“They’re just not that different. They’re reporting the same fucking thing, starching it, trying to make it interesting, and then showing some guy who’s raising dogs in Alaska alone and some inspiring stories so we’re not just totally depressed about it. It’s the same fucking thing over and over.”
— Scott Galloway, on Pivot, predicting the end of the television network news business.
“The Department of Homeland Security said Monday it has launched a new immigration enforcement operation in Chicago as part of the Trump administration’s effort to target “sanctuary cities,” and immigrant advocates said several people in heavily Hispanic communities had already been detained,” the Washington Post reports.
“The new ownership of CBS News on Monday selected Kenneth Weinstein, a former chief executive of the Hudson Institute, a right-leaning policy think tank, to review complaints about its coverage in a new post as ombudsman at the network,” the New York Times reports.
“Rupert Murdoch’s chosen son Lachlan will remain in charge of the family business, forestalling a predicted challenge from his siblings over the political bent of the conservative media empire,” CNN reports.
“Instead, three siblings are exiting the business altogether — in an ending worthy of a dramatic series finale.”
“The companies said that the Murdoch family’s existing trust setup is being replaced. Prudence MacLeod, Elisabeth Murdoch and James Murdoch, described in legal filings as the ‘departing members,’ will receive about $1 billion each for their shares.”
The Wall Street Journal analyzes the text and drawing Donald Trump gave to Jeffrey Epstein in a 2003 birthday book.
“Lawyers for Jeffrey Epstein’s estate have given Congress a copy of the birthday book put together for the financier’s 50th birthday, which includes a letter with Trump’s signature that he has said doesn’t exist,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA): “President Trump called the Epstein investigation a hoax and claimed that his birthday note didn’t exist. Now we know that Donald Trump was lying and is doing everything he can to cover up the truth. Enough of the games and lies, release the full files now.”
“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other senior defense officials visited Puerto Rico on Monday, as the Pentagon looks to intensify military operations against drug cartels based in Latin American countries,” the Washington Post reports.
Reuters: Top Pentagon officials visit Puerto Rico as tensions with Venezuela soar.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams has abandoned his effort to appear on two ballot lines — “EndAntiSemitism” and “Safe & Affordable”— in November’s mayoral election, opting to only run on the latter, the New York Daily News reports.
“The Jeffrey Epstein scandal will lead the news again this afternoon, much to the dismay of the White House and House GOP leaders. And President Donald Trump is in the middle of it all, as always,” Punchbowl News reports.
“The Epstein estate is expected to release the disgraced financier’s 2003 ‘birthday book’ and additional documents to the House Oversight Committee today.”
“Trump penned a congratulatory note and a picture of a hand-drawn naked woman to Epstein for his 50th birthday… Trump has denied writing the letter or sketching out the drawing, calling it a ‘fake thing.'”
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French Prime Minister François Bayrou has lost the vote of confidence he called in his government, the BBC reports.
Bloomberg: “Parties across the political spectrum in France’s lower house joined forces Monday to overwhelmingly issue the rebuke to Bayrou, who called the motion in a failed attempt to rally support for his unpopular budget reforms. Just 194 lawmakers voted in support of the prime minister and 364 voted against.”
“President Emmanuel Macron will now have to decide whether to name a new premier or dissolve the National Assembly and call a new election, which would throw the country and markets into another period of chaos. The new government would still have to find a way to pass a new budget — an exercise that has now toppled the last two prime ministers.”
New York Times: “This was a demise foretold. Fatalistic in the face of a parliamentary impasse, Mr. Bayrou had, even before the debate began, invited his entourage to a ‘convivial moment,’ or farewell soirée, this evening. With four prime ministers in the past 20 months, and a fifth likely to be appointed now, the fall of French governments, once unusual, has become close to mundane.”
Ezra Klein gives Democrats the rationale for allowing a government shutdown.
“I want to be very clear about what I am saying here. Donald Trump is corrupting the government — he is using it to hound his enemies, to line his pockets and to entrench his own power. He is corrupting it the way the Mafia would corrupt the industries it controlled. You could still, under Mafia rule, get the trash picked up or buy construction materials. But the point of those industries had become the preservation and expansion of the Mafia’s power and wealth.”
“This is what Trump is doing to the government. This is what Democrats cannot fund. This is what they have to try to stop.”
Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ruled President Trump can fire a Democrat on the Federal Trade Commission while a lawsuit challenging her removal continues, the Washington Post reports.
“We’re going to go on offense, not just on defense. Maximum lethality, not tepid legality. Violent effect, not politically correct. We’re going to raise up warriors, not just defenders.”
— Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, quoted by the BBC, after President Trump signed an executive order making the Department of War a “secondary title” for the Department of Defense.
Patrick Ruffini has released a “way too early” model forecasting the strength of possible 2028 Democratic presidential candidates.
The first iteration has Gavin Newsom ahead in a seven candidate field with a 29.7% chance of winning across 10,000 simulations. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez comes in second place with an 19.5% chance, followed by Pete Buttigieg at 13.4%, Josh Shapiro at 12.2%, Gretchen Whitmer at 11.3%, Cory Booker at 9.0%, and Andy Beshear at 5.1%.
Washington Post: “New data last week showed a fourth month of tepid job growth and propelled joblessness to its highest level since late 2021, when the economy was still recovering from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Now, as companies wrestle with inflation, economic uncertainty and trade policy whiplash, many are shredding payrolls and shifting tasks to artificial intelligence while pulling in higher profits. And some executives are pointedly broadcasting sizable layoffs as wins, a sign they’re making workforces leaner and more efficient.”
“Hardly any corner of the economy is untouched by jobs cuts and slowdown: Employment in all goods-producing industries slumped in August, with the deepest losses coming from manufacturing and mining. The service sector was racked by steep layoffs in business and professional services and IT.”
“Turkey’s largest opposition party will launch lawsuits and mass protests that bring ‘life to a standstill’ if the government pushes ahead with a legal “coup” against its leadership,” the Financial Times reports.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
