Top Items:
Brian Faler / Politico:
Finance Republicans kill bid to stop Trump IRS audit-immunity deal — Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee defeated an effort Thursday by Democrats to block a plan by the Trump administration to shield the president from IRS audits. Lawmakers voted along party lines, 14-13 …
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Jordain Carney / Politico:
John Thune hopes to orchestrate a great Senate escape … John Thune is eager to let GOP senators out of the Capitol and onto the campaign trail as Republicans fight to hold the Senate majority in November. First, he has to get through the next eight days.
Discussion:
MS NOW, RedState, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit and The Federalist
Mychael Schnell / MS NOW:
The GOP revolt over Todd Blanche is suddenly very real — Todd Blanche's nomination to be President Donald Trump's permanent attorney general is on hold. And it could stay that way until September — or potentially even longer. — Late Wednesday night, the Senate Judiciary Committee …
Avery Lotz / Axios:
Trump says he's open to delaying Blanche nomination over GOP defectors
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Fox News, Bloomberg, CBS News, Politico, RedState, Straight Arrow, The Guardian, Forbes, Washington Examiner, The Hill, PoliticusUSA, Raw Story, National Review, NOTUS, ABC News and WTOP News
Politico:
With Blanche in limbo, Cornyn hands DOJ new Trump settlement proposal
With Blanche in limbo, Cornyn hands DOJ new Trump settlement proposal
Discussion:
Associated Press, Bloomberg, ABC News, NBC News, NewsMax.com, The Daily Caller, New York Sun, CBS News, The Texas Tribune, Forbes and Newsweek
Sammy Westfall / Washington Post:
What to know about Republican lame ducks defying Trump over Blanche nomination
What to know about Republican lame ducks defying Trump over Blanche nomination
Discussion:
The Hill, Fox News, The Daily Caller, UPI, Wall Street Journal, The Gateway Pundit, Raw Story, NOTUS, New York Times, Roll Call, The Guardian, CNBC and NBC News
ABC News:
GOP's Cornyn continues to block Todd Blanche as attorney general
GOP's Cornyn continues to block Todd Blanche as attorney general
Discussion:
Raw Story, MS NOW, Talking Points Memo and Politico
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
We've Officially Entered the Twilight of Late-Stage Trumpism — No one has ever seen anything like it, as Donald Trump himself might say. Buried in a new CNN poll is something striking: Trump isn't just cratering by conventional approval measurements; he's also absolutely collapsing …
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
The new “science golden age” looks suspiciously like a grift — This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🚀 Subscribe to PN 🚀 — The Trump regime is trying to usher in a “Golden Age in Science” where scientific research …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Sophie Gardner / Politico:
Health emergency preparedness nominee advances on party lines — The Trump administration's nominee to lead the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response, Sean Kaufman advanced out of committee Thursday, setting up a floor vote on his nomination.
Discussion:
STAT, Washington Examiner and The Hill
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Reed Abelson / New York Times:
Uninsured Patients Rise Sharply, Hospitals Report, Citing Obamacare Cuts — More people who lost coverage after congressional Republicans ended enhanced federal subsidies are now seeking care in emergency rooms and unable to pay bills. — More and more uninsured patients are showing …
Discussion:
KFF and Off Message
Erin Doherty / Politico:
Poll: Trump's MAGA voters would stick by a candidate through the most serious of scandals — Americans are largely tolerant of scandals among politicians. But nobody is more willing to stick by an embattled candidate than a MAGA voter. — The POLITICO Poll finds President Donald Trump's MAGA supporters …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Hill and Joe.My.God.
Associated Press:
How views on Trump's handling of Iran have shifted, according to a new AP-NORC poll — Most Americans say the war in Iran has not been worth fighting, and President Donald Trump's approval rating on Iran has fallen slightly since last month, according to a new AP-NORC poll.
Discussion:
AP-NORC, MS NOW, The Bulwark, RedState, Washington Times, WTOP News, The Independent, HuffPost and CNN
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Netanyahu confronts Vance over his criticism of Israeli government — Vice President Vance and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a “direct” conversation about their differences in a one-on-one meeting in Washington on Tuesday evening, Israeli and U.S. officials said.
Discussion:
HotAir and NewsMax.com
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Steve Cortes / American Greatness:
Vance the Media Virtuoso
Alice Miranda Ollstein / Politico:
Judge declines to block strict work rule for sick patients on Medicaid — A federal judge has declined to stop the Trump administration from requiring that chronically ill Medicaid patients prove that they are physically unable to work in order to keep their insurance.
Discussion:
STAT
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Isabella Cueto / STAT:
Chronically ill people face confusion over new Medicaid work rules and ‘medically frail’ exemption
Chronically ill people face confusion over new Medicaid work rules and ‘medically frail’ exemption
Discussion:
KFF
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
Michigan 2026 Poll: Abdul El-Sayed Leads Haley Stevens for Democratic US Senate Nomination — John James Leads Perry Johnson in GOP Governor Primary — A new Emerson College Polling/WLNS/WOODTV survey of the Michigan Democratic Primary for US Senate finds Abdul El-Sayed leading Rep. Haley Stevens, 54% to 39%.
Discussion:
Abdul for U.S. Senate, The Hill and Breitbart
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Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
South Carolina 2026: Norman, Graham Lead GOP Special Primary; Runoff Likely
South Carolina 2026: Norman, Graham Lead GOP Special Primary; Runoff Likely
Discussion:
The Hill
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
Exclusive: Musk plans massive push for GOP in midterms — Tech billionaire Elon Musk is jumping into the midterms with a huge investment in a plan to boost Republican voter turnout, Axios has learned. … - America PAC will focus on door-knocking, digital advertising and direct mail aimed …
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, Joe.My.God., Newsweek, American Greatness, RedState, NewsMax.com and LevittownNow.com
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Eli Lake / The Free Press:
Pleading the Fifth Won't Spare Fauci from the Truth — He claims his Senate hearing was a witch hunt designed to entrap him. But his record convicts him on its own. — Upgrade to Listen — The anti-Trump resistance has settled on its Anthony Fauci narrative.
Discussion:
The Hill, HuffPost and The Gateway Pundit
BBC:
Uefa to boycott World Cups if Fifa plans approved — European football's 55 member associations have voted to boycott World Cups if the sport's governing body proceeds with a plan to sell stakes in its competitions to private investors. — The decision was made at an emergency meeting called …
Discussion:
The Athletic, The Guardian, Reuters, Politico, Associated Press, Joe.My.God., The Hollywood Reporter, UnHerd, Front Office Sports, New York Sun, Variety, France 24, Al Jazeera, Deadline and Raw Story
Miranda Devine / New York Post:
Fauci's silence on his monstrous COVID sins spoke volumes — and solidified him as a reprehensible villain — What a cowardly and shameful final chapter for Dr. Anthony Fauci, who pleaded the Fifth 111 times in the Senate Wednesday even though he has a pre-emptive presidential pardon that gives him immunity from prosecution.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Ace of Spades HQ
RELATED:
The Hill:
5 takeaways on Fauci's hostile Senate hearing, GOP contempt threats
5 takeaways on Fauci's hostile Senate hearing, GOP contempt threats
Discussion:
New York Post, MS NOW, Fox News, Colorado Politics, The Guardian, Can We Still Govern?, Washington Post, The Gateway Pundit, NPR, The Maine Wire, Alabama Political Reporter, Straight Arrow, Associated Press, Time, NewsMax.com, Slate, MedPage Today, PolitiFact, CBS News, Raw Story, The Daily Caller, Politico, WTOP News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, OutsideTheBeltway, Washington Examiner, TMZ.com, Washington Times, New Republic, NBC News, Axios and New York Times
Dan Solomon / Texas Monthly:
Sharia Law Is Not Coming to Texas, No Matter What Deuce Bigalow, Male Gigolo, Says — No, Rob Schneider doesn't live here. But he has a lot to say about our state's supposed fall to Islamic forces. — In four seasons on Saturday Night Live, Rob Schneider created one memorable character.
Discussion:
The Enterprise
New York Times:
Trump Encounters a More Determined Iran as War Widens — The United States is again exchanging strikes with Iran, just days after the president appeared to reject plans to escalate. — Over the weekend, President Trump rejected a return to full-scale war.
Paul Krugman:
Reality is a Communist Plot — Of MAGA and the totalitarian mindset — The Covid vaccine didn't work, and vaccines cause autism. But hydroxychloroquine worked, and so did ivermectin. Anthony Fauci killed millions of people. — Climate change is a hoax.
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Trump administration unfreezes $600M for Gavi global vaccine effort — The Trump administration announced Wednesday that it would release $600 million in funding appropriated by Congress to an immunization program that serves children in poor countries. — The move is a reversal of a decision …
Discussion:
United States Department …, The Independent, Politico, Gavi, Al Jazeera and NewsMax.com
Avery Lotz / Axios:
America gripped by election fears as November nears … Meanwhile, his critics warn his push to reshape the ways Americans vote are undermining elections. … - 80% report a great deal or fair amount of concern that political leaders will take actions they know are possibly illegal.
Margaret Manto / NOTUS:
Redacted Fauci Diary Entries Depict Him Personally Helping Katie Miller — Former White House official and conservative influencer Katie Miller heralded the release of Anthony Fauci's diaries as a bombshell discovery that outed him as a calculating attention-seeker.
Discussion:
Raw Story, New Republic, RedState, The Independent, The Federalist, CNN, Forbes, Reason and The Hill
New York Times:
U.S. Sees Iran as Likely Behind Cyberattack on Minnesota Water Systems — Investigators cautioned that the assessment was preliminary. There were no indications that any water supply had been rendered unsafe to drink. — Investigators believe a cyberattack this week on dozens …
Discussion:
ABC News
Kyle Kondik / Sabato's Crystal Ball:
Thirteen House Rating Changes Toward Democrats as Seat-by-Seat Assessment Better Aligns with Our November Expectations — KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE — We're revamping our House ratings this week, which has the effect of bringing the number of seats at least leaning to each party …
Discussion:
Florida Politics and RedState
Sean Woods / Rolling Stone:
It Doesn't Get Much Dumber Than Trump's War on ‘DEI Bike Lanes’ — Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy not only wants to restrict funding for bike lanes, he wants to remove existing ones — Out of all the sins of the Trump administration — wars, ICE raids, anti-vax lunacy and the return of measles …
Discussion:
The Guardian
Axios:
Scoop: GOP Rep. Ogles faces 11th-hour cash barrage in primary — A super PAC that has invested millions to unseat Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) is putting another $700,000 behind his GOP primary challenger in the final week of the campaign, Axios has learned. … But first he has to get the nomination, which is not a done deal.
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Times
Apoorva Mandavilli / New York Times:
Former Officials Protest U.S. Plan to Defund Pan American Health Organization — The group of former health and national security officials warned that Americans will be more vulnerable to infectious disease threats. — The Trump administration's plan to stop funding the Pan American Health Organization …
John Hendel / Politico:
ABC accuses FCC of ‘attempted censorship’ — ABC accused Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr of “attempted censorship” in a regulatory filing posted Thursday, saying the agency is creating a potential chilling effect across the media by helping President Donald Trump attack his perceived adversaries.
Discussion:
The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Los Angeles Times, NewsMax.com, Newsbusters, Variety and Techdirt, more at Mediagazer »
Cassandra Dumay / Politico:
Senate HELP advances Trump's Labor secretary pick — President Donald Trump's pick to lead the Labor Department is one step closer to full Senate confirmation after the HELP Committee advanced the nomination of acting Secretary Keith Sonderling on Thursday.
Reuters:
Yemen's Houthis are attacking Saudi Arabia from Iraq, sources say — Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia this week from Iraqi territory in coordination with Iraqi armed groups, according to assessments by Saudi Arabia and regional partners, reflecting growing coordination among …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera
Hamilton Nolan / How Things Work:
AOC Must Run For President — History is calling. Sorry! — Horse race coverage is the dominant mode of political coverage in America. It sucks. It treats politics like sports, parties like favored teams, candidates like celebrities, and elections like personality contests.
US Department of Justice:
Department of Justice Files First Case in U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court to Deport Afghan Alien Who Supported Her Family's Plans for Election-Day Shooting — For Immediate Release — The Justice Department has filed the first-ever case in the U.S. Alien Terrorist Removal Court (ATRC) …
Discussion:
NOTUS, The Hill, CNN, NPR, RedState, Blaze Media, UPI, The Gateway Pundit, Associated Press, Court Watch, Politico, CBS News and Just Security
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
U.S. economy slowed to 1.5% growth rate in Q2; June core inflation at 3.3% — Economic growth was weaker than expected in the second quarter while inflation in June held well above the Federal Reserve's goal, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. — Gross domestic product …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Washington Post, U.S. Bureau …, New York Times, MS NOW, Washington Examiner, UPI, Associated Press, NPR, CBS News, Fox Business, NewsMax.com and Joe.My.God.
