Top Items:
Shawn Cohen / Daily Mail:
FBI agents confront Eric Swalwell at San Francisco Airport and seize his electronics as part of sexual misconduct investigation — FBI agents confronted Eric Swalwell with a search warrant when he landed at San Francisco Airport Saturday and seized the former congressman's electronic devices including …
Discussion:
New York Post, Straight Arrow, HotAir, CBS News, NOTUS, The Guardian, Townhall, UPI, twitchy.com, The Daily Wire, TMZ.com, NewsMax.com, RedState, Legal Insurrection, Breitbart, The Post Millennial, The Gateway Pundit and emptywheel
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CNN:
FBI raids former Rep. Eric Swalwell's home, seizes devices in probe tied to sexual assault claims — Federal agents seized electronic devices from former Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell at the San Francisco airport on Saturday and then raided his home in Washington, DC, the next day as part …
Discussion:
Reuters, The Hill, Ace of Spades HQ, Mercury News, Forbes, One America News Network, Blaze Media and The Independent
Washington Post:
Feds seize Eric Swalwell's devices, search home as part of sexual assault inquiry
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NewsNation, MS NOW, NBC News, Los Angeles Times, Washington Times, twitchy.com, The Daily Caller and New Republic
Megan Stringer / Axios:
GOP's Senate map gets shakier as Texas, Iowa become toss-ups — Two key Senate races in typically Republican states, Texas and Iowa, are a toss-up heading into the midterms, according to the latest projections from The Cook Political Report. … Doing that will require wins in states that aren't typical battlegrounds.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Times and The Hill
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Caroline Vakil / The Hill:
Texas, Iowa Senate races shift to toss-ups: Cook Political Report
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and Gina Hinojosa …
Hugo Lowell / Wired:
Elon Musk Is Expected to Point His Money Machine at Texas Politics
Elon Musk Is Expected to Point His Money Machine at Texas Politics
Discussion:
New York Magazine, more at Techmeme »
MS NOW:
Trump aide Natalie Harp worked at the White House without security clearance for a year — The close aide to the president, known to filter much of the information reaching the commander-in-chief, ultimately relented in recent months after pressure from White House staff.
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Matthew Adams / Stars & Stripes:
USS George Washington arrives in Middle East to relieve USS Abraham Lincoln — USS George Washington arrived in the U.S. Central Command theater on Wednesday and is transiting the Arabian Sea, the combatant command said Thursday. — Washington will relieve USS Abraham Lincoln as part of a regularly scheduled deployment.
Discussion:
The Guardian, One America News Network and NewsMax.com
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Ishaan Tharoor / New Yorker:
After Six Months of War, Trump Is Still Losing to Iran
Discussion:
New York Times, NOTUS, Bloomberg, The Hill and Axios
Hyung-Jin Kim / Associated Press:
North Korea fires barrage of missiles toward the sea after dismissing overture from Trump — North Korea launched a barrage of ballistic missiles toward the sea on Thursday, South Korea's military said, a day after the North shrugged off a U.S. decision to scale back military drills …
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Timothy W. Martin / Wall Street Journal:
Trump Wants a Summit That Kim Jong Un Doesn't Need — North Korea's strengthened position economically and geopolitically could make it difficult for the U.S. to engineer another meeting — SEOUL—President Trump wants to meet Kim Jong Un again. But landing another face-to-face exchange …
New York Times:
Under Trump, Protected Wild Horses Are Going to Slaughter — A legal loophole allows the government to sell mustangs on the cheap, stripping them of protections and clearing their path to destruction. — About 73,000 wild horses roam federal public lands in the American West.
Douglas Gillison / Reuters:
More than 150 Polymarket wallets may have traded on military secrets, research finds — More than 150 wallets on Polymarket International may have traded on inside U.S. military information, attracting copycat bets and raising concerns that the market could broadcast signals exploitable …
Discussion:
Task & Purpose, more at Techmeme »
Simon Shuster / The Atlantic:
Ukraine Planned to Swarm Moscow Airports With AI-Guided Drones — The stalled operation, code-named “M&Ms,” sought to isolate Russian elites and force Vladimir Putin to negotiate a truce. — Early this year, Ukrainian officials came to President Volodymyr Zelensky with a risky new plan to end the war with Russia.
Discussion:
19FortyFive, The Gateway Pundit, Reuters and Associated Press
Politico:
Religious groups ask judge to consider contempt over undercover ICE operation — Religious groups are asking a federal judge to consider holding Department of Homeland Security officials in contempt after an undercover agent inadvertently dropped a recording device inside a Minnesota church …
Sidney Blumenthal / New Republic:
Two Years Ago, They Revered Trump; Now, They Ridicule and Revile Him — Donald Trump has lost his war in reality and virtual reality, not only with Iran but also in the arena where he thought he was the eternal master, in image and myth. He has lost it on land, sea, and air—and in thin air.
Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
GOP senator places hold on Trump nominees over wetlands policy — Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer (N.D.) is placing a hold on all future Trump nominees over the administration's approach to wetlands. — In a statement shared with The Hill, Cramer expressed disappointment that the administration …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, E&E News and The Daily Caller
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
August 2026 National Poll: Democrats Lead Congressional Ballot by Eight Points; Rubio Outperforms Vance on 2028 Ballot Tests — Home Polls August 2026 National Poll: Democrats Lead Congressional Ballot by Eight Points; Rubio Outperforms Vance on 2028 Ballot Tests
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, NewsMax.com and The Hill
Washington Post:
Stars and Stripes publisher announces departure with a parting shot at Pentagon — An active-duty Navy captain was placed in leadership ahead of the publisher's resignation, sparking fears that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth might gain control of the newspaper prized for its independence. — Summary
Discussion:
NOTUS, The Hill, The Guardian, CBS News, Straight Arrow, Military.com, Associated Press and The Independent, more at Mediagazer »
Washington Post:
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott takes aim at Muslim washing stations in airports — Legal experts dispute Abbott's claims that the ritual washing stations are discriminatory, with some saying his attack fits a pattern of anti-Muslim actions and rhetoric. — Summary
Scott Clement / Washington Post:
A fake poll tested media and poll trackers. Here's who passed and failed. — Median Strategies, a fake polling firm, claimed it was a “social experiment.” The fraudulent poll received some attention but was shunned by mainstream poll aggregators and exposed by a reporter.
Discussion:
FiftyPlusOne, Bloomberg, The Hill, Truthout, Samizdata, Telegraph and Blaze Media
Lauren Lumpkin / Washington Post:
Florida school board at the center of culture wars loses conservative majority — Democrats say the flip indicates voters want education to move on from political fights over social issues, while conservatives point to their wins. — Summary — A Florida school board that was at the epicenter …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, New Republic, WWSB, WUSF, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, Florida Politics and Equality Florida
Andrew Pantazi / Axios:
Bernie Sanders endorses Florida's Angie Nixon for Senate — Sen. Bernie Sanders endorsed Florida Democratic Senate nominee Angie Nixon on Thursday, two days after she stunned the party establishment by defeating heavily funded favorite Alex Vindman. … - Sanders also cast Nixon as a model for the Democratic Party's future.
Discussion:
Politico, Townhall, Miami Herald, Florida Politics, American Prospect, twitchy.com, Megyn Kelly, Fox News, NewsMax.com and Breitbart
Matthew Lee / Associated Press:
US ramps up Cuba sanctions and detentions of Americans returning from the island — President Donald Trump's administration is increasing pressure on Cuba by imposing more economic penalties on industries in the heavily sanctioned socialist country and broadening enforcement of laws …
Elisabeth Bumiller / New York Times:
'It's Bonkers': Jennifer Hegseth's Hands-On Role in Her Husband's Pentagon — After an 18-year career at Fox News, she is now her husband's most influential adviser and de facto producer, shaping the job like no Pentagon spouse has before. — There has never been a Pentagon spouse quite like Jennifer Hegseth.
Discussion:
MS NOW and The Independent
NPR:
Experts raise alarms over Census Bureau report Trump is touting on noncitizen voting — A highly unusual Census Bureau report that President Trump is using to reup dubious claims of widespread illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens has ties to a Trump-aligned think tank, NPR has learned.
Discussion:
CNN, The Independent, Talking Points Memo, Democracy Docket, Israpundit and Mike Schneider
Fox News:
ActBlue co-founder pleads Fifth Amendment in closed-door House GOP grilling — FIRST ON FOX: ActBlue co-founder Matt DeBergalis pleaded the Fifth Amendment during his closed-door deposition before three key House committees, sources familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital.
Discussion:
New York Post and The Gateway Pundit
Madiba K. Dennie / Balls and Strikes:
How Republican Politicians and Conservative Judges Work Together to Preserve Capital Punishment — Public opposition to the death penalty is growing. But more people are being executed. — The American criminal legal system recently marked a grim milestone: On August 13 …
Discussion:
JURISTnews
Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
Republicans notch win in Missouri congressional redistricting fight — A judge allowed Republicans to use their new congressional map this fall, but the state Supreme Court may weigh in. — Missouri is on track to use a congressional map favored by Republicans, but the state Supreme Court may have the last word on it soon.
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Examiner, TheGrio, New Republic, New York Times, UPI and Democracy Docket
Jonathan V. Last / The Bulwark:
The Dollar, the Dopamine, and JD Vance — Before we start: Earlier this week Tim talked about a family currently being held in an American internment camp in Texas. Freddys Padilla Revilla, Edgarianny Cortez Gervis, and their 7-year-old daughter came to America from Venezuela legally.
Roby Brock / Talk Business & Politics:
Poll: Tight race for US Senate between Cotton, Shoffner — Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Hallie Shoffner holds a slim lead over incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, but the race is within the statewide survey's margin of error of 4.7%. — The new Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College Poll …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Good Politics/Bad Politics and Scripps News
Adam Kinzinger:
Why David Jolly's Win Matters Regardless of What Happens In November — Florida remains a steep climb, but his nomination has already shown how a broader pro-democracy coalition can work. — If you wanted to hear an old-school Republican in Florida on Tuesday night, you had to go to a Democratic victory party.
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, NBC News, Associated Press, The Gateway Pundit and Bloomberg
Whitney Curry Wimbish / American Prospect:
Judge Orders Monitors for Child Detention as Trump Administration Plans Expansion — The order came the day before the Office of Refugee Resettlement held an industry roundtable to discuss new detention facilities for thousands of children. — A federal judge on Monday appointed a pair …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Oriana Pawlyk / Politico:
Trump's FAA picked an unlikely contractor to lead its air traffic overhaul. The agency is having second thoughts. — Federal Aviation Administration officials are raising concerns about the performance of a contractor overseeing the Trump administration's overhaul of the nation's air traffic …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Steve Vladeck / One First:
Bonus 244: Minnesota v. Abbott — Governor Abbott is refusing to comply with a demand to extradite an ICE officer under criminal indictment in Minnesota. He has no legal leg to stand on, but may instead be trying to run out the clock. — ∙ Paid — Interstate extradition is supposed to be boring.
Discussion:
Above the Law, Talking Points Memo, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, Townhall, Daily Kos, HotAir and Newsweek
Leo Sands / New York Times:
Trump Threat Puts Focus on Iran's Trading Partners — President Trump appeared to suggest that the United States would impose economic penalties on countries that do business with Iran, though he did not specify what actions he would take. — President Trump has threatened …
Discussion:
The Guardian, New York Post, Reuters, The National, Breitbart, Al Jazeera, Agence France-Presse, Bloomberg, Wall Street Journal and HuffPost
Calen Razor / Politico:
Capitol agenda: Trump 1.0 enemies face brutal primaries — Democrats who rose to prominence as #Resistance figures during President Donald Trump's first term are stumbling politically during his second. The pileup illustrates a new era for the restive Democratic base …
Discussion:
Axios, Fox News, The Atlantic and NBC News

