Top Items:
Politico:
Republicans aren't exactly flocking to Trump's midterm convention — President Donald Trump has a vision for next week's GOP convention in Dallas: a televised spectacle putting Republican candidates in front of midterm voters and top party donors just two months before the Election Day — with Trump himself headlining the show.
Discussion:
The Portland Press Herald, Alternet.org, Mediaite, PoliticusUSA, The Independent, Wonkette, Daily Kos, New Republic and The Hill
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William Kristol / The Bulwark:
Mike Johnson, Wet Noodle — Donald Trump has spent two years openly favoring red states over blue ones while disbursing federal disaster relief funds, but it's still surreal to see him talk openly about it. In a Truth Social post last night, Trump had this to say:
Steve Benen / MS NOW:
Trump approves disaster relief funds for 7 red states, after denying aid to blue states — Ahead of the midterm elections, the president isn't even being subtle about his scandalous politicization of disaster aid. — Donald Trump's politicization of federal disaster relief funds has become …
Discussion:
MeidasTouch and Trump's Truth
Politico:
GOP lawmakers seek answers from Trump trade chief on Canada tariffs
Discussion:
CNBC, The Hill, Deseret News, Michigan Public, Heartland Signal and Washington Examiner
Calen Razor / Politico:
GOP does Dallas? Not so much
GOP does Dallas? Not so much
Discussion:
The Independent and Houston Public Media
Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Tillis renews calls for Hegseth's ouster — Sen. Thom Tillis renewed his call for President Donald Trump to fire Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday, following the resignation earlier this week of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll. “I have never witnessed more inept management of the brave men …
Discussion:
The Hill, Financial Times, Washington Examiner, The Independent, Mediaite, The Free Press, Semafor and CBS News
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CNN:
Hegseth's culture war fixation disrupting Army progress, sources say — Pete Hegseth Federal agencies US military National security — In the aftermath of the resignation of Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, multiple sources told CNN they believe Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is damaging …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Federal News Network, MS NOW, The Hill, New Republic, Forbes, Mediaite, LGBTQ Nation, Alternet.org, ABC News, Politico and Roll Call
Zachary Basu / Axios:
Pentagon turmoil deepens as Hegseth consolidates control
Pentagon turmoil deepens as Hegseth consolidates control
Discussion:
Forbes and New York Times
Jen Fifield / ProPublica:
New Mail Voting Rules Moved Forward Despite USPS Officials' Concerns About Mass Disenfranchisement — Top U.S. Postal Service officials tasked with issuing new regulations on mail voting expressed concerns in internal meetings about how the rules they were drafting could delay or block ballots …
Discussion:
Fox News, Techdirt, NPR, The Status Kuo, France 24, Civil Discourse …, Democracy Docket, FOX 26 Houston, The Moderate Voice, NBC News, Forbes, Washington Examiner, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, twitchy.com, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Votebeat, Associated Press and New York Times
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Eileen Sullivan / New York Times:
Postal Service Is Building Ballot Screening System Despite Ongoing Court Fight — Election officials warn that the creation of a new online portal for states to upload voter information is already fueling confusion and could ultimately disenfranchise voters.
Discussion:
American Prospect, The Hill, Los Angeles Times and NOTUS
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump begs SCOTUS to let him unleash midterm chaos
Trump begs SCOTUS to let him unleash midterm chaos
Discussion:
CNN, Balls and Strikes, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mediaite, Democracy Docket and Vox
Perry Bacon / New Republic:
Good Riddance, Seth Moulton: You Got What You Deserved — The biggest reason that Kamala Harris lost the 2024 election is probably the post-Covid-19 inflation and anti-incumbent sentiment that resulted in parties in power across the world being defeated. It didn't help that she refused …
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Joan Walsh / The Nation:
Old and On the Way: How Ed Markey Dispatched Seth Moulton in Massachusetts
Discussion:
The Boston Globe, HotAir, Wonkette, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Magazine, Daily Kos, Bloomberg, The Intercept, Them, CBS News, New York Times, The Hill and Washington Examiner
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Six Takeaways From the Massachusetts Primaries
Six Takeaways From the Massachusetts Primaries
Discussion:
Washington Post, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, IJR News, Mock Paper Scissors, The Hill, NPR, Blaze Media, WTOP News, HuffPost, Fox News, The Boston Globe, NBC News, The Atlantic, New York Post, Scripps News, Wall Street Journal, The Forward, MS NOW, Bloomberg, Reuters, CBS News and UPI
Steven Zeitchik / The Hollywood Reporter:
Elon Musk Unmasked in Alex Gibney Documentary: “Insane a Person This Chaotic Has So Much Power” — He is the richest man on earth. An explosive new film from the Oscar-winning director suggests he may also be the most dangerous. — Late one August afternoon in a Manhattan editing suite …
Discussion:
Consequence and Variety
Benedict Vigers / Gallup:
Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread — Substantial majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents agree — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' perceptions of government corruption in the U.S. are at their highest level in 20 years, with 89% of U.S. adults saying it is widespread.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Politico, The Hill, UPI, Truthout, The Independent, WTOP News and The Post Millennial
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Josephine Walker / Axios:
89% of Americans say government corruption is widespread
89% of Americans say government corruption is widespread
Discussion:
Semafor and Joe.My.God.
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Rogue House Democrats face growing push for “consequences” — Two centrist House Democrats who voted to help Republicans get a procedural motion across the finish line are now facing down possible punishment from party leaders who say they were blindsided by the move.
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Riley Rogerson / Politico:
No immediate plans to punish rogue House Democrats for bailing out GOP
No immediate plans to punish rogue House Democrats for bailing out GOP
Discussion:
Deseret News and Political Wire
Erin Hudson / Bloomberg:
NYC Public Schools Ban AI for Students, Restrict Screen Time — The largest school district in the US is banning artificial intelligence tools and restricting screen time for elementary and middle school students in the upcoming school year. — New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani …
Discussion:
New York Times, NBC News, 24/7 Wall St., The Guardian, IJR News, WTOP News and The Verge, more at Techmeme »
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New York Times:
Trump Administration Launches Blitz to Find Elusive Voter Fraud Ahead of Midterms — Voter fraud is exceedingly rare, but President Trump has fixated on rooting it out this year, claiming without evidence that tens of thousands of noncitizens are registered to vote.
Discussion:
The Federalist, Votebeat and YouGov
Leah Litman / The Atlantic:
The Court's Ballroom Decision Is a Sign of Deeper Problems — The conservative justices have separation of powers exactly backwards. — In deciding to allow President Trump to proceed with constructing a new ballroom, which Congress has not authorized, at the White House, which Trump does not own …
Discussion:
emptywheel, Alternet.org and Lawfare
ABC News:
Trump $1 coins in circulation, US Mint says — The coins have entered circulation and can be purchased online. — The U.S. Mint announced today that $1 coins featuring President Donald Trump's likeness have entered circulation and are for sale starting, Sept. 2, 2026.
Discussion:
CBS News, Scripps News, Axios, Politico, Daily Mail, NOTUS, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Forbes, NewsNation, Joe.My.God., Palm Beach Post and IJR News
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Avery Lotz / Axios:
Trump's Canada antagonism vexes Americans … - With the midterm elections creeping closer, polling suggests Americans aren't sold on the fight. … - Even among Republicans, more opposed (43%) than supported (33%) the order. — A vast majority of Democrats (84%) and independents and other parties (65%) opposed the name change.
Discussion:
Fox News, CNN, NewsMax.com, FOX 32 Chicago, Mediaite, Reuters and The Independent
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Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the ‘Trump Strait’
Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the ‘Trump Strait’
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Al Jazeera, Townhall, NOTUS, Mediaite, MS NOW, Lawyers, Guns & Money, [your]NEWS, One America News Network, Joe.My.God., The Hill, NewsMax.com, New Republic and Forbes
Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket:
DHS chief says ICE could make arrests at polling places — ignoring federal ban on armed agents at voting sites — Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could enter polling places to make arrests this November …
Discussion:
The Guardian and Alternet.org
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
What JD Vance's Eruption of Rage Over Usha and El-Sayed Really Reveals — JD Vance is pretending to be very, very angry at Abdul El-Sayed for drawing his wife, Usha Vance, into our political debates. “Abdul, keep my wife's name the hell out of your mouth,” Vance seethed while campaigning …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Forward, The Guardian, twitchy.com, New York Magazine, Forbes and Mediaite
San Francisco Chronicle:
ICE hasn't paid for detainee medical care since October. Advocates call it the ‘death policy’ — Over the 10 months Rodrigo spent in an ICE detention center east of Bakersfield, he asked repeatedly to see an oncologist about the tumor that was growing to the size of a lemon in his neck …
Discussion:
NPR
Washington Post:
Pentagon cuts access to classified information amid Iran war concerns — Documents associated with the Secretary of Defense Orders Book were removed from an internal Pentagon web portal after The Washington Post's reporting, three people familiar with the matter said. — Summary
Discussion:
Alternet.org and The Wrap
Jonathan Martin / Politico:
Can Susan Collins Survive the Craziest Race in the Country? … Yet nowhere has been as idyllic as Perry's Lobster Shack. — Set on a harbor, where — in local parlance — Midcoast meets Downeast, the view from Perry's over the water is of Mount Desert Island and Acadia National Park.
Discussion:
The Hill, Maine Democratic Party, RedState and Washington Examiner
Scott Horsley / NPR:
The IRS slashed its staff. One result? More taxes going uncollected — The IRS slashed its auditing staff last year in what was billed as a cost-cutting move, but if the effort was designed to improve the government's bottom line, it has backfired. — A new report from the Treasury …
Discussion:
Above the Law, CBS News and MS NOW
Andrew Roth / The Guardian:
Israel 'seeking Trump's support for plan to expel Palestinians from Gaza' — Defence minister says he believes US backing could tip regional balance in favour of forced resettlement — Israel's defence minister has said his country is seeking Donald Trump's support to approve plans …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money and France 24
Nicholas McEntyre / New York Post:
Astonishing moment NY GOP congressional staffer is hit by lightning in Staten Island — and survives — A New York GOP congressional staffer miraculously survived a freak lightning strike while he was walking to his dentist appointment on Staten Island, chilling footage showed.
Discussion:
The Hill, Townhall, The Daily Wire, Global News, RedState, IJR News, The Gateway Pundit, TMZ.com, Mediaite and NBC New York
Olaf Storbeck / Financial Times:
Dutch central bank moves gold bars out of New York over ‘geopolitical unrest’ — DNB prefers London over the US city, pointing to better ‘tradeability’ of bullion — The Dutch central bank has shifted more than 78 tonnes of gold from New York to London in a politically sensitive move, citing “increasing geopolitical unrest”.
Discussion:
Associated Press and [your]NEWS
Politico:
Hospitals say coming Trump administration rules are worse than GOP's Medicaid cuts — Hospitals thought losing hundreds of billions in Medicaid funding through GOP-led cuts last year was bad. But coming regulations from the Trump administration could slash their funding even deeper than Congress did.
Discussion:
Shaw Local, Washington Examiner and Alternet.org
Shane Harris / The Atlantic:
The Air Marshals Keeping Watch On Eric Swalwell — This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter. Sign up for it here. — On August 8, former Representative Eric Swalwell boarded a United Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Washington, D.C. He didn't know it …
Discussion:
New York Post, Fox News and NewsNation
NBC News:
House Democrats block constitutional amendment to lock Supreme Court size at 9 justices — The Republican-led resolution, which requires two-thirds support in the House and Senate, comes in response to increasing openness among Democrats to expand the court.
Discussion:
New York Post, The Hill, CBS News, NewsMax.com, Joe.My.God., [your]NEWS and Newsweek
Molly Parks / Washington Examiner:
Judge allows Google to avoid breakup in win against DOJ — A federal judge has allowed Google to keep its digital advertising exchange marketplace, marking another win for the Big Tech giant as it fends off antitrust lawsuits from the federal government. — In the U.S. District Court …
Discussion:
The Hill, Reuters, Associated Press, UPI, Quartz, The Wrap, Adweek, The Information, The Verge, New York Times, Ars Technica and Politico, more at Mediagazer »

