Top Items:
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
We need the truth about Trump's alleged ‘ballroom’ — Do rich guys have to ruin everything? Apparently so. There came a time about 15 years ago when my soccer obsession got to the point where I felt I needed to pick an English Premier League team to root for, in addition to the U.S. national teams and the Union.
Discussion:
PBS NewsHour
RELATED:
Peter Baker / New York Times:
With Trump Secretly Evacuated, Imperiled Air Force One Became a Flying Decoy — In response to a threat against the jet last month, the president was clandestinely removed in a catering container. But the plane was sent into the skies anyway with government employees and reporters onboard.
Discussion:
USA Today, The Independent and The Times of Israel, more at Mediagazer »
Margaret Hartmann / New York Magazine:
Trump Used Air Force One Passengers As Decoys, Saved Himself — At first glance, reports that President Trump secretly slipped off Air Force One in a catering truck to thwart an Iranian assassination threat sound like a blockbuster political thriller come to life.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, Axios, CNN, New Republic, NBC News, The Hill, CBS News, The Times of Israel, ABC News, The Japan Times, Associated Press, Washington Times, Newsbusters, The Dean's Report, Staff Stories, Mock Paper Scissors, MS NOW, Patterico's Pontifications, HotAir, Esquire, The Daily Wire, The Parnas Perspective, Metro.co.uk, Scripps News, emptywheel, Legal Insurrection, The Independent, Daily Mail, Wonkette, Joe.My.God., Eschaton, The Guardian, HuffPost, New York Post, Fox News, Salon and New York Times
Maya Davis / Wall Street Journal:
Trump's Airplane Switch Follows a Familiar Presidential Playbook — Behind the recent operation in Turkey lies a legacy of presidents duping the public and press — Following last month's NATO summit in Turkey, President Trump boarded Air Force One in front of news cameras …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Daily Mail, The Hill, New York Times, RedState and Forbes
New York Times:
Iran Said to Have Known Details of Trump's Stay at NATO Summit
Discussion:
CBS News, The Wrap, Associated Press, Daily Mail, TMZ.com, Straight Arrow, PBS NewsHour, Townhall, Military.com, France 24 and Rolling Stone
Ryan J. Foley / Associated Press:
ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks — Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals. — ICE plans to spend up to $20 million …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Patterico's Pontifications
Wall Street Journal:
White House Asks Justice Department to Consider New Reflecting-Pool Prosecution — Officials asked the department whether it is possible to bring new charge against Olympic canoeist after U.S. attorney dropped case — WASHINGTON—White House officials have asked the Justice Department …
Discussion:
Fox News, Reuters, Washington Examiner, The Atlantic, MS NOW, NextDraft, NewsMax.com, MeidasTouch, The Independent, CBS News, emptywheel, Crooked Media, NOTUS, Forbes and New Republic
RELATED:
Sam Levine / The Guardian:
White House pushes DoJ to revive reflecting pool case against Olympian
White House pushes DoJ to revive reflecting pool case against Olympian
Discussion:
Washington Post, MS NOW and NewsMax.com
Maryam Tahmasebi / The Nation:
One Woman's Message From the Hell of ICE Detention — My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record. It is an unendurable, unending nightmare. — Pocket — My name is Maryam Tahmasebi, and I am a professor of psychology …
New York Times:
How Iran Adapted Its Attacks as U.S. War Munitions Dwindled — The Iranian strikes that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan show how quickly Iran's war-fighting skills have evolved, as the Pentagon runs low on interceptors. — During five intense days last month, Iran launched waves …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, Breaking Defense and 19FortyFive
RELATED:
Wall Street Journal:
Gulf States Accept a New Normal in Hormuz: Iran Is in Control
Discussion:
Media Matters for America, Al Jazeera, CNN and Semafor
Reuters:
Pakistan says US and Iran close to ‘some sort’ of deal despite attacks on shipping
Pakistan says US and Iran close to ‘some sort’ of deal despite attacks on shipping
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Examiner, The Independent, CBS News, The Times of Israel, 19FortyFive, UPI, NewsMax.com, France 24, Bloomberg, Semafor and Breitbart
Jared Malsin / Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Fires on Ship Breaking Its Blockade of Iran
U.S. Fires on Ship Breaking Its Blockade of Iran
Discussion:
Vox, The Hill, Joe.My.God., The American Conservative, NewsMax.com, HotAir, Washington Examiner and Reuters
Todd Spangler / Variety:
David Ellison Says He'll Pull Paramount Out of California Starting Oct. 1 if States Refuse to Negotiate Settlement in Antitrust Suit … And, in a move seemingly aimed at gaining leverage in the showdown, he's prepared to start moving Paramount out of California as soon as October unless …
RELATED:
Riley Rogerson / Politico:
Paramount lawyer says company ‘happy to cooperate’ as Democrats vow crackdown on merger
Discussion:
Deadline, Breitbart, Joe.My.God., NewsMax.com and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »
Melanie Mason / Politico:
Bonta: Paramount ‘eager’ for a settlement
Bonta: Paramount ‘eager’ for a settlement
Discussion:
New York Post, Variety, The San Francisco Standard, Deadline, Al Jazeera and The Wrap, more at Mediagazer »
Zoe Tillman / Bloomberg:
Judge Widens Block on Trump Mail-in Voting Plan for Midterms — A federal judge in Boston entered a nationwide order blocking the US Postal Service from carrying out President Donald Trump's directives to overhaul mail-in voting policies before the November midterm elections …
RELATED:
Nicholas Johnston / Axios:
Robot book club — AI has become my reading buddy as I've plowed through my summer book list, helping me keep track of plots and characters, unpack themes, and make sense of wordy, old prose. — Why it matters: The way many of us actually read books — a few pages before bed …
TMZ.com:
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Splits From Fiancé Riley Roberts — AOC SPLIT FROM LONGTIME FIANCÉ Before Frozen Egg Plan — There's a reason Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't mentioning her fiancé Riley Roberts when she talks about freezing her eggs ... TMZ has confirmed they broke up.
Discussion:
New York Post, The Independent, RedState, Daily Mail, The Gateway Pundit, The Post Millennial and The Daily Wire
Andrew Kaczynski / CNN:
‘Fireworks suck’: Removed El-Sayed videos urged getting rid of the 4th of July tradition, raised replacing 2nd Amendment — Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once asked his YouTube viewers whether Americans could “PLEASE” find another way to celebrate the Fourth of July …
Dharna Noor / The Guardian:
Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from oil and gas assets since joining supreme court, analysis shows — Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms' climate accountability case — Democracy, climate and justice is supported by
Discussion:
Mother Jones and New Republic
Avery Lotz / Axios:
DOJ seeks to shield Trump advisers from Dem probes … The new opinion could create a new hurdle for Democrats should they retake Congress. — “It really could be a pretty significant weapon” for the administration “to deflect a lot of that congressional investigation of private parties …
Discussion:
The Hill, NewsMax.com, NOTUS, Truthout, The Independent, Washington Times, Washington Examiner, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Joe.My.God. and New Republic
American Prospect:
Mamdani's Taking On Amazon. His Opponent? Chuck Schumer's Daughter. — Amazon's chief lobbyist fighting a delivery worker protection bill in New York City recently endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani is Jessica Schumer, the daughter of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) …
Discussion:
City of New York, Legal Insurrection, Daily Mail, New York Times and New York Post, more at Techmeme »
Ashlyn Webb / WSB-TV:
US citizen detained by ICE at Atlanta Airport as he boarded flight — CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Cartersville man said ICE agents wrongly detained him at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. — The American citizen told Channel 2's Ashlyn Webb that he's still shaken by what happened.
Ryan Mancini / The Hill:
Former Hartford mayor ousts Larson in Connecticut House primary — Luke Bronin, the former Democratic mayor of Hartford, Conn., is projected to defeat incumbent Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) and will advance to the November general election, according to preliminary results from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Haitian Times and Associated Press
Kevin Robillard / HuffPost:
The Socialist Threatening A 15-Year-Long Political Comeback — The state party establishment fears Democrats are throwing away a once-in-a-generation chance at a trifecta. — Wisconsin Democrats are on the precipice of completing a 15-year comeback from the political wilderness.
Discussion:
State Affairs
Talking Points Memo:
READ: A New Draft Rule for the Census Seeks Sweeping Changes to How Political Power Is Allocated — TPM is publishing the Trump administration's plan for changes to political apportionment and Census data collection. — The Trump administration is planning to dramatically reshape the data …
Discussion:
Staff Stories
Julia Mueller / The Hill:
Graham, Norman advance to runoff in South Carolina GOP primary for Senate — The race to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on the November ballot is projected to head to an Aug. 25 runoff, according to Decision Desk HQ, with Sen. Darline Graham (R) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R) duking it out for the nomination.
Discussion:
Axios, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Reuters, NOTUS, CBS News, Fox News, Washington Examiner, NBC News, Scripps News, Bloomberg, CNBC, NPR, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, Washington Times, RedState, Newsweek, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, NewsMax.com, The Daily Wire, The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, New Yorker, ABC News, Associated Press, Semafor, MS NOW, Breitbart and Roll Call
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
Pete Hegseth's Pentagon picks raise questions over Trump family business ties — Two advisers have links to a venture fund co-investing in US defense companies that benefit from federal spending — Pete Hegseth's appointments to a key Pentagon advisory body include two men with ties …
Jeff Stein / NOTUS:
A Group of Centrist Senators Sees a Window to Overhaul Social Security — A group of eight centrist senators is attempting to compel Congress to revamp Social Security, in what many in Washington see as the first real effort at overhauling the government's biggest program in more than a decade.
Discussion:
Esquire, The Independent and NewsMax.com
Diana Paulsen / ABC News:
Progressive vs. moderate showdown for Senate seat tops Minnesota primaries — Senate, governor and House races are on the ballot. — Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Rep. Angie Craig speaks with supporters during a canvass launch while campaigning on August 9, 2026 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Voters say the political system needs big changes — and that's driving Democratic gains for 2026 — Among moderates and conservatives who say they want “major, disruptive change” in politics, Democrats lead the generic ballot by 50 points — Last week, after Abdul El-Sayed won an upset victory …
Keith Johnson / Foreign Policy:
Trump Has His Own Communist Manifesto — Seldom before has the U.S. government intervened so actively in the economy. — At a time when U.S. President Donald Trump and the Republican Party are warning about the threat of “communism,” the Trump administration itself has taken over much of the means of production.
Discussion:
The Hill, Ms. Magazine and NewsMax.com
Associated Press:
FACT FOCUS: Trump makes false claims as he signs order urging revisions around childhood vaccines — While issuing an executive order on Monday aimed at getting states to revise childhood vaccine recommendations, President Donald Trump and others in his administration repeated several false claims …
Andrew Egger / The Bulwark:
There's No Vaccine for Stupid — If there were any hopes left for a prompt deal to end the Iran war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, they're on life support now. Donald Trump and Iran spent Monday making a series of escalatory tit-for-tat demands about war reparations …
Matt Taibbi / Racket News:
Cliché Alert: Return of the “Beer Test” — The New York Times reverts to old form, thanks to a blue-party schism. — Had a chuckle reading the New York Times story this morning about Nebraska Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn, whose interesting take on the two traditional parties is, “I think they both kind of suck.”
Discussion:
RedState, New York Times and Althouse
Maureen Tkacik / American Prospect:
Max Miller's Endless Wars — The wordless show of dissent that cost Dr. Feras Hamdan his job, a $50,000 cash surety bond, hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees, and the better part of his sanity lasted all of 24 seconds. — It was June 19, 2025, the seventh day of the so-called …
Discussion:
New York Times, Esquire, Truthout, Wonkette and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Cheyanne M. Daniels / Politico:
Center for American Progress defends National Guard research against Trump's lawsuit threat — The Center for American Progress stood behind a recent report that the Trump administration's National Guard deployments failed to reduce violent crime, after the president threatened to sue the liberal think tank.
Discussion:
Al Jazeera, The Hill and Washington Examiner

