Top Items:
Matt Gertz / Media Matters for America:
Trump's latest Fox interview shows how their relationship has triggered an Iran war doom loop — President Donald Trump called in to his old stomping ground of Fox News' Fox & Friends on Thursday morning, using the surprise interview to denounce the “crooked” media's coverage of the war he started with Iran …
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William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Trump's Dangerous Escalation in a Losing War — There are certain moments in sports when, right after the game ends, you instantly know it has a place in history. Last night was one of those moments. The Knicks came back from 29 points down to defeat the Spurs in the final seconds and take a 3-1 series lead.
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, Byline Times, The Independent, Politico and CNBC
Washington Post:
Trump says he has canceled plans to strike Iran — President Donald Trump on Thursday withdrew threats to take Iran's most critical oil terminal “in the not too distant future,” after fresh attacks on U.S. bases in the region. — Summary — President Donald Trump said that he had …
Discussion:
CNBC, Politico, The Guardian, Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, RedState, The Hill, New York Times, Atlantic Council, UPI, Forbes, NewsMax.com, The Irish News, CBS News, MS NOW, Axios, Straight Arrow, New Republic, Washington Examiner, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Mediaite, Daily Mail, Bloomberg and NBC News
Associated Press:
Trump threatens to take ‘total control’ of Iran's oil industry as ceasefire teeters
Trump threatens to take ‘total control’ of Iran's oil industry as ceasefire teeters
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The Hill, Fox News, Bloomberg, Associated Press, The War Zone, Washington Examiner, Axios, The Times of Israel, Townhall, The Irish News, Military.com, Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, Breitbart, New York Post, NewsMax.com, Insurance Journal, NOTUS, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Israpundit, UPI, Raw Story, thenational.scot, Straight Arrow, The Daily Signal, Washington Times, The Kyiv Independent, Mediaite, Semafor and ABC7
Associated Press:
US stocks jump to their best day in 2 months on hopes for a deal to get crude flowing globally again
US stocks jump to their best day in 2 months on hopes for a deal to get crude flowing globally again
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Phillips P. OBrien / Phillips's Newsletter:
War Crimes Seem To Be Official US Policy Now
War Crimes Seem To Be Official US Policy Now
Discussion:
The Guardian, Truthout, New York Times and Axios
Brady Knox / Washington Examiner:
Trump promises another round of strikes against Iran and operation on Kharg Island
Trump promises another round of strikes against Iran and operation on Kharg Island
Discussion:
Financial Times, Bloomberg, Politico, CBS News, Fox News, Breitbart, HotAir, Truthout, Reuters, NewsMax.com, The Hill, The Irish News, Associated Press, The Times of Israel, KTLA, GB News, Townhall, Washington Times, One America News Network, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Stars & Stripes, Modern Diplomacy, New Republic, The American Conservative, Trump's Truth, Mediaite, The Post Millennial, Forbes and Middle East Monitor
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
Trump says he will nominate Jay Clayton to succeed Tulsi Gabbard as the DNI — If White House officials are expecting this nomination to advance without controversy, they're going to be disappointed. — Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, has maintained a rather high profile lately.
Discussion:
Axios, Reuters, The White House, Bloomberg, The Daily Wire, CBS News, Gothamist, Jewish Insider, WTTG-TV, RedState, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
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New York Times:
Trump Picks Jay Clayton for Director of National Intelligence After Backlash Over Bill Pulte — The president said he would nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan and the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, for the permanent role.
Discussion:
Esquire, The Guardian, Breitbart, UPI, CT Mirror, The Last Refuge, RealClearPolitics and Washington Examiner
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump picks former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton as national intelligence director
Discussion:
NOTUS, CBS News, NBC News, Axios, Federal News Network, The Hill, Staff Stories, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, New York Sun, Raw Story, Fox News, The Post Millennial and The Independent
Maegan Vazquez / Washington Post:
Trump picks Jay Clayton, Manhattan U.S. attorney, to be director of national intelligence
Trump picks Jay Clayton, Manhattan U.S. attorney, to be director of national intelligence
Discussion:
NPR, Associated Press, ABC News, Al Jazeera, Daily Mail, Washington Times, Townhall, The Daily Signal, Forbes and Raw Story
Hailey Bullis / Washington Examiner:
Bill Cassidy calls Trump DNI pick Jay Clayton a ‘very poor choice’
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
Trump taps Jay Clayton, prosecutor who echoed California election lies, as intel chief
Trump taps Jay Clayton, prosecutor who echoed California election lies, as intel chief
Discussion:
The Hill, Straight Arrow, NOTUS, New York Post, Washington Examiner, One America News Network, New Republic, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Blaze Media, Politico, CBS News and Mediaite
Nathan Howard / Reuters:
US authorities investigate huge ‘8647’ marking on grounds of National Mall in Washington — The U.S. Department of the Interior said on Thursday it is investigating what appeared to be a large tracing of “8647” into the grounds of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Discussion:
CNN, ABC News, CBS News, Washington Examiner, The Independent, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, Mediaite, The Post Millennial, Metro.co.uk, Forbes, FOX 10 Phoenix, New Republic and NewsMax.com
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Washington Post:
Enormous etchings of numbers interpreted as threat to Trump appear on National Mall — Police respond to what appears to be the anti-Trump message “86 47″ etched into the grass near the World War II Memorial. — Summary — U.S. Park Police, the D.C. fire department and members …
Marlow Stern / Variety:
Former ‘60 Minutes’ Staffers Unload on Bari Weiss: 'Everything She's Touched Has Turned to S—' — As Bari Weiss lays waste to “60 Minutes,” six former staffers sound off on the damage she's inflicted upon the crown jewel of CBS News. — Staffers have taken to calling it “Black Thursday.”
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, The Daily Signal, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Washington Free Beacon and Wonkette, more at Mediagazer »
Sabato's Crystal Ball:
The Senate: The Race for the Majority is Not a Toss-up, But the Races That Will Decide It Are — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — We are making three Senate rating changes this week, all in favor of Democrats. North Carolina moves to Leans Democratic, and Alaska and Ohio are now Toss-ups.
Discussion:
Politico, Staff Stories, Washington Examiner, The Hill and Newsweek
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Madison Fernandez / Politico:
Judge finds Lander not guilty in 26 Federal Plaza obstruction case … “No offense to Mr. Lander,” the judge said. — Lander — who entered the courtroom in good spirits and holding a Knicks hat — told reporters after the verdict: “I didn't feel tired.” — “I felt an urgency to show …
Discussion:
Archive of Political Emails and Associated Press
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Rebecca Cohen / NBC News:
Brad Lander found not guilty of charges in NYC immigration detention center incident
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Gothamist, The City Reporter and The Guardian
Larry Neumeister / Associated Press:
Judge acquits Democratic congressional candidate arrested at New York immigration court protest
Judge acquits Democratic congressional candidate arrested at New York immigration court protest
Discussion:
New York Sun, The Guardian and UPI
Sarah Fitzpatrick / The Atlantic:
Trump Isn't Giving Up on His Slush Fund — Sign up for Inside the Trump Presidency, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump term. — When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before Congress last Tuesday, senior administration officials hoped that his testimony …
Discussion:
Wonkette, New Republic, The Hill, NextDraft, The Independent and Raw Story
NOTUS:
At Least Six States Have RSVP'd ‘No’ to Trump's State Fair — Some states say the Freedom 250 birthday bash is too expensive, too rushed and too politicized. — Copy — President Donald Trump's big birthday bash for America is hitting more speedbumps, as at least six states plan to sit out the Great American State Fair.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Bangor Daily News, Deseret News, Mock Paper Scissors, Raw Story and New Republic
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Michael Scherer / The Atlantic:
Inside America's Ugly Birthday Battle
Inside America's Ugly Birthday Battle
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Freedom 250 and Raw Story
New York Times:
Women Who Fled Iran Are to Be Deported to Central African Republic, Lawyers Say — The women are among nearly two dozen people slated to be sent to a country where the U.S. government has advised “Do not travel for any reason.” — The Trump administration is preparing to deport nearly …
Discussion:
Reuters and Just Security
Washington Post:
Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse — Grim predictions add to the problems of a president already facing a sharp rise in inflation. — Summary — Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, The Mahablog, New Republic, Associated Press and Politico
CNN:
Man who killed Minnesota lawmaker and her husband pleads guilty to murder in federal case — The man who killed a former Minnesota House Speaker and her husband, and who seriously injured another lawmaker and his wife, agreed to a deal with federal prosecutors Thursday, ensuring he will not be put to death.
Jim Saksa / Democracy Docket:
Exclusive: Democrats unveil plan to protect elections from Trump, AI — Since Donald Trump's return to the White House last year, the administration has worked unremittingly to make it harder for Americans to vote. — Now that Trump's approval ratings are hitting historic lows five months …
Discussion:
The Daily Signal
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Joe Perticone / The Bulwark:
Mike Johnson Just Made a Grave Political Error — Social Security is popular. Cutting it is not. — ∙ Paid — I scream social — Mike Johnson did something very out of character Monday. Normally coy in public, the speaker of the House openly admitted to a radio interviewer …
Discussion:
New Republic and Crooks and Liars
Henry J. Gomez / NBC News:
Vance's chief of staff to leave Trump administration — Jacob Reses, who has been with Vance since his successful 2022 Senate campaign in Ohio, is expected to remain close to the vice president's team. — Jacob Reses, the chief of staff to Vice President JD Vance, will leave the administration …
Associated Press:
Visa plugs its payment network into ChatGPT, letting AI agents shop and pay for users — Betting that people will soon grow more comfortable having artificial intelligence agents shop for groceries, plane tickets or diapers on their behalf, payments giant Visa said Wednesday that it has embedded …
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
Meth Scandal Rocks Nascent Greg Bovino 2028 Campaign — The Meth-Tied GOP Operative Behind Bovino 2028 — Just five months after being fired from his leadership role in Donald Trump's mass-deportation campaign, former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino is eyeing a run for president.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Nathan Tankus / Notes on the Crises:
What Ever Happened to DOGE? The “OMBification” of the Trump-Musk Payments Crisis — Dear readers: My deepest apologies for my absence. I got the so-called “Super-Flu” that hit New York in December, then I followed that up with a very debilitating bout of food poisoning in January.
Discussion:
Politico
Politico:
Senate panel approves Department of War name change — The Senate Armed Services Committee voted this week to formally change the Pentagon's name to the Department of War, moving a significant step closer to solidifying President Donald Trump's rebrand of the Defense Department as permanent.
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Hill, Deseret News, Stars & Stripes and Jewish Insider
Brock Marchant / Salt Lake Tribune:
2 former city employees in Utah face federal charges for allegedly helping someone evade ICE — Two former Logan City employees face federal charges after authorities said they helped an immigrant lacking permanent legal status evade arrest by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, The Daily Wire, Deseret News, US Department of Justice and The Gateway Pundit
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
The U.S. welcomed this child of the Vietnam War. Why did he die in ICE custody? — Tuan Van Bui's bad luck arguably started the day he was born in 1970 in the city then known as Saigon — the child of a Vietnamese woman and one of the thousands of U.S. soldiers who fought in Southeast Asia for nearly two decades.
Paul Krugman:
Social Security is Facing a Political Crisis — America can afford to keep paying full benefits. But will we? — On Tuesday the Social Security Trustees released their latest report on the system's finances. The numbers didn't change much: Unless something is done …
Discussion:
GovExec.com, Reason, NewsMax.com, Mock Paper Scissors, Washington Examiner, CBS News and Breitbart
Reed Abelson / New York Times:
Can't Pay Medical Bills? Trump Officials Suggest Getting a Loan. … Kathleen Capetta's family of five is paying an additional $750 a month this year for its Obamacare plan premium. She was already paying off debt from cancer treatment.Cig Harvey for The New York Times
New York Times:
Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge's Trysts Go Public — Now, Judge Eleanor Ross's career and caseload are under scrutiny. And her punishment, a private reprimand, has sparked backlash. — For years, Judge Eleanor Ross's secret was passed down from law clerk to law clerk.

