Heavily armed immigration agents descend on MacArthur Park in L.A.  —  Dozens of immigration agents, some on horseback, others carrying rifles in armored vehicles, swept through MacArthur Park on Monday in an extraordinary show of force at the heart of Los Angeles' immigrant community.

Ted Cruz Kept Sightseeing as Desperate Rescue Crews Searched for Missing Kids in Texas Floods  —  GREEK TRAGEDY  —  The Texas senator was visiting the Parthenon in Athens while a massive rescue mission was under way to find flood victims, our must-read newsletter, The Swamp, reveals.  —  EXCLUSIVE

I.R.S. Says Churches Can Endorse Candidates From the Pulpit  —  In a court filing, the tax agency said a decades-old ban on campaigning by tax-exempt groups should not apply to houses of worship speaking to their own members.  —  The I.R.S. said on Monday that churches and other houses …

The Tariff Beatings Will Continue Until Morale Improves  —  The video above has nothing to do with the subject of this post.  A big red-headed woodpecker got to work right in front of me yesterday, and I thought I'd give him a few seconds before getting to the dreary subject of tariffs.  —  Yes, tariffs.

FEMA response to deadly Texas floods delayed & deficient with Noem in charge  —  Staffers sound the alarm. … Disaster struck in Texas on July 4th when the Guadalupe River rapidly overflowed, resulting in lethal flash floods.  As of Monday, local officials said at least 104 were confirmed dead across six counties.

Texas county deflects mounting questions over actions before deadly flood  —  As deaths from catastrophic Texas flooding surpassed 100 on Monday, local officials in one of the hardest-hit counties have still revealed little about what, if any, actions they took to safeguard residents …

The Republican Strategy to Win Without Trump on the Ballot  —  GOP group's new strategy tries to rally ‘prosperity’ voters to keep House in 2026  —  WASHINGTON—A political organization tied to House Republican leadership is pouring millions of dollars into polling and advertising in a new effort …

Planned Parenthood Wins a Temporary Injunction Over Medicaid Funding  —  The nonprofit is challenging a new law that bars its clinics from receiving federal money for any treatment, including birth control and checkups.  —  Planned Parenthood won a temporary injunction on Monday that allows …

Four Fears about ICE, Trump's New Masked Monster  —  We're about to pour $200 billion into immigration enforcement—but understanding specifically why this is a bad idea is important. … There are many reasons Trump's new giant domestic agenda, the so-called one big beautiful bill …

Trump Administration Acknowledges Lack of Evidence From Epstein Documents  —  After Attorney General Pam Bondi promised big revelations for months, the Justice Department noted a lack of evidence for conspiracy theories, including a “client list” and a jailhouse murder.

Netanyahu nominates Trump for Nobel Peace Prize  —  Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday told President Donald Trump he had nominated him for the Nobel Peace Prize, handing Trump a nomination letter during a meeting at the White House.  —  Speaking to reporters at the beginning …

A Marco Rubio impostor is using AI voice to call high-level officials  —  The unknown individual contacted at least five government officials, including three foreign ministers, a U.S. governor and a member of Congress, according to a State Department cable.  —  Summary167

The sad, sad state of the New York Times  —  The sad fact is that there is nothing terribly out of character about the New York Times's decision to publish a deceptive hit piece about New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, based on hacked data supplied by a noted eugenicist to whom they granted anonymity.

FIFA opens office in Trump Tower  —  World football governing body FIFA has boosted its ties with U.S. President Donald Trump by opening an office in New York's Trump Tower.  —  The move comes a year ahead of the men's World Cup — which is being hosted across North America — and a year after FIFA opened an office in Miami.

Bombshell report alleges El Salvador disclaimed responsibility for those U.S. sent to CECOT  —  Challengers filed the document, from a U.N. investigation, in court on Monday.  An update on the rule of law: Alien Enemies Act, birthright citizenship, and law firm litigation.

Trump Told Zelensky He Wasn't Responsible for Weapons Holdup  —  The assurance in a call last week keeps open the option that Trump will continue military aid to Kyiv  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he wasn't responsible for a halt …

VA on track to cut nearly 30K jobs by end of fiscal 2025, eliminating need for RIF  —  The Department of Veterans Affairs says it's on track to cut nearly 30,000 positions by the end of the fiscal year — a significantly smaller workforce cut than the department's previous estimates.

US adults want the government to focus on child care costs, not birth rates, AP-NORC poll finds  —  While the Trump administration explores ways to encourage Americans to have more babies and reverse the United States' falling birth rate, a new poll finds that relatively few U.S. adults …

Is the New York Times trying to wreck Zohran Mamdani's mayoral bid?  —  With their made-up scandal, combined with the pre-election editorial, the Times looks like it's on a crusade against Mamdani  —  A recent New York Times news story immediately drew fire from readers - and for very good reason.

TSA to Allow Shoes to Stay On for Airport Security Screening  —  Change follows nearly two decades of travelers being required to remove footwear, after 2001 ‘shoe bomber’ incident  —  After nearly 20 years of passengers having to take off their shoes while going through airport security, they might soon get a break.

Words & Phrases We Can Do Without  —  DHS is a human rights monstrosity  —  The Department of Homeland Security sounds so innocuous.  Who could be opposed to affording America “freedom from danger” or “freedom from fear or anxiety,” as Merriam-Webster defines “security”?

Ukraine's ambassador to the US to be dismissed, source says  —  Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S. has been informed by President Volodymyr Zelensky that she is to be dismissed, a source in the President's Office confirmed to the Kyiv Independent on July 8.  —  Oksana Markarova has held …

After Mamdani's Win, Some Democrats Are Determined to Stop Him  —  Though Zohran Mamdani scored a resounding victory in New York City's Democratic primary, some in his own party are strategizing about how to defeat him in November.  —  The race for mayor in New York City took an unusual …

As Trump Fails to Deliver, Russia Looks to Musk's America Party for Leverage  —  Elon Musk recently announced the formation of the America Party, and online commentators have been quick to share hot takes about its meaning and prospects.  Rather than join that chorus, and following …