Top Items:
Zach Montague / New York Times:
Judge Once Again Blocks Mail-In Ballot Rules — The ruling arrived before the Supreme Court could decide whether to intervene but appeared certain to set off yet another round of appeals. — A federal judge in Boston ruled for the third time on Friday that the Trump administration's plans …
Discussion:
The Japan Times, The Guardian, Forbes, Politico, Axios, MS NOW, The Gateway Pundit, NOTUS, Alternet.org, CBS News, The Hill and UPI
RELATED:
Democracy Docket:
In major win for voters, judge blocks Trump's mail voting restrictions for midterms — A federal judge in Massachusetts barred the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Friday from advancing new mail voting restrictions that, if carried out, could leave vast numbers of people unable to cast a ballot by mail this fall.
Associated Press:
Federal judge extends block on Trump executive order seeking to limit mail voting in the midterms
Discussion:
American Greatness, Democracy Docket, WTOP News, The Daily Wire, New York Times, The Independent, France 24, NBC News and CNN
Alexandra Hutzler / Democracy Docket:
Justice Department immediately asks First Circuit to revive anti-mail voting order halted by judge
Justice Department immediately asks First Circuit to revive anti-mail voting order halted by judge
Discussion:
JusttheNews.com, All Rise News, NBC News and Law Dork
Associated Press:
Missouri asks US Supreme Court to allow use of new Trump-backed congressional districts in midterms — Missouri appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to allow the use of new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump in the fast-approaching midterm election.
Discussion:
The Hill, Mediaite, NBC News, STLPR, Los Angeles Times, MS NOW, Wall Street Journal, CBS News and Associated Press
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Malcolm Ferguson / New Republic:
Trump Spirals After Missouri Supreme Court Hands Him Massive Loss — President Donald Trump crashed out on Thursday night after the Missouri Supreme Court struck down Republican redistricting efforts ahead of midterm elections—changing the House map after the primary and before November in an unprecedented move.
Discussion:
The Hill, WTOP News, American Prospect, The Daily Wire, UPI, Associated Press, Mediaite, Fox News, Legal Insurrection, MS NOW and NOTUS
Eli McKown-Dawson / Silver Bulletin:
Democrats just got one seat closer to retaking the House
Democrats just got one seat closer to retaking the House
Discussion:
Capital B News, Democracy Docket, The Hill, Pluribus News, Washington Post, Roll Call, Newsweek, emptywheel, RedState, Associated Press and The Gateway Pundit
New York Times:
In Major Leak Hunt, Pentagon Gives Polygraph Tests to Joint Staff Members — About 50 people were tested, an unparalleled inquiry that comes in the wake of news reports about the war with Iran and the U.S. military's diminished stocks of munitions. — U.S. government investigators have taken …
Discussion:
CBS News, The Wrap, Joe.My.God., emptywheel, Al Jazeera, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, NewsMax.com, Alternet.org, Mediaite, Salon and News Talk 105.9, more at Mediagazer »
Marc Caputo / Axios:
“We're stuck:” GOP accepts Trump's all-about-me midterms — President Trump is hitting the campaign trail and doing the last thing many Republicans want: making the 59 days to the Nov. 3 midterms a referendum on him. — At the same time, they know it's inevitable.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Washington Post, Politico and Alternet.org
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Washington Post:
Republican House candidates tone down Trump on their campaign websites — Several congressional hopefuls have removed or downplayed mentions of the president and his priorities as Trump's popularity wanes. — Why did Mike Beltran, a Republican trying to unseat Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Florida), first decide to run for public office?
New York Times:
Maria Bartiromo's Downfall at an Increasingly Cautious Fox News — The network this week took Maria Bartiromo off the air, pulling one of the last hosts whose coverage of Dominion Voting Systems drew an expensive defamation lawsuit. — In July, as President Trump was preparing a prime …
Discussion:
Daily Mail, CNBC, The Independent, The Wrap, Mediaite, CNN, Townhall, Washington Post, Deadline, The Maine Wire, RedState, Politico and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »
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David Folkenflik / NPR:
Fox News abruptly parts ways with scandal-tarred star Maria Bartiromo
Fox News abruptly parts ways with scandal-tarred star Maria Bartiromo
Discussion:
USA Today, NewsMax.com, Slate, Blaze Media, The Hollywood Reporter, MS NOW, Daily Mail, The Nation, The Daily Caller, Joe.My.God., Variety, The Wrap, Deadline, Adam Kinzinger, HotAir, New Republic, The Independent, The Post Millennial, Wonkette, New York Post, Mediaite and The Gateway Pundit, more at Mediagazer »
Politico:
Judge refuses to block Pentagon from firing Stars and Stripes staffers over CBS interview — WASHINGTON — A federal judge refused Friday to block the Pentagon from firing three Stars and Stripes staff members who claim they were illegally disciplined for speaking out about the military news outlet's need …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, CNN, The Guardian, IJR News, The Hill, Stars & Stripes, NewsMax.com, MS NOW, Courthouse News Service and CBS News, more at Mediagazer »
Chris Cameron / New York Times:
Tetris Owner Denounces Trump White House Clone of Game — Responding to Build the Wall, an apparent copy of the retro video game, the Tetris Company said “we take copyright infringement very seriously.” — The Tetris Company, the company that owns the rights to the classic video game …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, The Guardian, IJR News, GB News, twitchy.com, NewsMax.com, The Hill, ABC News, Alternet.org, Courthouse News Service, Variety, The Verge, The Japan Times, New Republic, Mediaite, Palm Beach Post and CNN
Aamer Madhani / Associated Press:
Trump calls Iran conflict ‘small potatoes’ and defends Vance's position that it's not a ‘war’ — President Donald Trump on Friday said the conflict in Iran is “small potatoes” as he defended Vice President JD Vance for asserting that months of on-and-off attacks in the Middle East are not a “war.”
Discussion:
The Guardian, The Independent, UPI, Newsbusters, Al Jazeera, GB News, NBC News, Metro.co.uk, Los Angeles Times, PBS NewsHour, Daily Mail, Alternet.org, Washington Examiner, Newsweek, Mediaite, NewsMax.com, CBS News, CNN and Salon
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Veterans make emergency request to block construction of Trump's arch — The administration is seeking to render the project a “fait accompli” by moving quickly, the veterans' lawyers argued Friday. — Three Vietnam War veterans on Friday asked a federal judge to prevent work …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Newsbusters, Forbes and The Post Millennial
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Rachel Treisman / NPR:
Trump's arch may break ground without final approval. Veterans are trying to stop it
Trump's arch may break ground without final approval. Veterans are trying to stop it
Discussion:
The Hill, Daily Kos, Pen Strokes, Scripps News, Straight Arrow, UPI, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Politico and Bloomberg
New York Times:
Gallup Polls Show Democrats Outnumber Republicans Ahead of 2026 Midterm Elections — Data from Gallup shows that Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have their largest advantage over Republicans since 2008. — The share of Americans who associate themselves with the Democratic Party …
Discussion:
Alternet.org
Reuters:
Putin's envoy Dmitriev to meet Witkoff, Kushner upon their arrival in Moscow, sources say — Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev will meet U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner upon their arrival in Moscow on Saturday, two people familiar with the upcoming visit told Reuters.
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Scripps News, Mediaite, New York Times, [your]NEWS, CBS News, WTOP News, The Japan Times, CNN, Al Jazeera, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Examiner, France 24, MS NOW, Politico, The Moscow Times and The Hill
Washington Post:
ChatGPT bans campaigns from using AI to make ads. They're doing it anyway. — A Post review found 39 campaigns that disclosed payments to AI companies, but consultants say many more do it and don't disclose it. — Summary — Artificial intelligence has subtly entered the machinery …
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Judge weighs how to dismiss Reflecting Pool vandalism charge against Olympian … A Washington judge on Friday said he will rule quickly on whether to dismiss a now-discredited indictment charging former U.S. Olympic canoeist David Hearn with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool with prejudice …
Discussion:
The Hill, WTOP News, NewsMax.com and National Politics
RELATED:
Adam Klasfeld / All Rise News:
Trump DOJ says it's not probing David Hearn—but might ‘10 minutes from now’
Trump DOJ says it's not probing David Hearn—but might ‘10 minutes from now’
Discussion:
The Independent
Ron Filipkowski / Meidas+:
The 75 Most Corrupt Things Trump Did in 2026 — So far. — ... This is a list of the 75 most corrupt things Trump did in 2026. These are not all of the corrupt things. There were many more, all of which I chronicled throughout the year in my daily column ‘Today in Politics.’ I was planning to list 100.
Vox:
Gen Z's politics aren't what people think — After 12 years of dominating American politics — either as president, as a candidate, or from the sidelines — Donald Trump will finally exit the stage in 2028, and it's anybody's guess what will come next. But one thing we do know is that Gen Z …
Mallory Wilson / The Hill:
Trump reveals Brazil, Argentina involved in controversial beef deal — President Trump said Friday that tariff-free imported beef will be coming from Brazil and Argentina, among other places, as his administration works to alleviate stubbornly high prices. — “It's coming from Argentina.
Discussion:
American Greatness and UPI
RELATED:
Gavin J. Quinton / NOTUS:
Trump Signs Order to Help Ranchers Bypass USDA-Inspected Processing Facilities
Trump Signs Order to Help Ranchers Bypass USDA-Inspected Processing Facilities
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, The White House, [your]NEWS, One America News Network, NewsMax.com, NewsNation, Breitbart and Joe.My.God.
NOTUS:
HHS Cancels Infant Mortality, Postpartum Grants to Focus on Sperm Counts, ED — The Health Department's office to improve the health of minorities has abruptly terminated more than half its existing grants, saying they didn't focus on the Trump administration's new priorities of addressing infertility and encouraging exercise.
Annie Karni / New York Times:
Former Staff Members Threaten to Expose Fetterman's Internal Messages — The former aides started a social media account they said would publicize Senator John Fetterman's communications, following a report detailing the Democrat's disdain for doing his job.
Discussion:
Honolulu Star-Advertiser, MS NOW, Fox News and New York Magazine
Washington Post:
Infant died of measles in Pennsylvania, coroner confirms — The 6-week-old died Aug. 18 at home, after being in palliative care at home soon after birth, Lancaster County coroner Stephen Diamantoni said. — Summary — A local coroner has said that an infant from the Amish community in Lancaster County …
Discussion:
New York Times, Politico, Ars Technica, LancasterOnline, Honolulu Star-Advertiser and The Hill
Vox:
How to survive a national debt scare — The national debt hasn't been a major issue in the 2026 midterms. But perhaps it should be. As of last month, the United States is in debt to the tune of $40 trillion. That's 12 zeros, which averages out to about $116,000 per American.
Heather Cox Richardson / Letters from an American:
September 4, 2026 — On September 5, 1882, workers in New York City celebrated the first Labor Day holiday with a parade. The parade almost didn't happen: there was no band, and no one wanted to start marching without music. Once the Jewelers Union of Newark Two showed up with musicians …
Meg Anderson / NPR:
Flock cameras draw opposition from across the political spectrum — There are plenty of issues Republicans and Democrats disagree on, but increasingly, they're aligned on this: they want Flock surveillance cameras gone. — The widespread backlash against AI-powered license plate readers …
Discussion:
Christian Science Monitor and Breitbart
New York Times:
Looking Back on the Summer of High MAGA in Trump's Washington … When the history of this time is written, it may be observed that the United States of America celebrated its 250th anniversary with one, big Donald Trump-themed party in the nation's capital that lasted for one whole summer.
Liz Goodwin / Washington Post:
The mystery behind an audio clip that helped upend a Senate race — Artificial intelligence tools increasingly allow political actors to fool voters — and help candidates cast doubt on reality. — Summary — Late last month, left-wing firebrand Hasan Piker showed his Twitch viewers …
Matt Novak / Gizmodo:
Federal ‘Bureal’ of Investigation: Kash Patel Posts Embarrassing Slop Video About How Much the FBI Loves AI — Is anybody checking this stuff for accuracy over there? — FBI Director Kash Patel is not known as the most competent guy around. And a video he posted to X on Thursday isn't going to help that reputation.
