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 new 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.

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.

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

Court shuts down redistricting fight in key swing state — here's what it means  —  Wisconsin's liberal-majority Supreme Court rejects Democrat attempt to redraw congressional maps ahead of 2026 midterms  —  It didn't grab many national headlines, but the decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court …

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 …

Jesse Jackson Jr. explores a House comeback bid  —  Former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is quietly exploring a comeback in Illinois' 2nd Congressional District after more than a decade out of office — including a two-year prison term.  Jackson — the son of civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr …

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.

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 …

Don Davis eyes open North Carolina Senate seat  —  Democratic Rep. Don Davis is exploring a run for the North Carolina Senate seat being vacated by retiring GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, according to a spokesperson.  Davis is “looking at all options and not ruling anything out,” said the spokesperson, Hannah Spengler.

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.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismisses transport minister Starovoit  —  Russia's sacked transport minister has been found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after President Vladimir Putin fired him.

Israel's Deadly Assault on Iran Prison Incites Fury, Even Among Dissidents  —  The June 23 airstrikes on Evin prison, including the hospital ward, have turned it from a hated symbol of oppression into a new rallying cry against Israel, even among the Iranian regime's domestic critics.

Former Houston appointee claims flood-ravaged Camp Mystic is ‘Whites-only’ in viral video  —  Houston mayor condemns ‘deeply inappropriate’ comments as officials search for missing children  —  A former appointee to a Houston city board recently came under fire for claiming …