Top Items:
Carl Hulse / New York Times:
How Minority Districts Fueled the G.O.P.'s Southern Ascendancy in Congress — The “majority-minority” House districts struck down by the Supreme Court last week sent a surge of Black and Hispanic lawmakers to Congress. They also opened opportunities for the G.O.P.
Discussion:
The Atlantic and OutsideTheBeltway
RELATED:
Nate Cohn / New York Times:
Republicans Are Building an Advantage in Redistricting. How Much Is It Worth? — Where things stands in the race for House control after recent court rulings. — The redistricting wars heading into the November midterm elections had been in a stalemate, with each party's tit-for-tat gerrymanders roughly canceling each other out.
Discussion:
HotAir, Politico, DNYUZ, Bloomberg, Associated Press and The Dispatch
Washington Post:
With GOP wins on election maps, Democrats have a steeper climb to victory — Democrats said a House majority is still within reach after losing a court challenge in Virginia. — Summary — Republicans are eight seats closer to keeping control of the House since President Donald Trump …
New York Times:
Two Court Decisions Have Unleashed an Era of Perpetual Redistricting — Four states are considering drawing new maps in the coming weeks. Another dozen or more could join the fray next year. — A coast-to-coast sprint of partisan one-upmanship in which eight states have redrawn …
Discussion:
Politico
Reuters:
Anger, confusion as Louisiana Republicans move to erase majority-Black US House district — As a child, Leona Tate was one of the “New Orleans Four,” the first Black students to desegregate a public school in the deep South, enduring racial slurs and death threats as armed U.S. Marshals escorted them to class.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Democracy Docket, RNS and The Guardian
Erin Cox / Washington Post:
This powerful Democrat's job is on the line over redistricting — Like the Indiana Republicans who lost their primaries this week, Maryland Senate President Bill Ferguson defied his party leaders on redistricting and drew the most competitive challenger of his career. — Summary
Hans Nichols / Axios:
2026 map swings back toward Trump — Republican chances of keeping the House are surging, as panicked Democrats scramble to offset back-to-back-to-back redistricting blows. … But they're nervous about the math for retaking the House now that Republicans appear (for now) to have won this year's redistricting wars.
Bill Mahoney / Politico:
Why Democrats' New York gerrymander won't be as aggressive as the GOP's efforts
Discussion:
Fox News, Townhall, NewsMax.com, The Dispatch, IJR and American Thinker
Dan Pfeiffer / The Message Box:
The Virginia Ruling Was a Gut Punch. Democrats Can Still Win the House
The Virginia Ruling Was a Gut Punch. Democrats Can Still Win the House
Discussion:
DNYUZ, Mediaite, UPI, The Hill, Democracy Docket, Townhall, Axios, Los Angeles Times, Boston.com, Bloomberg, Grabien, New York Times and Wall Street Journal
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.
Tim Balk / New York Times:
4 Takeaways From the Virginia Supreme Court Gerrymandering Decision
4 Takeaways From the Virginia Supreme Court Gerrymandering Decision
Discussion:
Balls and Strikes, BizPac Review, Slate, Washington Post, MS NOW, Politico, JONATHAN TURLEY, twitchy.com, Townhall, National Review, Breitbart, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Federalist, Fox News, The Post Millennial, Washington Examiner, DNYUZ, Election Law Blog, Althouse, IJR, RedState, Democracy Docket, All Rise News, NBC News, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, Vox, The Daily Caller, New York Post, Axios, The Washington Free Beacon, Al Jazeera, Grabien, CBS News, The National Pulse, Washington Times, MeidasTouch, KEYT-TV, The Daily Wire, LifeNews.com, Rick Wilson's …, Blaze Media, The American Conservative, New Republic, NOTUS, Mediaite, Erick Erickson's Show Notes, OutsideTheBeltway and No More Mister Nice Blog
Quinn Yeargain / The Downballot:
How Virginia Democrats can overturn the redistricting ruling: Retire the Supreme Court — Virginia Democrats are looking for a way to overturn the state Supreme Court's Friday decision invalidating the constitutional amendment temporarily adopting new congressional districts that a majority of voters ratified last month.
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:
The Register, The Portland Press Herald, Raw Story, VINnews and The Independent
Christian Datoc / Washington Examiner:
Trump throws his base a UFO bone, but critics say it's Iran ‘smoke and mirrors’ — President Donald Trump's release of declassified UFO files on Friday drew excitement from longtime transparency advocates — and immediate skepticism from critics on both the Left and Right who argued the timing …
Discussion:
New York Post, Al Jazeera, Mediaite, Blaze Media and Politico
RELATED:
Samuel Chamberlain / New York Post:
Pentagon releases dozens of UFO files offering transparency on ‘alien and extraterrestrial life’
Pentagon releases dozens of UFO files offering transparency on ‘alien and extraterrestrial life’
Discussion:
New York Times, Modern Diplomacy, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit, The Japan Times, SPACE.com, The Independent, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, DNYUZ, NPR, KTLA, Breitbart, Task & Purpose, CBS News, Fox News, New Scientist, The War Zone, The Daily Caller, The Hollywood Reporter, One America News Network, Deseret News, PBS NewsHour, UPI, Stars & Stripes, WJBK-TV, ABC News, TMZ.com, Bloomberg, Ars Technica, BizPac Review, Raw Story, Charleston Daily Mail, Washington Times, The Daily Wire, The Wrap, Malone News, WALV-TV, Washington Examiner, UNILAD, Forbes, Althouse and The Post Millennial
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Trump's ruthless midterm power play — President Trump is flexing his dominance over the Republican Party to stamp out primaries that would bleed party coffers and fracture the GOP ahead of a treacherous midterm election. … - He endorsed 95 percent of the 217-member House GOP Conference …
Politico:
Wiles cracks down on leaks — Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond.
Melody Schreiber / The Guardian:
Hantavirus misinformation runs rampant as the US is unequipped to respond to infectious disease health scare — The US's withdrawal from the WHO - and cuts to the country's health system - stymie officials' response — The outbreak of hantavirus on the Dutch cruise ship MV Hondius illuminates major gaps …
Discussion:
Associated Press, CNN, STAT, Vox, Breitbart, UNILAD, One America News Network, NewsMax.com, Forbes, The Intercept, Digby's Hullabaloo, MedPage Today and NBC News, more at Mediagazer »
Sophie Brams / The Hill:
Justice Department moves to strip 12 Americans of their citizenship — The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Friday it is seeking to denaturalize a dozen people from various parts of the country who are accused of fraudulently obtaining U.S. citizenship.
Discussion:
US Department of Justice, New York Times, Newsweek, CBS News, ABC News, NewsMax.com, One America News Network, Townhall, Originally Reported …, Breitbart, Raw Story, The Daily Wire, Scripps News, Ace of Spades HQ, Fox News, Washington Times, Blaze Media, Associated Press, New York Post and The Daily Caller
Paul Sonne / New York Times:
Russia Has Lost More Than 350,000 Soldiers, New Estimate Finds — The number raises the prospect that about half a million soldiers in total have died on the Russian and Ukrainian sides. — About 352,000 Russian soldiers had died in the war against Ukraine through the end of 2025 …
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump Ballroom Suddenly Faces GOP Opposition in Surprise Blow to MAGA … After a gunman allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump at the White House Correspondents' Dinner last month, Senator John Fetterman seized on the moment to accuse his fellow Democrats of Trump Derangement Syndrome.
Chris Buckley / New York Times:
How China's Leader Lost Faith in His Generals — Xi Jinping spent 13 years building a military to rival that of the United States. But the stronger the Chinese forces grew, the less he trusted the generals he had handpicked to run them. — The purge China's leader, Xi Jinping …
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
DOJ sees fallout after push to prosecute former FBI director James Comey — Several prosecutors have left the Justice Department, others are considering doing so, and at least one major case has been disrupted. — Summary — More than a half-dozen prosecutors have been demoted or pushed …
New York Times:
Trump Plans to Fire F.D.A. Commissioner Marty Makary — Dr. Makary has been a supporter of the Make American Healthy Again Movement but made some enemies in the administration over vaping, the abortion pill and rejections of new drugs. — President Trump has signed off on a plan to fire Dr. Marty Makary …
Discussion:
Politico, BusinessDay, Raw Story, The Independent, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, GV Wire, Bloomberg and Mediaite
RELATED:
Liz Essley Whyte / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Planning to Fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
Trump Planning to Fire FDA Commissioner Marty Makary
Discussion:
The Guardian, STAT, Ars Technica, MedPage Today, DNYUZ, KEYT-TV, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, UPI, Mediaite, The Daily Signal, Raw Story and New Republic
Politico:
‘Mild panic will set in soon’: GOP donors left to wonder about Trump's $300 million war chest — Trump's top advisers insist that it is still early to discuss battle plans for MAGA Inc. … “There is an expectation funds are coming soon,” said a GOP donor, who like others in this story …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Madeleine Ngo / New York Times:
Facing Pressure, Trump Officials Reject Claims They're Softening on Immigration — Immigration hard-liners have grown frustrated with the level of deportations and the Department of Homeland Security's attempts, under its new secretary, to stay under the radar.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, Charleston Daily Mail and Politico
Matt Viser / The Atlantic:
Is Marco Rubio the Happiest Cabinet Member? — It's a low bar, perhaps, but no one in the Trump administration seems to be having more fun at the moment than Marco Rubio. Last weekend, he was acting as a DJ at a family wedding, headphones to his ear with head and hand pumping to the beat.
Rebecca Carballo / Politico:
Education Department launches hiring spree in key office, roughly a year after mass layoffs … So far, the student aid office has onboarded 52 new employees between September 2025 and March 2026. But even if FSA reaches its goal of having a total of 1,065 full-time employees …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
