Top Items:
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
The Week Republicans Finally Panicked About Trump — Here's a thought experiment: try listening to the speech that Donald Trump gave, earlier this week, at the United Nations General Assembly as if you'd never heard Trump before—or, at least, not for a long while.
Discussion:
Washington Post and Politico
RELATED:
Politico:
‘We are hemorrhaging’: Cracks emerge in GOP's Florida firewall — President Donald Trump is not making it easy for Republicans in Florida to keep their firewall. — The same forces undercutting the GOP in other states — including Trump's war in Iran and ensuing high gas prices …
Discussion:
Mother Jones
Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP senators dismayed by Trump embrace of Xi after China helped Iran target US troops — Republican senators are expressing concern and dismay over President Trump's lavish welcome of Chinese President Xi Jinping to a two-day summit in Washington after it was revealed earlier this month …
Bill Scher / Washington Monthly:
This Is the Biggest Reason Why a Blue Wave Is Probably Coming — There are lots of reasons to believe Democrats are about to crush the midterm elections. Donald Trump's average job approval is below 40 percent, about 5 points lower than it was in the 2018 midterms, which were deemed a “Blue Wave.”
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
David Dayen / American Prospect:
Republicans Had 690 Days to Oppose Trump — This article was featured in the Daily Prospect newsletter. Sign up for it here. — After a notable absence, an anti-war movement has emerged to finally challenge a president over the unpopular conflict in Iran.
Politico:
Remember the Talarico — With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner — Good Friday morning.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
3 big questions as GOP nears moment of truth
3 big questions as GOP nears moment of truth
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and HuffPost
Abbie VanSickle / New York Times:
Supreme Court Allows Expansive Voter Screening Tool Ahead of Midterms — Critics of the Trump administration system to monitor the citizenship status of voters had raised alarms about privacy and improper voter purges. — The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Trump administration …
Discussion:
The Washington Sun, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, CBS News, NBC News, MS NOW and Los Angeles Times
RELATED:
Zach Schonfeld / The Hill:
Supreme Court, over liberal dissents, lets DHS overhaul immigration database for midterms — The Supreme Court cleared the way on Friday for the Trump administration to implement its overhauled immigration database, which it says is aimed at combatting voter fraud, in time for November's elections …
Discussion:
Election Law Blog, New York Post, MS NOW, Legal Insurrection, The Federalist, Courthouse News Service and New Republic
Jacob Knutson / Democracy Docket:
Supreme Court revives DHS use of flawed immigration database for voter purges
Supreme Court revives DHS use of flawed immigration database for voter purges
Discussion:
Associated Press, Reuters, NPR, Newsweek and MPR News
Orion Donovan Smith / Spokesman.com:
Patty Murray demands White House stop airing taxpayer-funded Trump ad — orionds@spokesman.com — (202) 853-2524 — WASHINGTON - Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state, the top Democrat on the Senate committee responsible for federal spending, demanded Thursday that the White House stop airing …
Discussion:
Newsweek
RELATED:
Patrick Svitek / CNN:
‘Love Me’: White House airs government-funded ad praising Trump
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Washington Sun, jec.senate.gov, CBS News, Daily Kos, New Republic, The Independent, Crooks and Liars and HuffPost
New York Times:
‘Love Me’ Ad Promotes Trump With Public Money Ahead of the Midterms
‘Love Me’ Ad Promotes Trump With Public Money Ahead of the Midterms
Discussion:
Election Law Blog, Washington Examiner, MS NOW, Slate and The Independent
Isaac Arnsdorf / Washington Post:
Trump ad airing with government funding despite law against ‘propaganda’
Trump ad airing with government funding despite law against ‘propaganda’
Discussion:
MS NOW, NBC News, Crooks and Liars, Truthout, ABC News, HuffPost and Politico, more at Mediagazer »
Mike Catalini / Associated Press:
US government foots bill for television advertisement featuring Trump's midterm messaging
US government foots bill for television advertisement featuring Trump's midterm messaging
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, The Hill and Straight Arrow
Scott Nover / Washington Post:
White House TV pool resumes coverage of Trump after CNN regains access — Networks banded together to suspend coverage after CNN was banned from the White House. CNN's access was restored by a judge Thursday morning. — Loading... Network television cameras on Friday resumed shooting …
Discussion:
The Wrap, Deadline, New Republic, The Gateway Pundit, The Hill, Mediaite, The Guardian and Truthout, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Hayley Meissner / MS NOW:
White House allows CNN back into TV pool after blocking some journalists hours earlier — The restoration of access followed a judge's order requiring the Trump administration to temporarily lift its ban on the network, MS NOW and Politico. — The Trump administration allowed CNN to resume …
Discussion:
CNN, Reuters, New York Times, The Wrap, HuffPost, Blaze Media and RedState, more at Mediagazer »
Dominick Mastrangelo / NewsNation:
Trump complains CNN, MS NOW didn't cover ‘made for Television’ Xi visit
Discussion:
The Hill, Associated Press, Bloomberg, The Wrap, Newsweek, The Status Kuo, New York Times, Deadline, Forbes, Just Security, RedState, Mediaite, The Independent, Daily Mail, KTLA, Los Angeles Times, Townhall, KSTP-TV and Newsbusters, more at Mediagazer »
Jocelyn Noveck / Associated Press:
White House TV Pool Is Operating Again After Days of Outlets Being Banned
White House TV Pool Is Operating Again After Days of Outlets Being Banned
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
New Republic:
MAGA Radio Host Humiliates Trump by Leaking Truly Brutal GOP Poll Data — Iowa radio host Steve Deace just unleashed an extraordinary social media screed. He confided that GOP pollsters have informed House Republicans that GOP +15 districts are now straight toss-ups, and GOP +10 districts are now “underwater.”
New York Times:
A Quiet ICE Surge That Unfolded ‘Everywhere All at Once’ This Summer — A review of dozens of incidents caught on camera sheds new light on a largely invisible crackdown. — The most effective escalation of President Trump's mass deportation campaign happened quietly.
Michael C. Bender / New York Times:
Justice Department Scraps Dozens of School Desegregation Cases — Critics said the changes, mostly in the South, moved the nation “back toward the Jim Crow era.” Justice Department officials said the decrees were outdated. — The Justice Department said on Thursday it had ended …
Discussion:
New Republic, US Department of Justice, CBS News and NewsMax.com, more at Mediagazer »
RELATED:
Annie Ma / Associated Press:
Trump administration moves to limit fixes for systemic racism in schools
Trump administration moves to limit fixes for systemic racism in schools
Discussion:
The Independent
Julian Mark / Washington Post:
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticizes Supreme Court's use of emergency docket — In a public appearance, Jackson said the high court's use of the emergency docket was “problematic” and called for more restraint from her colleagues when using it. — SummaryLoading...
Discussion:
MS NOW, New York Post, USA Today, The Washington Sun, New York Times and TheGrio
RELATED:
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Jackson skewers Supreme Court over emergency docket
Jackson skewers Supreme Court over emergency docket
Discussion:
Fox News, The Hill, Courthouse News Service, Reason and Law.com
James LaPorta / CBS News:
U.S. military lays groundwork for potential action around Cuba — Washington — The U.S. Army Reserve is examining whether it can provide the military's Southern Command with police forces, medical personnel and other support units within the next four months, according to an internal Army message reviewed by CBS News.
Discussion:
New York Post, New Republic and Daily Mail
Mara Hvistendahl / New York Times:
Cambridge Abandons Plans to Fully Investigate Its Hiring of Jason Arday — The professor became a flashpoint in debates over diversity efforts in higher education. — The University of Cambridge has abandoned plans to fully investigate its hiring of Jason Arday, the professor who became …
Discussion:
HotAir, The Wrap and staff.admin.cam.ac.uk
Joe Wilkins / Futurism:
Tesla Argues in Court That the N-Word Is Acceptable Under Certain Circumstances — Witnesses also report being deceived by Tesla lawyers. — Whatever special kind of brain worms have established themselves in Elon Musk's noggin appear to be spreading throughout his companies.
Discussion:
TheGrio
John Yoon / New York Times:
Trump to Appear at Events in Oklahoma and Alabama — The president announced plans to rally in deep-red states as his party makes a push for close races in battleground states. — President Trump is planning to rally in heavily Republican states over the next week as his party works …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, The Hill, Washington Post, Politico and Bloomberg
RELATED:
Phillips P. OBrien / Phillips's Newsletter:
It's Not That Xi Insults Trump Once... It's that the Chinese are actively destroying the US global position while the US president bows and scrapes — OK, I have that piece on Ukrainian concepts of ending the war ready to go. However, what we saw yesterday was so extreme in the history …
Abigail Hauslohner / Financial Times:
Iran offers US new seven-day ceasefire proposal — Foreign minister says plan could see Strait of Hormuz reopen within a week — Tehran has offered Washington a new seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and to restart broader talks to find a final resolution to the war …
Discussion:
New York Times, Associated Press, Reuters, Semafor, Al Jazeera, NewsMax.com, BOE Report and Diplomatic,
G. Elliott Morris / Strength In Numbers:
58% say the U.S. is worse off under Trump vs Biden, 24% say it's better — “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” — This old line from Ronald Reagan's 1980 campaign for president encapsulates a surprising breadth of political science on American elections.
NBC News:
Inside NBC News' polling averages: Democrats enjoy biggest lead yet in the race for Congress — Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's approval rating is at a low point for his second term. — Democrats are heading into the final stretch of the 2026 midterms with their largest lead yet …
Discussion:
The Independent, The Moderate Voice and Forbes
William Nye / Washington Examiner:
The West thinks Iran is winning the Red Sea. Trump is — The Houthis' advance doesn't mean Iran is winning. It means President Donald Trump is. — This might sound crazy compared to the popular Western narrative. In fact, the escalation exposes a decaying regime.
Discussion:
Washington Post and NewsNation
Ines Chomnalez / Politico:
‘Pink Slime’ Is Infecting AI Chatbots Ahead of the Midterms … It's no secret that AI has become an explosive factor in American politics. Even before the latest concerns that AI poses existential risks to humanity, many people had soured on the rapid growth of data centers used to support the technology.
Gavin Blackburn / Euronews:
Finland and Sweden scramble Quick Reaction Alert jets to intercept Russian aircraft — European countries have been on high alert for any Russian interference, with fears that Moscow could target Kyiv's Western backers as the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine drags on into its fifth year.
Associated Press:
Man who was shot during 2024 Trump campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, has died — James Copenhaver, one of three campaign rally attendees shot in 2024 during an assassination attempt on then-candidate Donald Trump, has died in Pittsburgh, his lawyer said Thursday. He was 76.
Discussion:
The Federalist, Straight Arrow, [your]NEWS, CBS News, Fox News, KEYT-TV, Washington Examiner, WTOP News, NewsNation and New York Post
The Hill:
Internal DOJ charts show agency bleeding staff as caseloads surge — A drastically diminished Justice Department workforce is struggling to keep up with its civil side caseloads, according to documents obtained by The Hill and NewsNation, The Hill's sister network.
