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 …

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.) …

Tehran threatens to halt all Middle East energy exports after US reimposes its blockade on Iran  —  The U.S. military reimposed a naval blockade on Iran and intensified its airstrike campaign early Wednesday, hitting an Iranian army barracks and killing at least seven troops …

U.S. Mint to produce $1 coin with Trump's face on it, treasury secretary says  —  The U.S. Mint will soon begin producing a new $1 gold-hued coin with President Donald Trump's face on it.  —  Summary  —  The U.S. Mint will soon begin producing a new $1 gold-hued coin with President Donald Trump's face …

Todd Blanche says he can't meet directly with Epstein victims  —  Todd Blanche fended off questions about his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files at his confirmation hearing Wednesday morning, telling members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that “when it comes to victims of his horrible man …

Trump's pick for spy chief: 'I'm not an election denier'  —  Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump's nominee for director of national intelligence, acknowledged at his Senate confirmation hearing Wednesday that Joe Biden prevailed in the 2020 election, but declined to clearly affirm his win was legitimate.

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 …

FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals  —  Reporting Highlights  — Expensive Gifts: Despite regulating broadcast media, FCC commissioners have accepted pricey tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala from CBS or its parent company, now Paramount.

'I'm staying out of Maine': Chuck Schumer sidelines himself with the Senate majority on the line … And Chuck Schumer, known for working every possible angle to give his party's campaigns an edge, is largely helpless to do anything about it.  —  The sidelines are an unusual place for the longtime Senate Democratic leader.

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:

Merz to MAGA: Butt out of Europe's elections  —  BERLIN — German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Wednesday pushed back against a new, million-dollar funding scheme from U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to support “free speech and religious liberty” in Europe.

Canadian woman slaps teen over Trump clothing on Jersey Shore boardwalk; now charged and in ICE custody  —  A leftist Canadian woman allegedly slapped a teen who was wearing President Trump-branded clothing on the Jersey Shore over the Fourth of July weekend — before she was arrested and detained by immigration officials.

The Forever War Gets Scary  —  But I'm not talking about bombs and drones  —  For all my interviews and more, subscribe on YouTube.  —  Transcript  —  The war with Iran has just reached a very scary phase, and I'm not talking about the bombs and the drones.

Why MAGA influencers are wooing Graham Platner's male fans  —  Manosphere figures are using anger over the Maine race to coax young voters back to Trump  —  Graham Platner has already quit the race to be the next senator from Maine, but defenses of the once-rising Democrat are only growing.

New York offers Democrats a roadmap for data center fight  —  New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's first-in-the-nation data center moratorium could provide a playbook for other Democrats confronting one of the midterms' most heated issues. … - Until now, no governor had imposed a statewide data center moratorium.

Stevens gains edge in Dems' Senate race that remains ‘wide open,’ poll finds  —  U.S. Senate Democratic hopeful Haley Stevens holds a nearly 7-percentage-point lead over rival Abdul El-Sayed in a new statewide poll of Democratic primary voters, with about 10% of respondents saying …

Biden Will Release Memoir Just After the November Midterms  —  The former president announced that the book, “Promise Me, America,” will come out on Nov. 17, and will cover the tumultuous events of his presidency as well as his re-election bid.  —  Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr …