Top Items:
US Department of Justice:
The Justice Department Takes Actions to Strengthen the Federal Death Penalty — For Immediate Release — President Trump's Day-One Executive Order Directed the Department to Prioritize Seeking and Implementing Death Sentences to Protect Public Safety — Today, the Department of Justice acted …
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Reuters:
Justice Department readopts firing squads in federal executions — The department said it is also resuming the use of lethal injection in executions.
Trevor Aaronson / The Intercept:
Kash Patel Got Arrested for Public Urination After a Night of Drinking — FBI Director Kash Patel was twice arrested in incidents involving alcohol, once for public intoxication and once for public urination after leaving a bar, he admitted in a 2005 letter about disclosures on his Florida Bar application.
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story and New Republic
New Republic:
Trump Hit by Brutal Fox Poll as Aides Scramble: “He's in a Bad Mood” — A new Fox News poll contains crushing findings for Donald Trump. His approval on the economy is at 34 percent with 66 percent disapproving. On inflation, those numbers are even worse, at 28-72.
Discussion:
PoliticusUSA and Politico
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New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Wrecked in Brutal New Fox Poll: “He's in a Bad Mood” … Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network. I'm your host, Greg Sargent. — Donald Trump pays close attention to Fox News polling, so surely he'll see the latest one from Fox, and it's a real doozy.
Discussion:
The Daily Beast, Newsweek, Raw Story, West Hawaii Today, The Independent and NBC News
Natalie Hausmann / Democracy Docket:
Many Americans believe Trump's lies about voter fraud, poll shows
Ryan Mancini / The Hill:
Rove warns of proposed Florida Republican gerrymander ‘risk’ — Republican strategist Karl Rove on Friday warned that a proposed Florida Republican gerrymander could be a “risk” for the GOP's control over the state's House delegation. — “Fox & Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Rove …
Discussion:
Florida Politics and Daily Kos
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Marc Caputo / Axios:
DeSantis plots end run of Florida law to create more GOP House seats — Florida bans lawmakers from intentionally creating congressional seats to give their party an advantage. But Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly has launched a three-tiered power play to evade the ban — and create more GOP-friendly seats — in November.
Discussion:
The Contrarian, New Republic, Raw Story, Joe.My.God., Fox News, Roll Call, Florida Politics, Washington Examiner, IJR, The Hill, KDFX-TV and Politico
Parker Molloy / The Present Age:
The “Freakout” and the “Abyss” — When Texas Republicans gerrymandered at Trump's direction …
The “Freakout” and the “Abyss” — When Texas Republicans gerrymandered at Trump's direction …
Discussion:
The Week and Letters from an American
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump Isn't Thinking Strait — Another day, another Pentagon press conference in which Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fruitlessly demands Europe get more involved with reopening the Strait of Hormuz: “This should not be America's fight alone,” Hegseth seethed. “We barely use the Strait of Hormuz. . . .
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Jeet Heer / The Nation:
Trump and Hegseth Are Winning the War Against Their Own Military
Trump and Hegseth Are Winning the War Against Their Own Military
Discussion:
UPI, Daily Kos, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Moderate Voice, MS NOW and New York Times, more at Mediagazer »
Phil Stewart / Reuters:
Exclusive: Pentagon email floats suspending Spain from NATO, other steps over Iran rift, source says — An internal Pentagon email outlines options for the United States to punish NATO allies it believes failed to support U.S. operations in the war with Iran, including suspending Spain …
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Hill, Politico, Washington Examiner, Al Jazeera, The National Pulse, BBC, GZERO, Los Angeles Times, France 24, Mediaite, UPI, Council on Foreign Relations, New Republic, Blaze Media, Breitbart, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, CoinDesk, Bloomberg, GB News and Modern Diplomacy, more at Techmeme »
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Politico:
Former NATO envoy warns of ‘very big mistakes’ in criticizing Trump on Iran
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
William J. Burns / New York Times:
Here's How Trump Can Get Us Out of the Mess in Iran
Here's How Trump Can Get Us Out of the Mess in Iran
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and NBC News
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
The Incredible Shrinking MAGA — If you follow politics on social media, you've probably encountered a claim about Donald Trump that goes like this: “LOL Trump's support is rock-solid LOL, his base will never leave him LOL.” And it's true: The white-hot core of MAGA does remain with him.
Discussion:
Fox News
Washington Post:
Elon Musk's near-daily online posts about race are turning off some fans — The billionaire posted 850 times on the topic in recent months, almost triple the rate for the previous two years. — Summary — Elon Musk, the world's richest person, is on the cusp of a record-setting initial public offering …
Discussion:
The Independent
Ayaan Hirsi Ali / The Free Press:
The SPLC Targeted Me. Now Its Reckoning Has Come. — The group that called me an ‘extremist’ has been accused of funding hate groups. And it's provoked racial conflict for decades. — Upgrade to Listen — A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, on Tuesday issued an 11-count indictment …
Discussion:
PJ Media, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Daily Wire, twitchy.com, The Federalist, Townhall and Public Notice
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Michelle Goldberg / New York Times:
The Conspiracy Theory Behind Tucker Carlson's Apology — Tucker Carlson, you might have heard, is sorry. Early this week he posted a long conversation with his brother, Buckley, a former Trump speechwriter, in which they tried to make sense of the wreckage of the second Donald Trump presidency.
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo and Washington Monthly
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Matt Lewis / The Hill:
Trump lived by the conspiracy theory — now he pays the price
Trump lived by the conspiracy theory — now he pays the price
Discussion:
Raw Story
Associated Press:
Justice Department drops criminal probe of Fed chair Powell, likely clearing way for Warsh — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Deparment has ended its probe into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of his successor, Kevin Warsh.
Discussion:
New York Post, Axios, The Hill, Bloomberg, CNBC, CoinDesk, CBS News, Washington Times, WUSA, Straight Arrow News, Washington Examiner, The Independent, Scripps News, Semafor, Mediaite, New Republic, KARE-TV and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
ABC News:
DOJ expected to drop criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell amid pressure from senators: Sources
DOJ expected to drop criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell amid pressure from senators: Sources
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Post, NBC News, The Hill, NPR, NOTUS, The National Pulse, Blaze Media, MS NOW, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters, The Stanford Daily, Bloomberg and New Republic
Milan Singh / The Argument:
The anti-market delusion at the heart of the housing crisis — Breaking news: Housing is a market — It's very easy to get a reservation at Olive Garden, which has over 900 locations in the United States. It's almost impossible to get a reservation at Rao's in New York City, which is one of only three locations.
Aaron Rupar / Public Notice:
Matt Gertz on the Fox News presidency — This week's Nir & Rupar features a very special guest — Matt Gertz, senior fellow at Media Matters and one of the foremost experts on right-wing media. — Gertz and I discussed the ways in which Fox News is even worse now than it was during Trump's first term …
Discussion:
Media Matters for America
Ben Protess / New York Times:
Trump Says He Dislikes Prediction Markets. His Family Invests in Them. — The White House has warned staff not to wager on government decisions, but his family's involvement with these firms undermines the president's message. — When a U.S. soldier was indicted on Thursday on charges …
Discussion:
NBC News, ABC News, Politico, France 24, NewsMax.com, Los Angeles Times, Truthout, Ars Technica, The Daily Caller, Business Insider, New York Post, Forbes, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg, UPI, Joe.My.God., CBS News, Associated Press, Financial Times, Gizmodo and Mediaite
Reese Gorman / NOTUS:
A Private Investigator Working for Eric Swalwell's Lawyers Is Calling His Former Staff — A woman working for Beau Dietl & Associates told a person who received a call she was looking into the allegations against Swalwell. — Copy — A private investigator who is working for former …
Scott Calvert / Wall Street Journal:
A Mayor With No Pants Has Become the Talk of This North Carolina Town — A fight over footage of a 2024 incident is drawing unwanted attention to Mooresville—and locals are angry, bewildered and a little amused — MOORESVILLE, N.C.—Dave Homick loves this fast-growing town's nickname, Race City USA, a nod to its deep Nascar ties.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Fatima Hussein / Associated Press:
US imposes sanctions on a China-based oil refinery and 40 shippers over Iranian oil — The Trump administration is placing economic sanctions on a major China-based oil refinery and roughly 40 shipping companies and tankers involved in transporting Iranian oil.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, Fox News, Al Jazeera and Axios
Al Weaver / NOTUS:
Senate Republicans Bench Trump's Voting Bill — Republican lawmakers do not have the appetite to bring the SAVE America Act back to the floor. “That horse has left the barn,” one of them told NOTUS. — Copy — Senate Republicans have sidelined the SAVE America Act …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Crooks and Liars, Raw Story, Townhall, Democracy Docket and The Daily Signal
Adam Wren / Politico:
It's prom weekend in Washington — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray — Happy Friday. It's Adam Wren. My lineup of pre-WHCD parties tonight includes Crooked Media, YouTube's event and the British ambassador's residence. If you're around, let's sidebar.
Discussion:
Townhall, Joe.My.God. and Mediaite
Chris Truax / The Hill:
Trump's decline is an emergency: Why doesn't Congress treat it like one? — Democrats need to stop playing games. — I have a lot of respect for Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). I fully understand why he's sponsoring a bill to create a “Commission on Presidential Capacity to Discharge the Powers …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Dasha Burns / Politico:
White House directs post-Virginia ire at Youngkin … “Look, there's plenty of blame to go around. But if Youngkin hadn't left the special session open, Louise Lucas would never have had the chance to ram through those maps,” the person said, referring to the Democratic state senator who helped lead the charge.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite and NewsMax.com
Maria Sacchetti / Washington Post:
Appeals court clears way for U.S. to reopen border for asylum seekers — A federal appeals court found Trump's declaration of an “invasion” at the U.S.-Mexico border was illegal, effectively reopening the U.S. to migrants seeking asylum. — Summary — A federal appeals court ruled Friday …
Jason Leopold / Bloomberg:
FOIA Documents ‘Scrubbed’ From Intelligence Agency Website — Last year, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence removed all documents from its FOIA reading room. Emails say a Biden-era FOIA release caused a “fuss.” … At first glance, the disappearance of documents …
Anna Clark / ProPublica:
Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash — Reporting Highlights — Health Fears: Some critics say large solar farms are a public health threat. While there is little reputable evidence for this, their claims have helped power a backlash.
Discussion:
NextDraft
Natalie Allison / Washington Post:
Iran talks to resume this weekend without Vance — White House will send Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan as Tehran decides not to send its top negotiator. — Summary — A U.S. delegation will resume talks with Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, this weekend …
Discussion:
France 24, UPI, CBS News, Forbes, Reuters, Human Events, The Times of Israel, Washington Times, Bloomberg, Joe.My.God., NPR, Raw Story and CNBC

