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 …

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.

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.

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 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 …

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

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 …

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

An Elderly Lawmaker's Staff Keeps Walking Back Things She Tells Reporters.  Should They Keep Quoting Her?  —  A media conundrum for the age of gerontocracy.  —  A few weeks ago, my POLITICO colleague Nicholas Wu and NBC's Sahil Kapur ran into D.C. Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton in the Capitol.

Pediatrician fired for vile post suggesting Texas flood victims were Trump supporters who got ‘what they voted for’  —  A pediatrician has been fired over a vile post suggesting that the more than 80 killed in the horrific Texas floods — including dozens of kids — were President Trump supporters who got “what they voted for.”

CNN Data Chief 'Never Thought I'd See' This Stunning Shift In Sentiment  —  “But that's exactly where we are,” said Harry Enten.  —  Democrats' pride in being American has “fallen through the floor,” CNN's chief data analyst Harry Enten has noted.  —  Enten pointed to new survey data …

Trump Media launches TV streaming platform with Newsmax channel globally  —  Trump Media & Technology Group (DJT.O) launched its TV streaming platform, Truth+, globally on Monday, featuring the cable channel Newsmax to support the company's expansion.  —  The move also allows conservative …

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.

National Guard troops protect immigration officers in large-scale LA operation  —  Dozens of federal officers in tactical gear roamed a mostly empty park in a Los Angeles neighborhood with a large immigrant population on Monday for about an hour before clearing out.  It wasn't immediately known if any arrests were made.

Judge calls DOJ's motion to dismiss Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawsuit “meritless”  —  A federal judge denied the Justice Department's motions to dismiss Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawsuit over his mistaken deportation to El Salvador, calling one of the government's motions “meritless.”

Marjorie Taylor Greene Wants To Make Weather Manipulation A Felony  —  The Georgia Republican announced plans for a new bill following the devastating floods which swept through central Texas on Friday.  —  I looks like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has her head in the clouds.

Medical Societies Sue Kennedy and H.H.S. Over Vaccine Advice  —  New restrictions on Covid shots run counter to scientific evidence, the groups said.  —  Six leading medical organizations filed a lawsuit on Monday against Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the health secretary, and the federal Department …

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 …

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.

Bessent demands apology from Summers over ‘big, beautiful bill’ criticism  —  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent late Sunday fired back at Larry Summers for the former Treasury secretary's criticism of President Trump's massive tax and spending legislation.  —  In a thread on social platform X …

DOJ Jumps on SCOTUS Nationwide Injunctions Ruling to Revive Trump's Anti-Voting Order  —  Citing the Supreme Court's recent ruling curtailing nationwide injunctions, the Department of Justice (DOJ) asked a federal judge to modify a previous court order to revive a key portion of President Donald Trump's sweeping anti-voting decree.

Trump Wanted ‘More Action Against Universities.’ His Staff Scrambled to Punish Penn. … - Copy  —  President Donald Trump had already cut hundreds of millions to Columbia University over antisemitism allegations and put 59 other colleges on notice when word came down to staff that he wanted to punish more campuses.