
Melania Trump says she never had a relationship with Epstein
Melania Trump says she never had a relationship with Epstein
Discussion:
The Hill, Fox News, The Parnas Perspective, Axios, The Independent, Associated Press, The Guardian, USA Today, Raw Story, CBS News, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, The Daily Signal, New York Sun, UPI, Deseret News, Mediaite, Daily Mail, New York Post, Bloomberg, Just Jared, American Greatness, Breitbart, The Post Millennial, Tangle, Mercury News, Al Jazeera and New Republic
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Netanyahu announces negotiations with Lebanon after U.S. pressure — Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that he has instructed his cabinet to launch direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible. … Senior U.S. officials said Witkoff asked Netanyahu to …
Discussion:
NBC News, Euronews, Reuters, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, Washington Post, The Hill, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, HotAir, The Times of Israel, BBC, Mediaite, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Middle East Monitor, The Guardian, Semafor, France 24, ABC News, Al Jazeera, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles Times, New Republic, Haaretz and Politico
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NBC News:
Trump ‘optimistic’ about Iran peace deal even as ceasefire appears strained — The temporary break in fighting appeared fragile as Israeli forces continued pummeling Lebanon and the Strait of Hormuz saw only minimal shipping traffic. — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump told NBC News …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Reuters, New York Times, NOTUS, Al Jazeera, Los Angeles Times, Politico, The Intercept, New Republic, MPR News and NPR
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Iran Schools Trump in the Art of the Deal — What does an “open” Strait of Hormuz look like, in Iran's telling? This morning, we got some clarity. Iran is claiming that vessels can sail through as they wish—but that because they have heavily mined the main shipping channel …
Discussion:
The Free Press, Townhall, New Republic, The Post Millennial, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, The Hill, IJR and Mediaite
Matt Honeycombe-Foster / Politico:
Starmer likens Trump to Putin as he laments soaring energy costs
Starmer likens Trump to Putin as he laments soaring energy costs
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, Bloomberg, Raw Story, Forbes, GB News, Politico, HuffPost and Al Jazeera
Jonah Kaplan / CBS News:
Army survivors of deadly attack in Kuwait dispute Pentagon's account, say unit “was unprepared” to defend itself — Add CBS News on Google — Survivors of the deadliest Iranian attack on U.S. forces since the war began have disputed the Pentagon's description of events and said their unit …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, The Independent, New Republic, Mediaite and NewsMax.com
Kenyatta Thomas / Electronic Frontier Foundation:
EFF is Leaving X — After almost twenty years on the platform, EFF is logging off of X. This isn't a decision we made lightly, but it might be overdue. The math hasn't worked out for a while now. — The Numbers Aren't Working Out — We posted to Twitter (now known as X) five to ten times a day in 2018.
Discussion:
The San Francisco Standard, TechCrunch and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
Philip Wegmann / Wall Street Journal:
White House Warns Staff Not To Place Bets on Prediction Markets Amid Iran War — Well-timed bets about the war in Iran have raised eyebrows and calls from Democrats for more regulation — Just hours after President Trump announced a sudden pause of strikes against Iran last month …
Discussion:
New York Times, Bloomberg, CBS News, NewsMax.com and Raw Story
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Ken Sweet / Associated Press:
Well-timed bets on Polymarket tied to the Iran war draw calls for investigations from lawmakers
Discussion:
Futurism, Newsweek, Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg
Catherine Rampell / The Bulwark:
Trump's Economy: You're Either an Insider or a Chump
Trump's Economy: You're Either an Insider or a Chump
Discussion:
KUSA-TV
Erik Wemple / New York Times:
Judge Rejects Hegseth's Second Attempt to Restrict Reporters at Pentagon — A federal judge gutted a set of rules that were adopted after the court declared an earlier press policy unconstitutional, in a case brought by The New York Times. — A federal judge on Thursday rejected an attempt …
Discussion:
The Hill, Politico, Washington Times, CBS News, Law Dork, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Deadline, Raw Story, New York Post and The Daily Caller
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Axios:
Strait of Hormuz stays shut as Trump demands Iran stop tolls — President Trump on Thursday demanded Iran stop charging tolls for tankers to cross the Strait of Hormuz, as Iran's supreme leader promised the country would control the crucial waterway.
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The Intercept:
Government Ordered to Turn Over Files on ICE Agent Who Killed Renee Good — Federal prosecutors in Minnesota are being forced to turn over critical information on the shooting of Renee Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross in relation to a separate case involving Ross.
Amy Kazmin / Financial Times:
Trump officials deny threatening Vatican over Pope Leo's criticisms — Pope Leo XIV has become increasingly concerned over Washington's military policies — The Trump administration is trying to calm a furore over claims it threatened Pope Leo XIV's ambassador to Washington in an effort …
Discussion:
The Hill, New Republic, Esquire, Salon, Metro.co.uk, The Pillar, American Thinker, MS NOW and Mediaite
Lena H. Sun / Washington Post:
CDC delays publishing report showing covid vaccine benefits — The acting CDC director cited concerns with the methodology, but the design has long been used to test vaccine effectiveness. — The acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has delayed publication …
Discussion:
Ars Technica, New Republic, New York Times, MS NOW, The Independent and NewsMax.com
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Ryan Mancini / The Hill:
CDC delays COVID vaccine benefits report
Politico:
Trump vented at Rutte over NATO inaction on Iran during turbulent meeting — The U.S. president berated allies and indicated he was considering reprisals for lack of support in the Middle East in a closed-door meeting with the military alliance chief. — BRUSSELS — U.S. President Donald Trump unloaded …
Discussion:
CBS News, HotAir, Bloomberg, Politico, NewsMax.com, The Daily Wire, Forbes, Blaze Media, Washington Examiner, New Republic, Al Jazeera, RedState, Raw Story, The US Sun, New York Times, France 24 and Associated Press
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Serge Schmemann / New York Times:
Europe Is Done With Appeasing Trump
Europe Is Done With Appeasing Trump
Discussion:
The Guardian, Associated Press and Washington Post
Associated Press:
Trump administration proposes gutting rules targeting coal plant ash that threatens groundwater — The Trump administration on Thursday proposed weakening rules for the disposal of ash produced by burning coal that can contain hazardous heavy metals and contaminate groundwater.
Discussion:
The Hill and Associated Press
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Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
MAGA Influencers Are Salivating Over Jailing Each Other — THE WORLD OF MAGA INFLUENCERS is growing more divided over Donald Trump's war with Iran. But so far, those influencers largely aren't blaming the president for their divisions. — Instead, they are pointing to a new culprit …
Discussion:
Wired, The Hill and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
Nick R. Martin / The Informant:
Secret docs: Neo-Nazi group's newest member is ex-Navy SEAL tied to war crimes case — Records show that the Navy SEAL medic whose testimony helped Eddie Gallagher walk free in his war crimes case has recently joined a neo-Nazi group. — A former Navy SEAL whose jaw-dropping testimony upended …
Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department Opens Investigation Into NFL — Government officials have raised questions about whether the league is engaging in anticompetitive tactics that harm consumers — The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether the National Football League has engaged …
Discussion:
New York Post, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC News, Washington Examiner, Fox News, Bloomberg, PBS NewsHour, CBS News, The Daily Caller, Washington Post, Above the Law, Raw Story, One America News Network, RedState, The Daily Wire, Al Jazeera, The US Sun, Deadline, ABC News, Forbes, NewsMax.com, OutKick, The Hill, Newsweek and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
Carol Leonnig / MS NOW:
Labor secretary faces discrimination complaints tied to her husband's alleged misconduct — At least three people have lodged formal workplace discrimination complaints against Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer, alleging she created a toxic workplace and sought to retaliate against women …
Discussion:
New York Times
Judith Shulevitz / The Atlantic:
Masterpieces of the New Deal — Critics wrote the work off as kitsch for the masses. But a set of murals celebrating Social Security—now threatened with destruction—show that such sweeping judgments went too far. — Seek — to forge a new social contract is one thing. To explain it to people is another.
Discussion:
Blaze Media
Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:
Trump administration plans to attack Biden DOJ as ‘anti-Christian’ in new report — The report comes out of an executive order that established a “Task Force to Eradicate Anti-Christian Bias,” according to details viewed by NBC News. — The Trump administration is finalizing a report …
Discussion:
MS NOW
Associated Press:
Louisiana GOP races to eliminate an elected office won by an exonerated man — A man imprisoned for nearly 30 years before being exonerated won a landmark election in New Orleans promising to fix a judicial system that failed him. Now, Louisiana's Gov. Jeff Landry and the GOP-controlled Legislature …
Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:
White House calls new ballroom a national security necessity that's ‘vital’ to the Trump family's safety — The administration indicated that it will go to the Supreme Court if the federal appeals court doesn't rule in Trump's favor. — The White House is urging a federal appeals court …
Justin Jouvenal / Washington Post:
Supreme Court remade by Trump ushers in historic defeats for civil rights — The court is the first since at least the '50s to reject claims in a majority of cases involving women and minorities, an analysis conducted for The Post shows. — The sharply conservative Supreme Court …
Discussion:
New York Times, MS NOW and Raw Story
Tarini Parti / Wall Street Journal:
Wes Moore, Citing His Military Service, Says Trump's War in Iran Is Aimless — Maryland governor says U.S. is risking a protracted conflict similar to Iraq and Afghanistan — NEW YORK—For Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, the conflict in Iran under President Trump is personal.
Discussion:
The Guardian
New York Times:
Iran War Live Updates: Cease-Fire Enters Second Day Despite Hormuz and Lebanon Uncertainty — Iran has insisted that Lebanon is covered by the cease-fire, while the United States and Israel have said it is not, threatening the truce. — Here's the latest.
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg, NBC News, Wonkette, Breitbart, One America News Network, Drezner's World, Jewish Insider, Politico, France 24, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, NewsMax.com, Bangor Daily News, Associated Press, The Hill, New York Sun, The Daily Caller, Al Jazeera, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, New Republic, Mediaite, Daily Mail, CBS News, Middle East Monitor, The Times of Israel and Radio Free Europe/Radio …
Scott Waldman / Politico:
At climate contrarian gathering, allies urge Trump to keep Zeldin at EPA … Zeldin's appearance, a clear sign of the Institute's growing influence inside the Trump administration, comes amid a complete revamping of climate regulations. Under Zeldin, the EPA has cut billions of dollars …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, RedState and The Guardian
Lisa Kashinsky / Politico:
DNC avoids taking a stance on Israel, AIPAC … While the resolutions were not expected to pass, the outcomes reflect a party establishment still grappling with how to respond to the increasingly thorny politics around Israel and AIPAC — and their base's sharp turn away from the longtime U.S. ally.

