Furious Trump's Firing of Fed's Lisa Cook May Be About to Backfire  —  To execute his authoritarian takeover, President Donald Trump requires the devoted service of willing accomplices.  He needs loyalists in strategic positions who will bend or break the law to carry out his designs …

DOGE Put Critical Social Security Data at Risk, Whistle-Blower Says  —  DOGE team members uploaded a database with the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans to a vulnerable cloud server, according to the agency's chief data officer.  —  Members of the Department …

She Pushed to Overturn Trump's Loss in the 2020 Election.  Now She'll Help Oversee U.S. Election Security.  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  Heather Honey, a high-profile denier …

Vanity Fair staff erupt in fury over proposed Melania Trump cover with foul-mouthed meltdown  —  Raging Vanity Fair employees have vowed to quit their jobs and work at a supermarket if First Lady Melania Trump is granted a spot on its cover.  —  'I will walk out the motherf***ing door …

Trump Suggests People Might Want A Dictator For The Second Day In A Row  —  “So the line is that I'm a dictator, but I stop crime,” the president said Tuesday.  “So a lot of people say, you know, 'If that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator.'”  —  Tuesday was a déjà vu …

Donald Trump's Big Gay Government … The Washington Monument as seen from the Ned, a private club where many Trump officials socialize.Caroline Gutman for The New York Times  —  It was the last Wednesday in July, and many of Washington's top players were hanging out at the Ned, a private club around the corner from the White House.

FEMA employees put on leave after criticizing Trump administration in open letter  —  About 180 current and former FEMA staffers sent a letter on Monday to members of Congress and other officials protesting the agency's leadership and direction.  —  The Trump administration placed …

Iowa Democrats win massive upset to break GOP supermajority  —  Iowa Democrat Catelin Drey won a major upset on Tuesday night, flipping a deep-red seat in the state Senate and breaking the GOP's supermajority in the chamber.  —  Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch by a wide 55-44 margin …

Exxon Held Secret Talks With Rosneft About Going Back to Russia  —  Resuming business in Russia would mark a dramatic rapprochement after Exxon's messy breakup with Moscow when Putin attacked Ukraine in 2022  —  After huddling with President Trump in Alaska, President Vladimir Putin told reporters Russia …

National Guard members activated for DC federal takeover seen picking-up trash  — National Guard members were seen picking up trash near the White House Tuesday morning.  — Officials say it's part of a broader beautification mission tied to the federal “D.C. Takeover.”

Trump's Unconstitutional Plan to Penalize States that Allow Cashless Bail  —  President Trump recently issued an executive order directing the Justice Department to penalize jurisdictions that allow cashless bail, by withholding federal funds from them:

Meet the Trump appointee apparently maintaining ‘unheard of’ ties to Tesla  —  The Trump appointee heading a government technology unit at the General Services Administration is on an “unpaid leave of absence” from Tesla — where he's worked as an engineer — while working for the government.

Democrats' Deep Divide on Gaza, Israel Boils Over at Party Meeting  —  Democratic National Committee debates issue that threatens midterm election unity  —  MINNEAPOLIS—A debate Tuesday at the Democratic National Committee's summer meeting exposed a growing rift over U.S. policy toward Israel …

Israeli military says strikes on Gaza hospital targeted a Hamas camera, without providing evidence  —  The Israeli military said Tuesday that its double strike on a Gaza hospital that killed 20 people targeted what it believed was a Hamas surveillance camera.

A Teen Was Suicidal.  ChatGPT Was the Friend He Confided In. … A photograph of Adam Raine taken not long before his death.  His baby blanket, which his mother found in his bed, hangs over a corner.  Mark Abramson for The New York Times  —  When Adam Raine died in April at age 16, some of his friends did not initially believe it.

Gates Foundation Quietly Cuts Ties With Firm Linked to Democrats  —  Officials made no mention of politics in cutting ties with a network of nonprofit funds, but Bill Gates has made other moves to insulate the charity from political pressures.  —  America's largest charitable foundation …

Trump Has Forced Out Nearly 10% Of The Federal Workforce  —  “We're seeing the arson of our government,” warned Max Stier of Partnership for Public Service, which has been tracking people's lost jobs since January.  —  WASHINGTON - More than 199,000 federal workers have left their jobs …

Cracker Barrel scraps new logo after outrage from customers, Trump … Cracker Barrel Old Country Store will scrap its controversial rebranding plan, the company announced Tuesday.  —  “We thank our guests for sharing your voices and love for Cracker Barrel.  We said we would listen, and we have.

‘The most illegal search’: Judges push back against D.C. criminal charges  —  Veteran defense lawyers and law enforcement experts have been warning about the potential for overreach since the federal government muscled its way into policing decisions in the nation's capital nearly three weeks ago.

Trump privately presses top Indiana Republicans to redistrict during White House meeting … “It feels like the tide is starting to turn as Indiana Republican legislators are starting to understand they can deliver a huge win that Trump and his team will not forget,” said one Hoosier Republican who was in the lager meeting.

GOP polling memo shows Cornyn gaining on Paxton in Texas Senate primary … The two have been locked in a contentious battle for the nomination that Republicans fear could leave them vulnerable in an otherwise solidly red state.  This race has been particularly worrying for the GOP …

Thinking Outside the Box; Getting Creative  —  Two ideas I heard from TPM Readers today:  —  The first is from TPM Reader BT, who recommends that big cities hold military occupation referendums.  Needless to say these would not constrain President Trump.  But they would make clear what the population of the city wants.

Justice Department asks Supreme Court to allow Trump to withhold foreign aid … “Congress did not upset the delicate interbranch balance by allowing for unlimited, unconstrained private suits,” Sauer wrote.  “Any lingering dispute about the proper disposition of funds that the President seeks …

Jack Smith's Legal Team Fires Back Against Ethics Complaint  —  For months, the former special counsel has remained silent as the president and his advisers have publicly attacked him.  —  Lawyers for Jack Smith, the former special counsel who investigated Donald J. Trump …

Trump's law enforcement surge is alienating DC residents, senior officers say  —  A pair of senior Washington, D.C., police commanders acknowledged Tuesday that the ongoing federal law enforcement surge in the nation's capital is alienating the population and damaging community relationships that will have to be mended in the future.

Judge says Cuomo can't prolong court battle with accuser to ‘resurrect his public image’  —  A judge rejected former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's attempt to prolong a taxpayer-funded court battle with a woman who accused him of sexual assault, saying it wasn't in the public's interest …

Purging ‘Equity’ Programs, G.O.P. Defunded Its Own Roads  —  When Republicans repealed a Biden-era “access and equity” grant program for transportation, they canceled funding for projects in some of their own districts.  —  When the Biden administration created a grant program three years ago …

Newsom's popularity grows in 2028 primary field: Poll  —  California Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) popularity has grown among Democratic voters in recent months as he has emerged as a possible top contender for the party's 2028 presidential nominee, according to a new poll that was released on Tuesday.

Appeals court says Pa. mail ballots can't be thrown out over misdated envelopes  —  The ruling is the latest episode in an ongoing legal saga about whether to count such ballots in a crucial swing state … “Because of the Commonwealth's date requirement, an inadvertent typographical error …

Judge dismisses Trump lawsuit against Maryland-based judges over handling of immigration cases  —  The Trump administration alleged that the court had no authority to issue a standing order that imposes an automatic, two-day pause in deportation cases.  —  WASHINGTON — A federal judge …

Trump to put Dan Scavino in charge of hiring at White House … Gor endeared himself to the president and his family for adopting a zero tolerance policy toward job-seekers who had been critical of Trump in the past, often scouring their social media posts and occasionally intervening to block hirings.

Trump wants expanded death penalty, longer control over police in D.C.  —  Call for greater use of capital punishment is likely to draw fierce political and legal pushback.  —  President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he wants to see the death penalty imposed on every person convicted of murder in D.C. …