Top Items:
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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, NBC News, LGBTQ Nation, Erin In The Morning, New York Times, Newsweek, Straight Arrow, Semafor, Eschaton and Boston.com
RELATED:
Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:
Six Takeaways From the Massachusetts Primaries — Senator Ed Markey, 80, trounced a younger challenger who had made an argument for generational change. Two other longtime Democratic lawmakers hung on, too. — Massachusetts, as it turns out, is a good state in which to be a very old Democratic incumbent.
Discussion:
Washington Post, NBC News, Reuters, NPR, IJR News, The Hill, Mock Paper Scissors, Associated Press, The Boston Globe, WTOP News, Fox News, Blaze Media, The Atlantic, New York Post, Scripps News, Wall Street Journal, The Forward, MS NOW, Bloomberg, CBS News, UPI, ABC News, Politico and Semafor
Jen Fifield / ProPublica:
New Mail Voting Rules Moved Forward Despite USPS Officials' Concerns About Mass Disenfranchisement — In internal meetings, officials worried the rules they were drafting could delay or block ballots from reaching large swaths of eligible voters for the upcoming midterms.
Discussion:
NPR, The Status Kuo, Talking Points Memo, The Guardian, The Moderate Voice, NBC News, Rolling Stone, Wall Street Journal, ABC News, New York Magazine, NOTUS, CNN, MS NOW, Truthout, Axios, Washington Post and Tech Times
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Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Trump begs SCOTUS to let him unleash midterm chaos — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — ✅ Subscribe to PN ✅ — The important thing to know here is that this is all John Roberts's fault. — We're on the precipice of complete chaos as Trump tries to seize control of the midterms.
Discussion:
CNN, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Democracy Docket and Vox
Madiba K. Dennie / Balls and Strikes:
How the Supreme Court Helps Trump Run Out the Clock
How the Supreme Court Helps Trump Run Out the Clock
Discussion:
Alternet.org and Democracy Docket
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
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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:
Mia McCarthy / Politico:
Mike Johnson says he has ‘no plans’ to campaign with Max Miller
Mike Johnson says he has ‘no plans’ to campaign with Max Miller
Discussion:
Truthout, New York Post, NewsMax.com and The Hill
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:
Associated Press, LGBTQ Nation, New Republic, Forbes, Alternet.org, Mediaite, Politico, The Hill, Washington Examiner, Defense One and Reuters
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ABC News:
Army secretary frequently warned White House about Hegseth before his departure: Sources
Army secretary frequently warned White House about Hegseth before his departure: Sources
Discussion:
Financial Times, The Free Press, The Economist, Semafor, CBS News and IJR News
Mychael Schnell / MS NOW:
‘Tired of all the churn’: Key Republicans are starting to turn on Hegseth over Pentagon departures
‘Tired of all the churn’: Key Republicans are starting to turn on Hegseth over Pentagon departures
Discussion:
Roll Call, The Hill and The Atlantic
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:
Daily Kos, The Independent, PoliticusUSA, Mediaite, The Bulwark, New Republic and Alternet.org
RELATED:
Praveena Somasundaram / Washington Post:
Poll shows nearly 90% of Americans believe government corruption is widespread — The belief increased by 10 percentage points compared with last year, a Gallup poll found. — Summary — A record number of Americans believe there is widespread corruption in the U.S. government …
Discussion:
The Guardian
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Gregory Svirnovskiy / Politico:
Almost 90 percent of Americans say there is widespread corruption in government
Benedict Vigers / Gallup:
Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
Record-High 89% in U.S. Say Government Corruption Widespread
Discussion:
Semafor, The Independent and WTOP News
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:
Lawfare
Mira Bhakta / The Hill:
US Mint officially launches $1 coin featuring Trump — The United States Mint released 250,000 $1 coins Wednesday featuring President Trump's likeness to commemorate the nation's 250th anniversary. — The design of the coin shows a simple portrait of the president …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Guardian, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Mediaite
RELATED:
Kevin Breuninger / CNBC:
Trump floats renaming Strait of Hormuz the ‘Trump Strait’ … President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated renaming the Strait of Hormuz — the central point of contention in the ongoing war against Iran that the U.S. and Israel started — after himself. — The proposal via a Truth Social post came less …
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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.
RELATED:
Andrew Solender / Axios:
House Democrats left reeling after shock defections
House Democrats left reeling after shock defections
Discussion:
New York Post, Blaze Media, Politico, Washington Examiner, RedState, Mock Paper Scissors, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, CNN, NewsMax.com, Roll Call, IJR News and New Republic
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 Guardian, The Forward, twitchy.com, New York Magazine, Forbes, Mediaite and NewsMax.com
John Sexton / HotAir:
CNN: Is Capitalism Tied to White Supremacy? — Yesterday, CNN unearthed some comments James Talarico, the Democrat running for Senate in Texas, made about capitalism back in 2020. Ed covered Talarico's comments and the story about them by CNN's Andrew Kaczynski.
Discussion:
RedState, twitchy.com and Grabien
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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:
Washington Examiner and The 19th
Shane Harris / The Atlantic:
The Air Marshals Keeping Watch On Eric Swalwell — On August 8, former Representative Eric Swalwell boarded a United Airlines flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Washington, D.C. He didn't know it, but federal agents were watching him throughout the nine-hour trip.
Discussion:
Fox News, NewsNation, Townhall, twitchy.com, Daily Mail and New York Post
Paul Krugman:
The Hits Keep Coming — How much chaos can the economy take? — Here's the good news: The U.S. economy has proved remarkably resilient since the chaos monkeys, aka Donald Trump and company, took over the zoo. — There has been shock after shock: A trade war against everyone …
Discussion:
Alternet.org
Nick Turse / The Intercept:
The U.S. Has Killed 227 Civilians in Boat Strikes During “A Year of Murders” — Top military officers from a secretive command watched a speedboat cut through the waters of the Caribbean Sea, early last September. A plane above provided live video of the vessel and the 11 men on board.
Discussion:
MS NOW, The Hill and New Republic
Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Trump's Speed on the White House Ballroom Threatens to Outpace the Courts — In his breakneck construction of a grand ballroom and in many other initiatives, critics say, the president has tried to outrun judicial review. — The courts cannot keep up with President Trump.
Discussion:
Fox News, Washington Post, Reason, Slate and Military.com
Drew Berkemeyer / The Daily Wire:
Birth Tourism Mastermind Pleads The Fifth, Dismissed From Congressional Hearing … The doctor behind a Miami company that markets services to foreign nationals seeking to give birth in the United States was subpoenaed to testify before Congress Tuesday. He invoked the Fifth Amendment 11 times …
Discussion:
Newsweek, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, American Greatness, twitchy.com, Legal Insurrection, Louder With Crowder, Townhall and Breitbart
City of New York:
Mayor Mamdani and Chancellor Samuels Put Students First with Nation's Broadest Generative AI Moratorium in Schools — Watch on YouTube — What you should know — Representing the most expansive student-facing AI policy in the country, the Mamdani administration prioritizes student safety and real, human instruction
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, New York Magazine, NewsMax.com, New York Daily News and Chalkbeat, more at Techmeme »
New York Times:
Kennedy Center Begins Removing Outdoor ‘Blue’ Sculpture — The towering artwork, added to the campus in 2019, was targeted for elimination after President Trump's takeover of the center. — The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts began removing a major outdoor sculpture from the center's grounds on Wednesday.
Discussion:
Associated Press, NOTUS, The Hill, Forbes, Washington Post, The Independent, WTOP News and Joe.My.God.
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch:
New Epstein Files Discharge Petition Grows to 49 Signatures — 2nd Republican joins bipartisan effort to hold pedophiles accountable. — Add us on — Rep. Thomas Massie's bipartisan effort to force a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act II has gained 32 additional signatures since Monday …
Discussion:
ricochet.com, The Daily Caller and The Hill
Nick Sloan / KMBC:
More than 68% of voters support recall of Independence Councilman John Perkins — Voters in Independence have successfully recalled a councilman after his vote to approve a multibillion-dollar data center. — District 1 Councilman John Perkins was recalled during a special election on Tuesday …
Discussion:
NBC News, New York Times, Talking Points Memo and FIRST DRAFT
Lydia Saad / Gallup:
Record-High 47% Want Unions to Have More Influence — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nearly half of Americans (47%) want labor unions in the U.S. to have more influence than they do today, a record high in the past quarter century and roughly double the 23% who want unions to have less influence.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
Sam Levine / The Guardian:
US lawmakers demand investigation into Trump administration's secret surveillance of Americans — Exclusive: Two congressmembers respond to revelations of government snooping on journalists, non-profits and unions — Two congressional Democrats asked a government watchdog Tuesday …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow and emptywheel
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Apple's Map Acquiescence … On Tuesday afternoon, Apple began rolling out a small, yet quite consequential, change to its Maps product: Under direct pressure from the White House, the Cupertino-based company opted to rename Lake Ontario to “Lake America,” complying with an executive order Donald Trump signed last week.


