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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

DeSantis warns Musk against third party  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday warned that Elon Musk's formation of a third party would dampen Republicans' forecast in midterm elections.  —  After weeks of feuding with President Trump over the “big, beautiful bill” …

How Insularity Defined the Last Stages of Biden's Career … At the most perilous moment of his presidency, Joseph R. Biden Jr. was all but impossible for anyone outside his tight inner circle to reach.Eric Lee/The New York Times  —  Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s aides did not want him to speak with me.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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.

CDC ends bird flu emergency  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ended its emergency response to the H5N1 avian flu.  —  A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) said that the emergency bird flu response was “deactivated to transition …

Alligator Alcatraz detainees allege inhumane conditions at immigration detention center  —  Cuban reggaeton artist Leamsy La Figura, arrested last week in Miami-Dade on assault charges, was transferred to South Florida's new immigration detention facility known as Alligator Alcatraz in the Everglades …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

On the Jan. 6 attack, Republican leaders keep failing basic tests of self-awareness  —  Key GOP leaders keep making comments suggesting they've forgotten that the Jan. 6 attack happened.  —  Shortly before House Republicans approved their far-right domestic policy megabill …

Trump Says He's Weighing Federal Takeover of Washington, DC  —  President Donald Trump said his administration is weighing whether to take control of the city of Washington, DC, to help combat crime, in a move that would represent a dramatic upheaval to the capital's half-century of home rule.

Rollins suggests Medicaid recipients can replace deported farmworkers  —  Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins told reporters Tuesday that she thinks Medicaid work requirements and automation will help offset President Trump's massive immigration crackdown, which has threatened migrant farmworkers.

Nearly two-thirds of US beaches saw fecal contamination last year: Report  —  As Americans flock to the country's coasts — and to the lakes and rivers in between — in the heat of summer, they may be doing so despite the presence of fecal matter.  —  A stark 1,930 out of 3,187 beaches sampled across …

Elon Musk's empire at risk as Trump fallout deepens … - Musk is personally out nearly $20 billion — at least on paper — since breaking with President Trump last month, and his investors are out more than $100 billion on top of that. … - They're down about 14% since early June …

Texas pediatrician ‘no longer employed’ after post about pro-Trump flood victims  —  Physician made a post wishing that Maga supporters in Kerr county ‘get what they voted for’ amid flash flooding  —  A pediatrician for a chain of clinics affiliated with a prominent Houston hospital system is …

The American Police State Is Here  —  ICE is about to eclipse the FBI as America's most important law enforcement agency.  That's bad.  Super-duper bad.  —  ∙ Paid  —  1. ICE > Medicaid  —  While most people spent the budget fight fixated on health care policy …

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.