The Daily Brief
Today
Good morning. Ed Martin, a former "Stop the Steal" advocate whose work at senior Justice Department posts was marked by brash, bumbling efforts to use the department to punish critics of President Donald Trump, is leaving the DOJ, Mother Jones reports. Martin's clashes cost him the posts of U.S. attorney and head of the department's "weaponization" group, The Washington Post confirms. Simultaneously, a Texas appeals court slashed the award Alex Jones must pay the parents of one Sandy Hook victim from $49 million to $6 million under a state damages cap, while he still owes over $1 billion in other judgments, The New York Times notes.
Trump boasts an $850 million MAGA Inc. war chest and vows to spend "a lot" on midterm Republicans, The Hill reports, while his Freedom 250 Grand Prix IndyCar spectacle gridlocks Washington, D.C., Daily Kos details. Disney will cut medical coverage for U.S. employees' spouses who can access insurance through their own employers, Business Insider reports, a move the outlet notes comes as employers brace for another sharp rise in healthcare costs, with other big companies including Deloitte also making changes.
The Pentagon fired the editor-in-chief of Stars and Stripes roughly a month after he publicly defended the newspaper's independence, PBS News confirms and Time details. Meanwhile, FAIR warns that media Islamophobia fuels actual violence against Muslims, CounterSpin emphasizes.