Ex-girlfriend of Graham Platner says he removed condoms without consent during sex  —  The campaign for the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine called the allegation “categorically false and politically motivated.”  —  Summary  —  An ex-girlfriend of embattled Senate candidate Graham Platner told …

Iran targets Bahrain and Kuwait after US launches strikes and limits the sale of Iranian oil  —  The U.S. launched strikes on Iran early Wednesday, hours after it revoked a license authorizing the sale of Iranian oil in retaliation for what it said were Tehran's attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump says he ordered cutting off all trade with Spain  —  U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he had ordered his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to cut off all trade with Spain, calling Madrid a “terrible partner” in NATO.  —  Trump was speaking alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte ahead …

DOJ says it will send election monitors to 3 Michigan cities  —  Lansing — President Donald Trump's Department of Justice has informed Michigan officials it intends to send election monitors to three cities in the battleground state for the Aug. 4 primary.  —  Letters from the federal department …

White House Pressures Top U.S. Grocers on Beef Prices  —  USDA officials called grocers including Walmart, Kroger and Albertsons about beef prices ahead of July 4 holiday weekend  —  Just days before July 4, an Agriculture Department official called some of the country's top grocers to raise a pressing topic: Lower beef prices.

GOP Seem to be Following Script on Mitch McConnell's Health  —  No one is giving a straight answer on the condition of the aging senator  —  Key Points  —  The state of Mitch McConnell's health continues to be a guarded secret, with no one in his orbit willing to give a straight answer …

911 calls: Haitian father shot in head while driving children to church in Springfield  —  A man who was shot in the head in his car on the south side of Springfield Sunday, July 5, appeared to have been on his way to church with his children, according to 911 calls.

ICE officer fatally shoots Mexican man in Houston during traffic stop  —  The incident appears to mark the first deadly shooting by federal immigration officers since Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed in Minneapolis in January.  —  Summary  —  An Immigration and Customs Enforcement …

Ken Paxton vowed to crack down on “illegal voting.”  He may have violated Texas election law.  —  The Texas attorney general appears to have used an address where he did not live while voting in six elections in the past two years — despite his warning voters that “it is illegal to misrepresent your residence on election records.”

How much and why ACA Marketplace premiums are going up in 2027  —  Every spring and summer, health insurers submit rate filings to state regulators detailing expectations and premium rate changes for individual market health plans for the coming year.  This analysis focuses on individual market filings …

It's Not Polarization; It's the Radicalization of the Political Right  —  Keywords  —  Political polarization radicalization democratic backsliding radical right authoritarianism democracy  —  Few concepts have shaped contemporary political analysis as much as polarization.

MAGA Loves Trump's World Cup Meddling—Until We Lose  —  WHILE MUCH OF THE SOCCER WORLD was aghast that Donald Trump would meddle in the World Cup—prodding FIFA to suspend the one-game ban of American striker Folarin Balogun—pro-Trump media figures were delighted.

Johnson eyes vote on bill to end ‘birth tourism’ to satisfy right flank  —  Speaker Mike Johnson is exploring whether to put legislation on the House floor that would end the ability of pregnant women to enter the United States legally to gain citizenship for their children.