Top Items:
Wall Street Journal:
Jeffrey Epstein Appeared to Threaten Bill Gates Over Microsoft Co-Founder's Affair With Russian Bridge Player — The disgraced financier was trying to set up a philanthropic fund that he hoped would include the billionaire as an anchor donor — Jeffrey Epstein discovered that Bill Gates …
Washington Post:
As hold on Bakhmut slips, Ukrainian forces push to encircle city — KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces have been reduced to small footholds in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which despite its limited strategic importance has emerged as the war's bloodiest battlefield.
Discussion:
The Hill, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera and Raw Story
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Wall Street Journal:
Brutal Battle for Bakhmut Leaves Russia With an Uncertain Victory — Nine months of attrition warfare cost both sides dearly — The nine-month battle for the small Ukrainian city of Bakhmut effectively came to an end on Sunday, as Russian forces finally captured the last significant Ukrainian strongholds on its western edge.
Discussion:
Radio Free Europe/Radio …, Financial Times, Politico and NBC News
Washington Post:
Zelensky says destroyed Bakhmut now lives ‘only in our hearts’
Zelensky says destroyed Bakhmut now lives ‘only in our hearts’
Discussion:
New York Times, France 24, New York Daily News, NPR, Radio Free Europe/Radio …, NBC News, Politico, The Hill, NewsNation, Fox News, Voice of America, Associated Press, TASS, Breitbart, Al Jazeera and New York Post
Ezra Klein / New York Times:
Liberals Are Persuading Themselves of a Debt Ceiling Plan That Won't Work — The debt ceiling might be the single dumbest feature of American law. Congress decides to spend money and then, later, schedules a separate vote on whether the government will pay its bills.
Discussion:
Robert Reich and National Review
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New York Times:
Here's What's Dividing Republicans and Biden in Debt-Limit Talks
Here's What's Dividing Republicans and Biden in Debt-Limit Talks
Discussion:
Voice of America, National Review, Los Angeles Times, Insider, NBC News, Mother Jones and Fortune
Jonathan Lemire / Politico:
Biden ratchets up the pressure as the debt ceiling fight strains his presidency
Biden ratchets up the pressure as the debt ceiling fight strains his presidency
Discussion:
Fox News, Reuters, One America News Network, New York Post, The Daily Caller, RedState, The Western Journal, NPR, Washington Examiner and Mediaite
Bill Whitaker / CBS News:
Weapons contractors hitting Department of Defense with inflated prices for planes, submarines, missiles — With the U.S. supplying billions-of-dollars of munitions to Ukraine and growing tensions in the Taiwan Strait, some Pentagon generals are sounding alarms about the dwindling supply of U.S. weapons …
Kellen Browning / New York Times:
Uber's Diversity Chief Put on Leave After Complaints of Insensitivity — The executive hosted sessions about race and being a white woman that were titled “Don't Call Me Karen,” prompting an employee uproar. — Uber has placed its longtime head of diversity, equity and inclusion on leave …
Gillian Brockell / Washington Post:
Ron DeSantis's context-free history book vanished online. We got a copy. — In the lead-up to this spring's release of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's book “The Courage to Be Free,” a funny thing happened on the internet: His first book, published in 2011 before his political career began, disappeared.
Herb Scribner / Washington Post:
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO booed at Boston University commencement speech over writers strike — The Writers Guild of America said it planned to picket during the speech — Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav faced boos and jeers from audience members during his Boston University commencement speech …
Discussion:
Fox News, NPR, Mediaite, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, TMZ.com, Associated Press, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Fortune, The Wrap, The A.V. Club, Deadline and Gizmodo
Jennifer Hansler / CNN:
Exclusive: Paul Whelan tells CNN he's confident ‘wheels are turning’ toward his release — Paul Whelan, an American who is wrongfully detained in Russia, told CNN on Sunday that he feels confident that his case is a priority for the United States government but wishes it could be resolved faster.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, Politico, Alternet.org and Bloomberg
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Why was this massive Trump scandal hiding in plain sight for 28 months? — It's remarkable, in hindsight, that Donald Trump even showed up for work during the last week of his twisted 45th presidency in January 2021. After all, his fantasies that some sort of coup could overturn …
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Sophia Cai / Axios:
Trump's 2025 vision, revealed
Hannah Knowles / Washington Post:
DeSantis keeps abortion comments brief at antiabortion group's gala — DeSantis spent about 20 seconds on abortion restrictions during a 40-minute address to a gala for a major advocate of Florida's new six-week ban — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis discussed abortion only briefly during …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Mother Jones, New York Times and Politico
Ben Smith / Semafor:
Ron DeSantis shut out the media. That's changing. — The presidential campaign-in-waiting and super PAC supporting Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are trying to warm up the governor's cold war with the journalists who cover him. — DeSantis had taken apparent pride in a combative operation …
Discussion:
NBC News, Financial Times, Political Wire and WFLA-TV
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Thune, No. 2 Senate Republican, set to endorse Tim Scott's presidential bid — The minority whip will appear when Scott launches his campaign on Monday, and is making good on his hopes of turning the party away from former President Donald Trump. — Sen. John Thune, the Senate's No. 2 Republican …
Discussion:
The Messenger, Washington Post, The Hill, Breitbart and CNN
Mike Freeman / USA Today:
Dodgers fail miserably, crumble under pressure by disinviting Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence — Before we discuss the remarkably cowardly move by the Los Angeles Dodgers, where they crumbled under pressure and disinvited the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence from their Pride Night on June 16 …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice and ABC7
New York Times:
30 Tons of Explosive Chemicals Lost During Rail Shipment — The chemical, ammonium nitrate, is relatively harmless by itself but has caused deadly explosions in industrial accidents and has been used in targeted attacks. — About 60,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a chemical used …
Discussion:
Raw Story and New York Post
U.S. Customs and Border Protection:
Death in Custody of 8-Year-Old in Harlingen, Texas — CBP's Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is investigating the tragic death of an eight-year-old child in U.S. Border Patrol Custody which occurred on May 17, 2023, in Harlingen, TX. Consistent with agency policy and CBP's commitment …
Discussion:
Associated Press, The Messenger and CBS News
Associated Press:
Back in hoodies and gym shorts, Fetterman tackles Senate life after depression treatment — Before Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman checked himself in to the hospital for clinical depression in February, he walked the halls of the Senate stone-faced and dressed in formal suits.
Discussion:
Fox News, Twitchy, Newsbusters, Outside the Beltway and Breitbart
Bernard-Henri Lévy / Wall Street Journal:
Put Ukraine on the U.N. Security Council — Russia's membership has no legal basis and should be transferred. — Tap For Sound — In Vladimir Putin's war against Ukraine, one of his weapons is Russia's status as a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, which entails the power to block any resolution.
Discussion:
Politico
Washington Post:
Japan's unlikely venue for G-7 discussions: A website beloved by anime fans — HIROSHIMA, Japan — The gathering of world leaders here has attracted an unlikely audience online: Japanese youths glued to more than 72 hours of summitry and offering real-time commentary on a livestreaming site popular among anime fans.
Luz Lazo / Washington Post:
C. Boyden Gray, White House counsel to President G.H.W. Bush, dies at 80 — The corporate lawyer was later influential in shepherding Republican judicial nominees at the highest level — C. Boyden Gray, a patrician conservative lawyer who served as White House counsel to President George H.W. Bush …
Discussion:
CNN and New York Times
Susan Stubson / New York Times:
What Christian Nationalism Has Done to My State and My Faith Is a Sin — CASPER, Wyo. — I first saw it while working the rope line at a monster-truck rally during the 2016 campaign by my husband, Tim, for Wyoming's lone congressional seat. As Tim and I and our boys made our way down the line …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, The Dispatch and Raw Story