Top Items:
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 Bulwark, MS NOW, Stars & Stripes, Forbes, The Independent, New York Times, Wonkette, Adam Kinzinger, Joe.My.God., New Republic, NBC News and Alternet.org
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:
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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 …
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.
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Avery Lotz / Axios:
States renew fight against Trump's mail-in voting rule … Now, the states are hoping their timing is right to kneecap the plan ahead of the midterms. — The ruling didn't weigh the merits of Trump's order, which critics warn would expand federal power over state-run elections.
Discussion:
CNBC, MS NOW, Tangle, MPR News, State of California, New York Times, Forbes, Political.org, Washington Post, NOTUS, New York Post, Scripps News, TheGrio, Centralmaine.com, Wired, Alternet.org, PJ Media, One America News Network, The Hill, CBS News, American Greatness, National Review and The Japan Times
Perry Stein / Washington Post:
Lawyers gear up as Trump administration threatens election officials with arrest
Zolan Kanno-Youngs / New York Times:
Trump's Efforts to Sow Election Doubts Get Boost from Initial Court Order
Trump's Efforts to Sow Election Doubts Get Boost from Initial Court Order
Discussion:
Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Votebeat, The Bulwark, Associated Press, twitchy.com, Slate, Democracy Docket, TheGrio, Newsweek, The Independent, The Dean's Report and CNN
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 …
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CBC News, Global News, Alternet.org, National Review, UAW, The Hub, MPR News, Washington Examiner and RTÉ
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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 …
Discussion:
Alternet.org, Washington Post and France 24
Politico:
Republicans were already nervous about November. Then Trump restarted his trade war. — Republicans were already struggling to defuse simmering voter frustrations over the cost of living ahead of the midterms. Then President Donald Trump rekindled his trade wars.
Discussion:
Reuters, Alternet.org and Mark It Down!
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump shitposts fail to win support for Canadian trade war
Trump shitposts fail to win support for Canadian trade war
Discussion:
NPR, The Hill, The Spectator, LAist, The Daily Wire and New York Times
CBS News:
CIA Director John Ratcliffe visits Russia, on what was a secret trip — A U.S. military plane landed at an airport in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, and CIA Director John Ratcliffe was among those on board. Charlie D'Agata reports.
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Julia Manchester / The Hill:
Trump calls CIA director's trip to Russia ‘semi-routine’
Discussion:
Bloomberg, France 24, Political.org, Alternet.org, Reuters, Associated Press, Breitbart, The Sun, Metro.co.uk, The Guardian, RedState, Fox News, Daily Mail, New Republic, New York Post, CBS News, Semafor and The American Conservative
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump plays coy about purpose of CIA director's mystery trip to Moscow
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:
NOTUS, Fox News, Washington Examiner, KUT Radio …, Breitbart, LGBTQ Nation, The Texas Tribune, Townhall, PinkNews, UPI, Joe.My.God., New Republic and FOX 26 Houston
Tim Balk / New York Times:
In Headache for Republicans, Second Dan Sullivan Advances in Alaska Senate Race — A long-shot candidate with the same name as the incumbent Republican senator will be on the ballot in November. That could be a problem for the G.O.P. — Dan J. Sullivan, a retired teacher who is challenging …
Discussion:
NOTUS, Washington Post, Fox News, CNN, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Political.org and Politico
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Susan Page / USA Today:
Even Iowa? Trump's troubles tighten races for Senate, governor
Discussion:
The Hill
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:
OutsideTheBeltway
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:
Reason, more at Techmeme »
Kanishka Singh / Reuters:
Trump administration issues pause on visa appointments for applicants worldwide — President Donald Trump's administration has issued a pause on visa appointments for applicants around the world during an ongoing immigration crackdown by the U.S. government in the Republican leader's second term in the White House.
James Downie / MS NOW:
Trump can't stop sabotaging his own economy — “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” an exasperated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said during a press conference Monday, while introducing new sanctions against Iran. Bessent may think that's still a self-evidently ridiculous question.
Discussion:
Alternet.org and Political.org
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Reuters:
US says Chinese hackers broke into Justice Department, NASA, Federal Reserve, Senate, and more — The United States said Wednesday that it had disrupted a Chinese hacking operation responsible for break-ins at the U.S. Justice Department, NASA, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Senate, and other sensitive government agencies.
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Jonathan Cohn / The Bulwark:
This Cancer Breakthrough Has Scientists Cheering—and Crying — They know RFK Jr. and Donald Trump are destroying the research ecosystem that made it possible. — FIFTEEN YEARS AGO, an up-and-coming oncology researcher in Boston named Catherine Wu had a hunch.
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:
MS NOW
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, Washington Examiner, YouGov and The Philadelphia Inquirer
Pooja Salhotra / New York Times:
Meet the Teenager Running for Vermont Governor and Ready for ‘Impact’ — Dean Roy, 15, will appear on the ballot in November as a third-party candidate. He said his generation's concerns, like affordability and climate change, have been ignored for too long. — Dean Roy is not eligible to vote, not even close.
Matthew Choi / Washington Post:
In Texas Senate race, Talarico seeks depositions that could damage Paxton — Democrat James Talarico has leaned into Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's past legal scandals to try to win over moderate Republicans. — Texas Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico is looking …
Discussion:
Newsweek, Bloomberg, Townhall, Associated Press, Joe.My.God., FOX 26 Houston and Washington Examiner
Steven Nelson / New York Post:
Trump says Dolly Parton ‘really liked me’ — but didn't want to lose fans — WASHINGTON — President Trump said Wednesday that country music star Dolly Parton “really liked me,” but stayed out of politics to avoid losing fans. — Trump ordered flags to be lowered to half-staff Tuesday after the …
Discussion:
The Hill, New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Mercury News, Joe.My.God. and Grabien
Mia McCarthy / Politico:
House GOP leaders eye quick vote on Senate-passed stopgap — House GOP leaders are aiming to put a Senate-passed stopgap spending bill on the floor early next week, in the first days back in session after a five-week recess, according to three people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.
Discussion:
NewsNation
Leo Shane III / Politico:
Pentagon claims to have found ‘hidden’ files on final days of the Afghanistan war — Pentagon officials on Wednesday claimed they have uncovered classified documents that were “hidden away in safes where they would not be found” that shed new light on the chaotic end to the U.S. war …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Sarah Davis / The Hill:
Democrats lead Republicans in Texas battleground House districts, new poll shows — Democratic candidates are leading their Republican opponents in three of Texas's most competitive House races, according to a new poll released on Wednesday. — Texas Southern University's Barbara Jordan Public Policy …
Discussion:
Newsweek
ProPublica:
The Costly Blunders in the Army's $533 Million Fiasco — The U.S. Army paid General Dynamics $533 million for an artillery factory that failed to produce a single usable shell. — Instead of efficient, state-of-the-art production lines, half a billion dollars in taxpayer funding paid …
Madiba K. Dennie / Balls and Strikes:
Live Nation Antitrust Lawsuit: Trump Wanted Your Tickets to Be Expensive — If you've gone to a concert in the United States at any point in the past 15 years, you've probably been fleeced by Live Nation Entertainment. The corporate behemoth, formed from the 2010 merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster …
Discussion:
Above the Law
Jeffrey Dastin / Reuters:
Bill Gates, alarmed by AI, has policy ideas he wants to discuss with China's Xi — Bill Gates is looking to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping later this year, eager to propose global efforts to mitigate the growing risks posed by artificial intelligence.
Discussion:
New York Times, Washington Post, Semafor and The Independent, more at Techmeme »
Gabriel Gavin / Politico:
Canada's Carney to attend EU's State of the Union — “In these challenging times, strengthening our relationships across the world is vital,” the European Commission told POLITICO. — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney will join European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen …
Discussion:
Global News, The Daily Caller, Bloomberg and Prime Minister of Canada
Holmes Lybrand / CNN:
3 Secret Service officials placed on leave amid misconduct investigation — Three Secret Service officials, including the agency's director of communications, have been placed on leave as an investigation into potential misconduct unfolds, a source familiar with the decision told CNN.
Discussion:
NewsNation, The Independent, Washington Examiner, UPI, WTTG-TV, The Daily Caller, Straight Arrow, RealClearPolitics, Political.org, Townhall, The Gateway Pundit and CBS News

