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 …
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:
Associated Press, Politico, NBC News, CNN and Human Events
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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:
Al Jazeera, Raw Story and Associated Press
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:
National Review, Washington Post and The Messenger
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Olivia Beavers / Politico:
Biden and McCarthy set to meet again to try to close distance on debt
Biden and McCarthy set to meet again to try to close distance on debt
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CBS News, Washington Examiner and ABC News
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 …
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.
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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.
Sophia Cai / Axios:
Trump's 2025 vision, revealed — Former President Trump's second-term governing plans are coming into clearer focus, as he lays out a vision for a dramatic expansion of federal power — particularly the presidency. … - Such pardons would effectively nullify what Attorney General Merrick Garland …
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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:
Washington Post, The Hill, Washington Examiner, CNN, Breitbart, The Messenger and Fox News
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:
Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, Mediaite, Variety, TMZ.com, The Hill, The Daily Beast, Deadline, The Wrap, The A.V. Club, Fortune and Gizmodo
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
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
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:
Political Wire, The Hill, Chicago Tribune and CNN
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:
Twitchy, Outside the Beltway, Newsbusters, Breitbart and BizPac Review
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 and Raw Story
CNN:
NAACP issues travel advisory for Florida, saying the state is ‘openly hostile toward African Americans’ under Gov. DeSantis' administration — Another advocacy group is warning people of color about traveling to Florida - but for different reasons. — The NAACP issued a travel advisory for the state …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Rolling Stone, New York Post, USA Today, Alternet.org, Breitbart, RedState, Trending Politics Conservative, New York Daily News, NBC News, Vanity Fair, ABC News, The Gateway Pundit, HotAir, One America News Network, CBS News, Washington Times, The Post Millennial, Washington Press, WFLA-TV, Insider, BizPac Review, Louder With Crowder, National Review, The Messenger, HuffPost, The Daily Beast, abc7NY, Just The News, NAACP and The Hill
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, Bloomberg, Politico and Alternet.org
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:
Vanity Fair and Politico
Jim Daley / The TRiiBE:
‘Fox and Friends’ staged Naperville interview criticizing Mayor Brandon Johnson — The morning of Mayor Brandon Johnson's inauguration, “Fox and Friends” aired a live segment from a Naperville diner featuring two Black men whom Fox's correspondent said happened to be from Chicago.
David Folkenflik / NPR:
Federal inquiry details abuses of power by Trump's CEO over Voice of America — On the day after his confirmation as chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media in June 2020, Michael Pack met with a career employee to discuss which senior leaders at the agency and the Voice of America …
Discussion:
Rolling Stone and Alternet.org, more at Mediagazer »
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 …