Top Items:
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Trump's Redistricting Push Could Cost Republicans More Than It Gains … Last week was the best one President Donald Trump has had in months. — Trump reminded Republicans who's boss by ousting Indiana lawmakers who defied his redistricting demands, saw Democrats' attempt to gerrymander Virginia blocked …
Discussion:
The Bulwark, The Contrarian and Raw Story
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Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
This is a crisis of democracy. What will Dems do about it?
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Gateway Pundit, Cardinal News, Election Law Blog and The Downballot
Damien Cave / New York Times:
What Middle Powers Fear About the Trump-Xi Summit — Asian nations worry that the president might trade security commitments for better economic terms with China during his planned meeting with Xi Jinping this week. — Poland will soon host production lines for South Korean tanks.
Discussion:
UPI
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Politico:
Here's how Trump's meeting with Xi could spark a crisis over Taiwan
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Guardian and Los Angeles Times
Associated Press:
Trump-Xi summit comes with high stakes for Taiwan, the island democracy that China claims as its own
Trump-Xi summit comes with high stakes for Taiwan, the island democracy that China claims as its own
Discussion:
Asia Times, Reuters and The Philadelphia Inquirer
Robert Jimison / New York Times:
Lawmakers Urge Trump to Move Ahead on Delayed Arms Sale to Taiwan
Lawmakers Urge Trump to Move Ahead on Delayed Arms Sale to Taiwan
Discussion:
Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, CBS News and Al Jazeera
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, Bloomberg, Axios, NewsMax.com, Straight Arrow News, Bangor Daily News, NBC News, FOX 32 Chicago and Fox News
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NOTUS:
Republicans Don't Want to Talk About Gas Prices Anymore — Gas prices are how voters measure the success of the economy. The Iran war is causing rising gas prices, and battleground district Republicans have mostly gone silent. — Copy — The same party that spent years pinning every penny increase …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Raw Story, UPI and Bloomberg
Ryan Burke / Just Security:
Lessons from the Pentagon's Empty Case Against Mark Kelly — Secretary Pete Hegseth's Pentagon is in disarray. Adherence to the rule of law, is now, apparently, a ground for termination. The latest target in Hegseth's continued purge was former Secretary of the Navy John Phelan.
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Aleena Fayaz / CNN:
Hegseth calls for Sen. Mark Kelly to be investigated by Pentagon for second time
Discussion:
Townhall, The Independent, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, amuse on 𝕏, The Gateway Pundit, The Daily Signal, U.S. Home, RedState, Fox News, twitchy.com, IJR, CBS News and Washington Times
Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Hegseth calls for Kelly to be investigated for ‘blabbing’ about classified briefing
Hegseth calls for Kelly to be investigated for ‘blabbing’ about classified briefing
Discussion:
The Hill, Townhall, The Guardian, UPI, New Republic, Wonkette, American Greatness and Raw Story
Steve Vladeck / One First:
227. “We're All Trying to Find the Guy Who Did This” — With both its ruling in Callais and its behavior before and since, the Supreme Court has not only accelerated the race to the redistricting bottom; it has placed itself *squarely* in the middle of it. — Welcome back to “One First …
NBC News:
White House Correspondents' Dinner shooting suspect pleads not guilty in federal court — Cole Tomas Allen, 31, was armed with multiple guns, as well as knives, when he sprinted through a security checkpoint at the D.C. hotel, officials said. … Cole Tomas Allen, 31 …
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, Washington Times, TMZ.com, The Guardian, The Daily Wire and IJR
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Steve Benen / MS NOW:
The problem(s) with the transportation secretary's tone-deaf reality series — Sean Duffy's return to reality programming isn't just a political mess, it also raises unavoidable ethical questions. — Just two weeks into Donald Trump's second term, Axios published a report noting …
Gary Sernovitz / New York Times:
'Bill Cassidy Sold His Soul to the Devil, and He Didn't Get Anything for It' — On Saturday, we'll get some data on how yet another Trump Tragedy will end. Recent polls put Bill Cassidy, the senator from Louisiana, in third place heading into the first round of the Republican primary here.
Major Garrett / CBS News:
Netanyahu wants Israel “to draw down to zero the American financial support” — Add CBS News on Google — The ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was tested again today by suspected Iranian drone strikes in the Persian Gulf, another spurt of hostilities in a war that has now spread …
Discussion:
Human Events, The American Conservative, The Forward, Al Jazeera, BizPac Review, NewsMax.com, The Daily Wire and Mediaite
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Ephrat Livni / New York Times:
Trump and Netanyahu Say Iran War Is Not Over
Trump and Netanyahu Say Iran War Is Not Over
Discussion:
Mediaite, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Jewish Insider, New York Sun, CBS News, The Guardian, Middle East Monitor, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Al Jazeera and Politico
David Farrier / Webworm with David Farrier:
Everlee Has Disappeared — Like all of Webworm's public interest journalism, there is no paywall - and there are no ads. This is made possible thanks to its paying subscribers. This work is not possible without them. Thank you. — Hi, — As I write this newsletter at 7.42pm in New York …
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
G.O.P. Plant? Democratic Ruse? Accusations Fly in Nebraska's Senate Race — One Democrat is accused of being a Republican in disguise. Another plans to drop out to boost an independent. It's primary eve in one of the country's most unusual midterm contests.
Discussion:
Associated Press and Election Law Blog
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Elena Schneider / NOTUS:
Nebraska's Tense Democratic Primary Is Bigger Than One House Seat
Nebraska's Tense Democratic Primary Is Bigger Than One House Seat
Discussion:
New York Times, Jewish Insider and Raw Story
Politico:
One American has tested positive for hantavirus, another has mild symptoms … In a statement Sunday evening, HHS said the State Department would airlift the passengers, transporting some of them to the Regional Emerging Special Pathogen Treatment Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
Natalie Korach / Status:
The Post's Opinion Divide … On Monday, as The Washington Post celebrated its two Pulitzer Prize wins, the newspaper found itself scrambling to bring back two previously laid-off video operators to help livestream the celebration because, after the company's massive layoffs in February, no one remained who could operate the system.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and Raw Story, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
As Trump Heads to Beijing, China Is ‘Locked and Loaded’ for a Fight — Beijing is signaling that it is ready for a trade showdown, and it is building up a legal arsenal in preparation. — Peace and stability will be the public message when President Trump and China's leader, Xi Jinping, meet in Beijing this week.
Discussion:
Axios and The Atlantic
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Nicholas Kristof / New York Times:
The Silence That Meets the Rape of Palestinians … It's a simple proposition: Whatever our views of the Middle East conflict, we should be able to unite in condemning rape. — Supporters of Israel made that point after the brutal sexual assaults against Israeli women during the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
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.
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:
Raw Story and The Independent
Shannon Pettypiece / NBC News:
The families going hungry because of Trump's food stamp cuts — Under President Donald Trump's “big, beautiful bill,” food stamp applicants are fighting to prove eligibility and facing questions about birthday gifts sent over Zelle. A crisis in Arizona offers a warning for America.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera
Bernard Mokam / New York Times:
They Were Promised New Septic Tanks. Trump Called It ‘Illegal DEI.’ … Behind Dana Anderson's home in central Alabama, a plastic pipe carries waste from her toilet through her backyard, discarding it outdoors. Three or four times a year, a spell of heavy rain forces the excrement back up into the house.
The Atlantic:
Stephen Miller in Retreat — Just hours before Stephen Miller arrived at the Mar-a-Lago ballroom on New Year's Eve—where he would welcome 2026 by dancing next to the soon-to-be-defenestrated homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, as the 1990s cultural relic Vanilla Ice performed—he won a great, though ultimately fleeting, victory.
NBC News:
Trump is growing impatient as Cuban regime clings to power — U.S. officials believe the regime could fall by the end of the year, but that timeline isn't fast enough for the president, sources say. The White House says Cuba has rejected humanitarian and economic assistance to stabilize.
Discussion:
Raw Story
