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4:20 PM ET, July 29, 2026

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 Top Items: 
Politico:
Paul says Fauci will face ‘repercussions’ for taking the Fifth.  That could get complicated.  —  Rand Paul says Anthony Fauci can expect consequences for the former Covid czar's decision to exercise his Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination to avoid testifying before Paul's Senate committee on Wednesday.
RELATED:
Ellie Quinlan Houghtaling / New Republic:
Fauci Pleads the Fifth and Kills Republicans' Big Covid Hearing  —  Anthony Fauci will not testify before Congress Wednesday.  —  The former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases was subpoenaed to testify before a Republican-led Senate committee regarding his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
NBC News:
Anthony Fauci invokes 5th Amendment right not to testify at Covid hearing, calls Sen. Rand Paul ‘unhinged’  —  The former top health official said he would invoke his 5th Amendment right not to testify to avoid the possibility that Republicans might try to prosecute him for perjury.
Herb Scribner / Axios:
The most fiery moments from Fauci's Senate hearing  —  Dr. Anthony Fauci faced dozens of questions and theatrics Wednesday before the Senate's Homeland Security Committee. … - Many senators' questions Wednesday cited the diary, which covers COVID's origins, Fauci's growing public profile …
NPR:
Anthony Fauci invokes Fifth Amendment in Rand Paul Senate hearing  —  Anthony Fauci declined to answer any questions before a Senate committee focused on the coronavirus pandemic Wednesday morning.  —  “Although it pains me to do so, because of the respect I have for the legislative branch of government …
Arek Sarkissian / Politico:
Florida attorney general launches probe into Fauci over Covid claimsNEW!
Discussion: Florida Politics
Karoun Demirjian / New York Times:
Fauci's Pardon From Biden Would Not Shield Him From New Offenses
Chris Marquette / Politico:
Blanche nomination hangs by a thread as Cornyn stands by settlement ultimatum  —  GOP Sen. John Cornyn said Wednesday, less than 24 hours before a critical committee vote, that he is “not prepared” to support Todd Blanche's confirmation as attorney general as the two continue to tangle …
RELATED:
Brian Faler / Politico:   Finance Democrats say they'll demand vote on Trump audit immunity
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Cornyn meeting with Blanche canceled ahead of key Judiciary Committee vote
Discussion: Newsweek and NOTUS
Wall Street Journal:
‘YOLO’ Republican Senator Plays Hardball With Trump
Discussion: Washington Examiner
New York Times:
Trump Demanded Details of Agents' Interview of Comey, New Filing Says  —  The demand suggests the intense personal involvement of President Trump in investigating one of his longtime critics, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey.  —  Secret Service agents who questioned the former F.B …
RELATED:
Politico:
‘Preposterous’: Comey team attacks charges over alleged threat to Trump  —  A May 2026 FBI interview with notorious mobster “Sammy the Bull.”  A text message from a disgruntled acquaintance misled by a Rudy Giuliani podcast.  An actress' late-night television routine.
MS NOW:
Secret Service felt pressure from administration to surveil James Comey, new documents reveal  —  Documents detail worries about the legality of a directive to surveil the former FBI director after the “seashells” photo the government claims amounts to a threat to President Donald Trump's life.
Dan Mangan / CNBC:   Secret Service ‘illegally’ surveilled Comey in Trump ‘8647’ threat case: Court filing
Jamelle Bouie / New York Times:
Why Do We Tolerate Elon Musk's Racist Commentary?  —  “The Turner Diaries” is a work of white supremacist agitprop.  It purports to be the diary of a neo-Nazi militant, Earl Turner, who is working to overthrow the United States government — or as the book calls it, “the System” — through a group called “the Organization.”
Discussion: The New World
Quinnipiac University Poll:
6 In 10 Voters Oppose U.S. Military Action In Iran Amid Spike In Expectations It Will Last A Year Or More, Trump Approval Hits New Low, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 49% Worse Off Financially Than A Year Ago As Majority Thinks Economy Is Worsening  — mail_outline
Discussion: The Hill and The Federalist
RELATED:
Ariel Edwards-Levy / CNN:
CNN Poll: Americans doubt Trump is paying enough attention to the country's most important problems  —  A record-high 73% of US adults say that President Donald Trump hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems, a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS finds, with just 27% saying he's had the right priorities.
Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Scoop: Inside the White House pitch for pre-election MAGA megabill … President Trump and his team disagree.  — White House officials want the Senate to build in flexibility to jam through as much of the SAVE America Act as possible, and they are insisting it can be crafted to avoid tough amendment votes.
Discussion: Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Jordain Carney / Politico:
GOP governors back new reconciliation bill as Senate sputters
Discussion: NewsMax.com and Axios
Thomas Frank / Politico:
Trump overrode his own agencies to deny four Democratic disaster requests  —  President Donald Trump overruled his own agencies when he denied disaster aid for four Democratic-led states this month.  —  Emails between state and federal officials obtained by POLITICO along with more than 150 pages …
TMZ.com:
Marjorie Taylor Greene Ties the Knot With Brian Glenn in Las Vegas  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  RECOUNT ORDERED ON WEDDING GUESTS  —  UPDATE  —  7:46 AM PT ... Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... the newylweds had dinner at Spago and got married at the Terrazza di Sogno in The Bellagio.
RELATED:
Ryan King / New York Post:
Marjorie Taylor Greene marries MAGA reporter Brian Glenn in Las Vegas
Discussion: The Hill and The Independent
New York Times:
Saudi Arabia's Strikes in Iraq Mark Entry Into U.S.-Iran War.  —  The U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they had carried out joint airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq, and Iran targeted U.S. military sites in Jordan.  —  Here's the latest.  —  American and Saudi fighter jets attacked …
RELATED:
Associated Press:
Iran resumes missile attacks as US and Saudis strike Tehran-backed militias in Iraq
Fox News:
Trump says US will ‘beat the f— s— out of them’ after Iran launches surprise missile strike
RELATED:
Noel Sims / Popular Information:
The fake historian advising Trump's anti-Smithsonian crusade  —  Last Friday, President Trump released an executive order directing officials to install signs outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History (NMAH) informing visitors that the museum presents history inaccurately.
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Alex Jones calls for immediate Trump impeachment  —  Alex Jones, formerly of InfoWars, on Tuesday said President Trump must be impeached over the Iran conflict, describing the situation as “absolutely out of control” and warning that the administration is preparing for a national draft.
Oliver Darcy / Status:
Bari's New ‘60’ Slate … On Tuesday afternoon, I received an urgent tip on the encrypted-messaging app Signal: Ross Douthat, the conservative opinion columnist at The New York Times, was set to leave the newspaper and join “60 Minutes.”  Initially, I was skeptical.
Sophia Cai / Politico:
FIFA is going into business with a Kushner.  Democrats smell blood.  —  Gianni Infantino's political future may be on the U.S. midterm ballot.  —  For years, FIFA's president has nurtured one of the closest relationships between any world leader and President Donald Trump …
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:10 minutes ago
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement  —  For release at 2:00 p.m. EDT  —  The Federal Open Market Committee approved the following statement for release by a 9 - 3 vote:  —  The Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3-1/2 to 3-3/4 percent, in support of the Federal Reserve's dual mandate.
Brad Plumer / New York Times:
Trump Administration Is Repurposing Federal Land for A.I. Data Centers  —  In the latest example, the Energy Department will convert a shuttered Cold War-era uranium enrichment facility into a data center campus and gas plants.  —  The Trump administration is repurposing large chunks …
Alan Rappeport / New York Times:
Sanctions Bill Would Give Trump Sweeping New Tariff Powers  —  A bipartisan bill in the Senate would allow President Trump to impose tariffs on the biggest importers of Russian energy.  —  The sanctions legislation that moved forward in the Senate this week goes beyond enacting new financial restrictions on Russia and Iran.
Ashleigh Fields / The Hill:
Trump administration ending Medicare premium subsidy program  —  The Trump administration on Tuesday said it would move to end a Biden-era Medicare premium subsidy program, alleging it benefited insurance companies more than enrollees.  —  As a result, Medicare Part D subsidies will expire …
Phil Stewart / Reuters:
US commander warns troops their videos help Iran, sources say  —  The top U.S. commander for the Middle East has warned troops that cellphone videos shared online can help Iran target American bases, and sources told Reuters some deployed personnel could soon be ordered to surrender their phones.
Josh Gerstein / Politico:
Trump said he would ask the Supreme Court to reconsider his birthright order.  The clock's run out.  —  President Donald Trump appears to have missed a deadline to carry out his promise to ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its ruling last month that virtually everyone born on U.S. soil …
Liz Dye / Public Notice:
Harmeet Dhillon demonstrates danger of posting through it  —  This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🫵 Subscribe to PN 🫵 … On October 3, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division …
Discussion: Techdirt and Raw Story
Theodore Schleifer / New York Times:
Why Republicans Aren't Funding a Key Senate Race Yet … Ken Paxton, attorney general of Texas, is the Republican nominee for Senate there but has struggled to raise money.Antranik Tavitian for The New York Times  —  In one of this year's most competitive Senate races, Republicans are refusing to spend money — so far.
emptywheel:
Todd Blanche Colluded with an Italian Mafioso ... and Also Rudy Guiliani ... to Indict Jim Comey  —  Jim Comey has filed his pretrial motions.  The memoranda and backup for each are here (Fitzgerald's affidavit is a worthwhile place to start):  — Motion to Dismiss (MTD) for lack of a true threat
 
 
 New Item Finder: 
5 minutes ago
Arek Sarkissian / Politico:
Florida attorney general launches probe into Fauci over Covid claims   Find
10 minutes ago
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:
Federal Reserve issues FOMC statement   Find
35 minutes ago
Brian Faler / Politico:
Finance Democrats say they'll demand vote on Trump audit immunity   Find
45 minutes ago
Leigh Kimmins / The Daily Beast:
DHS Agents' Raging Texts About ‘Stunt’ Targeting Newsom Revealed   Find
60 minutes ago
Gabrielle M. Etzel / Washington Examiner:
Fauci pleads Fifth Amendment in COVID-19 hearing chaired by Rand Paul   Find
 
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 More Items: 
Deepti Hajela / Associated Press:
‘Pleading the Fifth’ invokes a constitutional amendment that has a long history in US society
Discussion: RedState
Sunlen Serfaty / CNN:
The Trump admin wants to test paint patches on an iconic DC building this week. Preservationists are trying to stop it.
Discussion: Raw Story
Francis Flisiuk / WMTW-TV:
Mills calls Collins ‘vulnerable’ but stops short of endorsing Troy Jackson
Dell Cameron / Wired:
ICE's New Detention Center Contracts Declare State Laws ‘Shall Not Apply’
Discussion: Breitbart
Politico:
Republicans start pondering another debt limit hike as midterms loom
Discussion: The Hill and NewsMax.com
 Earlier Items: 
New York Times:
Can This Man Stop the Mamdani Agenda?
Gerry Doyle / Bloomberg:
A New Age of Missiles Reshapes Battlefields Around The World
Discussion: Axios
Adeel Hassan / New York Times:
A U.S. Citizen Deleted His Phone's Data. Now He Faces a Felony Charge.
Discussion: Reason and Joe.My.God.
New York Times:
Trump's Tariffs Are Sending Some Companies Back to China
Discussion: NewsMax.com and PRICKLY PEAR
Stef W. Kight / Axios:
Thune's next nightmare
Discussion: Bloomberg and Raw Story
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Alexandra Alter / New York Times:
A study of 14,419 self-published novels on Amazon using Pangram's AI detection tools: in 2,168 of the books, 50%+ of prose was AI, and in 970 books, 90%+ was AI

Daniel Thomas / Financial Times:
X settles a long-running legal battle with the World Federation of Advertisers, ending a case that accused brands like Mars and Shell of illegally boycotting X

Cameron Coats / Radio Ink:
Filing: a major Cumulus Media post-bankruptcy stakeholder is likely to be Alden Global Capital President Heath Freeman, who may hold a 31.86% voting interest

 
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