Trump's war on Big Law leads firms to retreat from ‘pro bono’ work for underdogs  —  Interviews with over 60 lawyers and 30 nonprofits show legal aid groups now have fewer resources to defend the vulnerable.  —  When the Texas Civil Rights Project needed lawyers to help dozens …

Virginia Giuffre's Family Was Shocked That Trump Described Her as ‘Stolen’  —  The siblings of one of Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent accusers wonder what the president knows.  —  When Donald Trump told reporters yesterday that Jeffrey Epstein “stole” a young woman named Virginia Roberts Giuffre …

Senate Confirms Conspiracy Theorist To Lead National Counterterrorism Center  —  You can't make it up, folks.  Senate Republicans voted Wednesday to confirm Joe Kent, a conspiracy theorist with alarming ties to white nationalists and far-right groups, to lead the National Counterterrorism Center.

Republicans big bet on Latino candidates  —  Republicans are leaning into a simple strategy to win over the crucial bloc of Latino voters: recruit them as candidates. … Now, GOP leaders are making a concerted effort to field Latino candidates in these districts to help turn these pro-Trump voters into loyal Republicans.

WHAT WE'RE SEEING  —  Agents break car windows even when sobbing children or pregnant women are inside.  —  “She is pregnant!” a man yelled as his wife, a U.S. citizen, filmed from inside their Chevy.  “Is pregnant!  Is pregnant!”  —  Officers smashed through three windows …

The kangaroo-fication of the courts  —  🗣️ Paid subscribers keep Public Notice free.  If you appreciate our fiercely independent coverage of American politics, please sign up and support us.  👇  —  The Trump administration continues to wage war on the lower courts …

The Fact Checker rose in an era of false claims.  Falsehoods are now winning.  —  Longtime Fact Checker Glenn Kessler takes stock as he departs The Washington Post.  —  Just now  —  When 400 fact-checkers from around the world gathered in Rio de Janeiro in June for an annual conference, the mood was tense.

Donald Trump's unprecedented attack on Brazil's judiciary  —  He has placed sanctions on the judge leading the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, his ideological ally  —  “Let this be a warning to those who would trample on the fundamental rights of their countrymen,” Marco Rubio …

Key Inflation Measure Rose in June, Adding to Pressure on Fed  —  The price index was the latest indication that President Trump's tariffs are beginning to show up in consumer prices.  —  The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation picked up last month, the latest sign …

Trump escalates trade war with Canada following Palestine stance  —  U.S. President Donald Trump intensified his trade war with Canada a day ahead of his August 1 deadline for a tariff agreement, saying it would be “very hard” to make a deal with Canada after it gave its support to Palestinian statehood.

Army Secretary forces West Point to rescind appointment given to Easterly  —  The United States Military Academy abruptly ended the appointment of Jen Easterly to a high-profile academic position in West Point's Department of Social Sciences, according to a memorandum issued Wednesday by the Secretary of the Army.

Listen: Appeals court skeptical of Trump tariff authority … A federal appeals court appeared skeptical Thursday of arguments from a Justice Department lawyer defending President Donald Trump's global tariff regime.  —  Trump has claimed he has the power to impose a vast array of new tariffs under …

Kamala Harris will release ‘107 Days,’ a behind-the-scenes look at her historic presidential run  —  Former Vice President Kamala Harris will have a memoir out in September on her historic presidential run.  The book is called “107 Days,” the length of her abbreviated campaign, and will be published by Simon & Schuster on Sept. 23.

Alan Dershowitz Says He's Suing ‘Bigoted Vendor’ After Being Denied Pierogi  —  Alan Dershowitz said he is suing a Martha's Vineyard food vendor who refused to serve the former Harvard Law professor pierogi because of his politics.  —  Dershowitz, a former Democrat who represented President Donald Trump …

How Scientific Empires End  —  And what it means for America  —  Roald sagdeev has already watched one scientific empire rot from the inside.  When Sagdeev began his career, in 1955, science in the Soviet Union was nearing its apex.  At the Kurchatov Institute in Moscow …

Cooper's North Carolina Senate bid will put Medicaid front and center  —  Democrats are hoping health care will be a winning issue across the 2026 midterm elections and see North Carolina as the top potential pickup opportunity in their long-shot play to regain control of the Senate.

Traffic Apocalypse  —  Google's AI Overviews are killing click-throughs to news sites.  —  Worldwide search traffic has fallen by 15 percent in the past year, estimates Similarweb, a digital intelligence platform.  The culprit: AI search.  Now that AI-generated summaries are being integrated …

Gaza starvation widens MAGA's rupture with Israel … - A GOP realignment — in tandem with Democrats' overwhelming disapproval of the war in Gaza — could threaten the foundation and future of America's decades-old alliance with Israel. … - President Trump broke with Israeli Prime Minister …

The federal government is paying more than 154,000 people not to work  —  Early resignation offers and other programs have reduced the workforce, but critics say the moves are also wasting money.  —  Just now  —  The government is paying more than 154,000 federal employees not to work …

Newsom will move to redraw California map if Texas redistricts, teeing up national fight  —  The governor plans to go through the Legislature to usher in a map with more Democratic seats if Texas tilts its map to the right, according to a person with knowledge of Newsom's thinking.

Personal Superintelligence  —  Over the last few months we have begun to see glimpses of our AI systems improving themselves.  The improvement is slow for now, but undeniable.  Developing superintelligence is now in sight.  —  It seems clear that in the coming years …

Judge Excoriates Trump Officials for Violations of Laws on Voice of America  —  The judge had ruled that the administration must restore news programming at Voice of America and has brought back only a fraction of the coverage it provided.  —  A federal judge said Wednesday that it was likely …

Virginia councilman set on fire in personal attack at his office: Police  —  The suspect is in custody.  —  J. Lee Volger is shown in this undated file photo.  —  danville-va.gov  —  A Virginia councilman was set on fire in an apparent personal attack on Wednesday, authorities said.

The Media Can't Handle the Absence of Truth  —  And their diffidence empowers pathological liars  —  We have guests for the next couple of days, and it would be rude to spend the whole time chained to the computer.  So this post and maybe the next will be short and somewhat meta.

Brown University signs deal with Trump administration to restore funding  —  Brown University on Wednesday announced a deal with the Trump administration that ends three investigations into the institution and restores research funding that was withheld from it.

Judge Bars Trump Administration From Punishing 2 Law Professors for I.C.C. Work  —  A federal judge in New York permanently blocked the government from pursuing penalties against the professors over their assistance to the International Criminal Court.  —  A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred …

Americans Wanted a Cost of Living Warrior.  Trump Is the Opposite  —  A new survey shows Americans are increasingly concerned with economic issues, and many of them are blaming the president  —  Donald Trump won his way back into the White House on a claim that he would address Americans' deep-seated economic pain.

Scoop: Massie blindsided Mike Johnson on Trump truce  —  At Rep. Thomas Massie's request, House Speaker Mike Johnson successfully appealed directly to President Trump for a truce, multiple sources told Axios.  — But Massie broke the truce just days later, accusing top Republicans of covering up the Jeffrey Epstein files.

Trump Torches GOP Sen For Blocking Effort Investigating Pelosi Stock Trades  —  President Donald Trump railed against Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley on Wednesday afternoon following Hawley's decision to join Democrats in tanking a measure that would have commissioned a government report …

This Tuckahoe home won a $1.26 billion contract for an ICE detention center.  The owner isn't talking.  —  On July 18, the Acquisition Logistics Company received a contract worth a reported $1.26 billion from the federal government for the construction and operation of an immigrant detention center …

Why are American kids getting sicker?  —  This story originally appeared in Kids Today, Vox's newsletter about kids, for everyone.  Sign up here for future editions.  —  One of the central claims that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made as secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services …

‘Not a Damned Penny.’ Texas Flood Survivors Look for Help … From the early days of the tragedy, officials in Kerr County have faced questions about the weak local government response and lack of alarm systems along the river.Desiree Rios for The New York Times

Donald Trump slams India and Russia as ‘dead economies’ after tariff stand-off  —  US president's threat of 25% levy against New Delhi stands as deadline nears  —  John Reed in New Delhi and Chris Kay in Bengaluru  —  Donald Trump has described India as a “dead economy” and said the US does …