memeorandum: The Force is with him: D.C. settles with man who protested National Guard using Darth Vader's theme song (Dareh Gregorian/NBC News)

3:40 PM ET, June 26, 2026

Top Items:

How Trump's Political Agenda Is Shaped by His Own Obsessions — President Trump's priorities seem increasingly detached from the concerns of voters and his party. — President Trump says he doesn't care about the midterm elections. He says he doesn't think much about Americans' economic hardship resulting from the war in Iran.

Discussion: Politico, Semafor, GV Wire, Bloomberg, MeidasTouch and Slate

Axios:

Behind the Curtain: The cost of blind loyalty — President Trump trained elected Republicans to obey him, even when they disagreed. — Elected Republicans trained Trump to expect obedience, even as his demands grew impossible to satisfy. … You see it everywhere:

Discussion: Salon, The Guardian, New Republic, Associated Press, The Hill, The Independent, New York Times and NBC News

Stef W. Kight / Axios:
GOP's new election model: Colombia

Discussion: MS NOW and PolitiFact

Brittany Gibson / Axios:
Trump hits a wall on voter fraud

Discussion: Washington Examiner, MS NOW, New Republic, Fox News, Raw Story, Election Law Blog, Mediaite, Associated Press, The Daily Caller and New York Times

The Atlantic:
The Meltdown — A desultory, grievance-filled speech on what should have been a joyous occasion.

Discussion: Raw Story and CBS News

American Prospect:

The Rogue Supreme Court Blesses Ethnic Cleansing — Thursday was a decision day at the Supreme Court, and the American people got to enjoy the familiar experience of waiting on tenterhooks yet again to see which rights were going to be deleted this time. The answer was residency rights …

Kate Shaw / New York Times:

Why Is the Supreme Court Unshackling the Presidency? — We have just witnessed another example of the Supreme Court's unshackling of the U.S. presidency. On Thursday morning the court issued a decision allowing the Trump administration to cancel Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of individuals from Haiti and Syria.

Discussion: SCOTUSblog and MS NOW

Associated Press:
WATCH: Stephen Miller says 'America's doors are closed fully to asylum seekers' after Supreme Court rulings

Washington Post:
Nursing homes, factory owners and immigrants brace for fallout from Supreme Court ruling

Discussion: Associated Press, Al Jazeera, The Daily Signal, OutsideTheBeltway, CBS News, The Hill, Roll Call, Ohio Capital Journal, The Floridian, Los Angeles Times, MS NOW, New York Times and Politico

Wall Street Journal:

Ukraine's Growing Drone Armada Is Overwhelming Russia's Air Defenses — Long-range air campaign is causing embarrassment for the Kremlin — Denys Shtylerman was surprised how many of his company's drones were getting through as he watched footage of them slamming into an oil refinery …

Discussion: Financial Times, Straight Arrow, GZERO, Bloomberg, The Kyiv Independent, American Greatness, Associated Press, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Bulwark and Semafor

Associated Press:

Ukraine unleashes one of its heaviest drone bombardments of Russia — Russian air defenses intercepted 660 Ukrainian drones in a major nighttime attack on 12 Russian regions as well as the Russia-held Crimean peninsula, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, Russia's Defense Ministry said Friday.

Discussion: HotAir, Washington Examiner, CBS News, New York Times, Fox News, Asia Times, UPI, Associated Press, The Kyiv Independent, KRDO, Al Jazeera, Bloomberg and Reuters

Andrew Osborn / Reuters:
Russian hawks urge Putin to escalate war, drop US talks as Ukraine strikes deep

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Tom Boggioni / Raw Story:

Panic at CBS as Bari Weiss eyes ‘blockbuster sit-down’ — Reports that embattled CBS News head Bari Weiss is searching for a sympathetic ear among journalists for an interview to clear her name have some in the executive suites in a bit of a panic. — According to media watchdog Status …

Discussion: Status

Rebecca Shabad / NBC News:

Ex-Trump adviser John Bolton expected to plead guilty to retaining national security information — Bolton served as White House national security adviser during Trump's first term. — Former national security adviser John Bolton is expected to plead guilty in federal court on Friday …

New York Times:

John Bolton, Former Trump Adviser, Pleads Guilty in Classified Information Case — Mr. Bolton admitted to mishandling classified information and could face time in prison, in an inquiry that spanned the Trump and Biden administrations. — John R. Bolton, a former top adviser to President Trump …

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, NOTUS, Associated Press, New York Magazine, CBS News, New York Sun, TMZ.com, The Guardian, Mother Jones, NPR, The Independent, UPI, The Daily Wire, MS NOW, NewsMax.com, New Republic and The American Conservative

Michael Scherer / The Atlantic:

‘Rush Project at Request of POTUS’ — The pathway that connects the White House residence to the Oval Office has long been paved in Tennessee flagstone. Every president since Harry Truman made the 45-second commute, and made it without complaint, until Donald Trump. The dun rock would not do.

Discussion: Raw Story and Mediaite

Wall Street Journal:

How Iran Devastated an American Naval Base—and Caused a U.S. Recalculation — Satellite imagery reveals for the first time the extent of what Iran destroyed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain — When the Iranian missiles and drones came for the nerve center of America's naval operations …

Discussion: emptywheel and The Times of Israel

Emily Davies / New York Times:

Vance Downplays Watergate and Compares Himself to Nixon — The vice president said that the scandal that ended Richard Nixon's presidency would be “like a 12-hour news story” if it happened today and that the “deep state” had taken down Nixon. — Vice President JD Vance downplayed …

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, CNN, New York Magazine, Raw Story, GV Wire and Election Law Blog

Jordan Fabian / Bloomberg:
Vance Says Nixon's Watergate Wouldn't End a Presidency Now

Discussion: MS NOW, Rolling Stone, Washington Post, The Wrap, The Guardian, Associated Press, New Republic, Newsweek, Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner and HuffPost

Garrett Graff / Doomsday Scenario:
JD Vance and the Latest Nixon Cover-Up

Discussion: The Hill, Wonkette, MS NOW, PREVAIL and Mediaite

Alyssa Chen / South China Morning Post:

Small aircraft hits Beijing's tallest skyscraper, prompting evacuations — Videos posted to social media show the plane striking the upper floors of Citic Tower, scattering debris in central business district — A light sport aircraft hit Beijing's tallest skyscraper, Citic Tower …

Discussion: CNN, Reuters, New York Times, HotAir, Breitbart, UPI, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Los Angeles Times, Forbes, VINnews, GV Wire, Metro.co.uk, The Daily Wire and Mediaite

Hailey Fuchs / Politico:

House panel subpoenas Leon Black, escalating tactics in Epstein investigation … “We believe that information is vital to our investigation,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, told reporters Friday. “We want to know, was Jeffrey Epstein involved in the NDAs? ... Was he involved in awarding [of] funds to the women for the NDAs?

Discussion: Business Insider

Nolan D. McCaskill / Reuters:
Congressional panel investigating Epstein subpoenas Leon Black

Discussion: Business Insider, MS NOW, NOTUS, ABC News, CBS News, NewsNation, Bloomberg, New York Magazine, The Red Letter, Forbes, Raw Story, Mediaite, Associated Press, The Guardian, NewsMax.com, The U.S. House Committee … and CNBC

CNBC:
Leon Black refuses to answer questions on NDAs at Jeffrey Epstein hearing, Rep. Comer says

Discussion: CBS News, CNN, Forbes, Financial Times, UPI, Associated Press, NewsMax.com and NBC News

Laura Kelly / The Hill:

Iran reasserts its authority over Strait of Hormuz — Iran on Friday asserted its authority over the Strait of Hormuz, warning that safe passage can only be guaranteed for ships that coordinate with Tehran. — The statement comes after President Trump accused Iran of hitting …

Discussion: Forbes, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Reuters, Middle East Monitor, New York Sun and naked capitalism

Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump says Iran violated ceasefire with drone attacks on Strait of Hormuz ships

Discussion: Politico, Washington Examiner, UPI, Bloomberg, CNN, Townhall, Los Angeles Times, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, Stars & Stripes, NewsNation, Mediaite and Washington Times

Dareh Gregorian / NBC News:

The Force is with him: D.C. settles with man who protested National Guard using Darth Vader's theme song — Sam O'Hara said he was detained and handcuffed after a guardsman complained to police. — The District of Columbia has settled a lawsuit by a protester who said he was detained …

Rena Rowe / Washington Examiner:
DC to pay ‘significant amount’ to man who played Star Wars ‘Imperial march’ behind National Guard

Discussion: Associated Press, New York Times, NPR and The Hill

Kobe Yank-Jacobs / The Argument:

Elon Musk's zero accountability life — Elon Musk goes berserk if you talk about USAID — Elon Musk really doesn't want you to say he's responsible for the deaths of millions. — Earlier this week, Musk threatened to sue Rep. Ro Khanna for charging him with destroying the U.S. Agency …

Discussion: The Daily Wire

Adam Crafton / The Athletic:

FIFA clashes with Iran, Egypt over rainbow symbols at World Cup Pride Match — The Iran Football Federation wants FIFA to prevent any “ceremonies or promotional activities” in support of the LGBTQ+ community at a much discussed “Pride Match” between Egypt and Iran on Friday in Seattle …

Discussion: Telegraph, Legal Insurrection, The Post Millennial, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, ESPN, KRDO, The Hill, PinkNews, Breitbart, Mediaite, The Hollywood Reporter, Washington Examiner, Outsports and Forbes

Andrew Destin / Associated Press:
Iran and Egypt avoid talking about World Cup ‘Pride Match’ in Seattle

Discussion: Advocate, PinkNews, RTÉ, The Post Millennial, Bangor Daily News, twitchy.com, The Guardian and Outsports

Washington Post:

A bumpy beginning for the Great American State Fair — Power outages and other problems led to ride delays and melted ice cream, but many visitors made the best of the 16-day event's opening on the National Mall. — Summary — The Great American State Fair, a 16-day celebration …

Discussion: NPR, Raw Story, CNN and NOTUS

William H. McRaven / The Atlantic:

Americans Deserve Answers From Hegseth — The president and the secretary of defense have a right to remove officers, but also an obligation to explain their actions. — In September 1862, General George B. McClellan, the general in chief of the Union Army, had just repelled …

Discussion: Stars & Stripes

Clarence Williams / New York Times:

Prosecutors in Washington Say Citations Have Been Issued at Reflecting Pool — A spokesman provided no further details, saying those who received the citations were ordered to appear in court at a later date. No records are available. — Federal prosecutors in Washington said Friday …

Gavin Newsom / Gavin Newsom's Substack:

It's time for a national billionaires' tax and a new social compact — We must democratize the American economy to save democracy. — Last night, it became certain that a wealth tax would be placed on the November ballot in California. I'm voting no. And I'm going to spend the rest …

Discussion: CNBC, The Hill, CBS News, Washington Examiner and GV Wire

New York Times:

Yale Seeks Trump Administration Deal as It Faces Sprawling Investigation — The university hired a high-powered law firm to try to reach an agreement with the Justice Department over claims its admissions practices hurt white and Asian applicants. — The Trump administration is conducting …

Discussion: Forbes

Steve Benen / MS NOW:

‘I run the protection program’: Johnson vows to shield Trump and his allies from scrutiny — In the final two years of Joe Biden's presidency, there was a Republican Congress and a Democratic president, and the two institutions didn't exactly see eye to eye on the nation's policy priorities.

Discussion: Mediaite

Davis Giangiulio / CNBC:

CFTC is conducting an investigation into Polymarket, source says … Choose CNBC as your preferred source on Google and never miss a moment from the most trusted name in business news.

Discussion: Politico