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.”
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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” …
C.J. Robinson / New York Times:
Replacing a Senate Nominee Is Rare. Has It Ever Worked?
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, Los Angeles Times, WNYW-TV, CBS News and Lawyers, Guns & Money
CNN:
Graham Platner drops Maine Senate bid, clearing way for Democrats to pick new nominee
Graham Platner drops Maine Senate bid, clearing way for Democrats to pick new nominee
Discussion:
The Contrarian, Washington Examiner, The Hill, MS NOW, Advocate, Truthout, Them, WMTW-TV, Mediaite, The Daily Wire, Rolling Stone, Forbes, Roll Call, New York Times, RealClearPolitics, UPI, One America News Network, The Downballot, NBC News, Washington Monthly, Newsweek, Washington Post, The Maine Wire, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, Variety, NOTUS, The Guardian, Townhall, Semafor, Fox News and New York Sun
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
Politico:
How Maine Democrats will replace Graham Platner
How Maine Democrats will replace Graham Platner
Discussion:
MS NOW, Bangor Daily News, Mother Jones, New York Times, Blaze Media, The Daily Caller, CNBC, Townhall, New York Sun, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, ricochet.com, Election Law Blog, WBUR, The Daily Signal, Associated Press, The Maine Wire, CNN, Washington Examiner, Axios, RedState, NBC News, The Hill and Roll Call
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, El País, The Gateway Pundit and MS NOW
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
Texas ICE Killing Darkens: Rep Says Witnesses Pressured to Self-Deport … After a federal agent killed an undocumented Mexican man in his van during a traffic stop in Houston on Tuesday, the government rushed to follow a familiar template. Just as it has after other shootings …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and UPI
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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 …
José Olivares / The Guardian:
‘New terrifying levels’: 10 people fatally shot by immigration officials in Trump's second term — As Trump's immigration crackdown continues, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's death marks another high-profile killing by ICE officers — Early on Tuesday morning, 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo took …
Discussion:
New Republic, Washington Post, Breitbart, Staff Stories, Houston Public Media, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Straight Arrow and Scripps News
Edgar Sandoval / New York Times:
Family of Man Fatally Shot by ICE Agent Calls for Independent Inquiry
Discussion:
The Hill, USA Today, Fox News, The Texas Tribune, Raw Story, Mediaite, El País, Talking Points Memo, CNN, twitchy.com, Houston Public Media, Slate, Axios, Truthout, Al Jazeera, PBS NewsHour, The Daily Caller, ABC News and Newsweek, more at Mediagazer »
Adrian Carrasquillo / The Bulwark:
He Lived Here for 35 Years. Put Three Kids in College. ICE Killed Him.
He Lived Here for 35 Years. Put Three Kids in College. ICE Killed Him.
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, abc7NY, RedState, The Independent, Los Angeles Times and Washington Examiner
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:
New York Magazine, Reuters, Mediaite, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, New York Post, Associated Press, Fox News, NewsMax.com and Bloomberg
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:
Raw Story and NewsMax.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, Centralmaine.com, New Republic, New York Times and NBC News
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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 …
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:
Fox News, New York Post, Washington Examiner, 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, Al Jazeera, Reuters, NOTUS, Forbes, NPR, Fox News, KFTC-TV, CBS News, Washingtonian, Washington Post, Raw Story, 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
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:
Raw Story, The Independent, New Republic and Mediaite
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.
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Massie: Might as well call ObamaCare ‘Trumpcare’ — Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie (R) on Wednesday said ObamaCare might as well be renamed “Trumpcare” as premiums increase and Republicans haven't moved to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA). — “Might as well call it Trumpcare now.
Discussion:
Fox News
RELATED:
Nathaniel Weixel / The Hill:
Rising Obamacare premiums fuel Democrats' affordability attacks against GOP
Rising Obamacare premiums fuel Democrats' affordability attacks against GOP
Discussion:
CBS News, Cardinal News, KFF Health News, USA Today, Bloomberg, The Daily Caller, Alaska Story, Associated Press, Straight Arrow and Wall Street Journal
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 …
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, Straight Arrow, Raw Story and The Enterprise
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.
Max Rego / The Hill:
Trump says he'll ask Supreme Court to rehear birthright citizenship case — President Trump said Wednesday he will ask the Supreme Court to rehear a case on the legality of his executive order restricting birthright citizenship, after the high court struck down the policy last week.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Post, New York Times, MS NOW, Washington Times, Townhall, Staff Stories, SCOTUSblog, CNBC, Fox News, NewsMax.com, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, RedState, Raw Story, Colorado Politics, Reuters, Mediaite, Law & Crime and Washington Examiner
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
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 …
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:
MS NOW and Slow Boring
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.
Financial Times:
US strikes Iranian railway bridges on route to city of Khamenei's burial — Late supreme leader set to be interred in Mashhad on Thursday — Iran said the US had targeted railway bridges on the route to the holy city of Mashhad, where the late supreme leader was due to be buried …
Discussion:
CBS News, The Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, Just Security, The American Conservative and Middle East Monitor

