Top Items:
ProPublica:
Donald Trump Jr.'s Bahamas Wedding Was Secretly Bankrolled by Russian Oligarch Close to Putin — The oligarch, Umar Kremlev, spent hundreds of thousands on expenses like renting out a private island. He appears to have met Trump Jr. only recently, but he attended the intimate wedding with a large group of other Russian guests.
Washington Post:
Kennedy Center could close as early as Tuesday, warns of bankruptcy, documents show — Officials said the center is facing “certain fiscal collapse” within weeks, insist that adding President Donald Trump's name may be the only way to avoid bankruptcy. — Summary
Discussion:
The Washington Sun, The Independent, New York Times, CNN, Reuters, NewsMax.com, Civil Discourse … and Forbes
Alex Roarty / The Washington Sun:
Mark Kelly Campaigns in Red States, for This Election And Maybe the Next — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly will campaign in Michigan and South Carolina next month, according to an aide, visits to early presidential primary states that are certain to stir speculation about his future.
RELATED:
Washington Post:
Trump, Vance open midterm campaign tour as GOP troubles deepen
Discussion:
Carolina Journal
Eliza Collins / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Have Midterm Momentum. Here's What Risks Tripping Them Up.
Jalen Beckford / Politico:
Democratic voters driven more by opposition to Trump than party platform in fight for the House, poll finds
Democratic voters driven more by opposition to Trump than party platform in fight for the House, poll finds
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, The Hill, Strength In Numbers and CBS News
Lesley Stahl / CBS News:
Paid brokers tout ties to Trump's orbit to lobby for presidential pardons — Presidents have been pardoning criminals since George Washington. It's a constitutional power — no explanation needed. — The Department of Justice does screen applicants and typically only recommends those who remorsefully seek mercy.
Discussion:
The Wrap
RELATED:
Gabe Kaminsky / CBS News:
Pardon brokers offer to “put pressure on the president” — at sky-high costs
Pardon brokers offer to “put pressure on the president” — at sky-high costs
Discussion:
The Daily Wire
Maxine Joselow / New York Times:
E.P.A. Expected to Erase Limits on Climate Pollution From Power Plants — Generation of electricity is the second largest source of carbon dioxide and other planet-warming gases in the United States. — The Trump administration plans to announce Monday that the United States will no longer limit …
Discussion:
Bloomberg and NewsMax.com, more at Techmeme »
MS NOW:
Trump agreed to new ethics rules to get a crypto bill across the line. But that might not be enough — WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump had been hearing the message loud and clear for weeks about the sweeping cryptocurrency bill being written in the Senate: to get it across the line …
Discussion:
The Hill, CNBC, CoinDesk, Roll Call, The Block, ABC News and The Independent, more at Techmeme »
RELATED:
Jasper Goodman / Politico:
Crypto's political clout meets resistance on the left
Tim Ross / Politico:
Left edges ahead in Swedish election thriller — STOCKHOLM — Sweden's high-stakes general election is heading for a tight finish in a contest to decide whether a new center-left prime minister takes over or the far right enters government for the first time.
Discussion:
CBS News, France 24, Los Angeles Times, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Reuters, Al Jazeera and Associated Press
RELATED:
Tim Ross / Politico:
Sweden's election too close to call after late right-wing surge
Sweden's election too close to call after late right-wing surge
Discussion:
Reuters, Semafor, France 24, Bloomberg, NewsMax.com, Fox News, Associated Press, Al Jazeera and New York Times
Brian Faler / Politico:
Corporate tax payments plunge as AI feasts on new incentives — Corporate tax payments are plummeting even as profits soar. — A big reason: all that AI spending. — The tech world is pouring oceans of money into chips, data centers, power supplies and other components of the artificial intelligence infrastructure.
Aditi Bharade / Business Insider:
All eyes are on what Trump and Xi will do amid grim warnings of an AI apocalypse. Here's what they've said. — Fears of AI's apocalyptic capabilities have reached a fever pitch. — Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, however, have yet to show that they're too concerned.
Discussion:
Atlantic Council, Reuters and Bloomberg, more at Techmeme »
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Natalie Korach / Status:
ESPN's Cruz Control … Jimmy Kimmel made an unusual announcement last week: He had an interview with a buzzy political candidate, but would not air it on his ABC late-night show. Instead, his staff posted that interview with Democratic Texas Senate nominee James Talarico to YouTube …
Discussion:
Poynter, RedState and Deadline, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Alex Nguyen / Mother Jones:
Ted Cruz Pushed His College Sports Bill on ESPN—and Was Booed Mercilessly
Ted Cruz Pushed His College Sports Bill on ESPN—and Was Booed Mercilessly
Discussion:
The Athletic, The Post Millennial, HuffPost, Crooks and Liars, The Wrap and NewsNation
Alex Wilson / Stars & Stripes:
Former Stars and Stripes publisher says critical coverage was ‘underlying cause’ of staff firings — TOKYO — Former Stars and Stripes publisher Max D. Lederer Jr. said Monday that the Pentagon used accusations of insubordination to justify firing three of the newspaper's staffers when the real reason …
J.D. Wolf / MeidasTouch:
Trump Says He Supports Flock Surveillance Cameras — The president acknowledged that some people view them as an infringement, but said he likes them. — Add us on — President Donald Trump said he supports Flock surveillance cameras, despite acknowledging that some people view the technology as an infringement on their privacy.
Discussion:
The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Verge, Boston.com, Forbes and The Gateway Pundit
Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal:
With 50 Days to the Midterms, It All Might Come Down to One Thing — Plus, key liabilities could impede the Democrats' momentum to retake Congress, and Trump draws controversy on trip to Ireland — Good morning. — The average cost of a gallon of gasoline hit $4.31 on Sunday.
Theodoric Meyer / Washington Post:
The Senate returns Monday. It's not clear if McConnell will be back. — The Kentucky Republican has not returned to the chamber since he suffered a fall three months ago. — Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has not appeared in the Senate since June as he recovers from a fall that his office …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Borowitz Report and Newsweek
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
How Republicans secretly got Fetterman for their convention — The biggest surprise of last week's Republican midterm convention began with an audacious request from the organizers to GOP Sen. Dave McCormick: Could he get Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, a fellow Pennsylvanian, to make an appearance?
Jalen Beckford / Politico:
Texas Republicans denounce GOP statewide candidate over xenophobic post — Prominent Texas Republicans are denouncing Bo French, a Republican nominee to join the state's railroad commission, after he made a xenophobic post describing a group of Asian American students attending a University of Texas football game as a “problem.”
Noah Berlatsky / Public Notice:
“Trump Dividend” is the new Trump Steaks — PN is supported by paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 🧠 Subscribe to PN 🧠 — “If the Republicans win, you win with us and get $5,000,” Trump bloviated during his rally-pretending-to-be-a-convention in Dallas last Wednesday.
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, HuffPost and Mediaite, more at Techmeme »
Jeff Stein / The Washington Sun:
Is the Trump Family Preparing to Cash Out on Its Own Crypto? — President Donald Trump and his three sons have taken a step that would permit them to cash out the digital “tokens” created by the family's cryptocurrency firm, intensifying concerns from ethics experts about potential conflicts of interest.
Greg Jaffe / New York Times:
Trying to Rid the Pentagon of Culture Wars, Hegseth Has Created His Own — Persistent distractions are feeding a climate of mistrust as the U.S. military faces a series of wartime issues, including shortfalls of missile interceptors. — For decades, secretaries of defense have largely sought …
Max Tani / Semafor:
Exclusive / Inside the US Treasury secretary's tense relationship with financial media — THE SCOOP — Last September, Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait got a call from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. — The secretary had been a regular on Bloomberg's TV programming …
Lisa Lerer / New York Times:
A Republican Senator Walks a Tricky Line on Tariffs as He Seeks Re-Election … Senator Dan Sullivan talks with voters at the Harvest Fest at the Palmer State Fair Ground in Alaska.Ash Adams for The New York Times — In Washington, Senator Dan Sullivan has offered reliable support …
Reuters:
Finland joins France's nuclear deterrent initiative — Finland has joined France's initiative to extend the reach of its nuclear deterrent through collaboration with partner European countries, the heads of both countries said on Monday. — In response to U.S. President Donald Trump's expressions …
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
Empire of Grift — Far-right ideologues have transformed American foreign policy into a tool of private gain and antidemocratic reaction. — in the summer of 2025, the government of Brazil suddenly found itself in a deep crisis. The Trump administration had unexpectedly imposed 50 percent tariffs …
Jade Lozada / The Washington Sun:
Trump Officials Are Selling an Economy Americans Aren't Buying. Sound Familiar? — The midterm elections are getting closer, and the Trump administration's explanations for rising inflation are getting further from what many voters and independent economists are describing.
Discussion:
Bloomberg
