White House gave Iran private message before new Hormuz operation  —  A high-level Trump administration official informed Iran on Sunday of the impending U.S. operation to “guide” ships through the Strait of Hormuz and warned Tehran not to interfere, according to a U.S. official and a source with knowledge.

Education Department opens probe into Smith College for admitting trans women … Smith College, a private liberal arts school founded in 1871, has admitted trans women since 2015, along with many other elite women's colleges.  —  The school's admission policies drew attention and sparked …

Trump ballroom project security funding included in $72B GOP enforcement bill … “The White House applauds Congress's latest proposal in its reconciliation package which includes additional funding for security infrastructure upgrades in relation to the long overdue East Wing Modernization Project …

Alabama legislative committees approve GOP gerrymanders despite ongoing primary election  —  Alabama lawmakers took initial votes Tuesday giving the greenlight to legislation that would change congressional and state senate district maps in primary elections that are already underway.

Trump Administration Demands Names of 2020 Election Workers in Georgia  —  The Justice Department again appears to be using the investigative power of the federal government to rehash debunked claims that Democrats stole the 2020 election.  —  The Justice Department has demanded the identities …

Trump Is Losing a Second War  —  Last month, out of more than 11,000 new passenger vehicles registered in Norway, only around 150 had internal consumption engines.  The rest were fully electric.  In mainland Europe as a whole, EV sales are up 51 percent from a year ago.

Fox's “nuke” justification for the Iran war — and the higher prices it's wrought — has collapsed  —  Fox pundits have repeatedly argued that the Iran war's costs are “a small price to pay” for its supposed prevention of the imminent threat posed by Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.

A Conspiracy Theory We Can All Believe In  —  How do Democrats win the crazy person vote?  —  ∙ Paid  —  1. True Lies  —  On The Focus Group this week, Sarah heard from lots of voters—Republicans and Democrats—who think the latest alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump was not on the level.

Democrats see opening on abortion as Supreme Court returns it to spotlight  —  A legal dispute that could imperil access to the abortion pill mifepristone adds urgency to an issue that had moved to the backburner in Democratic politics.  —  Summary  —  Democrats, who retreated from their focus …

DOJ Offers Lawyers $25,000 Signing Bonuses as Recruitment Lags  —  The Justice Department is taking a new tack to overcome hurdles in attracting qualified legal talent: offering $25,000 signing bonuses to staff an office investigating youth transgender treatments and litigating the Trump administration's immigration agenda.

Exclusive: VA conducted internal investigations into employees who attended vigil for Alex Pretti  —  Federal agencies Veterans Labor unions  —  For days after the killing of Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, fellow workers for the Department of Veterans Affairs held vigils …

We're about to find out whether Trump is kingmaker or lame duck … The results will reveal how effective the president's political operation is at turning out Republicans when Trump is not on the ballot, and how motivated MAGA is to go along with his ongoing retribution campaign.

Kennedy Starts a Push to Help Americans Quit Antidepressants  —  The health secretary has long complained that Americans overuse psychiatric medications.  New policies he is introducing aim to change that.  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Monday announced several initiatives intended …

Trump Pressures FDA Commissioner to Approve Flavored Vapes  —  Marty Makary has been on thin ice with the White House in recent days  —  WASHINGTON—A frustrated President Trump over the weekend upbraided Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary for not moving quickly enough …

Vladimir Putin hunkers down for fear of assassination  —  Security around Russia's president tightens after audacious drone attacks from Ukraine

Prosecutors Had a Drugs-for-Votes Scheme “Locked Up.”  Under Trump, They Were Told Not to Pursue Charges.  —  To the narcotics agents investigating drug smuggling in Puerto Rico prisons, it seemed at first like a typical scheme: associates of an inmate gang sneaking drugs into the prison …