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.
Discussion:
Mediaite
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:
Axios, Bloomberg, The Washington Free Beacon and NewsMax.com, more at Techmeme »
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Politico:
Inside Dems' 2028 AI strategy — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner — Good Monday morning. We're officially 50 days out from Election Day. Buckle in for the final sprint, and get in touch. — In today's Playbook ... — Can Democrats from across the spectrum unify around AI ahead of 2028?
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, Civil Discourse …, Forbes and NewsMax.com
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
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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
Katie Westwood / Politico:
Russia wanted to cow Ukraine allies with railway drone attack, says top EU diplomat — Prominent Western security officials were on a nearby train. — Russia's Sunday morning drone strike on a Warsaw-bound train near the Ukraine-Poland border was intended to push Western countries to stop …
Discussion:
Telegraph, KTVZ-TV, New York Times, BBC, Associated Press, NewsMax.com, The Gateway Pundit, The Kyiv Independent and Al Jazeera
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Associated Press:
Trump calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel, citing a global shortage
Trump calls on Ukraine to halt strikes on Russian diesel fuel, citing a global shortage
Discussion:
NBC News, American Greatness, America, America, CBS News, The Kyiv Independent, The Hill, New York Times, WTOP News, One America News Network, KTVZ-TV, Politico, Straight Arrow, MS NOW, Mediaite, Reuters, Fox News, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, HuffPost, The Gateway Pundit and New York Post
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 »
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Jasper Goodman / Politico:
Crypto's political clout meets resistance on the left
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 and Reuters, more at Techmeme »
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Bloomberg:
Trump Pushes Fed to Lower Rates Despite Pressure For a Hike
Discussion:
MS NOW, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, Semafor, Fox News, Reuters and Honolulu Star-Advertiser
Skylar Woodhouse / Bloomberg:
Trump Says He's Not Worried About Xi Calling Off Summit
Trump Says He's Not Worried About Xi Calling Off Summit
Discussion:
The Atlantic, New York Post and National Politics
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.
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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
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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.
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?
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 »
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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 and The Wrap
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 …
Greg Jaffe / New York Times:
In Hegseth's Pentagon, Top Leaders Battle Turmoil — 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 to insulate …
Anne Applebaum / The Atlantic:
MAGA Is Making the World Safe for Corruption — 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.
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, Forbes, Boston.com and The Gateway Pundit, more at Techmeme »
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
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.”
MS NOW:
Second federal judge freezes Trump mail ballot order with U.S. Supreme Court poised to weigh in — The nation's highest court already is considering the administration's appeal of an order by U.S. District Court in Boston. — A federal judge late Sunday ordered that the U.S. Postal Service …
Discussion:
The Gateway Pundit, The Independent and MeidasTouch
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 »
Norah O'Donnell / CBS News:
U.S. Air Force officer shot down in Iran says he prayed while “free-falling” to the ground behind enemy lines — The Air Force colonel needed help when he crashed over a mountainous part of Iran's desert, separated from his crewmate, the pilot of the F-15E, after being shot down by Iran in April.
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, The Gateway Pundit, RedState, Stars & Stripes, NBC News, Fox News, The Hill, KTVZ-TV, Washington Examiner and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
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 …
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.
