Top Items:
New York Times:
Navy Secretary John Phelan Is Leaving the Pentagon and the Trump Administration — John Phelan is leaving the Pentagon after months of tension with Pete Hegseth and other Pentagon leaders. The tumult comes as the Navy has been engaged in war with Iran. — Navy Secretary John Phelan …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Axios, UPI, GB News and Raw Story
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Wall Street Journal:
John Phelan Out as U.S. Navy Secretary — Hung Cao, currently undersecretary for the Navy, will take over on an acting basis — John Phelan has left his position as U.S. Navy secretary, the Pentagon announced Wednesday evening. — His departure was revealed in a social-media post by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell.
Associated Press:
Pentagon says Navy Secretary John Phelan is leaving, in latest departure of a top defense leader — The Pentagon announced Wednesday that the Navy's top civilian official, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan, is leaving his job. In a statement posted to social media, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell …
Discussion:
CNBC, ABC News, Washington Times, NBC News, The Daily Caller, Fox News, The Post Millennial, Mediaite and Joe.My.God.
Jennifer Jacobs / CBS News:
Iran's military more capable than Trump administration is publicly acknowledging, sources say
Discussion:
Breitbart and New Republic
Washington Post:
John Phelan forced out as Navy secretary after 13 months
John Phelan forced out as Navy secretary after 13 months
Discussion:
The Hill, Defense One, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, Charleston Daily Mail, Breitbart, CBS News, Federal News Network, Joe.My.God. and NewsMax.com
Matthew Adams / Stars & Stripes:
John Phelan out as Navy secretary
John Phelan out as Navy secretary
Discussion:
Daily Caller News Foundation, RedState, KDFX-TV, The Gateway Pundit and Breaking Defense
Emily Goodin / New York Post:
Trump replacing Navy secretary in major shakeup as Strait of Hormuz blockade rages
Trump replacing Navy secretary in major shakeup as Strait of Hormuz blockade rages
Discussion:
American Greatness, NewsMax.com, Raw Story and CBS News
Winston Rogers / WJLA-TV:
Virginia judge blocks redistricting referendum from being certified — ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — A Virginia judge blocked the state from certifying the results of Tuesday's congressional map referendum, deeming the referendum and the bill that triggered it as unconstitutional, according to a judge's order issued Wednesday.
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Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Are Worried the Redistricting Fight Is Backfiring — After a victory in Virginia, some analysts say Democrats may pick up more seats in Congress following the nationwide redistricting battle — Republicans are increasingly worried that a battle President Trump started last summer …
Discussion:
Associated Press, NOTUS, Washington Examiner and NBC News
Greg Sargent / New Republic:
How Trump Accidentally Handed Dems Their Big Win in Virginia — On Monday night, just before Virginia voters approved a referendum Tuesday that will allow Democrats to draw up to four new House seats before the midterms, Donald Trump captured the true essence of this situation in a single sentence.
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Atlantic, The Gateway Pundit, Newsbusters, New York Times, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Issues & Insights, Salon, Ace of Spades HQ, The Guardian, CNN, The Wrap, NPR, Democracy Docket, MS NOW, RedState, The Mahablog, Newsweek, Washington Post, The Bulwark, CBS News, Political Wire and Mock Paper Scissors
Politico:
Republicans air misgivings about redistricting push after Virginia vote
Discussion:
MS NOW, Talking Points Memo, Washington Examiner, The Federalist and New Republic
Riley Rogerson / Politico:
Hakeem Jeffries finally gets a signature win
Hakeem Jeffries finally gets a signature win
Discussion:
Fox News, IJR, RedState, NewsMax.com, Roll Call, Florida Politics, The Independent and NPR
Michael S. Schmidt / New York Times:
F.B.I. Said to Have Investigated Times Reporter After Article on Patel's Girlfriend — The bureau said it is not pursuing a case, but the scrutiny is an example of the Trump administration weighing whether to criminalize routine news gathering. — The F.B.I. began investigating …
Discussion:
Raw Story, New York Sun, The Independent, Associated Press, The Wrap, Charleston Daily Mail and Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »
Shawn Cohen / Charleston Daily Mail:
Secret ‘sugar daddy’ sex scandal explodes inside Trump's counterterrorism HQ: Read glamorous senior aide's voracious text messages, itemized ‘trophies’... and her utterly shameless justification — A top-level Trump counterterrorism official is under investigation amid claims she actively looks …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Independent, New York Post, Metro.co.uk and The Gateway Pundit
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Josh Christenson / New York Post:
DHS bigwig put on leave after ex-boyfriend accuses glitzy terror official of $40K sugar baby scheme
Discussion:
TMZ.com
Janna Brancolini / The Daily Beast:
Top Trump Terror Official Exposed on ‘Sugar Daddy’ Site
Top Trump Terror Official Exposed on ‘Sugar Daddy’ Site
Discussion:
Charleston Daily Mail, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story
David Gardner / The Daily Beast:
Trump's Plans for ‘Mic-Drop’ Media Confrontation Are Leaked — AFTER-DINNER SCREECH — The president is planning a rage-fueled moment at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. — Donald Trump will launch a “revenge” attack on the White House media when he confronts …
Discussion:
Raw Story, The Bulwark, Washington Times, Vanity Fair, Media Matters for America and The Hill
Politico:
Trump admin agrees to pay $1.25M to 2016 Trump adviser over surveillance … A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment. Page and one of his attorneys did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment. — The settlement does not resolve Page's effort to revive his claims …
Discussion:
IJR, KDFX-TV, Associated Press, CBS News and New York Times
Hailey Fuchs / Politico:
Oversight members split over whether to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell, committee chair says — Members on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee are divided over whether President Donald Trump should pardon Jeffrey Epstein's convicted co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell in exchange …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Raw Story and RedState
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Chris Cameron / New York Times:
RFK Jr. Defends Trump's Mathematically Impossible Drug Discount Claims — President Trump has claimed that he has secured discounts of 400 to 1,500 percent on prescription drugs. A price discount cannot be more than 100 percent because that would lower the price to zero.
Discussion:
The Hill, Newsweek, Daily Kos, The Gateway Pundit and Raw Story
Wall Street Journal:
What Everyone Got Wrong About Jobs and the Immigration Crackdown — Deportations haven't meaningfully lifted wages for Americans, nor have they caused widespread disruptions to the labor market — Change in average hourly earnings, year-over-year by select industry
Discussion:
New York Sun and Governor of California
Drop Site News:
Two Iranian Women in ICE Detention Are Not, In Fact, Related to Qasem Soleimani, Documents Show — After Laura Loomer pointed to two women she claimed were connected to the late Iranian military commander, they were arrested and remain in immigration detention. One is now gravely ill.
José Olivares / The Guardian:
Ron DeSantis signs law blocking local Florida governments from funding DEI — Florida governor says white men have been discriminated against in new effort to challenge inclusion programs — Florida governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday signed a law prohibiting local governments from funding …
Discussion:
Joe.My.God., Florida Politics and The Capitolist
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Wall Street Journal:
Secretive Shipments of Iranian Oil to China Are Under Threat by U.S. — Boarding of tanker raises risk for sanctions-evading ‘shadow fleet’ — Iran, China and an array of middlemen have evaded U.S. sanctions for years by shipping oil on aging tankers with opaque records …
Discussion:
Commentary Magazine, NewsMax.com and Washington Post
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Nik Popli / Time:
Congress Rejects Calls For Iran War Oversight as Key Deadline Nears … In the meantime, negotiations between the U.S. and Iran appear at a standstill. On Tuesday, Trump announced an indefinite ceasefire with Iran while maintaining a blockade of Iranian ports.
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Reuters:
Trump says eight Iranian women won't be executed, Iran disputes entire account — President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Iran had agreed not to execute eight women protesters in a sign of respect for him, while officials in Tehran denied the executions had been planned and accused the U.S. president of spreading falsehoods.
Discussion:
The Verge, Blaze Media, The Independent, Townhall, Fox News, RedState, New York Post, Metro.co.uk, Mediaite, The Hill, CBS News, NewsMax.com, Washington Examiner, Middle East Monitor and Washington Times
Dan Mangan / CNBC:
Kalshi suspends, fines 3 congressional candidates in ‘insider trading’ enforcement actions … Prediction market platform Kalshi said Wednesday it had suspended and fined three candidates for Congress from Minnesota, Texas and Virginia for “political insider trading” activity on their own campaigns.
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Bobby DeNault / Kalshi:
Enforcement update: Kalshi continues crackdown on political insider trading
Enforcement update: Kalshi continues crackdown on political insider trading
Discussion:
The Texas Tribune, CNN, KARE-TV, New York Post, Gizmodo, CoinDesk, NewsMax.com, Wired, MS NOW, New York Times, The Guardian, Alpha News MN, Engadget, Washington Examiner, Mediaite and Raw Story
Politico:
New Jersey's most vulnerable GOP incumbent is MIA — Rep. Tom Kean Jr. represents New Jersey's most competitive district this November — but nobody, even his GOP colleagues, can say where he's been for the past month. A scion of one of the state's most storied political dynasties …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Wall Street Journal:
Trump Administration Nearing Rescue Deal for Spirit Airlines — President signaled this week the government could help discount carrier, which has struggled with surging jet-fuel prices — The Trump administration is nearing a rescue deal for Spirit Airlines, people familiar with the matter said.
Esther Webber / Politico:
UK divers prepare for mine-clearing operations in Strait of Hormuz — Preparatory step comes on second day of London-hosted talks on reopening the strait. — LONDON — British military divers are preparing to conduct mine-clearing operations in case they are needed in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Discussion:
NewsMax.com and Politico
Yunior Rivas / Democracy Docket:
Virginia court blocks voter-approved redistricting, appeal coming — A Virginia judge temporarily halted the state's newly approved congressional map — but state officials are already moving to try to overturn the ruling, setting up a rapid legal fight in the state's Supreme Court.
Discussion:
UPI, New York Post, Meidas+, WTTG-TV, Ballotpedia News, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, Fox News, CBS News, New York Sun and PBS NewsHour
Mike Stobbe / Associated Press:
US health officials nix publication of a study on COVID vaccine effectiveness — U.S. health officials stopped the publication of a study on whether the COVID-19 vaccine was keeping adults from becoming sick enough to have to go to the hospital. A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokesman …
Discussion:
Lawyers, Guns & Money, KIFI-TV, New York Times, The Independent and New York Sun
Adam Gabbatt / The Guardian:
What Trump's Bible stunt says about his complicated history with Christianity — On Tuesday, the president read from the Bible in a taped message. Religious scholars were not impressed — This was originally published in This Week in Trumpland. Sign up to receive it in your inbox every Wednesday
Discussion:
Raw Story and LGBTQ Nation
