Vance's security detail ‘fed up’ with hastily arranged personal and family travel requests  —  On Thursday last week, Secret Service agents groused among themselves as they prepared to deliver another perk to Vice President JD Vance's family: join a military helicopter crew to fly his young son to his golf lesson.

Hegseth announces annual testosterone screenings for service members  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced a new effort to annually screen service members' testosterone levels and offer testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), framing it as a way to keep troops on the “leading edge of lethality.”

Blanche's slip-up on his Trump relationship: 'I'm his lawyer'  —  Todd Blanche likely fueled the most potent criticism against him Wednesday with a gaffe that may haunt him beyond his ongoing confirmation hearing to become the next attorney general.  Asked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) …

US Mint to begin producing $1 coins featuring Trump  —  The U.S. Mint will begin striking one-dollar coins featuring a portrait of President Donald Trump on its face in commemoration of the nation's semiquincentennial anniversary, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced Wednesday morning.

Exclusive: Officials asked to turn over phones at the White House as Wiles, Patel lead intensifying leak probe  —  Chief of staff Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump's closest aide, and FBI Director Kash Patel helped personally orchestrate a sprawling investigation last week at the White House aimed …

In seismic shift, more than 100 House Democrats vote to end Israel aid  —  Nearly half of House Democrats voted to cut off aid to Israel Wednesday, underscoring a seismic shift in political support for the longtime U.S. ally.  —  The amendment to a State Department spending bill …

Iran Sent Message to JD Vance Warning that Kushner and Witkoff Were “Abusing” Their Inside Access to Negotiations  —  Drop Site's journalism is free to read because thousands of readers choose to fund it.  If our work matters to you, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today.

House Republicans resurrect Save America Act by adding it to spending bill  —  Effort is latest attempt to pass bill that seeks to ban mail-in ballots and imposes voter identification requirements  —  House Republicans on Wednesday made another attempt to answer Donald Trump's demand …

Why we still don't know what foods are the source of the cyclospora outbreak  —  Government cuts have contributed to an information vacuum on foodborne illness  —  As of Tuesday, a parasite called cyclospora has  —  so far this summer.  On Monday, Michigan health officials announced their first potential source:

FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals  —  The rich and famous who filed into the Kennedy Center's opera house in December were there to enjoy one of the nation's most exclusive celebrations of the performing arts: the center's annual honors gala.

Senior defense officials looking at Cuba military options  —  Add CBS News on Google  —  Washington — As the U.S.-Iran war restarts following the collapse of the weeks-long ceasefire, senior Pentagon officials are also quietly eyeing another flashpoint much closer to home: Cuba.

New frontiers in sanewashing  —  One of the keys to understanding the current catastrophe enveloping this country because it chose to make Donald Trump president (twice, so far) is that for no doubt complex sociological and psychological reasons lots of elite actors have to pretend to themselves …

Amy Coney Barrett reveals insane threats against SCOTUS  —  Enough is enough — it is wrong that public officials are receiving an unprecedented level of threats on their lives and now require significant security measures to guarantee their safety.  —  Supreme Court Justices Amy Coney Barrett …

FBI Has Looked at Using Questionable AI Tech to Review Signatures on Seized Mail-In Ballots  —  The FBI has explored using artificial intelligence to assess the validity of signatures on tens of thousands of mail-in ballot envelopes seized from Fulton County, Georgia, the latest push …

Trump's Attorney General Nominee Just Opened the Door to a National Abortion Ban  —  Under questioning from Sen. Ted Cruz, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche committed to reviewing Biden-era guidance on the Comstock Act. … At the very end of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche's Wednesday …

New York Times Files Motion to Quash Subpoenas of Its Journalists  —  The Justice Department is seeking to compel grand jury testimony as part of an investigation into Times reporting on the president's new Air Force One jet.  —  The New York Times filed a motion on Wednesday to quash subpoenas issued …

Judge handling challenge to Trump immigration halt cites exceptions for World Cup visas  —  A federal judge said Wednesday that President Donald Trump's policy facilitating visas for participants in the ongoing World Cup soccer tournament undercuts the administration's claims …

In Arizona, the McCain name is now raising money for a Democrat  —  Cindy and Jimmy McCain's support for Gov. Katie Hobbs underscores the state's drift away from the party their family long defined.  —  Cindy and her son Jimmy McCain will host a fundraiser on behalf of Gov. Katie Hobbs in September …

Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump's ‘American flag blue’ liner is now closer to gray  —  The newly drained Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool's bottom surface has noticeably faded since it was lined with a protective coating in a color President Donald Trump called “American flag blue” this spring.

EXCLUSIVE: Trump DOJ's Top ‘Antifa’ Prosecutor Marched With Crowd on Jan. 6  —  It was not known publicly that a federal prosecutor marched to the Capitol on Jan. 6.  He was appointed this year to run a national task force targeting alleged left-wing political violence.

G.O.P. Appears to Boost Socialist's Primary Campaign for Wisconsin Governor  —  Republicans appear to view Francesca Hong as their weakest opponent in a general election.  They are spending $2.2 million in an apparent attempt to aid her primary campaign.  —  A super PAC tied to Republicans …

CDC nominee struggles to convince senators she'll stand up to RFK Jr.  —  Donald Trump's nominee to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Erica Schwartz, struggled during her Wednesday confirmation hearing to convince senators she'd stand up to her boss, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., like her predecessor did.

Pentagon panel to study 2021 COVID vaccine mandate  —  The Pentagon on Wednesday announced it will convene a panel to study the “decisions, coordination, planning, and execution” of the military's 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate, a rule that led to the dismissal or departure of more than 8,700 service members.

Nearly half of Americans think Iran war will go on for a year or beyond from now: Poll  —  Close to half of Americans believe the Iran war will stretch a year or beyond from now, according to a new poll, as tensions reignite between Washington and Tehran.  —  In a poll from The Economist/YouGov …

Billionaires who fled California wealth tax risk intrusive residency audit  —  State has a history of aggressively pursuing rich individuals who claim to have relocated to low-tax jurisdictions  —  Tech entrepreneurs and investors who claim to have left California to avoid a proposed …

Netflix Smears ‘Gone with the Wind’ as Racist, Refers Viewers to Black Lives Matter  —  If you look for the 1939 masterpiece Gone with the Wind on Netflix, you'll be smacked across the face as a racist and scolded into seeking out the far left-wing radicals in Black Lives Matter.  —  Here's the blurb:

F.B.I. Searches for Drugs in Van Involved in Houston ICE Shooting  —  Federal investigators believe illegal drugs were inside the vehicle, though the immigration agents involved in the encounter do not appear to have known that.  —  The F.B.I. is investigating whether drugs were inside a van …

Venezuelan man becomes 22nd person to die in ICE custody this year  —  Jesús Manuel Arenas-Silva, 45, found ‘unresponsive’ while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia  —  Another person has died in federal immigration custody this week in Georgia, officials announced on Wednesday.

Medical school directors tripped up before Congress over whether only women have uteruses  —  The heads of two University of California system medical schools refused to identify biological women as the only people who have uteruses and can get pregnant during a House hearing on diversity, equity, and inclusion in medical schools.

Maine Democrats aren't coalescing behind a Graham Platner replacement  —  Maine Democrats want to hold onto Graham Platner's progressive base — but they can't agree on who is best positioned to carry the torch.  —  That indecision is creating a fractured field heading into an unpredictable …

They Don't Care If ICE Kills People  —  Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has his first day of hearings for his nomination to the top Justice Department job today.  He'll spend most of the day answering questions—or, more precisely, not answering questions, because the rules the Republicans …