Top Items:
New York Times:
Blanche Gives G.O.P. Senators Written Assurances on Trump's I.R.S. Deal — Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general has been held up over concerns about a planned $1.8 billion fund for Trump allies and the president's immunity from tax scrutiny. — Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Hill, MS NOW, Washington Post, Scripps News, The Daily Wire, emptywheel, LGBTQ Nation, New Republic, Law and Chaos, American Greatness and UPI
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Arthur Delaney / HuffPost:
Trump Gets To Keep Tax Immunity Under DOJ Deal With Republican Senators — The “Anti-Weaponization Fund” might be dead, but President Donald Trump still gets out of paying any back taxes he might have owed. — WASHINGTON ― Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rescinded …
Jeremy Roebuck / Washington Post:
Blanche formally rescinds plan for ‘weaponization’ fund, in deal to advance AG nomination — Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-North Carolina) had threatened to vote against Todd Blanche's nomination if their concerns were not addressed. — Acting attorney general Todd Blanche issued …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Bulwark, CNBC, Fox News, Wall Street Journal, NPR, The Guardian, MS NOW, CBS News, Scott MacFarlane Reports, Wonkette, Raw Story, Bloomberg, Reuters and Joe.My.God.
Chris Marquette / Politico:
Todd Blanche on track for confirmation after Cornyn strikes Trump settlement deal — Todd Blanche took a crucial step towards confirmation as attorney general late Sunday, after Sen. John Cornyn said he had reached a deal with the Justice Department to rein in a controversial settlement …
Discussion:
The Hill, RedState, Washington Examiner, The Contrarian and New Republic, more at Mediagazer »
Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Blanche order keeps intact immunity deal barring investigation of Trump and his family
Discussion:
HotAir, Washington Examiner and Democracy Docket
Andrew Pantazi / Axios:
Blanche kills Trump fund but leaves legal loose ends
Blanche kills Trump fund but leaves legal loose ends
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, The Daily Caller and NewsMax.com
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Senate Republicans see Trump as a growing political liability
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
The right-wing bubble seals in the GOP with Max Miller — This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠 — “The left-wing media already has a narrative,” Ohio Rep. Max Miller declared Sunday morning in a livestream on X.
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, NBC News, Blaze Media, NOTUS, Axios, Fox News, Straight Arrow, UPI, The Daily Caller, TMZ.com, Wall Street Journal, CNBC, The Daily Wire, New York Sun, Scripps News, Washington Examiner, New York Times, Bloomberg, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, Politico and The Guardian
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Annie Karni / New York Times:
Max Miller, Accused of Abuse, Is Not Stepping Aside. Here's What We Know. — The Ohio Republican who is seeking a third term defiantly denied domestic abuse allegations ahead of a deadline to replace him on the ballot. — Representative Max Miller, the Ohio Republican whose re-election campaign …
Discussion:
CBS News, Al Jazeera, Washington Examiner, Associated Press and Fox News
CNN:
Exclusive: US military asks troops for ‘creative and unconventional’ ideas to punish Iran — The Middle East Donald Trump Federal agencies US military — The request from a senior officer at the US military command carrying out President Donald Trump's war with Iran came in an email: We need ideas.
Discussion:
The Independent and Raw Story
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New York Times:
Iran Says No Current Talks With U.S. After Trump Cites Progress on the Strait of Hormuz — President Trump cited progress in the negotiations when canceling a threatened attack on Iran over the weekend. Iran said there were no current talks with the United States.
Erika Solomon / New York Times:
For Iran, Trump's Reversal on Escalation Shows Who Has the Upper Hand
For Iran, Trump's Reversal on Escalation Shows Who Has the Upper Hand
Discussion:
Fox News, Reuters, France 24, Middle East Monitor, New York Sun, Financial Times and Politico
New York Times:
Inside the Secretive Boards Deciding Trans Troops' Fate … Capt. Kai Proce before his separation board hearing at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in June.Kate Warren for The New York Times — She had lost 26 of her last 27 cases, a string of defeats and disappointments unlike anything she had experienced in her legal career.
Justin Fox / Bloomberg:
The New York-ification of Media Keeps Growing, Warts and All — Why has New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani become nationally prominent so quickly? Part of it has to do with his bold and controversial policy proposals, his undeniable political skills and his wholehearted embrace of social media.
Jim Wyss / Bloomberg:
Cuba Suffers Fourth Nationwide Blackout in Less Than a Month — Cuba was hit by its fourth island-wide blackout in less than a month, as US energy restrictions and decrepit infrastructure continue to hammer the Caribbean nation. — Havana's energy ministry said Monday it had restarted three power plants …
Discussion:
Fox News, Al Jazeera, American Greatness and KIFI-TV
Liam Knox / Bloomberg:
McMahon Asks US Colleges to Pledge Campus Reforms by End of 2026 — Education Secretary Linda McMahon is sending a letter Monday to the leaders of US universities asking them to commit to a slate of campus reforms by the end of 2026 in the Trump administration's latest effort to overhaul higher education.
Ariana Baio / The Independent:
Trump denigrates fellow golfers as lacking ‘talent’ as he boasts about winning trophy on his own course — Like last year, the president posted on Truth Social announcing he won a club championship trophy at his own golf club in New Jersey — President Donald Trump boasted Sunday …
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Alejandro Avila / Fox News:
President Trump celebrates Bedminster club championship, brags little practice was needed to score a 70
President Trump celebrates Bedminster club championship, brags little practice was needed to score a 70
Discussion:
RedState, Daily Mail, Palm Beach Post, The Gateway Pundit and Joe.My.God.
Paul Krugman:
How China Won the Iran War — Trump has shattered American power, and Beijing is picking up the pieces — Make America Great Again? Hah. Donald Trump has weakened us with astonishing speed. Under his “leadership” America's influence, reputation and credibility have peeled away like the liner in the Reflecting Pool.
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Democrats strongly favored to take the House, Senate tilts Democratic in our new election forecast (crosspost) — Our brand-new election forecast for the 2026 congressional midterms puts Democrats at above even odds to take control of both chambers — Today's the day we've all been waiting for.
Discussion:
Blue Virginia and FiftyPlusOne
Politico:
MAGA vs. Mullin — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner — Good Monday morning, we're back with a MAGA world dispatch on the movement's latest displeasure with the Trump administration. Refresh the X app and get in touch. — In today's Playbook ...
Discussion:
Washington Examiner and Raw Story
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Author of Democrats' 2024 Autopsy Says Party Left Out Key Chapter — A dispute over the chapter between the author and the Democratic National Committee has added to the party's turmoil as it tries to look forward, not backward. — TIMES EXCLUSIVE — A dispute over the chapter between …
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Maryland Dems kick off latest redistricting effort after a year of infighting — ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Democrats kicked off a special session on redistricting Monday, with the battle to redraw House districts around the country showing no signs of stopping at the November midterm elections.
Discussion:
Associated Press and New York Magazine
Jamie Stengle / Associated Press:
Kay Granger, first Republican woman from Texas to serve in the House, has died at age 83 — Kay Granger, the first Republican woman from Texas to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and who served for nearly three decades, died Sunday at the age of 83, her son J.D. Granger said.
Politico:
We're about to find out how powerful progressives really are — Michigan is ground zero for the Democratic Party's ideological war. — Its marquee Senate race and two of its House primaries on Tuesday — in Michigan's 7th and 13th Congressional Districts — will provide another crucial test …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, New York Sun and Staff Stories
Politico:
Inside Ashley Moody's very cautious Senate campaign in Florida … MIAMI — Florida's recent GOP stars have thrived on brash confrontations, political stunts, big personalities and a relentless media presence. — And then there's Sen. Ashley Moody's quieter path to power.
Discussion:
Raw Story
George David Banks / Washington Examiner:
Canada is choking America. Trump is right to make them pay — Dense smoke from Canadian wildfires is once again choking U.S. cities. President Donald Trump has accused Canada of failing to maintain its forests and has threatened to impose “pollution” tariffs on that country's exports …
Discussion:
The Independent, HuffPost, The Portland Press Herald and Los Angeles Times
Martin Austermuhle / NOTUS:
Let's Talk About the Massive Parking Garage Trump Wants to Build at Dulles — It won't exactly be the eighth wonder of the world, but it will be big — like, Guinness World Records big. — That's what President Donald Trump promised last week when he unveiled plans to build a parking garage …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
Collin Anderson / The Washington Free Beacon:
Troy Jackson's Son Charged Nearly $200,000 Lobbying the Maine Senate in Jackson's Final Year as Its President — Maine's newly minted Democratic Senate nominee, Troy Jackson, says he's running for office because he's “tired” of “high-priced lobbyists and corporate greed” killing “good bills” that would “protect workers.”
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Ryan King / New York Post:
Former Biden COVID-19 response coordinator Dr. Ashish Jha says pandemic ‘probably was a lab leak’ — Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator during the Biden administration, revealed Sunday that he now favors the so-called lab leak theory as the most plausible origin story of the pandemic.
Discussion:
The Daily Wire and CNN
M. Gessen / New York Times:
Trump's Smithsonian Attacks Are Attacks on America's Future — “We live in a country with an unpredictable past.” This was a saying among the intelligentsia in the Soviet Union when I was growing up. We never knew which part of our history would be obliterated next.
Discussion:
Fox News
Jose Lev Alvarez / Washington Examiner:
Spain forfeited its borders. Trump should hand Ceuta to Morocco — Diplomacy is often an exercise in willful blindness, but there comes a point when reality completely shatters the fiction. For America's foreign policy establishment, that moment has arrived in Spain.
Discussion:
Reuters, Politico and Military.com
Associated Press:
Wall Street gains, oil prices tumble after Trump says he'll order forces to ease up on Iran attacks — U.S. markets were poised to open with gains and oil prices fell sharply Monday after President Donald Trump said he would order U.S. forces to refrain from attacks against Iran and that a deal to end the fighting was near.
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, New York Times and UPI
Emily Badger / New York Times:
Park Service Finds Trump's Arch Could Detract From Dozens of Historic Places — The 250-foot-tall edifice would alter views across Washington and Arlington Cemetery. — President Trump's proposed 250-foot-tall triumphal arch would change the skyline of Washington to such an extent …
