JUST IN: Under pressure from Sen. Andy Kim and the Mayor of Newark, federal officials confirmed the death of a Salvadoran immigrant, Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo, who was being held at the Delaney Hall detention center in Newark. Lopez Cornejo died during the weekend. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/n...

Immigrant Held at Delaney Detention Center Has Died, Officials Say (Gift Article)

The mayor of Newark identified the dead man as Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo. The New Jersey center has been the focus of intense scrutiny for its treatment of detainees.

nytimes.com

Iran’s Foreign Ministry rejected Trump’s suggestion that talks were under way, noting that Iran hadn’t sent any delegations or negotiators to take part in any discussions. Iran’s Foreign Ministry did acknowledge that Iran was in talks with Oman on the Strait of Hormuz. 🎁 www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Iran Says No Talks With the U.S. on Hormuz Strait

The country’s foreign ministry said discussions with Oman are continuing on managing traffic through the critical passage, while President Trump called Tehran “unbelievably duplicitous.”

wsj.com

“It’s one thing for Trump to have a personal fascination with one of the world’s most expensive metals. It’s another for the president to flaunt it at a time when many Americans are struggling to pay rent, losing their health insurance, and seeing high prices at the gas pump.” @mviser.bsky.social

Let Them Eat Gold

Taxpayers are now financing President Trump’s love of anything gilded.

theatlantic.com

Trump has discussed ousting Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for DC, after Pirro’s office contradicted his contention that the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool was damaged by vandals. Jeanine Pirro’s days as U.S. attorney are numbered. 🎁 www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump Has Discussed Ousting Jeanine Pirro After Reflecting Pool U-Turn

The U.S. attorney in D.C. and longtime ally of the president had dropped criminal charges over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.

wsj.com

Blanche’s rescission of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” and his assurances about the scope of the audit protections are meaningless. They don’t do anything to stop Trump from trying to bring back the fund, as he threatened to do this weekend. 🎁 www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Blanche Formally Rescinds ‘Anti-Weaponization’ Fund in Bid to Smooth Confirmation

Two Republican senators who were blocking his attorney-general nomination over the fund now say they plan to advance him

wsj.com

“I do not think that world war is inevitable, nor do I think it is probable. But it is more possible now than it has been at any other time since the end of the Cold War, and the American government is led by the worst rulers in the modern history of the United States.” @davidfrenchjag.bsky.social

Opinion | The War That Could Swallow the World (Gift Article)

Whatever is happening in Iran, it isn’t working.

nytimes.com

An excellent comparison of McCarthyism and Trump’s campaign of political repression. There are many parallels between the two, argues Judith Levine, but the current Trumpian version is much more dangerous to our democracy. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

McCarthyism has returned to the United States – and this time it’s even more dangerous | Judith Levine

Trump’s campaign of repression echoes the red scare. But now the government has bigger ambitions and more powerful tools

theguardian.com

“Trump apparently cares more about preserving the slush fund than he does about Todd Blanche.” About the slush fund and about the rest of the IRS “settlement” that gives Trump and his family immunity from the IRS audits for the past and *future* actions. Sen. Cornyn wanted to curtail that part.

Trump Cares More About His Slush Fund Than Todd Blanche

The president seems less willing to let go of $1.8 billion than his pick for attorney general.

theatlantic.com

BREAKING: The DOJ moved to dismiss the criminal case against Olympian David Hearn, who they alleged damaged the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting pool, acknowledging the damage to the pool "was the result of flawed installation by the contractor." What an embarrassment for Trump and the DOJ!

Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation

The Justice Department said “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.”

nbcnews.com

“Calling such facilities ‘detention centers’ sanitizes their brutal and increasingly deadly reality. […] The word camp best captures the political function they serve: concentrating, immobilizing and excluding populations deemed unwanted.” A deeply affecting article by @jwashing.bsky.social

Don’t call them ICE detention centers. Call them camps | John Washington

I’ve spent a decade reporting on immigration enforcement. The word ‘camp’ best captures the political function of these facilities

theguardian.com

Trump floats pulling Blanche’s nomination rather than agree to the modifications of the IRS settlement suggested by Cornyn and Tillis. The Senators want the administration to make clear that the settlement covers only existing audits and does not protect Trump and his relatives from future audits.

Trump floats pulling Blanche's nomination for attorney general to avoid conceding to GOP demands

President Donald Trump says he may withdraw and delay Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general until Republican senators who are seeking concessions from the top prosecutor leave office.

apnews.com

“On the night of May 15, 2025, agents at the U.S. Secret Service faced what some considered an improper and possibly illegal request from higher-ups in the administration: secretly access former FBI Director James Comey’s phone so they could monitor his movements.” www.ms.now/news/secret-...

Secret Service felt pressure from administration to surveil James Comey, new documents reveal

Documents detail worries about the legality of a directive to surveil the former FBI director after the “seashells” photo the government claims amounts to a threat to President Donald Trump’s life.

ms.now

“Just as the manosphere and its galaxy of hucksters want you to fork over your cash so you can feel better about yourself as a man, Republicans want to make you feel insecure about your masculinity so that you vote Republican.”—Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social

The Masculinity Scam

The manosphere’s campaign strategy

theatlantic.com

The intrepid Jay Clayton, who is too afraid of Trump to admit that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, has been confirmed as the DNI. Everyone agrees that he is not as horrible as Bill Pulte. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/u...

Senate Confirms Jay Clayton to Lead U.S. Intelligence Community (Gift Article)

Mr. Clayton, who shed Democratic support after he refused to clearly say Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the 2020 election, will take over the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from Bill Pulte.

nytimes.com

Yesterday’s show trial of Dr. Fauci showed breathtaking ignorance of the Republican lawmakers and their complete inability to distinguish between science and superstition. They had placards comparing the dangers of mRNA vaccines to those of ivermectin. Zero progress since the Salem witch trials.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Fauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so... under advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to refrain from answering your questions."

“Calling such facilities ‘detention centers’ sanitizes their brutal and increasingly deadly reality. […] The word camp best captures the political function they serve: concentrating, immobilizing and excluding populations deemed unwanted.” A deeply affecting article by @jwashing.bsky.social

Don’t call them ICE detention centers. Call them camps | John Washington

I’ve spent a decade reporting on immigration enforcement. The word ‘camp’ best captures the political function of these facilities

theguardian.com

Trump floats pulling Blanche’s nomination rather than agree to the modifications of the IRS settlement suggested by Cornyn and Tillis. The Senators want the administration to make clear that the settlement covers only existing audits and does not protect Trump and his relatives from future audits.

Trump floats pulling Blanche's nomination for attorney general to avoid conceding to GOP demands

President Donald Trump says he may withdraw and delay Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general until Republican senators who are seeking concessions from the top prosecutor leave office.

apnews.com

“On the night of May 15, 2025, agents at the U.S. Secret Service faced what some considered an improper and possibly illegal request from higher-ups in the administration: secretly access former FBI Director James Comey’s phone so they could monitor his movements.” www.ms.now/news/secret-...

Secret Service felt pressure from administration to surveil James Comey, new documents reveal

Documents detail worries about the legality of a directive to surveil the former FBI director after the “seashells” photo the government claims amounts to a threat to President Donald Trump’s life.

ms.now

“Just as the manosphere and its galaxy of hucksters want you to fork over your cash so you can feel better about yourself as a man, Republicans want to make you feel insecure about your masculinity so that you vote Republican.”—Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social

The Masculinity Scam

The manosphere’s campaign strategy

theatlantic.com

The intrepid Jay Clayton, who is too afraid of Trump to admit that Joe Biden won the 2020 election, has been confirmed as the DNI. Everyone agrees that he is not as horrible as Bill Pulte. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/28/u...

Senate Confirms Jay Clayton to Lead U.S. Intelligence Community (Gift Article)

Mr. Clayton, who shed Democratic support after he refused to clearly say Joseph R. Biden Jr. won the 2020 election, will take over the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from Bill Pulte.

nytimes.com

Yesterday’s show trial of Dr. Fauci showed breathtaking ignorance of the Republican lawmakers and their complete inability to distinguish between science and superstition. They had placards comparing the dangers of mRNA vaccines to those of ivermectin. Zero progress since the Salem witch trials.

Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · last wk.

Fauci accuses Rand Paul of having an "unhinged obsession with calling for my prosecution" and of making "repeated slanderous comments," then says "although it pains me to do so... under advice of my attorneys, I will invoke my right under the 5th Amendment to refrain from answering your questions."

A variety of signs: IMMIGRATION IS WHO WE ARE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ICE OUT NOW Sorry Folks But Ignoring it Is Exactly What Germans Did! Overpass Brigade South County Resistance Rhode Island, 7/25/26 #VisibiltyBrigade #OverpassBrigade #socoresistance

Lots of positive energy, honking, and waving from cars passing by. Today’s message is a little riddle: ORANGE U SICK OF HIM? Overpass Brigade South County Resistance Rhode Island, 7/25/26 #VisibiltyBrigade #OverpassBrigade #socoresistance

A variety of signs: IMMIGRATION IS WHO WE ARE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH ICE OUT NOW Sorry Folks But Ignoring it Is Exactly What Germans Did! Overpass Brigade South County Resistance Rhode Island, 7/25/26 #VisibiltyBrigade #OverpassBrigade #socoresistance

Lots of positive energy, honking, and waving from cars passing by. Today’s message is a little riddle: ORANGE U SICK OF HIM? Overpass Brigade South County Resistance Rhode Island, 7/25/26 #VisibiltyBrigade #OverpassBrigade #socoresistance

The WHCD was a surrealistic horror. A fascist wannabe dictator celebrating “freedom of the press”—a bizarre idea. Trump’s speech quickly devolved into a crescendo of veiled and overt threats and insults toward the media and his political enemies. The speech meant to frighten and it succeeded.

The WHCD was a surrealistic horror. A fascist wannabe dictator celebrating “freedom of the press”—a bizarre idea. Trump’s speech quickly devolved into a crescendo of veiled and overt threats and insults toward the media and his political enemies. The speech meant to frighten and it succeeded.

Democrats voted against the defense bill registering their dissent about the war in Iran and the size of the Pentagon ask. “It is hard to go home and say we need this level of increase when I just learned that, for example, over 4,000 kids are losing SNAP benefits in Maine,” Sen. Angus King said.

Opposing Defense Bill, Democrats Shift Their Tactics (Gift Article)

Crossing what was once seen as a political red line, Democrats voted against the usually bipartisan measure, registering dissent about the war in Iran.

nytimes.com

Tariffs are an obsession for Trump. How else to explain his imposition of yet another round of border taxes three months before the November election despite their political unpopularity and economic harm? 🎁 www.wsj.com/opinion/dona...

Opinion | Trump Tariffs, More Tariffs, and More . . .

He hits Americans with more tax increases on the cusp of an election. It’s his obsession.

wsj.com

“During a recent meeting in the Oval Office, [Trump] launched into a tirade against Iranian leaders, calling them scumbags and lunatics, and unleashing a series of expletives, according to a person who heard the comments.” Yeap. Sounds like Donald Trump. 🎁 www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Trump Is Losing Patience Over an Iran War With No Clear End in Sight

The president has grown skeptical of diplomacy and is in “revenge mode” against Tehran, according to a senior administration official.

wsj.com