Top Items:
Carol Leonnig / MS NOW:
Vance's security detail ‘fed up’ with hastily arranged personal and family travel requests — On Thursday last week, Secret Service agents groused among themselves as they prepared to deliver another perk to Vice President JD Vance's family: join a military helicopter crew to fly his young son to his golf lesson.
Discussion:
Politico, Drezner's World, The Independent and Raw Story
Politico:
‘Scared s-tless’: Republicans brace for Trump's primetime speech — President Donald Trump is promising to reveal “really big news” on election security. Many Republicans wish he wouldn't. — The president's speech, expected to be delivered in prime time Thursday from the White House …
Discussion:
Votebeat
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Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Trump vote-fraud speech traps TV networks … He has promised a “very big announcement” and “really big news” regarding the security of the U.S. voting system. — He hasn't specifically said whether he'll bring up the 2020 election — an obsession of Trump's since he lost it and cried fraud.
Discussion:
Reuters, MS NOW, Joe.My.God., Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner and The Independent
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Trump to allege Chinese meddling in U.S. elections in primetime speech, sources say — Add CBS News on Google — Part of President Trump's speech Thursday night is expected to touch on previously unreported alleged Chinese meddling in U.S. elections, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Discussion:
ABC News, The Hill, Washington Monthly, MS NOW, Dean Blundell, Associated Press, Townhall and The Gateway Pundit
Politico:
Jodey Arrington says he won't ‘squeeze’ fiscal hawks on reconciliation plan — The last time the House Budget Committee had a crucial blueprint for a high-stakes party-line bill hanging by a thread, Chair Jodey Arrington called the question — forcing his panel's fiscal hawks to go on the record …
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Wall Street Journal:
Controlling Hormuz Would Take More U.S. Troops—and Even More Risk — The recent escalation of fire has crimped traffic further. Military experts say opening the strait would require more troops and months of effort. — At the start of this week, President Trump asserted that the Strait of Hormuz was open and under U.S. control.
Discussion:
New York Times, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, NewsMax.com, Vox, Forbes, Semafor, El País, The Atlantic and Politico
RELATED:
Bloomberg:
Iran-US Hostilities Worsen as Hormuz Shipping Traffic Falls
Discussion:
New York Post, CNBC, The Hill and Townhall
Jon Gambrell / Associated Press:
US expands strikes into northern Iran and disables ship trying to run blockade
US expands strikes into northern Iran and disables ship trying to run blockade
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, CoinDesk, Joe.My.God., The Times of Israel, Reuters, UPI, Associated Press, TWZ, GZERO, CBS News, New York Times, MS NOW, Washington Times, The Guardian and RTÉ
Axios:
How a fuming Trump reversed ICE's pause on vehicle stops — Late Tuesday at the White House, a livid President Trump complained to advisers about the Department of Homeland Security's decision to pause the type of vehicle stops by ICE agents that had led to two fatal shootings in the past two weeks.
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Radley Balko / New York Times:
ICE Is Out of Control. Here's What to Do About It.
Discussion:
Chicago Sun Times, America Magazine, Al Jazeera, Ohio Immigrant Alliance and All Rise News
New York Times:
Hegseth Plans to Screen All Troops, Including Women, for Low Testosterone — Pete Hegseth, as defense secretary, has sought to cultivate an image as a manosphere-friendly leader. — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday a new mandatory screening program to test …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Raw Story, The Guardian, CBS News, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, Newsbusters, Rolling Stone, Mock Paper Scissors, Asia Times, abc7NY, TMZ.com, Federal News Network, Salon, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, Daily Mail, The Independent, New York Sun, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Washington Times, Task & Purpose, NOTUS and Forbes
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Ellen Mitchell / The Hill:
Hegseth announces annual testosterone screenings for service members — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced a new effort to annually screen service members' testosterone levels and offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), framing it as a way to keep troops on the “leading edge of lethality.”
Michael M. Grynbaum / New York Times:
New York Times Files Motion to Quash Subpoenas of Its Journalists — The Justice Department is seeking to compel grand jury testimony as part of an investigation into Times reporting on the president's new Air Force One jet. — The New York Times filed a motion on Wednesday to quash subpoenas issued …
Discussion:
The Hill, The Wrap, NewsMax.com and Business Insider, more at Mediagazer »
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Marina Dunbar / The Guardian:
New $1 coin featuring Trump in production at US Mint, treasury says — Coin commemorating 250th anniversary will be released this fall and marks first time a living president appears on currency — The treasury department announced on Wednesday that the US Mint has started producing …
Rebecca Falconer / Axios:
China surpasses U.S. in global favorability, poll finds — China is now viewed more favorably than the U.S. in most of the 36 countries surveyed by the Pew Research Center, according to a new report spanning six continents. … - It's the first time in some 20 years of Pew global opinion polls …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Associated Press, Pew Research Center, Washington Post and Christian Science Monitor
The Kyiv Independent:
‘Utterly baffling’: Ukrainians outraged, call for protest after Zelensky ousts Fedorov — This is a developing story and is being updated — President Volodymyr Zelensky's dismissal of Mykhailo Fedorov as defense minister has drawn a wave of criticism from soldiers, veterans …
Discussion:
New York Times, CBS News, Reuters, NPR, Washington Times, Bloomberg, Al Jazeera, Associated Press, Politico, CNBC, Defense News and Semafor
Chris Marquette / Politico:
Todd Blanche's chances of becoming attorney general could hinge on John Cornyn — Todd Blanche repeatedly told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday that the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” he helped launch as acting attorney general was now, in fact, “dead.”
Discussion:
New York Times, Mediaite, NewsMax.com and The Guardian
RELATED:
New York Times:
Blanche Faces Crucial Hurdle After Rocky Hearing
Blanche Faces Crucial Hurdle After Rocky Hearing
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Independent, Washington Post, New Republic, Civil Discourse …, PBS NewsHour, The Guardian, NOTUS, NBC News, NPR, The Hill, HuffPost, NewsMax.com, CBS News, Reason, The Wrap, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Associated Press, Forbes, Mediaite, Raw Story, MyNorthwest.com, MPR News, Bloomberg, Straight Arrow, Newsweek, MS NOW, Politico, One America News Network and The Daily Wire
Riley Rogerson / Politico:
In seismic shift, more than 100 House Democrats vote to end Israel aid — Nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid to Israel Wednesday, underscoring a seismic shift in political support for the longtime U.S. ally. — The amendment to a State Department spending bill …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Guardian, New York Times, Axios, PJ Media, CNN, The Forward, New York Sun, Jewish Insider, The Times of Israel, Military.com, CT Mirror, NewsMax.com, Abdul for U.S. Senate, The Hill, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Bloomberg, Salon, NBC News, Newsweek, Washington Times, CBS News, Washington Post, The Daily Wire, Responsible Statecraft and New Republic
Asawin Suebsaeng / Zeteo:
🛑 Trump Can't Quit His Failing Campaign of Terror and Murder — The authoritarian president keeps escalating his war at home, but it's a war he's losing. In Congress, Democrats voted against Israel in unprecedented numbers while Trump nominees were battered. — ∙ Paid
Discussion:
Associated Press
Ali Bianco / Politico:
Democrats accuse Kathy Ruemmler of lying about her ties to Jeffrey Epstein — Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee had harsh criticism for Kathy Ruemmler, the former top counsel for Goldman Sachs, as she testified Wednesday as part of the panel's ongoing investigation into Jeffrey Epstein.
Matthew Daly / Associated Press:
Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump's ‘American flag blue’ liner is now closer to gray — The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President Donald Trump called “American flag blue” this spring.
Discussion:
The Independent, New Republic, Forbes and Raw Story
Ryan Cooper / American Prospect:
How Donald Trump Created the Worst Diarrhea Outbreak This Century — A big problem for trust in government is that high-quality governance is usually invisible. When the various agencies designed to protect the American people from all manner of threats are working perfectly …
Discussion:
STAT
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
Rubio to convene meeting on ‘far-left political terrorism’ with representatives from 67 countries — National security Terrorism Federal agencies Donald Trump — Facing what Secretary of State Marco Rubio will describe as a “resurgence” of “far left political terrorism,” …
Discussion:
The Hill, Al Jazeera, NBC News, MS NOW, Ken Klippenstein, Reuters and Semafor
Chuck Babbage / Liberal Currents:
OMB's New Proposed Rule Will Turn Federal Grants Personalist and Partisan … At the end of May, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) put forward a proposal for rules governing federal financial assistance, which includes almost all grant making in the United States including scientific research.
Discussion:
Washington Times and The Equation
ACLU:
New ACLU Report Documents Widespread and Unchecked Civil Rights Abuses by Immigration Agents in President Trump's Second Term — Report Finds Patterns of Excessive Force, Racial Profiling, and Targeting of U.S. Citizens, Children, and Vulnerable People … Related Issues … Free Speech
Discussion:
Axios, Mother Jones and NPR
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
Trump's renewed Greenland threats are why we have no allies — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🌎 Subscribe to PN 🌎 — Depending on when you read this, Trump may be bombing Iran, claiming a peace deal is imminent …
Brad Friedman / The BRAD BLOG:
Former Correspondents Charge VOA Being Unlawfully Used for Propaganda Amid Iran War: ‘BradCast’ 7/15/2026 — On today's BradCast we've got a perfect example of the type of news media this White House would like to see everywhere, no matter the harm it does to truth, facts and free speech rights …
NOTUS:
Rep. Fine Vows to Vote Against House Rules Over Feud With Trump Adviser — A social media spat between Fine and outsider White House adviser Alex Bruesewitz could cut into Republicans' already thin House majority. — Copy — Rep. Randy Fine has told White House officials he plans …
Discussion:
Raw Story


