Vacationing Ted Cruz's as ‘Fast as Humanly Possible’ Return Claim Crumbles  —  ACROPOL-OOPS  —  Cruz says he returned to Texas as quickly as he could after news of devastating floods broke.  Flight data tells a different story.  —  Ted Cruz could have booked numerous flights from Greece …

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 …

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 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.

Transcript: Trump Blurts Out Awkward Truth about ICE as MAGA Seethes  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the July 8 episode of the Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.

Ex-NYPD chiefs sue Mayor Adams, top aides over alleged favoritism, corruption in department  —  Four high-ranking former NYPD chiefs are suing Mayor Adams, claiming they were forced to retire from the department after complaining that his “unqualified” friends were being placed …

Federal Agents March Through L.A. Park, Spurring Local Outrage  —  Federal officials said it was an immigration enforcement operation, though it was unclear if anyone had been arrested.  “It's the way a city looks before a coup,” Mayor Karen Bass said as she condemned the action.

Gabbard's team has sought spy agency data to enforce Trump's agenda  —  The Director's Initiative Group has expressed an interest in gaining access to emails and chat logs of the largest U.S. intelligence agencies to root out “weaponization,” according to multiple people familiar with the effort.

TSA to End Shoe Removal Requirement at Airport Security Checkpoints  —  Most passengers had been required to remove their footwear at checkpoints since 2006, a policy later eased only for members of trusted traveler programs.  —  Travelers at some airports, including LaGuardia …

Inside Trump's Patriot missile plans for Ukraine  —  President Trump's decision Monday to send defensive weapons to Ukraine followed days of consultations with aides and other world leaders about where those arms would actually come from. … Now the desperately needed weapons are on the way.

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 …

Who's Afraid of Zohran Mamdani?  —  To win the nomination for mayor, Zohran Mamdani outwitted and outworked the city's lethargic Democratic political Establishment.  And that seems to be driving the old guard mad.  —  Think of New York's Democratic Establishment as a network of political clubs …

Exclusive: Top Trump Adviser Sergio Gor Was Born in the Soviet Union  —  The birthplace of U.S. President Donald Trump's director of personnel has been the subject of media speculation — fuelled by his refusal to answer the question. … When he was named director of the White House Office …

Top House Democrats demand release of Epstein files that mention Trump  —  Exclusive: Jamie Raskin and 15 others accuse justice department of withholding Epstein files to protect Trump  —  Hugo Lowell and Chris Stein in Washington  —  House Democrats on Tuesday demanded …

Texas flood exposed America's warped priorities  —  I've always believed there's a lifetime limit on excitement from fireworks — even on July 4 — and that I passed mine many years ago.  Maybe that's why I volunteered to pick up a family member at New York's JFK Airport last Friday night …

This Law Made Me Ashamed of My Country  —  Last week, Robert Rubin and I warned of the many macroeconomic risks created by the domestic policy bill President Trump signed into law on Friday.  I stand by our judgment that it will most likely slow growth, risk a financial crisis …

The Republican budget is a climate horror  —  🗣️ Paid subscribers make Public Notice possible.  If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please support us.  👇  —  Standing on a balcony at the White House on July 4 to celebrate …

Exclusive: Operation Excalibur in Los Angeles Was Show of Force  —  Leaks from military's LA deployment reveal Coca Cola vs. Pepsi rivalry, sweaty guardsmen, and abject failure  —  Today's homeland security operation at the 35-acre MacArthur Park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles was a mere …

Independent Dan Osborn makes another run at Nebraska Senate … A Navy veteran and mechanic by trade, Osborn is aware he won't be able to duplicate the out-of-nowhere grassroots campaign he deployed last cycle, when he outperformed Vice President Kamala Harris significantly in the state.

Spending $200 Billion on ICE Is a Terrible Idea  —  I've covered federal law enforcement for two decades.  Here are the things that worry me most.  —  This column originally appeared on author Garrett Graff's site Doomsday Scenario, which you can subscribe to here.

Zohran Mamdani's Lesson for the Left  —  An emphatic advocate of Palestinian rights has won the Democratic primary for New York City mayor by 12 points—a shocking margin that he owes, in part, to the support of an outspoken Zionist.  —  The partnership between Zohran Mamdani …

Trump's “tough cookie” call to Harris: New book “2024” on campaign aftermath … - “Phone service isn't what it used to be,” Trump quipped.  — “Aides ended up holding two phones together on speaker so that the rivals could talk,” the authors write.

Texas state leaders didn't prioritize flood management  —  As Texas state leaders have prioritized spending on border security and property tax cuts, they have been far more reluctant to fund flood management efforts. … - More than 1,000 people died in Texas floods from 1959 to 2019 …

RFK Jr. promoted a food company he says will make Americans healthy.  Their meals are ultraprocessed  —  Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday praised a company that makes $7-a-pop meals that are delivered directly to the homes of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees.

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 …

Photo Essay: ICE in L.A.  —  Scenes of a city under siege … A security PSA featuring U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem screens in the arrivals hall of LAX on June 19, 2025.  In early June, DHS initiated an escalating program of immigration arrests in Los Angeles …

Judge recommends that case against Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan proceed  —  A federal magistrate judge recommended Monday that the case proceed against a Wisconsin judge who was indicted on allegations that she helped a man who is in the country illegally evade U.S. immigration agents seeking to arrest him in her courthouse.

Alvarado ICE facility attack: 11 charged in ‘ambush’ on ICE officers, officials say  — 11 people have been arrested in what it calls a “planned ambush” on an ICE facility in Alvarado on July 4.  — Officials say 10-12 individuals in military-style clothing fired fireworks to lure officers out …

Educators Union Rejects Anti-Defamation League, Cuts Ties  —  The Anti-Defamation League has been a ubiquitous presence in U.S. schools for forty years, pushing curriculum, direct programming, and teacher training into K-12 schools and increasingly into universities, often over the objections of students, parents, and educators.

The Bleak Unifying Principle of This Supreme Court Term  —  It's an emergency whenever Trump says so. … On Thursday afternoon, the Supreme Court issued a brief order condemning eight migrants to banishment in South Sudan, where they face the very real possibility of torture and death.

Pregnant doctor denied Covid-19 vaccine sues Trump administration  —  Lawsuit takes aim at RFK Jr's decision to advise against Covid vaccines for pregnant women and healthy children  —  A pregnant physician who was denied a Covid-19 vaccine is suing the Trump administration alongside a group …

Trump Hires Scientists Who Doubt the Consensus on Climate Change  —  The three scientists joined the administration after it dismissed hundreds of experts who were assessing how global warming is affecting the country.  —  The Energy Department has hired at least three scientists …