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.

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

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 …

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.

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 …

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.

Mayor Adams, police cronies forced out, punished investigators who were onto NYPD scandal: bombshell suit  —  The NYPD under Mayor Eric Adams solicited bribes for promotions, falsified time cards, put unqualified pals in specialized units and routinely ignored rules on body cameras, a bombshell series of new lawsuits claims.

NYC Real-Estate Execs Throw Money Behind Adams to Counter Rise of Mamdani  —  Developers turn their backs on former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and host fundraisers for incumbent mayor  —  New York City real-estate executives are throwing support and money behind incumbent Mayor Eric Adams in their fight …

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.

Trump says US must send more weapons to Ukraine, days after ordering pause in deliveries  —  President Donald Trump said Monday the U.S. will have to send more weapons to Ukraine, just days after ordering a pause in critical weapons deliveries to Kyiv.  —  The comments by Trump appeared …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

US Acts Against Foreign Ownership of Farmland Amid China Tension  —  The Trump administration is tightening its grip on foreign ownership of farmland amid continuing concerns over Chinese investment in America's heartland.  —  The US Department of Agriculture will work with state lawmakers …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 Effect’ website takes credit for US investment made under Biden  —  Within hours of taking office in January, President Donald Trump boasted about attracting $3 trillion in new corporate investments to the United States.  Since then, Trump has said the investments have swelled to $14 trillion …

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.

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.