Top Items:
Miami Herald:
New victims come forward as Epstein asks to be released from jail to his Manhattan mansion — At least a dozen new victims have come forward to claim they were sexually abused by Jeffrey Epstein even as the multimillionaire money manager tries to convince a federal judge to allow him to await …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, Rolling Stone, Florida Politics, CNN, The Week, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post, Slate and CBC News
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New York Times:
Acosta to Resign as Trump's Labor Secretary After Epstein Plea Deal — WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that R. Alexander Acosta, his embattled secretary of labor, will resign following controversy over his handling of a sex crimes case involving the financier Jeffrey E. Epstein …
Discussion:
BostonGlobe.com, Financial Times, checkyourfact.com, Political Wire, New York Post, Mediaite, Althouse, The Slot, Daily Kos, Washington Post and Fox News
Michelle Celarier / New York Magazine:
Real Hedge-Fund Managers Have Some Thoughts on What Epstein Was Actually Doing — Long before Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to prostitution charges in Florida more than a decade ago, his fellow Palm Beach resident and hedge-fund manager Douglas Kass was intrigued by the local gossip about his neighbor.
Discussion:
Townhall, New York Times, Slate and Instapundit
Anita Kumar / Politico:
Alexander Acosta stepping down as Labor secretary — Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is stepping down from his post, just two days after he held a news conference to defend a plea deal that he brokered for wealthy sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a U.S. attorney in Florida more than a decade ago.
Laura Bassett / GQ:
When Does America Reckon with the Gravity of Donald Trump's Alleged Rapes? — In light of the new legal scrutiny of Jeffrey Epstein, it's time to re-examine all the sexual misconduct allegations against the president. — For more than a decade, it's been no secret that multimillionaire …
Discussion:
New York Times and Page Six
Jordyn Phelps / ABC News:
Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid controversy over Epstein plea deal, new alleged victims come forward
Trump Labor Secretary Alex Acosta resigns amid controversy over Epstein plea deal, new alleged victims come forward
Discussion:
CNBC, Breitbart and The Resurgent
CNN:
Jeffrey Epstein allegedly hired private investigators and engaged in a campaign of intimidation …
Jeffrey Epstein allegedly hired private investigators and engaged in a campaign of intimidation …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, fox5sandiego.com and New York Times
Adam Edelman / NBC News:
Trump Labor Secretary Acosta resigning after criticism over Epstein plea deal in sex case
Trump Labor Secretary Acosta resigning after criticism over Epstein plea deal in sex case
Discussion:
Daily Wire and The New Neo
Ryan Devereaux / The Intercept:
Border Patrol Chief Carla Provost Was a Member of Secret Facebook Group — When news broke that thousands of current and former Border Patrol agents were members of a secret Facebook group filled with racist, vulgar, and sexist content, Carla Provost, chief of the agency, was quick to respond.
Discussion:
Splinter, Daily Kos, Shareblue Media, VICE, The Outline and GovExec.com
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Dara Lind / ProPublica:
Border Patrol Agents Are Passing Around A Commemorative Coin Mocking Care for Migrant Kids — ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up for ProPublica's Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox as soon as they are published.
Quartz:
This framed photo of Tomi Lahren hangs in US Border Patrol headquarters — A large, framed photo of far-right commentator Tomi Lahren posing with US Border Patrol officials hangs prominently on the wall of the agency's headquarters in Washington, DC. A person with access to the area described …
Jonathan Swan / Axios:
Trump's cave on Census stuns allies — Top figures in the conservative legal community are stunned and depressed by President Trump's cave in his fight for a citizenship question on the 2020 Census. — The state of play: Sources say Leonard Leo and other Federalist Society stalwarts …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Rolling Stone, The White House, The Week, Mediaite, The Last Refuge, Associated Press and ABC News
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Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Acosta is gone as Trump retreats again — Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta and President Trump bowed to reality, the reality that retaining the man who cut a secret plea deal with a “monster” (as Republicans described him) sex offender was untenable. Acosta, as many anticipated after his heartless …
Discussion:
The Week
Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
Barr does his best to spin Trump's census loss
Barr does his best to spin Trump's census loss
Discussion:
Slate, electionlawblog.org and Dispatches From the …
Natasha Bertrand / Politico:
'This wasn't just a briefing': Pompeo grilled CIA analysts on Russia findings — Attorney General Bill Barr has ordered an investigation into whether the CIA was correct to determine that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to boost Donald Trump during the 2016 election.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
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Scott Wong / The Hill:
CBC lawmakers rip Justice Democrats for targeting black lawmakers for primaries — Congressional Black Caucus members are furious at Justice Democrats, accusing the outside progressive group aligned with firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) of trying to oust lawmakers of color, specifically African-American lawmakers.
Discussion:
Politico, RedState, Hot Air, The Daily Caller and Eschaton
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John Gage / Washington Examiner:
‘Very respectful of women of color’: Kamala Harris sides with Pelosi over AOC
John Bresnahan / Politico:
Mueller testimony delayed by one week — Former special counsel Robert Mueller's highly-anticipated Capitol Hill testimony will be delayed one week under a tentative arrangement he reached with House Democrats, according to multiple sources briefed on the discussions.
Discussion:
CNN, Townhall, Washington Post, Vox, Talking Points Memo, The Gateway Pundit and The Daily Caller
Holly Otterbein / Politico:
Sanders and Warren voters have astonishingly little in common — PHILADELPHIA — Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders are two of the most ideologically aligned candidates in the Democratic primary — both left-wing populists who rail against a “rigged” economic system.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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New York Times:
‘This Is Not a Find-a-Friend Contest’: Bernie Sanders's Resolute Campaign Style
‘This Is Not a Find-a-Friend Contest’: Bernie Sanders's Resolute Campaign Style
Discussion:
NBC News and Wall Street Journal
Mark Murray / NBC News:
NBC/WSJ poll: Biden, Warren top 2020 Democratic field
NBC/WSJ poll: Biden, Warren top 2020 Democratic field
Discussion:
Politico, FiveThirtyEight, Political Wire, Breitbart, Bloomberg, Fox News and The Week
Caleb Howe / Mediaite:
Trump Says It's Not Free Speech to ‘Write Bad’ About ‘Something Good’: That's ‘Dangerous Speech’ — President Donald Trump had a lot to say at the White House Social Media Summit on Thursday, including offering his take on what does and does not constitute free speech.
Discussion:
Slate, No More Mister Nice Blog, Patterico's Pontifications and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »
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Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
President Trump Says Only Trump Supporters Deserve Free Speech
President Trump Says Only Trump Supporters Deserve Free Speech
Discussion:
Hullabaloo
Susan B. Glasser / New Yorker:
“Congratulations Again, Mr. President”: Trump and the Co-opting of the G.O.P. — He is a Twitter cry baby, but it's more calculated than it looks. — Donald Trump hates criticism but loves to criticize. As President, he's done more of it than perhaps any of his predecessors.
Discussion:
Spectator USA and Daily Kos
NBC New York:
R. Kelly Arrested on Federal Sex Trafficking Charges: Law Enforcement Officials — The 52-year-old was arrested by NYPD detectives and Homeland Security Investigators on sex trafficking charges — Singer R. Kelly has been arrested in Chicago on federal sex crime charges, according two law enforcement sources.
Discussion:
New York Times, Fox News, The Federalist Papers, CNBC, Rolling Stone, The Daily Caller, Chicago Sun-Times, Essence, Consequence of Sound and The Root
Eliana Johnson / Politico:
Why Pence spiked a Trump judge — In January 2018, Judge Michael Kanne received an unexpected call from the White House. Kanne, an Indiana native who sits on the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, was then 79 years old. — Under leadership of Don McGahn, the White House counsel's office …
Washington Post:
Turkey takes first shipment of Russian S-400 air-defense system in defiance of U.S. and NATO warnings — ISTANBUL — Turkey has begun taking delivery of Russia's S-40 air-defense system, the Turkish Defense Ministry said Friday, completing a deal that has threatened its standing in the NATO alliance …
Discussion:
Foreign Policy Research … and UPI
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Yashar Ali / HuffPost:
Fox News Host Tyrus Sent Lewd Text Messages To Colleague: ‘Pull Your Boobs Out’ — Fox News split up Tyrus and his former Fox Nation co-host, Britt McHenry, after he sent her the messages. But he still works at the network. — Tyrus, a Fox News contributor and a host on the network's digital channel …
Hunter Walker / Yahoo News:
Sebastian Gorka at the center of Rose Garden ruckus following Trump event — WASHINGTON — It was an unusual spectacle, even by the unconventional standards of the Trump administration. After President Trump invited a group of right-wing and fringe media figures to the White House for a …
ABC7:
CA lawmakers pass bill requiring Trump, presidential candidates to release tax returns — SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KABC) — California legislation that would require presidential and state gubernatorial candidates to release their tax returns in order to appear on the state's ballot cleared a significant hurdle …
Robert Burns / Associated Press:
Pentagon in its longest-ever stretch of leadership limbo — WASHINGTON (AP) — When he resigned as defense secretary last December, Jim Mattis thought it might take two months to install a successor. That seemed terribly long at the time. — Seven months later, the U.S. still …
Discussion:
The Week
Playboy:
If we cannot recognize the fool in the rain is merely a fool standing in the rain spouting nonsense, then we will be the ones excised. — Words have a fluid meaning in Trump's mind. Communication is not based on facts, but feelings and words. His Fourth of July speech in D.C. thus was the perfect speech for our times.
Discussion:
Reason