Top Items:
New York Times:
‘A Slow-Rolling Disaster’: Inside the Implosion of the Platner Campaign — Graham Platner's bid for the Senate inspired progressive Democrats. But the campaign, which he suspended Wednesday, was messy, disorganized and ultimately doomed by a steady drip of scandal. — They told him that he was “the guy.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill, The Guardian, Politico, twitchy.com, MS NOW, The Maine Wire, CBS News, New Republic and Washington Post
RELATED:
Politico:
Inside the tense final hours of Graham Platner's campaign — Graham Platner went down swinging — even as some of his political confidants urged him not to. — Several of the embattled Maine Democrat's closest advisers pleaded with him Wednesday to strike a “conciliatory” …
Discussion:
Townhall, New Republic, Wonkette, Washington Examiner, The Dean's Report, MS NOW, Deadline and The Independent
Lauren McGaughy / New York Times:
Does a Sex Assault Claim Kill a Political Career? It Depends.
Does a Sex Assault Claim Kill a Political Career? It Depends.
Discussion:
The Daily Wire and The Federalist
Miranda Devine / New York Post:
Slimy Dems — the party of Me Too — show their true colors in Graham Platner scandal
Slimy Dems — the party of Me Too — show their true colors in Graham Platner scandal
Discussion:
Politico, Townhall, Bangor Daily News, The Gateway Pundit and MS NOW
Wall Street Journal:
The Red Flag That Led to Graham Platner's Implosion Was Hiding in Plain Sight
The Red Flag That Led to Graham Platner's Implosion Was Hiding in Plain Sight
Discussion:
NOTUS, HotAir, Fox News, NBC News, twitchy.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Washington Examiner
Ben Binday / Washington Post:
9 possible candidates who could replace Platner on Maine's ballot
9 possible candidates who could replace Platner on Maine's ballot
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner, Wall Street Journal, The Daily Wire, Politico, Fox News, MeidasTouch, Newsbusters, Newsweek, WMTW-TV, Washington Times, New York Post, Variety, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, The Guardian, The Status Kuo, Townhall, NBC News, The Maine Wire, New York Times, New York Sun, NOTUS, Roll Call and Bangor Daily News, more at Mediagazer »
Eric Garcia / The Independent:
Graham Platner drops out of Maine Senate race after sexual assault claim sends Democrats fleeing his campaign
Graham Platner drops out of Maine Senate race after sexual assault claim sends Democrats fleeing his campaign
Discussion:
MS NOW, ABC News, Axios, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, Scripps News, CBS News, Mediaite, Chicago Sun Times, The Independent, El País, Centralmaine.com, The Maine Wire, Roll Call, Breitbart, The Guardian, Advocate, UPI, The Free Press, TMZ.com, The Wrap, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, WBUR, Raw Story, Fox News, Bangor Daily News, NBC News, New York Times, The Portland Press Herald, Wall Street Journal, Semafor and Deseret News
New York Times:
Security Precaution Led Trump to Use Old Air Force One in Leaving Turkey — The Secret Service is said to have asked that the president not use the Qatari-donated jet when he left Ankara. The swap deepens questions about the retrofitting of the new plane.
Discussion:
The Hill, TMZ.com, NewsMax.com, Forbes, HuffPost, RedState and The Independent
RELATED:
Mallory Wilson / The Hill:
White House says Trump's Air Force One switch was a ‘misdirection’ — The White House on Thursday defended the new retrofitted Air Force One as safe and secure after reports emerged indicating President Trump switched to the older model to leave Turkey out of an abundance of caution.
Discussion:
Reuters, Mediaite, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner and Bloomberg
New Republic:
A Danish Journo's Viral Takedown of Trump Caps Off Epic NATO Meltdown — At the NATO summit on Wednesday, Donald Trump lashed out wildly at, well, everyone in sight. He threatened more war with Iran. He angrily vowed to cut off all trade with Spain. He hinted again at stealing Greenland.
MS NOW:
Officials say Trump switched out new Air Force One over security concerns
Discussion:
Forbes, Mediaite, NOTUS and Washington Examiner
Associated Press:
Trump flies partway home from Turkey in an old Air Force One, not the new Qatari-gifted jet
Trump flies partway home from Turkey in an old Air Force One, not the new Qatari-gifted jet
Discussion:
UPI, NBC News, abc7NY, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Raw Story, New York Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com, HuffPost, Los Angeles Times, The Gateway Pundit, Scripps News, Associated Press and Fox News
William Kristol / The Bulwark:
An American Life Cut Short — Whoever said “brevity is the soul of wit” never ran for Senate in Maine. Days after he was accused of sexual assault—and weeks after the first reports of his suspect behavior towards women raised worries that more serious allegations could emerge …
RELATED:
Edgar Sandoval / New York Times:
Family of Man Fatally Shot by ICE Agent Calls for Independent Inquiry
Discussion:
New Republic, Fox News, USA Today, The Bulwark, The Texas Tribune, Wonkette, Talking Points Memo, El País, Washington Post, CNN, Raw Story, twitchy.com, Houston Public Media, The Hill, Slate, Axios, Truthout, Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour, ABC News, The Daily Caller, Newsweek, UPI and Civil Discourse …, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
Rubio tries to enlist other nations in antifa fight, but some allies recoil — The secretary of state plans to convene foreign ministers in Washington next week. The event has unsettled some U.S. and European officials. — Summary — Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invited senior ministers …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Rebecca Szlechter / The Jewish Chronicle:
Mamdani's office accused of excluding Jews from map of NYC immigrant neighbourhoods — The map included ‘Little Palestine’ and ‘Little Egypt’, but not its Jewish, Irish and Italian enclaves — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani lights the Empire State Building in celebration of America 250 on July 04, 2026 (Getty Images)
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Post, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and RedState
Michael Kunzelman / Associated Press:
Former Olympian pleads not guilty in Reflecting Pool damage case after Trump alleged vandalism — A former Olympic canoe racer pleaded not guilty on Thursday to deliberately damaging the recently renovated Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, a politically charged case that his defense attorneys …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, Washington Examiner, ABC News, NOTUS, Reuters, Al Jazeera, Forbes, Fox News, NPR, KFTC-TV, Washingtonian, Raw Story, CBS News, Washington Post, The Independent, Mediaite and New York Magazine
RELATED:
Aleena Fayaz / CNN:
Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump's multimillion-dollar restoration
Three more people charged with damaging Reflecting Pool after Trump's multimillion-dollar restoration
Discussion:
UPI, New York Times and TMZ.com
Julie DiCaro / Losing My Perspicacity:
We have an even bigger problem than Graham Platner — The men who defended Platner against all comers dominate left-wing media … My friends, I am tired. — I really don't want to write, yet again, about Graham Platner and all the ways he's revealed himself to be problematic …
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ, Megyn Kelly, Al Jazeera, NBC News, Centralmaine.com, The Guardian, New Republic, New York Times and Washington Post
Axios:
The hidden costs of low-tax states — America's state governments now run on two very different tax engines: income in many coastal and professional-class states, and consumption in much of the Sun Belt and low-tax-growth belt. — Why it matters: States are not just competing over tax rates.
Ken Dilanian / MS NOW:
Dem lawmakers want Kash Patel to answer for his spending — but this time they're not alone — A powerful Republican who has publicly defended the FBI director is now demanding answers on his BMW purchases and his use of the bureau jet. — FBI Director Kash Patel has been demanding special perks …
Discussion:
The Independent, Raw Story, New Republic and Mediaite
Jennifer Bendery / HuffPost:
Bill Pulte Keeps Firing Career Intel Staff. Wait Until You See Some Of His Past Hires. — Trump's intelligence chief previously hired a once-convicted sex offender and a former JD Vance aide who got caught chronicling his drug abuse on Reddit. — WASHINGTON ― Bill Pulte …
Emily Cochrane / New York Times:
Second Person in a Week Killed by Federal Task Force in Memphis — Tennessee authorities are investigating both shootings involving agents working with the task force in Memphis. — Tennessee authorities are investigating the second fatal shooting in four days by a member …
Discussion:
TBINewsroom.com, UPI, CBS News and The Guardian
RELATED:
Travis Loller / Associated Press:
Second person in 4 days is fatally shot in Memphis by federal task force member
Second person in 4 days is fatally shot in Memphis by federal task force member
Discussion:
The Hill
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Why the House's Epstein investigation isn't going away — The House Oversight Committee's Jeffrey Epstein investigation will hit the one-year mark later this month, and the saga isn't ending anytime soon. — No matter which party ends up in control in the next Congress …
Discussion:
New York Times and Raw Story
New York Times:
Can Trump's Arch Be So Tall? A Panel May Redefine a Law to Get to Yes. — The proposed 250-foot arch would violate a height limit on Washington structures under the traditional reading of the law. But the panel, now led by the president's allies, has other ideas.
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, The Independent, The Enterprise, Straight Arrow and Raw Story
David Nir / The Downballot:
The Downballot releases presidential results for every new House district, sponsored by Grassroots Analytics — The Downballot is pleased to present our calculations of the results of the 2024 presidential election for every congressional district that will be used in the 2026 midterms …
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
Trump's red-baiting won't work — This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 📈 Subscribe to PN 📈 — With the midterm elections approaching, President Trump hit upon a message that could turn a potential blowout for Republicans into an unexpected win.
Brian Beutler / Off Message:
The Insurgency Will Continue Until Morale Improves — You can read what follows as an after-action report on the Graham Platner saga—but that episode is a microcosm of something larger and more profound. — The Democratic Party has lost control of itself more completely than at any time I can remember.
Discussion:
Slow Boring
Vittoria Elliott / Wired:
Federal Investigators Say Certain DOGE Records Were Deleted — A government report claims DOGE didn't access sensitive systems. It also says the agency deleted records that would show if they had. — On April 14, 2025, a federal IT staffer filed a whistleblower complaint with Congress alleging …
Joshua Keating / Vox:
Why Putin's nuclear threats aren't working anymore — Key takeaways — Ukraine is increasingly launching drone strikes deep into Russia and threatening Russian-annexed Crimea, both steps that many once feared would result in nuclear retaliation from Moscow.
Discussion:
Reuters, Clash Report, The Hill, Wall Street Journal and Lawfare
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
1 year in, ICE's mass detention policy is on the ropes — Federal judges have spent a full year overwhelmingly rejecting ICE's effort to lock up people the Trump administration is seeking to deport — finding a combination of illegality, unconstitutionality, incompetence and cruelty at a shocking scale.
Discussion:
The Independent, Law & Crime and Iowa Starting Line
Rebecca Crosby / Popular Information:
RFK Jr., Scientology, and the war on antidepressants — The Trump administration has engaged in a lengthy campaign to discourage the use of antidepressants. The effort has been led by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who has spent years spreading misinformation about these types of medications.
Alex Veiga / Associated Press:
US home prices hit an all-time high as sales slow and mortgage rates rise — Sales of previously occupied U.S. homes slowed in June, but a key measure of home prices climbed to an all-time high, adding to affordability challenges for prospective homebuyers.
Discussion:
Straight Arrow

