Inside Trump's Frantic, Failing Mission to Crush the Epstein ‘MAGA Rebellion’  —  The president and his administration are telling supporters to forget about the convicted sex offender.  It isn't working … By the time it was over, the president had sustained more blowback and political damage …

Trump Has Drafted Letter to Fire Fed Chair and Asked Republicans if He Should  —  The president waved a copy of a draft letter firing Jerome H. Powell at a meeting in the Oval Office with House Republicans.  It remains to be seen whether he follows through with his threat.

RFK Jr. fires top aides in HHS shakeup  —  US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has fired two of his top aides in an abrupt shakeup of the leadership at the nation's sprawling health department, two people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Trump puts out another fire for Johnson  —  IN TODAY'S EDITION:  — House tries again on crypto bills  — Senate vote-a-rama kicks off at 1:30 p.m.  — Johnson breaks with Trump on Epstein  —  THE GOP'S MAINE CONCERN — Senate Republicans need Susan Collins to seek a sixth term next year to hold the majority.

Senate set to debate cuts to NPR, PBS and foreign aid  —  The Senate voted by a razor-thin margin late Tuesday to advance debate on a package of funding cuts requested by President Trump.  They're aimed at clawing back $1.1 billion previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting …

DOJ hits states with broad requests for voter rolls, election data  —  Election clerks in both parties, already facing harassment and lawsuits over Trump's false 2020 election claims, worry about efforts to examine voting machines.  —  The Trump administration and its allies have launched …

Donald Trump reaps $50bn tariff haul as world ‘chickens out’  —  Only China and Canada have retaliated against US president's tariff war  —  Peter Foster and Amy Borrett in London, Andy Bounds in Brussels and Ilya Gridneff in Ottawa  —  America's trading partners have largely failed …

The secret to Baltimore's extraordinary year  —  This April, Baltimore saw five homicides.  That is the fewest of any month since 1970, when the city began tracking monthly homicide numbers.  In the first six months of the year, homicides were down 22% compared to 2024, and non-fatal shootings were down 19%.

Mamdani Says He Will ‘Discourage’ the Term ‘Globalize the Intifada’  —  Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee in the race for mayor of New York City, moved to distance himself from comments that sparked outrage during the primary.  —  For weeks, Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee …

Billionaires Convince Themselves AI Chatbots Are Close to Making New Scientific Discoveries  —  “I'm doing the equivalent of vibe coding, except it's vibe physics.” … Generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok have exploded in popularity as AI becomes mainstream.

Contracts Show Millions of Dollars and Diverted Disaster Resources Were Used to Build DeSantis' ‘Alligator Alcatraz’  —  TPM has obtained and analyzed over a dozen contracts and invoices related...

The Manhattan Statement on Higher Education  —  America's colleges and universities have long been the bright lights of our civilization.  For nearly four centuries, they have pioneered new fields of knowledge, brought the arts and sciences to new heights, and educated the men who built our republic.

Exclusive: Artist Slams DHS for Using Painting Without Permission  —  Trump's deportation forces did not ask to use Morgan Weistling's artwork  —  The Department of Homeland Security is under fire from an artist after posting a painting of a pioneer couple with a baby in a covered wagon …

Shares of gun seller GrabAGun — backed by Donald Trump Jr. — tank after NYSE trading debut … Shares of the online firearms retaile r GrabAGun — whose shareholders and board members include Donald Trump Jr.— tanked on their first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange following …

DHS Faces New Pressure Over DNA Taken From Immigrant Children  —  The US government has added the DNA of approximately 133,000 migrant children and teens to a criminal database, which critics say could mean police treat them like suspects “indefinitely.”  —  United States Senator Ron Wyden …

‘Alligator Alcatraz’ and Why Mass Deportation Is Doomed  —  LET ME TAKE YOU BACK TO MAY 2011.  Then President Barack Obama, frustrated with what he took to be increasingly unreasonable demands from Republicans on immigration reform, joked that next they would demand a moat at the border—one stocked with alligators.

The Military Occupied LA for 40 Days and All They Did Was Detain One Guy  —  Thousands of federal troops have been deployed to Los Angeles since June 7 on the orders of President Donald Trump.  —  In the first 40 days of this military operation on U.S. soil, they have done vanishingly close to nothing.

Bill would prevent ICE from detaining or deporting U.S. citizens … But reports of citizens of Latino descent being detained — or stopped and asked to prove citizenship — are rippling through Latino communities nationwide.  — Critics say reports of ICE detaining citizens are instances …

What Will Become of the C.I.A.?  —  The covert agency has long believed in the power of knowing one's enemy.  But these days the threats are coming from above.  —  In December, 1988, as the Soviet Union was beginning to come apart, Senator Bill Bradley, a member of the Senate Select Committee …

Buckle Up: Delta's Expanded Surge Pricing Could Signal Higher Fares  —  This is a web version of The Lever's daily email newsletter.  —  🔥 Today's Lever story: Google sabotaged its own phones in order to stamp out competitors and intensify customer surveillance.

Trump just delivered a word salad speech that would've got Biden impeached  —  In a few short remarks, the president revealed he has very little knowledge of the U.S. economy; is incapable of remembering where his own representatives or aides are and cannot stay awake during an early afternoon public appearance, Holly Baxter writes.

Judge halts deportation of non-binary American in ruling after Trump's gender edicts  —  ////world//A Federal Court judge has halted the deportation of a non-binary American in a ruling that criticized Ottawa's Immigration Department for not properly considering the situation …

Americans were following Trump's big legislative win closely — and they say they don't support it … The high initial disapproval of the law could be a warning sign for Republicans in the midterms, as the GOP faces a fierce fight to maintain their narrow majorities in Congress.

Will Zohran Mamdani protect all New Yorkers?  He owes the Jewish community an answer  —  Democratic candidate founded Students for Justice in Palestine chapter and sponsored controversial anti-Israel legislation  —  As New York City faces an unprecedented surge in antisemitism …

Trans girl housed in male unit has jaw broken at D.C. juvenile detention center  —  Officials said they've launched a “full review” after the Youth Services Center resident was transported to the hospital following the incident.  —  A transgender girl housed in a male unit of a Washington …