Top Items:
Politico:
Why Republicans can't get traction on affordability legislation … The scale of the political challenges facing Republicans were further underscored Tuesday with the administration's latest cost estimate for the Iran war surpassing $29 billion and a brutal inflation report showing gas …
Discussion:
The Hill, Punchbowl News, Axios, Military.com and Bloomberg
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Punchbowl News:
5/13/26☀️ AM: … On issue after issue, both in Washington and in state capitals around the country, Republicans are giving Trump the stiff arm. They're ignoring his policy demands and overlooking his diatribes, even as they continue pledging allegiance to Trump politically.
Erin Cox / Washington Post:
Takeaways from the Nebraska election where a winner plans to quit — Democrats knew they couldn't unseat a GOP senator, so they backed an independent and fielded a candidate who promised to drop out if she won. Then it got complicated. — Summary — The long-shot path to unseating …
Hans Nichols / Axios:
Republicans are sweating about the White House ballroom project
Discussion:
Politico, HuffPost, Washington Examiner, Mediaite, The Hill and New Republic
Politico:
Capitol agenda: House eyes summer for another party-line bill
Capitol agenda: House eyes summer for another party-line bill
Discussion:
The Hill, E&E News and Florida Politics
Politico:
South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now
South Carolina Republicans tank redistricting, for now
Discussion:
NBC News, Greenville News, New York Times, Daily Caller News Foundation, The Hill, The Fucking News, Washington Post, ABC Columbia, Newsweek, UPI, Associated Press, Roll Call, The Independent, New York Post, The Guardian, Democracy Docket, Townhall, The Daily Signal, Bloomberg, KEYT-TV, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, NPR, The Gateway Pundit, Ace of Spades HQ and The Moderate Voice
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
10,000 rulings: The courts' overwhelming rebuke of Trump's ICE policies … Trump's unprecedented detention policy, which is almost certainly headed to the Supreme Court, infuriated lower courts in ways no other modern issue has. It ruptured the relationship between the Justice Department and the judiciary …
Discussion:
Slate
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Aaron Pellish / Politico:
Trump administration elevates former private prison company exec to lead ICE
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Times, Washington Post, NewsMax.com, Wall Street Journal, NPR, Raw Story, CBS News, Fox News, KEYT-TV, The Hill, Washington Examiner and twitchy.com
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asks public to back judicial independence
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson asks public to back judicial independence
Discussion:
twitchy.com
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Officials Consider Settling Trump Suit Against I.R.S. — One of the settlement terms under review is for the I.R.S. to drop any audits of the president, his family members and businesses. — The Justice Department is holding internal discussions about settling President Trump's lawsuit …
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story, Mediaite, Lawyers, Guns & Money and E&E News
Joshua Keating / Vox:
Trump's China policy is nearly the exact opposite of what everyone expected — As Trump heads to China, attention and resources are being shifted from Asia to yet another war in the Middle East. … There were the so-called “primacists,” who supported a traditional muscular and assertive US rule …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, Forbes, Foreign Affairs, Washington Times, Bloomberg and The Spectator
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Ana Swanson / New York Times:
Trump's Shrinking Ambitions on China
Discussion:
Washington Post, Reuters, CSIS, Al Jazeera, Asia Times, Semafor, Washington Examiner and NPR
Jasmine Wright / NOTUS:
'America's Boss Is Coming': Trump Gets a Lavish Welcome to China
'America's Boss Is Coming': Trump Gets a Lavish Welcome to China
Discussion:
CNBC, New York Times, Associated Press, The Hill, New York Post, Forbes and The Guardian
Bloomberg:
Trump Lands in China for Xi Trade Summit With Iran War in Limbo
Trump Lands in China for Xi Trade Summit With Iran War in Limbo
Discussion:
HotAir, Politico, NBC News, Washington Examiner, USA Today, CBS News, ABC News, The Hill, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, New York Sun, El País, RTÉ, The Guardian, New York Times, CNBC, WTTG-TV, Reuters, Washington Times, New York Post and The Independent, more at Techmeme »
Colin Demarest / Axios:
Drills, deals and doubts in the Pacific as Trump visits China
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Wholesale inflation jumps 6% in April on annual basis, biggest increase since 2022 … Wholesale prices in April posted their highest annual increase in more than three years, signaling more nettlesome inflation as pipeline costs intensify. — The producer price index rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% …
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, The Independent, Mediaite, Reuters, Breitbart and UPI
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
The biggest story in the country, today and always, is that the president of the United States is mentally unwell. — Over the course of three hours last night, he posted on social media fifty-five times. Those posts accused a number of those Trump considers his personal enemies …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow News and Raw Story
New York Times:
U.S. Intelligence Shows Iran Retains Substantial Missile Capabilities — Secret new assessments say Iran has operational access to 30 of its 33 missile sites along the Strait of Hormuz, suggesting that its military remains far stronger than President Trump has asserted.
Wall Street Journal:
Watchdog Probes Kristi Noem's Warehouse Purchases for ICE Detention Centers — The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general is investigating a $38 billion program championed by Noem — WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security's inspector general has launched a probe …
Discussion:
New York Post and Raw Story
Andrew Howard / Politico:
Nebraska Dem who will drop out and support Dan Osborn wins Senate primary — Nebraska Democrat Cindy Burbank defeated anti-abortion pastor Bill Forbes in the state's Senate primary, giving independent Dan Osborn a clearer path against Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) in November.
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC News, The Hill and The Downballot
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Aaron Pellish / Politico:
GOP scores another gerrymandering victory with Missouri Supreme Court win … It's the latest in a series of redistricting victories won by Republicans through the courts. The Supreme Court ruled last month to weaken the Voting Rights Act, clearing the way for several Republican-controlled states …
Discussion:
The Post Millennial, Compact, NOTUS, RedState and Democracy Docket
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Ben Kamisar / NBC News:
Louisiana GOP lawmakers advance map eliminating one Democratic House district
Louisiana GOP lawmakers advance map eliminating one Democratic House district
Discussion:
New York Times, WVUE-TV, IJR, This Week in Statehouse Action, WWL-TV, Democracy Docket and Fox News
Emily Hallas / Washington Examiner:
Concerns about sexual violence in Israel-Gaza conflict renewed amid NYT controversy — Accusations that Israel has fomented a culture of sexual violence against Palestinians triggered intense controversy this week, deepening the divide between the Jewish nation and its critics.
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
FCC's Brendan Carr picks a fight with The View ... PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 📡 Subscribe to PN 📡 — With so many cartoon villains in the Trump administration, it's hard for an upstart evildoer to break through the news cycle.
Discussion:
New York Sun
Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Brian Kemp signs law making many metro Atlanta races nonpartisan — The law applies to most local government races in Democratic-dominated areas. A court challenge is expected.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Wall Street Journal:
Inside Marty Makary's Downfall at the FDA — Senior administration officials concluded the commissioner was out of step with President Trump's priorities — In the end, Dr. Marty Makary had just about run out of allies. — The chorus calling for the Food and Drug Administration commissioner …
Jose Pagliery / NOTUS:
FBI Created ‘Payback Squad’ to Handle Political Cases, Sources Say — Investigators are eyeing cases similar to the recent criminal prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey, one current government official told NOTUS. — Copy — The FBI now has a team of special agents that's …
John Vandiver / Stars & Stripes:
Austria scrambles fighters to intercept US Air Force aircraft twice in 2 days — STUTTGART, Germany — Austria scrambled fighter planes on back-to back days to intercept U.S. Air Force reconnaissance aircraft traveling through its airspace, the country's defense ministry said this week.
Discussion:
The War Zone
Associated Press:
Gunfire breaks out in Philippine Senate where authorities have tried to arrest a senator — Watch a live view from the Senate in the Philippines after gunshots were heard. — A burst of gunfire rang out Wednesday night in the Philippine Senate, where authorities have tried to arrest …
Discussion:
Reuters, Bloomberg, KEYT-TV, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, The Diplomat and Asia Times
Washington Post:
White House to host 9-hour prayer festival focused on Christian roots of U.S. — Pete Hegseth, Marco Rubio and Mike Johnson will speak at the event, which centers on the idea that the founders wanted the U.S. to be explicitly Christian. — Summary — The Trump administration is hosting …
Discussion:
The Guardian and RNS
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Trump's five-alarm economy — President Trump flew to Beijing on Tuesday under some of the darkest economic clouds of his political career, leaving behind a country reeling from the cost of everyday life. … The inflation crisis that doomed his predecessor suggests he may not recover.
Discussion:
The Bulwark, CBS News, The Guardian, New Republic, Democrats, Bloomberg, The Independent, Daily Kos, Mercury News, PoliticusUSA, CNN and DCCC
Wall Street Journal:
The Late-Night Truth Social Storms That Offer a Window Into the President's Mind — A WSJ analysis of thousands of posts found that the president uses the social-media platform to spread conspiracy theories and attack his adversaries — WASHINGTON—Monday was a typical day for President Trump.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Washington Post and Mediaite
Eddy Conroy / Can We Still Govern?:
Good News! FAFSA is Actually Working — Former Senator Lamar Alexander had a long-running stand-up bit when talking about the complexity students and families experienced while applying for financial aid. Alexander would ceremoniously unfurl a rustling copy of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid …
Politico:
Michigan Senate hopeful El-Sayed calls himself a ‘physician’ but has little history treating patients … But according to a review of Michigan and New York state medical records, he's never been granted a medical license in those states. El-Sayed's hands-on experience treating patients appears …
Discussion:
Detroit Free Press, Townhall, American Prospect, Mondoweiss, Washington Examiner, Raw Story and Breitbart
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
California 2026 Poll: Becerra Continues to Surge, Steyer and Hilton Compete for Second Spot — Home Polls California 2026 Poll: Becerra Continues to Surge, Steyer and Hilton Compete for Second Spot — Bass leads primary for LA Mayor with 30% support; Pratt and Raman trail
Discussion:
KTLA and NewsMax.com
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Döpfner's MAGA Dance — The Axel Springer chief has been quietly pursuing closer ties to Donald Trump through a series of off-the-record efforts, including a planned Washington dinner and a trek to the Middle East, Status has learned. — Earlier this year, Axel Springer quietly reached …
Riley Rogerson / Politico:
Top House Democrats slam Jen Kiggans over radio host's ‘vile and racist language’ — Democrats are hammering Rep. Jen Kiggans after the vulnerable Virginia Republican concurred with a Richmond radio host saying Hakeem Jeffries should get his “cotton-picking hands” off Virginia politics.
Discussion:
New York Times, U.S. Home, Al Jazeera, TheGrio, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, KEYT-TV, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, Newsweek, HuffPost, Washington Times and Mediaite
