Times pushed ahead to avoid being scooped on Mamdani Columbia story  —  The Scoop  —  The afternoon before a long holiday weekend isn't always the best time to drop a major scoop.  But the New York Times did not want to wait to publish its story about Zohran Mamdani's application …

Trump gutted the weather service.  Then Texas flooded.  —  🗣️ Paid subscribers make Public Notice possible.  If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please support us.  👇  —  Over the weekend, torrential rains struck central Texas …

Exclusive: DOJ, FBI conclude Epstein had no “client list,” committed suicide … - The administration is releasing a video — in both raw and “enhanced” versions — that it says indicates no one entered the area of the Manhattan prison where Epstein was held the night he died in 2019.

U.S. measles cases reach 33-year record high as outbreaks spread  —  Johns Hopkins University data reflects the public health reversal in defeating the vaccine-preventable disease since measles was officially eliminated from the U.S. in 2000.  —  Summary564

Trump administration teases more trade deals, but shifting tariff deadlines raise more questions … Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday said the Trump administration will make “several” trade-related announcements in the next 48 hours, signaling imminent progress even as U.S. tariff deadlines appear to be shifting.

Capitol agenda: GOP turns toward DOGE cuts and a shutdown cliff  —  Republicans finally got their “big, beautiful bill” across the finish line.  Now they're turning to their next urgent tasks: codifying billions in spending cuts and avoiding a government shutdown.

Trump's ominous ICE security state  —  The nation of immigrants' shift to mass deportation is among the most shocking turns in US history  —  They say the cruelty is the point.  —  Inspecting cages that would spark outrage were zoos to put apes in them, Donald Trump last week expressed delight with Florida's new deportee camp.

Tesla shares drop 7% in premarket trading after Elon Musk says he is launching a political party … Tesla shares fell in premarket trade on Monday after CEO Elon Musk announced plans to form a new political party.  —  The stock was down 7.13% by 4:27 a.m. E.T.

Real Men Burn Stuff  —  The manosphere and the war on renewable energy  —  “We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters.”  That famous 2011 quip from the venture capitalist Peter Thiel still resonates, even though Thiel himself has become a deeply malignant force in American politics.

Playbook: Why Biden wanted the CNN debate  —  With help from Eli Okun, Bethany Irvine and Ali Bianco  —  Good Monday morning.  This is Jack Blanchard.  —  FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Biden bombshell: Here's one for the history books.  This morning, Playbook readers can read the actual six-page memo …

165. TikTok and the Dispensing Power  —  Attorney General Bondi's TikTok-related letters rest on a view of presidential power that has no support in even the most capacious understandings of the “unitary executive” theory.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” a weekly newsletter that aims …

From Food Aid to Dog Chow?  How Trump's Cuts Hurt Kansas Farmers. … Wheat grows so prodigiously here on the Kansas high plains that in 1953 the surplus birthed one of the Cold War's big ideas: Food for Peace, a federal government program that delivered the excess bounty to a hungry postwar world.

Transcript: Trump's Use of Secret Police Takes “Shocking” Darker Turn  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the July 7 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Editor's note: Later in this discussion guest Simon Rosenberg makes a critical point that we want to highlight …

Man with rifle and tactical gear killed after exchange of fire with Border Patrol in Texas  —  A man with a rifle and tactical gear opened fire on law enforcement officers Monday morning at a Border Patrol facility in McAllen, Texas, before being shot and killed during an exchange of fire …

Michigan utility aided sabotage of Covid lockdown policies, documents reveal  —  DTE Energy had denied involvement in dark money non-profits, but court documents show a $100,000 donation  —  Newly released court documents show power utility DTE Energy knowingly contributed $100,000 …

Democrats told to “get shot” for the anti-Trump resistance  —  At town halls in their districts and in one-on-one meetings with constituents and activists, Democratic members of Congress are facing a growing thrum of demands to break the rules, fight dirty — and not be afraid to get hurt.

Trump's $5 million ‘gold card’ visa might never happen  —  The president and his aides have exaggerated the likelihood that such a program can be legally implemented and have made no effort to introduce legislation that would be needed.  —  Summary0  —  Over the past four months …

The Trump Administration Wants to Close Down Key Weather Labs Across the Country  —  The National Severe Storms Laboratory sits on a campus of radar equipment and office buildings at the University of Oklahoma, off a state highway in Norman.  It's responsible for radar breakthroughs …

The FBI's Dangerous Failure to Adapt to the Digital Age  —  U.S. adversaries are exploiting technology to expose FBI operations, revealing the Bureau's failure to respond to a networked world.  —  Meet The Authors … In 2011 Hezbollah apprehended a group of CIA informants based in Beirut.

Potential 2028 GOP contenders already making moves … Now several ambitious Republicans are signaling they see an opening to offer themselves to primary voters as the future of the party.  — “Everyone knows Trump has one term left, and I would say its a wide-open opportunity,” …