Trump's “Russiagate” crusade enters fraught new territory … - For MAGA, the new focus on “Russiagate” offers a unifying reprieve — a return to familiar territory where Trump is the victim of a conspiracy, not the subject of one.  — It's a retribution campaign that's deeply personal …

MAGA Inches Closer to a Ghislaine Maxwell Alliance  —  DONALD TRUMP'S JEFFREY EPSTEIN DISASTER has now been dragged into its third week, with the Wall Street Journal's report Wednesday confirming that Trump's own name is in the Epstein files and that he knew it back in May.

Hulk Hogan Dead at 71  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  Wrestling legend Hulk Hogan has died at 71 years old, TMZ Sports has learned.  —  Medics were dispatched to the WWE icon's Clearwater, Florida home early Thursday morning ... with operators stating it was regarding a “cardiac arrest.”  —  CARDIAC ARREST CALLED IN

RNC chair Michael Whatley to run for Senate in North Carolina with Trump's support … Lara Trump, who the president had previously asked to run, has decided to remain as host of her weekly show on Fox News.  She is expected to back Whatley, with whom she co-chaired the RNC last year …

Trump White House Rages Over ‘South Park’ Episode, Calls Show ‘Fourth-Rate’  —  The president cowed Paramount execs, but the company's talent is rebelling.  Now, the administration is melting down … “The Left's hypocrisy truly has no end — for years they have come after South Park …

Mass starvation stalks Gaza as deaths from hunger rise  —  Israel has severely limited the amount of food entering Gaza, where society is on the brink of collapse.  —  After four months of a near-total Israeli siege, Gaza's few remaining hospitals now have wards for the growing number …

The Supreme Court Is Now Asking Judges to Do the Impossible … The Supreme Court expanded Donald Trump's power yet again on Wednesday, granting him the authority to fire Democratic members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission in direct violation of federal law.

Regulation by Deal Comes to Higher Ed  —  Earlier this evening, Columbia University announced an agreement with the Trump administration in which Columbia makes a host of concessions in order to restore its eligibility for federal funding.  The agreement is already being described as “unprecedented,” “the first of its kind.”

Sen. Angus King Admits His Vote For Anti-Abortion Judge Was ‘A Mistake’  —  The Maine senator says he was “not fully” aware of Josh Divine's record, but “took Josh Hawley's advice” to confirm him to a lifetime federal judgeship.  —  WASHINGTON — Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) admitted Thursday that he made …

Independents Drive Trump's Approval to 37% Second-Term Low  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Six months into his second term, President Donald Trump's job approval rating has dipped to 37%, the lowest of this term and just slightly higher than his all-time worst rating of 34% at the end of his first term.

Donald, the Call Is Coming From Inside the House  —  U.S. chipmaker Nvidia really wants to be able to sell AI components in China; U.S. foreign policy hawks are keen to stop that from happening.  President Biden formerly placed strict export controls on the chips.

Amy Sherald Cancels Her Smithsonian Show, Citing Censorship  —  The artist said that she made the decision after she said she learned that her painting of a transgender Statue of Liberty might be removed to avoid provoking President Trump.  —  Amy Sherald — the artist who rocketed to fame …

Graham, Cornyn call for special counsel in Obama case  —  A pair of top Senate Republicans on Thursday called for a special counsel to be appointed to probe whether former President Obama aided an effort to undermine President Trump's 2016 White House bid.  —  Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) …

Pentagon suspends participation in think tank events … The move would sideline the Pentagon from national security dialogues that it has used for decades to advance its policy and explain the department's rationale.  Former Defense Secretaries Jim Mattis, Mark Esper and Lloyd Austin …

Newsmax's Greg Kelly on Ghislaine Maxwell: “She just might be a victim.  She just might be.  There was a rush to judgment.”  —  THE LATEST

Shaheen cuts foreign aid deal to support Waltz  —  Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) agreed to support former Rep. Mike Waltz's nomination to be ambassador to the UN after securing an agreement with the State Department to release $75 million in foreign aid for Haiti and Nigeria.

Columbia's Administrators Are Fooling Themselves  —  In 1672, Charles II unilaterally suspended repayment of 1.2 million pounds to London's private bankers.  Having run up this debt, and unable to finance a flotilla of ships to fight the Dutch, Charles became neither the first nor the last absolute monarch to break his word.

Senate GOP-led panel delays testimony for Trump special counsel nominee  —  The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs has indefinitely delayed President Donald Trump's pick to run an independent watchdog that investigates wrongdoing in the federal government.

Biden Sells Memoir for Roughly $10 Million, Less Than Obama and Clinton  —  Hachette bought the worldwide rights to the former president's book  —  Former President Joe Biden has sold his presidential memoir to the Hachette Book Group for an advance in the range of $10 million, according to people familiar with the matter.

MyPillow Founder Will Not Pay Winnings for Election Challenge, Court Rules  —  A court overturned a previous ruling requiring Mike Lindell to pay out $5 million to a software engineer who had entered Mr. Lindell's challenge to skeptics of his election interference claims.

ICE moves to shackle some 180,000 immigrants with GPS ankle monitors  —  A June 9 memo directed ICE field officers to significantly expand the number of immigrants under round-the-clock surveillance.  —  Just now  —  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has directed personnel …

The media's latest Trump dilemma: How to cover a president who accuses his predecessor of treason?  —  What's the media's responsibility when the sitting president makes baseless claims about a former president, especially when the goal is distraction?  —  What should the media …

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Is Outsourcing More of His Office's Work to Costly Private Lawyers  —  This article is co-published with The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan local newsroom that informs and engages with Texans.  Sign up for The Brief Weekly to get up to speed on their essential coverage of Texas issues.