Top Items:
Washington Post:
Hegseth wanted Eisenhower's globe for his office. His staff broke it. — Photos obtained by The Post show a gash in the World War II-era artifact that resulted from a botched relocation attempt inside the Pentagon. — SummaryLoading... It was early this year when Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth wanted to move the world.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, The Hill, MS NOW, Forbes, The Independent, The Guardian, Washington Examiner, The Parnas Perspective, Eschaton, Mediaite and New Republic
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Called Musk and Asked Him to Lift Ukraine Starlink Restrictions — Military-grade system appeared to be working more normally on Thursday, soon after the call — WASHINGTON—President Trump called Elon Musk on Wednesday and asked him to lift restrictions on a military-grade version …
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Paul Krugman:
It's Time to Take Starlink Away from Elon Musk — Did Elon Musk decide by personal fiat to cut off Ukraine's access to vital communications? Although Musk claims that the decision was made by Trump, according to the Wall Street Journal, some U.S. officials state that Musk did indeed take it upon himself to pull the plug on Ukraine.
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog, The Spectator, Military.com, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Reuters, Althouse and twitchy.com
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Trump defends Ramaswamy ad with Acton's estranged mom after bipartisan criticism … President Donald Trump on Thursday defended a controversial campaign ad by Vivek Ramaswamy featuring the estranged mother of Amy Acton, his Democratic opponent in the Ohio gubernatorial race, calling Acton a liar.
Discussion:
New York Times, Bloomberg, NBC News, CBS News, The Hill, MS NOW, Wall Street Journal, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, ABC News, Politico, TMZ.com, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The Daily Signal, Erick Erickson's Show Notes, CNN, Mediaite, Scripps News, Dr. Amy Acton for Governor, New York Post, FOX 26 Houston, The Independent, KIFI-TV, MeidasTouch and Daily Mail
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Julie Carr Smyth / Associated Press:
Republican Gov. Mike DeWine denounces Ramaswamy ad featuring Democrat Amy Acton's estranged mother — Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has denounced a controversial ad featuring the estranged mother of Dr. Amy Acton, taking sides with the Democratic candidate for governor and former member …
Discussion:
The Guardian, Media Matters for America, CNN, The Washington Sun, The Hill, The Statehouse News Bureau, NBC News, Associated Press, Los Angeles Times, The Nation, Washington Examiner, Newsweek, MS NOW, The Independent, NewsMax.com, New Republic, NPR, Politico, Grabien, Mediaite, Toledo Blade, PBS NewsHour, HuffPost, New York Times and CBS News
Judd Legum / Popular Information:
The corporate cash behind Vivek Ramaswamy's “despicable” TV ad
Discussion:
New Republic, Vindicator, Daily Kos, HuffPost, Deseret News, PolitiFact and The Hill
Will Sommer / The Bulwark:
MAGA Media Learns to Love Vile Vivek Ramaswamy Ad
MAGA Media Learns to Love Vile Vivek Ramaswamy Ad
Discussion:
Newsweek, Talking Points Memo, The Hill, The Independent, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Blaze Media and WSYX
Alex Isenstadt / Axios:
“Stop whining”: What Vance's take on Ohio ad flap means for 2028
“Stop whining”: What Vance's take on Ohio ad flap means for 2028
Discussion:
The Hill, Washington Examiner, MeidasTouch, CBS News, Ohio Capital Journal, Bloomberg, Forbes, The Wrap, France 24, Adam Kinzinger, The Independent, Denver Gazette, New Republic, Straight Arrow, Mediaite, NBC News, Honolulu Star-Advertiser, The Washington Sun, PoliticusUSA, National Politics and Newsweek
Matthew Cole / Vanity Fair:
The Art of the Deal: Jared Kushner's Hacked Phone Revealed His Secret Negotiations—Including More Than $700 Million in Transfers — An exclusive excerpt from Princes and Thieves: Jared Kushner and Mohamed bin Zayed's Secret Plot to Remake the Middle East examines how bank accounts linked …
Discussion:
New Republic and Lawyers, Guns & Money
New York Times:
Justice Dept. Opens Inquiry Into Corey Lewandowski — The details of the inquiry remain unclear, but it is one of the rare instances in which a Trump ally or appointee has been investigated for potential wrongdoing during the president's second term. — The Justice Department has opened …
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Wall Street Journal:
Justice Department Reviewing Allegations Against Corey Lewandowski — The inquiry is one of the first in Trump's second term to target someone close to the president — WASHINGTON—The Justice Department is examining allegations that Corey Lewandowski profited off his top position …
Discussion:
New York Post, The Washington Sun, Washington Examiner, CBS News, The Gateway Pundit, Talking Points Memo, VINnews and Mediaite
Mary Radcliffe / FiftyPlusOne:
More pollster funny business uncovered by FiftyPlusOne — A shady pollster from sunny California just disappeared from the internet, a few days after FiftyPlusOne asked to verify its data — Mary Radcliffe, G. Elliott Morris, Cooper Burton, and FiftyPlusOne
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, Washington Post, Legal Insurrection, Washington Examiner, Talking Points Memo and Mediaite
NBC News:
Blanche won't rule out DOJ post-election action in a ‘doomsday’ scenario — The attorney general's comments come in the middle of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to zero in on what elections experts say is a relatively rare phenomenon of voting by noncitizens.
Discussion:
New Republic and The Gateway Pundit
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Patrick Marley / Washington Post:
Judge blocks DHS investigations into noncitizen voting, citing flawed data
Discussion:
Fox News, NPR, New Republic, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, KQED, RedState, Democracy Docket, Protect Democracy, CBS News, KIFI-TV and Courthouse News Service
Ajani Stella / Democracy Docket:
Todd Blanche won't rule out trying to block states from certifying election results
Todd Blanche won't rule out trying to block states from certifying election results
Discussion:
The Independent and New Republic
Mark Osborne / CBS News:
Stephen Hubbard lands back in U.S. after release from Russian prison — Stephen Hubbard, the Michigan native who spent four years wrongfully imprisoned in Russia before being released on Wednesday, landed back in the U.S. late Wednesday, according to President Trump.
Discussion:
The Kyiv Independent, NewsMax.com, Associated Press, The Hill, The Independent, Townhall and BBC
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Harvard University:
Harvard Youth Poll — Introduction — Young Americans are approaching the 2026 midterm elections under financial pressure and deeply concerned about the country's future, with those most likely to vote strongly favoring Democrats, according to a new national poll released by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Daily Caller News Foundation, Newsweek and Axios
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David Fischer / Associated Press:
Lawyers for Trump, BBC battle over depositions in president's $10 billion defamation case — Lawyers for the BBC and for Donald Trump were tussling in court Thursday over whether former special counsel Jack Smith should be deposed in the president's $10 billion defamation case against the broadcaster …
Discussion:
Axios, New Republic, CNBC, CBS News, Deadline, The Gateway Pundit, PoliticusUSA, Associated Press, The Wrap, MS NOW, The Hill, Mediaite and Toledo Blade, more at Mediagazer »
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NBC News:
Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas charged in public corruption case — The 82-year-old surrendered to authorities to face charges Thursday, the Justice Department said. She was charged along with a half-dozen others. — Federal authorities on Thursday charged a prominent Virginia Democrat …
Discussion:
Straight Arrow, Associated Press, CNN, Blue Virginia, Politico, Fox News, CNBC, Truthout, New York Post, HotAir, The Daily Wire, Townhall, CBS News, FOX 9 Minneapolis-St. Paul, RedState, New York Times, The Daily Signal, The Gateway Pundit, Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, Courthouse News Service, TheGrio, Clayton Cramer, Mediaite, Ace of Spades HQ and Grabien
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Madison Mills / Axios:
Scoop: Unvetted AI agents are accessing U.S. bank accounts — Major U.S. banks are detecting unauthorized third-party AI agents operating inside customer accounts, with some agents attempting to take actions that appear to be independent of user instructions, sources tell Axios.
Discussion:
Reuters, Euro Weekly News, The Daily Caller, TechCrunch, Mother Jones, Gizmodo, The Daily Hodl, NewsMax.com, Mediaite, Marcus on AI and New Republic, more at Techmeme »
Liz Essley Whyte / Wall Street Journal:
Calley Means, a Top RFK Jr. Adviser, Quits Trump Administration — Kennedy ally focused on ‘Make America Healthy Again’ initiatives was frustrated by White House delays in policymaking to promote healthy eating — A top ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is departing …
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Christina Jewett / New York Times:
Key Trump Health Adviser Resigns Ahead of Midterm Elections
Key Trump Health Adviser Resigns Ahead of Midterm Elections
Discussion:
Axios, KIFI-TV, STAT and The American Conservative
Rohan Goswami / Semafor:
Elon Musk makes $1 billion investment in Ellison's Skydance — The Scoop — Elon Musk has invested roughly $1 billion in Skydance, according to people familiar with the matter, providing a much needed financial injection as the company looks to cut costs and bolster its stock price.
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Gizmodo, Deadline, The Wrap, TechCrunch, Forbes, The Hollywood Reporter, NewsMax.com and TheDesk.net, more at Mediagazer »
New Republic:
How the Consulting Class Is Eating the Democratic Party — Your phone buzzes with a frantic text message. “DEMOCRACY IS ON THE LINE.” It's not the first time you've gotten a fundraising text like this from the Democratic Party and its candidates. Nor the first time you've rolled your eyes.
Todd Spangler / Variety:
Trump Says Google CEO Rejected His Request to Rename Atlantic Ocean on Google Maps — President Donald Trump, who has already renamed two bodies of water after America, said he would like to redub the Atlantic Ocean as well — but that the CEO of Google pushed back on the idea.
Discussion:
Gizmodo, Mashable, The Hill, Business Insider, The Verge, The Independent and Althouse
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Hafiz Rashid / New Republic:
Trump Tried to Get Google to Rename Atlantic Ocean After Him
Trump Tried to Get Google to Rename Atlantic Ocean After Him
Discussion:
Washington Post, more at Techmeme »
MeidasTouch:
“So Much Worse Than People Realize”: Never-Before-Seen Images Reveal Damage at U.S. Bases as Troops Describe Being Abandoned — Service members, contractors, and military families share photos, videos, and firsthand accounts of the Iran war that they say the Pentagon has kept from the American public
Discussion:
The Parnas Perspective and The Guardian
Demetri Sevastopulo / Financial Times:
'I don't lose': Rahm Emanuel makes an early pitch for the White House — Barack Obama's famously foul-mouthed former chief of staff thinks he has a message to win over America — From his days in Congress or mayor of Chicago to his spell as US ambassador to Japan, Rahm Emanuel does not sit still.
Nate Silver / Silver Bulletin:
Fake polls are a real problem — Still Counting Episode 7 is ready. This episode is a little bit on the longer side. The original plan was to tell the story of the 2026 campaign through the ubiquitous ads that you're undoubtedly seeing if you're in a swing state.
ProPublica:
Ballot Rejections Soared in Rural Counties After USPS Reduced Mail Service — In early August, election workers north of Spokane, Washington, went across the street to the post office to check for late mail-in ballots. It was three days after the primary and they were expecting no more than a few dozen.
Discussion:
Washington Post, New Republic, Associated Press and Denver Gazette
Will Oremus / The Atlantic:
America Is About to See What Happens When Voters Turn to AI — Chatbots are adding a new layer of chaos ahead of the midterms. — If you were wondering whether AI could make the midterms even more confusing, here's one data point: Several people who thought they were donating …
Discussion:
New York Times
Paul Waldman / Public Notice:
The end of the Trump rally — Public Notice is proudly celebrating 5 years of independent journalism. Our coverage is possible thanks for paid subscribers. Become one ⬇️ — 📈 Subscribe to PN 📈 — As election day approached in 2024, Donald Trump got a little wistful.
Claire Heddles / Miami Herald:
How Byron and Erika Donalds' wealth hinges on millions in state education dollars … Five state-funded charter schools have paid more than $30 million over the last four years to two private companies run by Erika Donalds, whose husband is Florida's Republican candidate for governor …
Spectrum News NY1:
City Council passes ban on horse carriages — BY ASSOCIATED PRESS AND SPECTRUM NEWS NY1 MANHATTAN — The New York City Council passed legislation Thursday that would phase out Central Park's horse-drawn carriage industry by June 2028. — The bill, supported by Mayor Zohran Mamdani …
Discussion:
Bloomberg, Washington Examiner, The Hill, New York Times, Fox News, City & State New York, Gothamist, Associated Press and abc7NY
Emmet Fraizer / The Nation:
The Fall of Scientific American The Fall of “Scientific American” — When the beloved science publication got too political, its corporate owners stepped in. Now its future is uncertain. — Pocket — In March of 2026, in a nondescript, 46th-floor office overlooking lower Manhattan …

