Top Items:
New York Times:
Meta to Pay Up to $17.1 Billion in Landmark Settlement Over Social Media Addiction Claims — The social media giant settled with 47 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories, and agreed to make major changes to its products over claims its platforms endangered children.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Axios, American Prospect, The Hill, Semafor, The Atlantic, Slate, Variety, Oil City News, Reuters, FOX 26 Houston, The Capitolist, The Verge, The Register, NewsNation, NOTUS, Deseret News, New Republic, New York Magazine, The Wrap, CalMatters, KQED, JURIST, NextDraft, TechCrunch, Biometric Update, Mississippi Today, CBS News, UPI, The Information, KTLA, Deadline, Politico, MS NOW, Bloomberg, National Legal …, The Sun and Al Jazeera, more at Techmeme »
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Diana Novak Jones / Reuters:
Meta reaches $16.68 billion settlement over social media harms to children — Meta Platforms (META.O) agreed to pay a maximum $16.68 billion and make major changes to Facebook and Instagram to resolve claims by states across the U.S. that the company designed those platforms to addict children …
Zack Beauchamp / Vox:
The bizarre roots of Trump's trade war on Canada — LONDON, Ontario — President Donald Trump seems dead set on escalating his trade war with Canada. And no one is really sure why. — On Monday, Trump threatened another round of 50 percent tariffs on top of the ones he just implemented …
Discussion:
Politico, Public Notice, CBC News, Alternet.org and Global News
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Lauren Aratani / The Guardian:
Wiped out: US faces surging toilet paper prices amid trade war with Canada — Paper products among hardest-hit sectors after trade negotiations broke down, with 25-50% tariffs estimated — Using the bathroom or having a cry is about to become more expensive for North Americans as the US …
Bloomberg:
Shapiro Clashes With RFK Jr. After Pennsylvania Measles Deaths — Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro blamed US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for sowing distrust in vaccines as the state confronts a widening measles outbreak that has killed two people and infected hundreds of others.
Discussion:
New Republic, NOTUS, Washington Examiner, MS NOW, Breitbart, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, STAT, The Hill, New York Times and Daily Mail
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Arek Sarkissian / Politico:
Amid deadly Pennsylvania outbreak, Kennedy blames Biden for decline in measles vax rates — HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy on Wednesday said CDC workers have been unable to confirm measles-related deaths in Pennsylvania before blaming the nationwide decline in measles vaccinations on the Biden administration.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Joe.My.God., Washington Examiner and New Republic
TMZ.com:
Actor Tim Curry Dead at 80 — Tim Curry — the legendary film and TV actor best known for playing Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” — has died ... TMZ has learned. — Sources tell TMZ the actor — who had been plagued with serious health issues …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety, KTLA, One America News Network, NewsNation, Breitbart, The Hill, Political.org and New York Post
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Bruce Weber / New York Times:
Tim Curry, Star of ‘Rocky Horror’ and Much More, Dies at 80 … Tim Curry in 1974, the year he starred in the premiere American production of “The Rocky Horror Show” in Los Angeles.Evening Standard/Hulton Archive, via Getty Images — Tim Curry, the British-born actor whose gift …
Discussion:
HuffPost, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Jacobin
Associated Press:
Democratic states file new lawsuit seeking to block Trump's order limiting mail voting in midterms — Democratic-controlled states on Wednesday filed another lawsuit challenging President Donald Trump's executive order seeking to limit mail voting in this year's midterm elections.
Discussion:
Democracy Docket, Federal Register, NOTUS, Fox News, MS NOW, HotAir, Washington Post, New York Post, PBS NewsHour, The Independent, Townhall, Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, NewsMax.com, KSTP-TV, Bloomberg, CBS News, Biometric Update, Mercury News, Votebeat, The Colorado Sun and Capital B News
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Jim Saksa / Democracy Docket:
Judge lifts second block on Trump's mail voting order, clears way for legal fight on constitutionality
Discussion:
NBC News, CNBC and NewsMax.com
Washington Post:
Before Hegseth fired him, top general was advised to drop Kid Rock probe — Gen. Randy George appeared troubled by the encounter with Gen. Chris LaNeve, the Army's No. 2 officer now favored for the service's top job, people familiar with the matter told The Post. — Summary
Discussion:
The Independent, TMZ.com, Breaking Defense, The Hollywood Reporter, Stars & Stripes, Adam Kinzinger, MS NOW, The Bulwark, New Republic, Wonkette, Forbes and Joe.My.God.
Nick Reisman / Politico:
Hochul foe Bruce Blakeman to end ICE agreement — ALBANY, New York — Republican candidate for governor and Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman will reluctantly comply with a state law that prohibits local police departments from working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, City & State New York, CBS News and NY State Attorney General
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New York Times:
Judge Sides With Texas Over Minnesota on Extradition of ICE Agent — The two states have waged an unusual court battle over the agent facing charges over a shooting in Minneapolis. The agent could be released from jail on Thursday. — A federal judge on Wednesday sided with Texas …
Discussion:
HotAir, Reuters, NOTUS, The Hill, Washington Examiner, CBS News, Associated Press, Scripps News, The Daily Wire, Political.org, Joe.My.God., KSTP-TV, FOX 26 Houston and LifeNews.com
MS NOW:
Troops fighting against Iran and alleged drug smugglers say they are being asked to violate international law — Organizations that help service members apply to leave the military as conscientious objectors are seeing a large increase in concerns over U.S. military strikes against alleged drug boats and targets inside Iran.
Discussion:
New Republic
U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Treasury Takes Action Against Violent Far-Left Terrorist Networks — WASHINGTON—Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action to counter the growing threat posed by violent far-left terrorist groups. OFAC sanctioned Autistici Inventati …
Discussion:
Truthout, Breitbart, UPI, Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Independent, Reuters and New Republic
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Raquel Coronell Uribe / NBC News:
Judge strikes down Texas ban on drag shows, tells people offended by them 'just don't go' — The federal judge, who cited Dolly Parton in his ruling, found that the state law violated the First Amendment. — A federal judge in Texas struck down a 2023 state law Tuesday that sought to restrict drag shows …
Discussion:
NewsNation, USA Today, ACLU of Texas, The Texas Tribune, HuffPost, Reason, NewsMax.com, KUT Radio …, Fox News, Breitbart, TMZ.com, Washington Examiner, LGBTQ Nation, Political.org, Newsweek, The Hill, NOTUS, Townhall, UPI and Joe.My.God.
Angie Orellana Hernandez / NOTUS:
Pentagon Claims Hegseth's Afghanistan Withdrawal Probe Found ‘Hidden’ Files — The chairman of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's panel reviewing the deadly 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan claimed on Wednesday it found “hidden” documents about the military operation in a safe.
Discussion:
Politico, NewsMax.com and RedState
RELATED:
Leo Sands / New York Times:
Deadly Nepal Flood May Have Been Caused by Ice Snapping Off Glacier, Scientists Say — An initial assessment of satellite imagery suggests an “ice avalanche” from a high-altitude glacier sent a giant cascade into the valley below. — The deadly flooding in Nepal on Wednesday was likely set off …
Discussion:
Wired, NewsMax.com, Reuters and Associated Press
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Associated Press:
At least 8 killed and hundreds missing after avalanche triggers deadly flash floods in Nepal
At least 8 killed and hundreds missing after avalanche triggers deadly flash floods in Nepal
Discussion:
Reuters, ABC News, Associated Press, New York Post, South China Morning Post, The Sun, Washington Examiner, The National, The Kathmandu Post, Fox News, Breitbart, Los Angeles Times, Deseret News, The Korea Herald, The Daily Caller, RTÉ, Al Jazeera, France 24, CBS News, Political.org, RedState, The Daily Wire, Straight Arrow, UPI, Metro.co.uk, New York Times and The Japan Times
Wall Street Journal:
CIA Chief's Surprise Moscow Trip Was to Warn Russia Not to Attack NATO — Warning comes after new U.S. intelligence assessments indicated Russian president could launch a limited assault — The surprise visit by the director of the Central Intelligence Agency to Moscow this week was to deliver …
Politico:
Appeals court rejects Rep. McIver's challenge to charges for alleged assaults at ICE facility — Rep. LaMonica McIver is not immune from prosecution for her contact with ICE officials during a heated scrum at New Jersey's Delaney Hall detention facility, even though it occurred during …
Discussion:
Ace of Spades HQ and The Gateway Pundit
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Rebecca Beitsch / The Hill:
Appeals court declines to toss McIver case as panel splits on selective prosecution claims
Appeals court declines to toss McIver case as panel splits on selective prosecution claims
Discussion:
MS NOW, Washington Examiner, CourtListener, Washington Post, twitchy.com, RedState, The Guardian, Roll Call, Fox News, All Rise News, emptywheel, Political.org and The Post Millennial
Wall Street Journal:
The Connections That Turned a Precocious Teen Into the Fallen ‘Nostradamus of AI’ — A 24-year-old investor was hailed as a visionary and attracted billions—before turning into Wall Street's latest cautionary tale — For the past few years, at happy hours and dinner parties in San Francisco …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and Reason, more at Techmeme »
Adam Bonica / On Data and Democracy:
The Bulwark Killed an Investigation into Political Fundraising Spam After Its Publisher Took the Consultants' Side — This is a story about the Democratic Party captured by its consultants, and about what happens when the pro-democracy press is asked to say so.
Jason Wilson / The Guardian:
Fake US thinktank set up and funded by Israel sought to game AI for propaganda — In effort to prime chatbots to make pro-Israel arguments the site published 124 reports, over 560,000 words in nine days, Guardian analysis shows — A pro-Israel messaging website badged with the name …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God.
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
Poll: New low for Trump on prices and foreign policy, now net negative on border security — This article reports results from the August 2026 Strength In Numbers/Verasight poll. A methodology description is included at the end of this article. You can find toplines for this as well as …
Discussion:
Democracy Docket
Johanna Alonso / Inside Higher Ed:
New Student Visas Dropped 23% in 2025 — Countries impacted by Trump's travel ban are among those with the fewest student visas issued in 2025, though China and India, typically the two largest suppliers of international students to the U.S., were also hit hard.
Discussion:
State of California and OutsideTheBeltway
Grace Yarrow / Politico:
Trump signs controversial beef import plan despite ranchers' backlash — President Donald Trump signed a proclamation on Wednesday that aims to lower ground beef prices by dramatically boosting imports from other countries — despite outrage from Republicans and the administration's allies in the beef industry.
Discussion:
The White House, NewsMax.com, NewsNation and MS NOW
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Democrats notch win in TV ad rate case — The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Democrats on Tuesday in a 2-1 decision that requires super PACs and political parties to pay the same rate for television ads. — The suit against the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Wrap, Ars Technica and NewsMax.com, more at Mediagazer »
Sahil Kapur / NBC News:
The 2026 elections are thinning the ranks of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus — The band of rebellious conservatives has watched its members leave to run for higher office or lose their primaries, as others face political dangers on the horizon. — The ranks of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus …
Garrett Downs / CNBC:
Republicans are dismissing affordability. That could be a problem in November … Voters are worried about the cost of living. Comments from the GOP this week are not likely to console them. — President Donald Trump, in a Wednesday interview, said that the word “affordability” was “devised” by Democrats to disparage him.
Discussion:
The Independent, Newsweek and New Republic
Adam Kovac / Yahoo News:
In a 2023 interview, Trump's new FDA pick laid out a vision for ‘conservative-based’ science — In a 2023 podcast interview, Heidi Overton called for the creation of “alternate systems” for publishing research that would back conservative policy — President Donald Trump's nominee to lead …
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Blanche rips Philadelphia district attorney over promise to blow up White House ballroom — Attorney General Todd Blanche on Wednesday ripped into the Philadelphia district attorney for suggesting that the White House ballroom would be blown to bits while noting that he was entitled to a piece of the shrapnel as a keepsake.
Discussion:
Fox News, Townhall, HotAir, The Independent, American Greatness, The Daily Wire, The Daily Caller, NewsMax.com, Louder With Crowder and Joe.My.God.
Nancy Cook / Bloomberg:
Republicans' Unusual Midterm Convention Is a Political Gamble — Will spotlighting Trump's record help Republicans win over the swing voters they need to retain control of the House and Senate? … Risky Party — Republicans are gearing up for a party in the coming weeks that will require …



