Top Items:
Nicole Winfield / Associated Press:
Vatican declares Society of St. Pius X in schism, excommunicates bishops and invalidates sacraments — The Vatican responded aggressively Thursday to a traditionalist group that consecrated bishops without the pope's consent, declaring the Society of St. Pius X had formally broken with the Catholic Church.
Discussion:
Vatican News, Washington Examiner, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, Straight Arrow, NPR, The Daily Wire, Deseret News, Townhall, Religion Unplugged, RNS, The Guardian, The Pillar, Al Jazeera, America Magazine, UPI, RTÉ, Fox News, New York Times, Blaze Media, Washington Post, The Daily Caller, fsspx.news, CBS News, GB News, The Gateway Pundit, New York Sun and India Today
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Former Olympic canoeist indicted by a grand jury after arrest at the Reflecting Pool — David Hearn, a former Olympic canoeist, has been indicted by a grand jury in Washington, DC, Superior Court, after being arrested last month when he reached into the Reflecting Pool, a source familiar with the charges told CNN.
Discussion:
New York Post, Axios, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News and The Guardian
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Former Olympian indicted after arrest over alleged Reflecting Pool vandalism — David Hearn has denied wrongdoing, saying he reached into the water after noticing a piece of the pool's blue liner had become partially detached. — A grand jury in D.C. has indicted a Maryland man …
Discussion:
MS NOW
Washington Post:
Donors were misled by Trump-backed Freedom 250, House Democrats allege — The lawmakers' report alleges that Trump allies worked to divert funds away from America250, a bipartisan effort to mark the nation's semiquincentennial. — Summary — Some donors who intended to give money …
Discussion:
New Republic, New York Sun, The Mahablog, Raw Story, The Independent, Talking Points Memo and GovExec.com
RELATED:
Scott MacFarlane / MeidasTouch:
Democrats Allege Trump Allies ‘Misled Donors’ to Bankroll Freedom 250 — New Democratic report alleges Trump allies misled donors, hijacked America's 250th, and sold access for millions. — Add us on — A scathing new investigation alleges Trump allies misled donors, enriched fellow Trump allies …
Discussion:
Associated Press, New York Magazine and Mother Jones
Ken Dilanian / MS NOW:
FBI directing hundreds of analysts to dig into Georgia election probe subjects, sources say — A personnel surge supporting Kash Patel's “priority effort” is underway, tasking intelligence experts with running tens of thousands of records checks by mid-July.
Discussion:
Democracy Docket, NBC News, Raw Story and Mediaite
RELATED:
Sarah N. Lynch / CBS News:
FBI orders field offices to send analysts to Atlanta for 2020 election investigation, sources say — Add CBS News on Google — The FBI is ramping up its investigation into the 2020 election results in Fulton County, Georgia, by ordering field offices across the country to send investigative analysts …
Michael Luciano / Mediaite:
White House Officials Reportedly Deleted Photos of Trump Rally After President Became ‘Enraged’ by Poor Attendance — President Donald Trump became so enraged by photos of a small crowd at his rally kicking off the Great American State Fair that White House officials deleted the images …
Discussion:
Staff Stories, CNN, The Independent, Wonkette, New Republic and Raw Story
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June, less than expected; unemployment rate at 4.2% — The U.S. economy saw job creation cool sharply heading into the summer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. — Nonfarm payrolls for June increased by a seasonally adjusted 57,000 for the month …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, Deseret News, Staff Stories, Breitbart, HotAir, MS NOW, Scripps News, Straight Arrow, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, UPI and Deadline
RELATED:
Politico:
Trump's job market is proving resilient. Consumer confidence is still sagging.
Discussion:
Realtor.com Economic Research and The Conference Board
Talmon Joseph Smith / New York Times:
Live Updates: U.S. Hiring Continues at a Steady Pace
Live Updates: U.S. Hiring Continues at a Steady Pace
Discussion:
Washington Post, Townhall, Washington Times, Raw Story and CBS News
New Republic:
Transcript: Trump Shows New Signs of Midterm Panic as Brutal Polls Hit — The following is a lightly edited transcript of the July 2 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.
Discussion:
MS NOW and New York Times
Meredith Lee Hill / Politico:
The GOP's dirty little secret about the SAVE America Act … Instead, Johnson and other House leaders have stuck with an older version of the SAVE America Act that focuses on proof-of-citizenship requirements but otherwise lets states run their elections as they see fit.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Mediaite, The Daily Caller and Scripps News
RELATED:
David Karpf / The Future, Now and Then:
What is the Great American State Fair like? — I stopped by the Great American State Fair on Tuesday. The website listed the day's theme as “Innovation, Technology & Progress.” It doesn't get more on-theme for The Future, Now & Then than that. — I documented the trip in a bluesky thread …
Discussion:
Unfogged
Ryan Bort / Rolling Stone:
Trump Keeps Getting Richer. The Rest of Us? Not So Much — The president's financial disclosures highlight a second term built around corruption … He's spent the past 18 months putting what he learned into practice. — The president's financial disclosures revealed this week …
Discussion:
New Republic, The Wrap, Slate and The Spectator, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
Does Trump Worry About Conflicts of Interest? ‘I Found Out That Nobody Cared.’
Does Trump Worry About Conflicts of Interest? ‘I Found Out That Nobody Cared.’
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Post, MS NOW, Deadline, Salon, Mother Jones, The Free Press and Robert Reich, more at Techmeme »
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Ocasio-Cortez Endorses Abdul El-Sayed in Crucial Michigan Senate Race — The endorsement is the first in a contested Senate primary by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez this year, in a state that Democrats believe they must hold this fall to win a Senate majority.
Discussion:
Washington Post, NOTUS, Fox News, Washington Times, Newsweek, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg and Abdul for U.S. Senate
RELATED:
New York Times:
Court Blocks Firings of Intelligence Officers Who Worked on Diversity — The C.I.A. and Office of the Director of National Intelligence had tried to fire 19 officers at the beginning of the second Trump administration. — A federal appeals court ordered intelligence agencies to rehire officers …
RELATED:
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Appeals court sides with intelligence officers fired for working on DEI
Appeals court sides with intelligence officers fired for working on DEI
Discussion:
Reuters, The Gateway Pundit and Washington Times
Josh Kovensky / Talking Points Memo:
The Great American State Fair's Main Exhibit Is Trump Corruption — WASHINGTON, DC - I visited the Great American State Fair on several days over the past week. Yes, it's empty. Security is extremely tight, with no clear reason as to why. Federal marshals, Oklahoma state troopers …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Hamed Aleaziz / New York Times:
Immigrant Arrests Surge to 10,000 in 5 Days as ICE Clamps Down — The agency has doubled its daily arrest numbers without the fanfare of last year's large urban operations, sowing fear in immigrant communities. — Federal immigration officials have detained more than 10,000 people in the last five days …
Discussion:
ABC News, NewsMax.com, Documented, The Daily Wire, Breitbart, The Independent, Talking Points Memo, The Bulwark and Fox News
Financial Times:
OpenAI proposes handing Trump administration 5% stake — Sam Altman's start-up in early talks for a public ownership deal as political pressure rises — Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free — OpenAI has discussed giving a 5 per cent stake to the US government as the $852bn AI start …
Discussion:
Axios, Bloomberg, The Guardian, The Information, Gizmodo, TechCrunch, Mercury News, Forbes, The Verge, Ars Technica, NewsMax.com and Semafor, more at Techmeme »
Media Matters for America:
Right-wing media target pregnant and female travelers following SCOTUS birthright citizenship ruling — Pundits suggested refusing pregnant travelers visas, deporting “birthing-aged” women, and even sterilizing travelers entering the United States … - On June 30, the Supreme Court rejected …
Discussion:
The Hill, Legal Insurrection, New York Post, PolitiFact, The Guardian, The Gateway Pundit, Politico, Washington Times, The Post Millennial, Breitbart and Axios
Paul Krugman:
There Are Very Few Socialists in America — But most of us are social democrats — Fox News has a poll supposedly showing “socialism gaining ground with young voters.” But I don't believe it. Young people may be more receptive to the word socialism, but that's only because right-wingers constantly use …
Discussion:
Associated Press
Matt Viser / The Atlantic:
The Capital Is a Mess — The capital city is an absolute mess. — The White House is an active construction site, with cement trucks going through the same gates typically used by the president's armored limousine. There's a gaping hole where half of the building once stood, a project held up by lawsuits.
Discussion:
New York Times
Liam Scott / Washington Post:
What to know if you go to Trump's potentially record-breaking fireworks show — The America 250 fireworks are expected to start later than normal on an unusually hot day. Here's what to know if you plan to watch from the National Mall on July Fourth. — Summary
Discussion:
USA Today and Los Angeles Times
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
House Ethics says it doesn't have information to share on lawmaker sexual misconduct settlements — The House adopted a resolution Tuesday requiring the House Ethics Committee to release information on taxpayer funds used to pay out sexual misconduct settlements with lawmakers …
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, One America News Network and Legal Insurrection
John Knefel / Media Matters for America:
The plot to subvert the midterms is getting stranger and more dangerous — Right-wing media figures including Steve Bannon, John Solomon, and Cleta Mitchell appear to be weaving together a narrative about interference by China in US elections to justify a national emergency to curtail voting rights
Discussion:
MS NOW
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
In Tumultuous Term, Chief Justice Roberts Took Charge of Unruly Supreme Court — The chief justice faced down the president, forged unlikely coalitions and achieved long-sought goals. — The Supreme Court term that ended Tuesday left almost everybody at least a little unhappy.
Discussion:
CNN, Roll Call and SCOTUSblog
NBC News:
The Dan Sullivan saga in the Alaska Senate race is under investigation, sources say — Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher, is mounting an effort to unseat Sen. Dan S. Sullivan, who has been in office since 2015. — State and federal prosecutors in Alaska are investigating whether the campaign …
Discussion:
Alaska Story and Fox News
Daniel Rivero / WLRN:
FIU moves to discipline 7 students for ‘indoor’ silent protest on immigration policies — In a move that students and their attorney allege is a gross violation of the First Amendment, Florida International University is moving forward with disciplinary actions against seven students …
Nia Prater / New York Magazine:
What Is Going on With Mitch McConnell's Health? — In mid-June, Mitch McConnell was admitted to the hospital for an undisclosed reason, marking the latest health concern for Kentucky's senior senator and the former Republican Senate majority leader. In the weeks since …
Discussion:
NewsNation, NBC News, Ken Klippenstein, CNN, CBS News, New Republic, Newsweek, NewsMax.com, Ace of Spades HQ, Snopes, The Independent, The Gateway Pundit, HotAir, Blaze Media, American Greatness and Mediaite
Tim Balk / New York Times:
Tucker Carlson, Who Broke With Trump, Plans to ‘Help Build a Third Party’ — The influential conservative commentator's relationship with the president and the G.O.P. fractured over the war with Iran. Now, he says he is charting a new course. — Tucker Carlson, the influential conservative …
Discussion:
New York Post, Washington Times, NewsMax.com, Forbes, Breitbart, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Newsweek, HuffPost and Washington Examiner, more at Mediagazer »
Hannah Fierick / New York Post:
Mamdani to deliver America's 250th speech hours ahead of Trump — Mayor Zohran Mamdani will deliver a presidential-style speech Friday for America's 250th birthday in what City Hall billed a “major address” hours before President Trump delivers his own remarks.
Megan Messerly / Politico:
‘The old politics are gone’: Steve Bannon on the democratic socialist wave … To Bannon, it's proof of something he's said for months: The U.S. is in a transformational political moment, and leadership in both parties is way behind. — “We are facing a new politics.
Sabrina Siddiqui / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Death Rate Falls to Its Lowest Point on Record — CDC says continued drop in drug overdose deaths contributed to low rate, while influenza and pneumonia now rank among top 10 causes of death — The U.S. overall death rate in 2025 fell to its lowest point on record …
Discussion:
CNN, Deseret News and Semafor
