Top Items:
Natalie Allison / Washington Post:
Trump post appearing to depict him as Jesus removed amid backlash — Before the post was deleted, Evangelical and Catholic allies called the image blasphemous in a rare public break from a base that has largely stood by Trump. — President Donald Trump's posting of an image that appeared …
Discussion:
CNBC, CBS News, The Daily Caller, The Independent and Raw Story
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Peter Baker / New York Times:
Trump's Erratic Behavior and Extreme Comments Revive Mental Health Debate — As the president threatens to wipe out Iran and attacks the pope, even some former allies and advisers are questioning whether he has grown increasingly unbalanced, describing him as “lunatic” and “clearly insane.”
Joseph Gedeon / The Guardian:
Trump deletes post with AI image of himself as Christ-like figure after outcry — The US president's conservative, Christian supporters decried the Truth Social post, calling it ‘disgusting’ — Less than a year after signing legislation that will pull nearly 12 million Americans off health insurance …
Discussion:
New Republic, Associated Press, Mississippi Free Press, The Daily Caller, Newsweek, Adam Kinzinger, The Daily Wire, Fox News and Raw Story
Katie Rogers / New York Times:
Trump Attacks Pope Leo as Too Liberal and ‘Weak on Crime’ — President Trump's lengthy post on social media showed there were really no boundaries when it comes to people he might target, including the leader of the world's 1.4 billion Catholics. — Pope Leo XIV is one of the world's most powerful critics of the U.S. war with Iran.
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CBS News, Washington Post, Bloomberg, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Metro.co.uk, America Magazine, No More Mister Nice Blog, Salt Lake Tribune, New York Post, The Daily Signal, HuffPost, Forbes, NewsMax.com, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, The US Sun, Real Patriotism …, Washington Examiner, OSV News, Breitbart, Raw Story, Axios, CNBC and IJR
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Christians condemn Trump post depicting him as Jesus-like figure … - A Sunday Truth Social post — where Trump shared an image that showed him in white and red robes with one hand resting on the forehead of a sick man while the other emanated light — was swiftly labeled “blasphemy” online.
Discussion:
Politico, New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Mediaite
Claire Moses / New York Times:
After Criticizing Pope, Trump Posts Image of Himself as a Jesus-Like Figure — The image, posted on Truth Social, appeared to be A.I.-generated and depicted the president as a divine leader healing the sick. The post prompted backlash from some prominent Catholics and conservatives.
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Post, Reuters, The Hill, Bangor Daily News, Raw Story, Newsweek, Deadline, The Daily Caller, Variety, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Palm Beach Post
Will Weissert / Associated Press:
Trump lambasts Pope Leo XIV, extending feud over Iran war with first American pontiff
Discussion:
Reuters, NBC News, Politico, Newsweek, Mediaite, CBS News, New York Magazine, LGBTQ Nation, The Daily Wire, France 24, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Straight Arrow News, Townhall, Breitbart, Variety, TheJournal.ie, The Daily Sceptic, Letters from Leo, The Independent, Forbes, WNYW-TV, Althouse, Deadline, KDFX-TV, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, The London Economic, The Japan Times, Bloomberg and IJR
David Gilmour / Mediaite:
‘Gross Blasphemy!’ MAGA Die-Hards Deliver Rare Rebuke of Trump for Posting ‘Unacceptable’ Meme Depicting Himself as Jesus
‘Gross Blasphemy!’ MAGA Die-Hards Deliver Rare Rebuke of Trump for Posting ‘Unacceptable’ Meme Depicting Himself as Jesus
Discussion:
IJR
Sean James / Mediaite:
BREAKING: Trump Deletes Post Depicting Himself as Jesus Amid Heavy MAGA Backlash
BREAKING: Trump Deletes Post Depicting Himself as Jesus Amid Heavy MAGA Backlash
Discussion:
Human Events, IJR and Washington Examiner
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
Illiberalism Is Not Inevitable — If Viktor Orbán can lose, then his Russian and American admirers can lose too. — In the end, the defeat of Viktor Orbán, Hungary's autocratic prime minister, required not just an ordinary election campaign or new messaging but rather …
Discussion:
Persuasion, 19FortyFive, Politico, New Republic, Digby's Hullabaloo, Jacobin, Christian Science Monitor, Associated Press and El País
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Laszlo Gendler / The UnPopulist:
Orbán Lost Spectacularly Because the Hungarian People Simply Stopped Fearing His Authoritarianism — Seventy years ago, Hungarians rose against Soviet occupation, tore down a statue of Stalin, and freed themselves—however briefly—until the Soviet tanks returned to crush the uprising.
Paul Krugman:
The Axis of Autocracy Loses a Wheel — Hungarians stand up for democracy — After Victor Orbán's Fidesz party took power in 2010, Hungary became a role model for those who admired corruption, fascism, and loyalty to Vladimir Putin. Orbán's regime brought widespread crony capitalism …
Discussion:
Euronews
Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
What Orban's Defeat Means for the Rest of the World — On Saturday, the day before the Hungarian election, I went to Puspokladany, a run-down town of about 16,000 in northeastern Hungary, for the penultimate rally of opposition leader Peter Magyar. Though the region has traditionally …
Discussion:
Reuters, Agence France-Presse, France 24, Al Jazeera, Balkan Insight, NewsMax.com, RedState and Bloomberg
The Guardian:
Viktor Orbán is gone. What does his fall mean for Europe? Our panel responds
Discussion:
Euronews, BBC, CNBC, TheJournal.ie, Blaze Media, Associated Press, CBC News, Politico, Northeastern Global News, Straight Arrow News, The Atlantic, The Daily Wire, Financial Times, Axios and KRDO
Gabriela Greilinger / Talking Points Memo:
Three Lessons From Hungary on How to Beat Competitive Authoritarianism
Three Lessons From Hungary on How to Beat Competitive Authoritarianism
Discussion:
Zeteo, The Moderate Voice, The Daily Sceptic, spiked, The Guardian, Telex, Atlantic Council, Foreign Policy, Deadline, Vox and New York Times
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
U.S. begins blockade in Strait of Hormuz; Trump warns Iran ‘attack ships’ to stay away … The U.S. on Monday said it began blocking ships from entering or exiting Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz, attempting to ratchet up pressure on Iran to reopen the key oil route after peace negotiations collapsed.that a
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NBC News, Townhall, Reuters, Straight Arrow News, NPR, KRDO, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, Blaze Media, The Hill and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
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David E. Sanger / New York Times:
Iran Blockade Sets Up a Test of Which Side Can Endure More Pain
Discussion:
GZERO, The Guardian, NewsMax.com, Al Jazeera, Wonkette, The Free Press, Axios, Washington Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Ben Hubbard / New York Times:
Trump Said Other Countries Would Help Blockade Iran. So Far, There Are No Takers.
Trump Said Other Countries Would Help Blockade Iran. So Far, There Are No Takers.
Discussion:
The Hill, The Free Press, Townhall and Fox News
New York Times:
Iran War Live Updates: Deadline Passes for U.S. Blockade in Strait of Hormuz
Iran War Live Updates: Deadline Passes for U.S. Blockade in Strait of Hormuz
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News, New York Post, Townhall, 19FortyFive, NBC News, Axios, BBC, HuffPost, Mediaite, Fox News, Human Events, Jewish Insider, Energy Connects, Business Insider, TheJournal.ie and NewsMax.com
Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
Why time is on Iran's side — A global energy crisis is only just beginning. Political turmoil will follow
Why time is on Iran's side — A global energy crisis is only just beginning. Political turmoil will follow
Discussion:
CNBC, Al Jazeera and Raw Story
ProPublica:
Inside Trump's Effort to “Take Over” the Midterm Elections — Reporting Highlights — Safeguards Destroyed: In advance of this year's midterm elections, President Donald Trump has systematically demolished federal guardrails that prevented him from overturning the 2020 election.
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Local election officials fear retribution ahead of fall midterms
Corinne Ramey / Wall Street Journal:
Judge Dismisses Trump's Defamation Lawsuit Against WSJ Publisher — The president alleged an article about a bawdy Epstein birthday letter was defamatory — A federal judge on Monday dismissed President Trump's defamation lawsuit against the publisher of The Wall Street Journal.
Discussion:
Politico, NOTUS, CBS News, Washington Post, The Hill, The Daily Wire, Reason, The Post Millennial, WAGA-TV, Raw Story, MS NOW and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
The world's worst dealmaker screws up the Iran negotiations — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🤝 Subscribe to PN 🤝 — “The Iranians don't seem to realize they have no cards, other than a short term extortion of the World …
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Natalie Allison / Washington Post:
Inside Vance's Iran negotiations: No deal, but ‘friendly’ talks
Inside Vance's Iran negotiations: No deal, but ‘friendly’ talks
Discussion:
New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fox News, Eschaton, Axios and IJR
Adam Wren / Politico:
Iowa looks competitive, according to new Dem poll — Iowa looks to be seriously in play for Democrats in November up and down the ballot, according to a new survey from a Democratic group that backs moderate candidates. Iowa State Auditor Rob Sand holds an eight-point lead in the governor's race …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Quinta Jurecic / The Atlantic:
Harmeet Dhillon Is Not Wasting Any Time … Last may, one month into her time as the assistant attorney general for civil rights, Harmeet Dhillon stood behind the lectern at a meeting of the conservative Federalist Society and set out her vision for the Justice Department's civil-rights work.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo
Mehr Sher / Drop Site News:
How 51 Seconds at a Pro-Palestine Protest Could Send a Muslim Student to Prison for 34 years — Former University of Pittsburgh student Muhammad Ali faces three felonies for a brief tug-of-war with an officer over a metal barrier. — Reader support is what makes Drop Site possible.
Financial Times:
Meta builds AI version of Mark Zuckerberg to interact with staff — CEO is training and testing his own character as part of wider push to develop ‘personal superintelligence’
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Ars Technica and CBS News, more at Techmeme »
Riley Beggin / Washington Post:
Voters grill Republican lawmaker in crucial swing district on Iran war — The conflict has animated voters in the suburban district of Republican Rep. Mike Lawler ahead of the midterm elections. — Summary — MAHOPAC, N.Y. — Rep. Mike Lawler faced another tough crowd at a town hall late Sunday night …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and New Republic
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
April 12, 2026 — By the end of 2024, inflation in the U.S., which had soared in the aftermath of the Covid-19 lockdowns, was almost back to the Federal Reserve's goal of 2%. Even so, during the 2024 presidential campaign, candidate Donald Trump promised he would bring prices down on Day One …
Associated Press:
Trump administration agrees to keep flying rainbow Pride flag at New York's Stonewall monument — The Trump administration agreed Monday to keep flying a rainbow Pride flag at the Stonewall National Monument, reversing course after removing the banner in February.
Discussion:
New York Times and Advocate

