We need the truth about Trump's alleged ‘ballroom’  —  Do rich guys have to ruin everything?  Apparently so.  There came a time about 15 years ago when my soccer obsession got to the point where I felt I needed to pick an English Premier League team to root for, in addition to the U.S. national teams and the Union.

ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals.  —  ICE plans to spend up to $20 million …

White House Asks Justice Department to Consider New Reflecting-Pool Prosecution  —  Officials asked the department whether it is possible to bring new charge against Olympic canoeist after U.S. attorney dropped case  —  WASHINGTON—White House officials have asked the Justice Department …

David Ellison Says He'll Pull Paramount Out of California Starting Oct. 1 if States Refuse to Negotiate Settlement in Antitrust Suit … And, in a move seemingly aimed at gaining leverage in the showdown, he's prepared to start moving Paramount out of California as soon as October unless …

Judge Widens Block on Trump Mail-in Voting Plan for Midterms  —  A federal judge in Boston entered a nationwide order blocking the US Postal Service from carrying out President Donald Trump's directives to overhaul mail-in voting policies before the November midterm elections …

One Woman's Message From the Hell of ICE Detention  —  My husband, son, and I have been locked up for months—despite being permanent residents with no criminal record.  It is an unendurable, unending nightmare.  —  Pocket  —  My name is Maryam Tahmasebi, and I am a professor of psychology …

How Iran Adapted Its Attacks as U.S. War Munitions Dwindled  —  The Iranian strikes that killed three U.S. soldiers in Jordan show how quickly Iran's war-fighting skills have evolved, as the Pentagon runs low on interceptors.  —  During five intense days last month, Iran launched waves …

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Splits From Fiancé Riley Roberts  —  AOC SPLIT FROM LONGTIME FIANCÉ Before Frozen Egg Plan  —  There's a reason Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn't mentioning her fiancé Riley Roberts when she talks about freezing her eggs ... TMZ has confirmed they broke up.

Robot book club  —  AI has become my reading buddy as I've plowed through my summer book list, helping me keep track of plots and characters, unpack themes, and make sense of wordy, old prose.  — Why it matters: The way many of us actually read books — a few pages before bed …

‘Fireworks suck’: Removed El-Sayed videos urged getting rid of the 4th of July tradition, raised replacing 2nd Amendment  —  Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed once asked his YouTube viewers whether Americans could “PLEASE” find another way to celebrate the Fourth of July …

The Socialist Threatening A 15-Year-Long Political Comeback  —  The state party establishment fears Democrats are throwing away a once-in-a-generation chance at a trifecta.  —  Wisconsin Democrats are on the precipice of completing a 15-year comeback from the political wilderness.

Pete Hegseth's Pentagon picks raise questions over Trump family business ties  —  Two advisers have links to a venture fund co-investing in US defense companies that benefit from federal spending  —  Pete Hegseth's appointments to a key Pentagon advisory body include two men with ties …

Son-in-Law of Sean Duffy Wins G.O.P. House Primary in Northern Wisconsin  —  Michael Alfonso, 26, had the support of the transportation secretary and an endorsement from President Trump.  —  Michael Alfonso, 26, clinched the Republican nomination for Wisconsin's Seventh Congressional District …

Pelosi: Those who knew of Biden's decline ‘should have acted’  —  SACRAMENTO, California — Nancy Pelosi said those close to Joe Biden during his reelection campaign should have shared what they knew about his mental acuity — and confirmed she had private conversations with him about her polling concerns.

READ: A New Draft Rule for the Census Seeks Sweeping Changes to How Political Power Is Allocated  —  TPM is publishing the Trump administration's plan for changes to political apportionment and Census data collection.  —  The Trump administration is planning to dramatically reshape the data …

A Group of Centrist Senators Sees a Window to Overhaul Social Security  —  A group of eight centrist senators is attempting to compel Congress to revamp Social Security, in what many in Washington see as the first real effort at overhauling the government's biggest program in more than a decade.

Mamdani's Taking On Amazon.  His Opponent?  Chuck Schumer's Daughter.  —  Amazon's chief lobbyist fighting a delivery worker protection bill in New York City recently endorsed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani is Jessica Schumer, the daughter of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) …

Samuel Alito gained up to $2.9m from oil and gas assets since joining supreme court, analysis shows  —  Critics argue US high court justice should recuse himself from upcoming fossil fuel firms' climate accountability case  —  Democracy, climate and justice is supported by

Trump-backed Mike Lindell falls to Lisa Demuth in Minnesota governor primary  —  MyPillow founder Mike Lindell fell in Tuesday's Minnesota GOP gubernatorial primary to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, a sign that President Donald Trump's endorsement wasn't enough to get the 2020 election denier over the finish line.

DOJ seeks to shield Trump advisers from Dem probes … The new opinion could create a new hurdle for Democrats should they retake Congress.  — “It really could be a pretty significant weapon” for the administration “to deflect a lot of that congressional investigation of private parties …

Cliché Alert: Return of the “Beer Test”  —  The New York Times reverts to old form, thanks to a blue-party schism.  —  Had a chuckle reading the New York Times story this morning about Nebraska Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn, whose interesting take on the two traditional parties is, “I think they both kind of suck.”

US citizen detained by ICE at Atlanta Airport as he boarded flight  —  CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — A Cartersville man said ICE agents wrongly detained him at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.  —  The American citizen told Channel 2's Ashlyn Webb that he's still shaken by what happened.

Former Hartford mayor ousts Larson in Connecticut House primary  —  Luke Bronin, the former Democratic mayor of Hartford, Conn., is projected to defeat incumbent Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) and will advance to the November general election, according to preliminary results from Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ).

Graham, Norman advance to runoff in South Carolina GOP primary for Senate  —  The race to replace late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on the November ballot is projected to head to an Aug. 25 runoff, according to Decision Desk HQ, with Sen. Darline Graham (R) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R) duking it out for the nomination.