Top Items:
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Trump Wins Big as Virginia Dems Won't Go Nuclear to Save 4 House Seats — Top Virginia Democrats have decided against exercising a controversial procedural end run around last week's state Supreme Court ruling that struck down their redistricting, which wiped away a gain of four House seats …
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Andy Craig / The UnPopulist:
The VRA Ruling Might Have Handed Republicans a Weapon to Attempt a Jan. 6-style Midterm Coup — An outlandish scenario to refuse to seat newly elected blue state representatives just became more plausible — Republicans have been throwing everything they can at the 2026 midterms …
Discussion:
Democracy Docket and Raw Story
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Republican Judges Leave Democrats No Choice But To Escalate — They've officially joined Trump's effort to rig the midterm. And if that's not enough to move Democrats off the fence, the fight to save democracy may already be lost. — ∙ Paid — I had this piece mostly completed on Thursday.
Discussion:
Public Notice, Politico, Slate and NewsMax.com
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Blurts Out Plot to Rig Midterms as Polls Turn Brutal
Discussion:
The Contrarian and Townhall
Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:
Why Republicans Are Still Drawing House Maps, While Democrats Are Stuck
Why Republicans Are Still Drawing House Maps, While Democrats Are Stuck
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Trump's Redistricting Push Could Cost Republicans More Than It Gains
Trump's Redistricting Push Could Cost Republicans More Than It Gains
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Bulwark, The Contrarian, Raw Story and Mediaite
Jen Rice / Democracy Docket:
Supreme Court greenlights 11th-hour Alabama redistricting plan for 2026 election — The U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) has allowed Alabama to select a different map for this year's congressional elections in a stunning, last-minute move to interfere with another state primary election that has already begun.
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner, New York Post, Roll Call, The Guardian, RedState, Talking Points Memo and SCOTUSblog
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Associated Press:
Supreme Court halts order for Alabama to use US House map with 2 largely Black districts
Discussion:
Law Dork, NOTUS, CNN, Reuters, Politico, The Hill, NBC News, The Daily Wire, Mock Paper Scissors, Mississippi Free Press, Washington Times, KEYT-TV and GV Wire
New York Times:
Supreme Court Clears Path for Alabama to Use New Voting Map
Supreme Court Clears Path for Alabama to Use New Voting Map
Discussion:
Townhall and The Gateway Pundit
Washington Post:
Supreme Court hands Alabama major boost in redistricting fight
Supreme Court hands Alabama major boost in redistricting fight
Discussion:
CBS News, The Post Millennial, Raw Story and RedState
Steve Vladeck / One First:
227. “We're All Trying to Find the Guy Who Did This”
227. “We're All Trying to Find the Guy Who Did This”
Discussion:
Civil Discourse … and Lawyers, Guns & Money
New York Post:
Arcadia mayor Eileen Wang admits acting as Chinese spy, running fake news website with ex-lover in shocking plea deal — The former mayor of Arcadia resigned after admitting to acting as an illegal foreign agent of China in a federal plea deal unsealed on Monday.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, Breitbart, Ace of Spades HQ and The Post Millennial
RELATED:
US Department of Justice:
Arcadia Mayor Federally Charged with Acting as Illegal Agent of the People's Republic of China — For Immediate Release — U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California — LOS ANGELES - The mayor of Arcadia has been charged in federal court with acting as an illegal agent …
Marc Sternfield / KTLA:
California mayor accused of working as covert agent for China
California mayor accused of working as covert agent for China
Discussion:
Townhall, twitchy.com and ABC7
Nancy Cordes / CBS News:
Trump says he aims to suspend gas tax “for a period of time” — Add CBS News on Google — Washington — President Trump said in a phone interview with CBS News Monday morning that he aims to suspend the federal gas tax “for a period of time.” — “I think it's a great idea,” the president said.
Discussion:
New York Post, ABC News, Bloomberg, One America News Network, CNBC, Axios, NOTUS, KEYT-TV, PoliticusUSA, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Washington Examiner, WLTX-TV, WCSH, The Post Millennial, FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth, NPR, Deseret News, The Hill, RedState, New York Magazine, MS NOW, Associated Press, The Independent, The Guardian, NewsMax.com, Daily Kos, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Politico, Business Insider, Florida Politics, Washington Times, New Republic, The Daily Wire, Bangor Daily News, Mediaite, Straight Arrow News and FOX 32 Chicago
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Trump Floats Temporary US Gas Tax Halt as Pump Prices Soar
Discussion:
CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Independent, U.S. Home, The Hill, WTTG-TV, NewsMax.com, New York Times, UPI and Fox News
Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
Trump seeks to pause federal gas tax as prices soar amid Iran conflict
Trump seeks to pause federal gas tax as prices soar amid Iran conflict
Discussion:
CBS News, Vox, New York Post, Algemeiner.com, Washington Examiner, Townhall, Scripps News, NewsMax.com, Reuters, The Hill and Axios
Wall Street Journal:
The U.A.E. Has Been Secretly Carrying Out Attacks on Iran — One strike in April hit an oil refinery on Iran's Lavan Island — DUBAI—The United Arab Emirates has carried out military strikes on Iran, people familiar with the matter said, casting the Gulf monarchy as an active combatant …
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New York Times:
Reflecting Pool Repairs to Cost $13.1 Million. Trump Had Promised $1.8 Million. — The Interior Department added $6.2 million to the no-bid contract for repairs to the Lincoln Memorial pool late last week. — President Trump said that his handpicked contractor would charge only $1.8 million …
Discussion:
NBC News, TCLF, The Hill, NewsMax.com, The Architect's Newspaper, MS NOW, Washingtonian, Daily Caller News Foundation, CBS News, Daily Kos, Raw Story, The Independent, New Republic and Mediaite
RELATED:
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Nonprofit sues to stop Trump's changes to Reflecting Pool, a historic site
Nonprofit sues to stop Trump's changes to Reflecting Pool, a historic site
Discussion:
CNN, NPR, NOTUS, WTTG-TV, Politico, Associated Press, twitchy.com, HuffPost and PBS NewsHour
The White House:
Nominations and Withdrawal Sent to the Senate — NOMINATIONS SENT TO THE SENATE: — Francis Brooke, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. — Cameron Hamilton, of Virginia, to be Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Homeland Security.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Scripps News, Breitbart, The Hill, Bloomberg, Raw Story and Deseret News, more at Mediagazer »
Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Complaints About Iran War Leaks Prompt Aggressive DOJ Investigations — President Trump privately complained to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche about media leaks in the wake of the Iran war last month, according to administration officials familiar with the matter …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Raw Story and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Thomas Frank / Politico:
Trump picks Cameron Hamilton to run FEMA — The president nominated the man he fired as leader of the nation's disaster agency a year ago. — Cameron Hamilton testifies on Capitol Hill last year before he was fired as acting administrator of FEMA. President Donald Trump nominated him Monday to lead the agency again.
Discussion:
NPR, New York Times, The Independent, NewsMax.com, Federal News Network and Raw Story
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Gabriela Aoun Angueira / Associated Press:
Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, a year after he was fired from the role
Trump nominates Cameron Hamilton to lead FEMA, a year after he was fired from the role
Discussion:
NOTUS and The Gateway Pundit
Samuel Benson / Politico:
This moderate Republican senator is already eyeing the exits 16 months into his term … Curtis, who replaced former Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) last year, has a reputation as a pragmatic dealmaker and moderate voice from his three terms in the U.S. House. But after seeing Washington grow …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and Raw Story
New York Times:
Kennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His New Silence on the Issue … Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said little publicly about vaccines in recent months, at the behest of a White House worried that his unpopular stance will hurt Republicans in November's midterm elections.
Liam Scott / Washington Post:
Many Americans think Trump assassination attempts were fake, survey finds — About 1 in 4 say the correspondents' dinner shooting was staged, the poll found, including roughly a third of Democrats, as conspiracy theories spread widely online. — Summary — About 1 in 4 Americans …
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, Newsbusters, Florida Politics, HotAir, RedState, The Independent, Straight Arrow News, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite and Althouse
RELATED:
Elena Moore / NPR:
New poll finds a majority of Americans unsure if attempts on Trump's life were real
New poll finds a majority of Americans unsure if attempts on Trump's life were real
Discussion:
The Hill, The Daily Caller, Mediaite and LifeNews.com
Bloomberg:
Navy Plans to Buy 15 Costly Trump-Class Battleships by 2055 — The US Navy said it plans to buy at least 15 new battleships endorsed by President Donald Trump over the next 30 years, according to its new shipbuilding plan, marking a deeper commitment than previously revealed to what could be the costliest warship ever produced.
Discussion:
NOTUS, The War Zone and USNI News
Brandi Buchman / HuffPost:
Trump Gets 3 ‘Fully Functional’ Arcade Games Erected At D.C. War Memorial — See scenes from Secret Handshake's games depicting FBI Director Kash Patel, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, the pope and others. — Secret Handshake, the group responsible for erecting statues around Washington …
Discussion:
Gizmodo, The Independent, MS NOW and Wired
theRighting:
Traffic to Truth Social Soars 45% in April While Other News Websites Decline — Trump-Controlled Platform Vaults to #2 in Traffic for First Time Ever — Year-over-year (YOY) visits in April to the Trump-controlled Truth Social rose 45%, while almost every news website monitored by TheRighting experienced declines.
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
People Want What They Want — 1. The People — Sarah had Tim on The Focus Group this weekend. It was . . . sublime. — The subject was the May 16 Louisiana Senate primary and my best friends listened to Republican voters explain why they are not voting for the incumbent R …
Discussion:
The Atlantic
RELATED:
Gary Sernovitz / New York Times:
'Bill Cassidy Sold His Soul to the Devil, and He Didn't Get Anything for It'
'Bill Cassidy Sold His Soul to the Devil, and He Didn't Get Anything for It'
Discussion:
Newsweek, Townhall and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Associated Press:
Survey work begins for contested Trump Triumphal Arch project in Washington — Workers began preliminary surveys and testing Monday of the proposed site of a Triumphal Arch sought by President Donald Trump, the latest step in plans for the contentious project in the nation's capital.
Erica Orden / Politico:
Top federal prosecutor in New York committed misconduct, watchdog says … A request for comment left with Sarcone's office wasn't immediately returned. — Though the letter didn't disclose the conduct in question, a complaint by the watchdog organization, Campaign for Accountability …
Discussion:
All Rise News, The Intercept and Raw Story
Claire Cain Miller / New York Times:
Why Two Big Companies Just Cut Paid Family Leave — Deloitte and Zoom are among the employers reducing support for working parents, signaling a retreat from a “golden age of benefits.” — Not long ago, employers were competing over who could be most generous in providing family-friendly benefits …
Discussion:
UPI, MS NOW, Washington Examiner, Straight Arrow News and Washington Post
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Clears Way for More Beef Imports, Aiming to Bring Down Record-High Prices — The administration is suspending tariff-rate quotas on all beef-exporting nations; beef prices have climbed steadily since Trump took office — The Trump administration is opening the way to import more steaks …
Discussion:
Politico, The Bulwark, Reuters, The Independent, NBC News, NOTUS, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com and Raw Story
Gideon Rachman / Financial Times:
A weakened Trump arrives at Xi's court — China holds the cards — and might settle for flashy but empty announcements while playing a long game — Donald Trump travels to Beijing this week against the backdrop of two wars that have gone wrong: the real war that he launched against Iran …
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Inside the wild fight to oust a top GOP Trump critic — The fight between Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and President Trump-backed rival Ed Gallrein is now the most expensive U.S. House primary in history — and it's one of the nastiest, too. … - One pro-Gallrein super PAC ad features …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Raw Story, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and The Daily Signal, more at Mediagazer »

