Israel says it has struck Iran after taking missile fire  —  Israel launched airstrikes early Monday targeting central and western Iran in response to missile fire from Tehran, attacks that threatened to drag the wider Middle East back into a regional war.  Iranian state television reported …

Ken Paxton's Impeachment Defense Lawyer Endorses James Talarico  —  A Texas lawyer who helped lead Republican Ken Paxton's defense during a 2023 impeachment trial said Paxton “has lost sight of his core mission.”  — Copy  —  A Texas lawyer who helped lead Republican Ken Paxton's defense during …

Deep in Rural Virginia, a MAGA Pro-Gun Push Takes an Unnerving Turn  —  When Governor Abigail Spanberger signed a new assault weapons ban in Virginia last month, it got almost zero national news coverage.  Yet it amounted to an important milestone: It marked the first time in U.S. history …

6 people hurt in stabbings at New York's Penn Station with a suspect in custody, authorities says  —  Six people were injured in a stabbing inside New York's Penn Station on Sunday evening, authorities said, less than a day before thousands of fans are expected to descend on neighboring Madison Square Garden …

Trump administration launches largest-ever effort to denaturalize U.S. citizens accused of fraud or other crimes  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  The Trump administration on Monday plans to announce it is seeking to revoke the citizenship of 17 U.S. citizens accused of immigration fraud …

On campaign promises about foreign wars, Trump rewrites recent history  —  The candidate who promised not to launch a war has been reduced to “I didn't guarantee ‘no war,’” as if we don't remember the events of two years ago.  —  Before Donald Trump abruptly ended his latest “Meet the Press” …

Spy-powers deal is latest Hill casualty of Trump's impetuous decisionmaking … But Democrats are withdrawing their support in protest of the Pulte appointment, with nearly every Democratic senator joining a handful of Republicans in tanking a procedural vote early Friday morning …

Progressive Challenger Overtakes Spencer Pratt in Race for L.A. Mayor  —  Nithya Raman pulled into second place in the race to see who will face Mayor Karen Bass in November.  There are more votes to be counted.  —  Nithya Raman, a progressive member of the Los Angeles City Council …

All the Ways Europe Is Ditching American Technology  —  A WIRED timeline shows how dozens of governments, companies, and other organizations across Europe are moving, or planning to shift, away from US Big Tech.  —  Europe is done with American Big Tech.  Well, sort of.

Gordon S. Wood, Pioneering Historian of Early America, Dies at 92  —  In a Pulitzer-winning book, “The Radicalism of the American Revolution,” he wrote that the colonists rose up against an entire worldview, not just against taxation.  —  Gordon S. Wood, a historian whose decades of research …

Pam Bondi was the worst AG in history.  Until now.  —  This edition of PN is made possible by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  ☀️ Subscribe to PN ☀️  —  Pam Bondi has a strong claim to being the most corrupt and subservient attorney general in US history.

Kennedy Center removes Trump's name from website after judge's ruling  —  The center removed President Donald Trump's name from its website, although the front of the performing arts venue still read: “The Donald J. Trump and The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts.”  —  Summary

A Farmer Donated Land to Turn into a Park.  The City Is Building a Massive Data Center Instead  —  In 1999, a farmer gave away 87 acres of land to a small Texas city to use as a park.  The city sold to a data center developer for $10 million.  —  Almost 30 years ago a farming family deeded land …

Andrew Tate's Empire of Abuse  —  How the defining figure of the manosphere built a fortune—and became a political force—by systematically exploiting women.  —  “I've done this with over 100 girls,” Tate said, about compelling women into sex work.  “I almost sound evil.  But I'm not.”

FTX Co-Founder Sam Bankman-Fried Applies for Trump Pardon  —  FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried formally applied for a presidential pardon, more than two years after he was convicted over the multi-billion dollar collapse of his once-thriving cryptocurrency empire.

Blanche: “Not a Crime to Party with Mr. Epstein”  —  This weekend saw a series of worrisome escalations between Israel and Iran, with the battered, beleaguered ceasefire in the region threatening to give way entirely.  On Sunday, Israel carried out strikes against Hezbollah forces in Beirut …

Knicks fans warn Trump to expect hostile reception at NBA Finals game  —  Some Knicks fans say the president is not welcome at Madison Square Garden.  —  Summary  —  President Donald Trump is used to cheers at his highly curated rallies and events.  But on Monday night he's widely expected …

231. The Death of Purcell's “Principle”  —  There is no coherent defense of the “Purcell principle” that can be rationalized with the Supreme Court's behavior over the past six weeks in the Alabama and Louisiana redistricting cases.  —  Welcome back to “One First,” a newsletter that aims …

This agent sent models to meet Jeffrey Epstein.  Now he's trying to explain why.  —  A Post examination reveals how Epstein cultivated a network of modeling industry associates who offered to bring women into his orbit after he was released from jail.  —  Summary

How America Gave Up on Its Own History  —  Unable to agree on how to interpret the American story, the country's schools, universities, and political institutions have stopped trying to tell it at all.  —  Seek  —  on a july afternoon in 2019, I found myself in a large, sun-dappled room within one of America's great estates.

How the Drive to Find a Conspiracy Against Trump Rocked the Justice Dept.  —  The push to investigate what the president's allies saw as a “deep state” cabal intent on taking him down set off cascading crises, ended careers and undercut the department's credibility with judges.

It's Johnson's Gavel But Trump's House  —  Mike Johnson has handed over powers that usually rest with the speaker to Trump.  — Copy  —  It's become a running joke among some Republican members: Speaker Mike Johnson has had to rely on President Donald Trump so much, Trump is actually the one running the House.

Aaron Schock's pursuit of a second chance — and a gold mine … Aaron Schock could not stop talking about the gold.  He returned from a trip to Caracas in early 2025 telling a confidant that Venezuela's vice president had promised him a gold mine — an honest-to-god gold mine — if he could get U.S. sanctions lifted on the country.