Top Items:
David A. Lieb / Associated Press:
Virginia Supreme Court strikes down Democrats' redistricting plan, dimming party's midterm hopes — The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved Democratic congressional redistricting plan, delivering another major setback to the party in a nationwide battle against Republicans …
Discussion:
Balls and Strikes, Axios, Washington Examiner, NPR, Esquire, Bloomberg, Democracy Docket, Washington Post, The Hill, Newsweek, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, The Daily Signal, UPI, Raw Story, WJBK-TV, IJR, Semafor, Adam Kinzinger, The Independent, Cardinal News, MS NOW, The Daily Wire, Washington Times, Al Jazeera, WVEC, Townhall, LifeNews.com, MeidasTouch, New York Sun, HotAir, BizPac Review, Pluribus News, American Greatness, American Thinker, Ace of Spades HQ and The Virginian-Pilot
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Public Notice:
What the Virginia ruling does — and does not — mean for 2026 — The news is not good for Democrats, but they can still win the House. — On the latest episode of Nir & Rupar, our live weekly video show, David Nir of The Downballot and Aaron Rupar of Public Notice discuss the fallout …
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Dems despondent over “sickening” Virginia decision — House Democrats fell into a state of anguish on Friday after the Virginia Supreme Court struck down a congressional map that would have netted them as many as four seats in the 2026 midterm elections.
Discussion:
HotAir, twitchy.com, Townhall, DCCC, NPR, Mediaite, CBS News, The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, DNYUZ, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, CNBC and Political Wire
New York Times:
In Huge Blow to Democrats, Virginia Court Strikes Down House Map — The decision is a major victory for Republicans, wiping away a measure approved by voters to allow Democrats to gain as many as four House seats in the midterms. — Virginia's top court on Friday struck down a congressional map drawn …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, oag.state.va.us, DNYUZ, The Preamble, The Atlantic, Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, Breitbart, No More Mister Nice Blog, twitchy.com, The Dispatch, The Federalist, The Washington Free Beacon, Deseret News, NextDraft, The Intercept, The Daily Wire, Erick Erickson's Show Notes and Election Law Blog
Ian Millhiser / Vox:
The glaring error in the Virginia Supreme Court's gerrymandering decision — By a 4-3 vote, the Virginia Supreme Court just struck down that state's recently enacted congressional maps, which were intended to give Democrats four additional seats in the state's congressional election after the upcoming midterms.
Discussion:
HotAir, Election Law Blog, Washington Examiner, The Gateway Pundit, New York Sun, CBS News, Newsbusters, Blaze Media and Reason
Tim Balk / New York Times:
4 Takeaways From the Virginia Supreme Court Gerrymandering Decision — The ruling was a major lift to the G.O.P. efforts to build a structural advantage through redistricting. — The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday struck down a voter-approved measure allowing Democratic state lawmakers …
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, MS NOW, New York Post, Slate, Washington Examiner, The Post Millennial, NBC News, Democracy Docket, DNYUZ, The Federalist, The Hill, RedState, Cardinal News, IJR, twitchy.com, The Gateway Pundit, NOTUS, The National Pulse, NewsMax.com, Erick Erickson's Show Notes, New Republic, Washington Times, Rick Wilson's …, The American Conservative, Mediaite and Grabien
Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:
The Virginia Ruling Was a Gut Punch. Democrats Can Still Win the House
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Democracy Docket, Bloomberg and The Daily Caller
Ari Berman / Mother Jones:
Republicans Don't Need to Win Elections Anymore. They Just Need Their Judges.
Republicans Don't Need to Win Elections Anymore. They Just Need Their Judges.
Khaya Himmelman / Talking Points Memo:
Virginia State Supreme Court Strikes Down Dem Redistricting Proposal
Virginia State Supreme Court Strikes Down Dem Redistricting Proposal
Discussion:
CNN, RedState, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Mediaite
George Chidi / The Guardian:
‘This is not democracy’: voting rights activists shocked by speed of US states moving to stifle Black voters
‘This is not democracy’: voting rights activists shocked by speed of US states moving to stifle Black voters
Discussion:
Democracy Docket, Chicago Sun Times, Scott MacFarlane Reports, The Hill, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Slate, New Republic, Raw Story and Zeteo
Associated Press:
Alabama lawmakers pass plan for new US House primary if courts allow different districts
Alabama lawmakers pass plan for new US House primary if courts allow different districts
Jane C. Timm / NBC News:
Alabama takes step toward a new congressional map while awaiting court action
Alabama takes step toward a new congressional map while awaiting court action
Discussion:
Montgomery Advertiser, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Examiner
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
California Republican Incumbents Race to the Right as Redistricting Forces Standoff
California Republican Incumbents Race to the Right as Redistricting Forces Standoff
Discussion:
NBC News
New York Times:
ABC Accuses Government of Violating First Amendment — The network's argument, made to the F.C.C., is the most aggressive posture taken yet by a television network toward the Trump administration. — ABC has accused the Federal Communications Commission of violating its free speech rights …
Discussion:
CNN, Politico, Bloomberg, Breitbart, MS NOW, Ars Technica, Washington Examiner, Forbes, New York Magazine, The Hill, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, The Verge, New Republic, GV Wire, NewsMax.com, The Wrap, Raw Story, Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, CBS News, Mediaite and Information Technology …, more at Mediagazer »
Liz Essley Whyte / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Planning to Fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary — The doctor, a MAHA advocate, has had a tumultuous tenure that has included clashes over vaping, abortion and vaccine policy.
Discussion:
MedPage Today, NewsMax.com, Raw Story, STAT, The Daily Signal, Mediaite and New Republic
RELATED:
Helene Cooper / New York Times:
Pentagon Releases Files on U.F.O.s — The initial files are murky images that show what could be anything. The government said more would be released on a rolling basis. — The Pentagon released what it called “new, never-before-seen” files on U.F.O.s on Friday, hailing the step …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Post, KTLA, CBS News, The Atlantic, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, Al Jazeera, TechCrunch, UPI, Axios, TMZ.com, ABC News, Blaze Media and Mediaite
RELATED:
Samuel Chamberlain / New York Post:
Pentagon releases dozens of UFO files offering transparency on ‘alien and extraterrestrial life’
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, Breitbart, The Independent, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, NPR, Associated Press, Wired, WJBK-TV, New Scientist, Reuters, CBS News, Task & Purpose, The Hollywood Reporter, Raw Story, The War Zone, Stars & Stripes, Modern Diplomacy, KTLA, UNILAD, Malone News, The Daily Wire, DNYUZ, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, The Daily Caller, Deseret News, BizPac Review, Forbes and Althouse
Fox News:
Trump admin releases highly anticipated files documenting UFOs, ‘extraterrestrial life’
Trump admin releases highly anticipated files documenting UFOs, ‘extraterrestrial life’
Discussion:
Telegraph, Scientific American, CBS News, Charleston Daily Mail, The Gateway Pundit, Straight Arrow News, Daily Kos, El País, One America News Network, The National Pulse, Washington Times, The Wrap, RedState, GB News, DNYUZ, IJR, Washington Examiner, KEYT-TV, UNILAD and The Post Millennial
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
The simple statistical error Republican Supreme Court justices used to gut the VRA — The Court says vote dilution can be proven only after “controlling” racial polarization for partisan polarization. This is a nonsensical and impossible test … The six Republican-appointed justices …
Discussion:
The Downballot
New York Times:
The No-Bid Contract That Is Turning Washington's Reflecting Pool Blue … For a century, the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool has captured Washington's history, a vast mirror for moments great and small. — Then, this spring, President Trump said he decided to paint it blue …
Discussion:
Raw Story, Associated Press and The Independent
The Guardian:
Supreme court's Voting Rights Act ruling cited misleading data from DoJ — Exclusive: Data in justice department filing quoted by Samuel Alito in his opinion relied on questionable methodology, a Guardian analysis has found — The claims Samuel Alito, a supreme court justice …
Discussion:
New Republic, Above the Law, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Wonkette, Talking Points Memo and New York Times
Reuters:
Exclusive: Kennedy's health officials explored US ban of some widely used antidepressants, sources say — U.S. health department officials last week explored whether they could ban certain drugs in a widely prescribed class of antidepressants as Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. prepared …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, New York Post and NPR
Julia Angwin / New York Times:
Mark Zuckerberg Is Running Meta Into the Ground — There is a moment when internet companies get the stink of death on them. For AOL, it was 2003, when it became clear that its users were abandoning its clunky dial-up internet service for far-faster broadband.
Jonathan Lemire / The Atlantic:
Trump Is ‘Bored’ With the War He Started — He wants out, but Iran could likely keep going for months. — President trump really, really wants the war with Iran to end. He has declared victory many times, including about three weeks ago, when Iran briefly reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
Discussion:
Commentary Magazine, Asia Times, DNYUZ and Washington Post
Thomas Frank / Politico:
Trump gets his chance to upend FEMA … That would help the agency meet one of Trump's biggest complaints about FEMA — that it's too slow to deliver money. The report says payments to states would occur within 30 days of a flood, storm, wildfire or other disaster.
Discussion:
RedState, Washington Post, New York Times, NewsMax.com, UPI, Federal News Network, NOTUS, GovExec.com, The Independent, CBS News, MPR News, Washington Times, New York Sun, Associated Press and The Hill
RELATED:
Alex Nitzberg / Fox News:
US intel community agreed before war 'Iran wasn't developing a nuclear weapon': ex-counterterrorism chief — Joe Kent declared ‘the narrative & agenda spun by a foreign government- Israel, won the argument & forced us into this war’ — Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent asserted …
Discussion:
WTTG-TV and Responsible Statecraft
The Economist:
Secret document reveals Russia's plans to aid Iran — Unjammable drones would be used against American forces, according to proposals seen by The Economist — There are many reasons why America's war on Iran has been failing. One of them is the effectiveness of Iranian drones.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, GV Wire, Washington Examiner and News Talk 105.9
RELATED:
Joshua Yaffa / New Yorker:
For Putin, Problems (and Paranoia) Keep Mounting
For Putin, Problems (and Paranoia) Keep Mounting
Discussion:
GB News, Asia Times, HuffPost and NewsMax.com
Catherine Bouris / The Daily Beast:
MAGA Rep Accused of Brutally Beating GOP Senator's Daughter — FAMILY TRAUMA — Rep. Max Miller was elected in 2022 and previously served in the Trump administration. — A MAGA congressman has been accused of years of physical abuse against his ex-wife, the daughter of a prominent Republican senator.
Discussion:
Charleston Daily Mail, Newsweek, Mediaite, BizPac Review, New Republic, New York Post and Raw Story
Oren Cass / New York Times:
Is Trump About to Invite In the Biggest Predator in the World? — “If you look at my old speeches when I was young, very handsome,” President Trump said while announcing his “Liberation Day” tariffs last year, “I'd be on a television show. I'd be talking about how we were being ripped off.”
Discussion:
Commonplace, Raw Story and The Wire China
RELATED:
Emily Peck / Axios:
Ted Cruz: Trump accounts are personal Social Security accounts — At a conference earlier this week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said that the new Trump accounts, the “401(k)s for babies” that launched this year, could be a way to push forward the Social Security privatization effort that failed during the Bush administration.
The Guardian:
Revealed: The Trump administration arrested the parents of at least 27,000 kids in seven months, ICE records show — The Guardian analyzed government data from January-August 2025, as advocates say the family-separation crisis will lead to generational trauma
Discussion:
The Independent and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Judge schedules criminal trial for James Comey for July 15 — A federal judge on Friday set a July 15 trial date for former FBI Director James Comey on his new criminal charges of threatening President Trump. — U.S. District Judge Louise Flanagan, who will oversee the trial …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com and The Gateway Pundit
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Stephen Miller's closed system of white supremacy — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🔁 Subscribe to PN 🔁 — Working in the Trump administration these days is no doubt a dream come true for Stephen Miller.
