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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New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Blurts Out Plot to Rig Midterms as Polls Turn Brutal — The following is a lightly edited transcript of the May 11 episode of The Daily Blast podcast. Listen to it here. — Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.
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, Raw Story and Mediaite
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
Republican Judges Leave Democrats No Choice But To Escalate
Discussion:
CNBC, Politico, Slate and NewsMax.com
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
This is a crisis of democracy. What will Dems do about it?
This is a crisis of democracy. What will Dems do about it?
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and twitchy.com
New York Times:
Cost of Reflecting Pool Repairs Nearly Doubles, Trump Administration Says — A no-bid contract for repairs to the Lincoln Memorial pool now costs $13.1 million, far more than the $1.8 million Mr. Trump initially said it would. — President Trump said that his handpicked contractor …
Discussion:
NBC News, The Hill, TCLF, Daily Kos, The Independent, New Republic, CBS News and Mediaite
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Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Nonprofit sues to stop Trump's changes to Reflecting Pool, a historic site — President Donald Trump wants to resurface the Lincoln Memorial's Reflecting Pool by July 4. A D.C.-area foundation claims he failed to get federal reviews. — Summary — A Washington-area nonprofit Monday asked …
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Lawsuit filed over Trump's Reflecting Pool renovations
Lawsuit filed over Trump's Reflecting Pool renovations
Discussion:
Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Politico, twitchy.com, UPI, KEYT-TV, The Gateway Pundit and MS NOW
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:
NOTUS, New York Post, Washington Examiner, CNBC, New York Times, Axios, Politico, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, The Hill, NBC News, Business Insider, NPR, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, The Post Millennial, New Republic, ABC News, WLTX-TV, RedState, New York Magazine, WTTG-TV, Washington Times, The Independent, Straight Arrow News, The Daily Wire, Bangor Daily News, Mediaite and FOX 32 Chicago
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Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
Trump seeks to pause federal gas tax as prices soar amid Iran conflict
Discussion:
Scripps News, The Hill, CBS News, Townhall, Washington Examiner, New York Post, WLTX-TV, Algemeiner.com, Reuters and Axios
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, Bloomberg, GV Wire, Raw Story and NewsMax.com
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Lalee Ibssa / ABC News:
Trump sounds off SCOTUS justices he appointed over tariff ruling
Trump sounds off SCOTUS justices he appointed over tariff ruling
Discussion:
Raw Story, HuffPost, Townhall, MS NOW, New Republic, MeidasTouch, Truthout, The Independent, Blaze Media, Fox News, The Hill, NewsMax.com, The Floridian and Mediaite
New York Times:
Iran Defends Its Demands After Trump's Rejection — Iran defended its demands for a peace deal after President Trump called them “unacceptable.” Oil prices rose and stocks were flat amid no signs of an end to the war. — Here's the latest. — With President Trump and Iran's leadership at a deadlock …
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Associated Press, Fox News, Mediaite, IJR, CBS News, Council on Foreign Relations, The Daily Wire, Al Jazeera and UPI
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Politico:
Trump casts doubt on teetering ceasefire
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hill and Washington Examiner
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump weighs military action against Iran with ceasefire “on life support”
Trump weighs military action against Iran with ceasefire “on life support”
Discussion:
Jewish Insider, Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine, Asia Times, Raw Story, The Independent and Al Jazeera
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 …
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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.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, Newsweek and Townhall
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Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
People Want What They Want — 1. The People — Sarah had Tim on The Focus Group this weekend.
People Want What They Want — 1. The People — Sarah had Tim on The Focus Group this weekend.
Discussion:
The Atlantic
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.
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.
Discussion:
Adam Kinzinger, New Republic, Raw Story and Mediaite
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.
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.
David McAfee / Raw Story:
Trump official rages at legendary basketball star: ‘What a selfish move’ — A Donald Trump admin official took the time Sunday night to chastise one of the greatest basketball legends in history. — It all started with a video posted by LA Mayor Karen Bass, who is currently in a fight …
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, The Gateway Pundit, IJR, Fox News and LGBTQ Nation
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
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:
The Hill, HotAir, Straight Arrow News, RedState, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Independent, Mediaite and Althouse
Associated Press:
Supreme Court temporarily extends women's access to a widely used abortion pill — The Supreme Court is leaving women's access to a widely used abortion pill untouched until at least Thursday, while the justices consider whether to allow restrictions on the drug, mifepristone, to take effect.
Discussion:
NBC News, Straight Arrow News, The Hill, Washington Examiner, ABC News, CBS News, GV Wire, The Independent, MS NOW and Ms. Magazine
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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 …
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:
HuffPost, Washington Examiner and The Daily Signal, more at Mediagazer »
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.
Aleena Fayaz / CNN:
Hegseth calls for Sen. Mark Kelly to be investigated by Pentagon for second time — Pete Hegseth Federal agencies US military National security — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday called for Sen. Mark Kelly to be investigated over comments he made about US weapon stockpiles …
Discussion:
ABC News, Washington Examiner, RedState, One America News Network, The Hill, Daily Kos, Breitbart, Mediaite, Townhall, UPI, The Guardian, amuse on 𝕏, American Greatness, Wonkette, The Independent, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, NewsMax.com, twitchy.com, BizPac Review, U.S. Home, New Republic, The Daily Signal, Fox News, IJR, CBS News and Washington Times
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Jeff Mason / Bloomberg:
Musk, Cook Expected to Join Trump For Xi Summit in China — The White House is inviting Tesla Inc.'s Elon Musk, Apple Inc.'s Tim Cook, Boeing Co.'s Kelly Ortberg and executives from other large companies to accompany President Donald Trump on his trip to China this week, according to an official.
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Tyler Pager / New York Times:
Trump to Be Joined by Elon Musk and Other CEOs at Xi Summit in China
Trump to Be Joined by Elon Musk and Other CEOs at Xi Summit in China
Discussion:
New York Post, Reuters, Townhall, CNBC, The Daily Wire, Human Events and Forbes

