The DOJ Went Easy on Trump for Political Reasons  —  Donald Trump has once again handed his Republican apologists an unenviable assignment.  —  The Justice Department charged the ex-president last Thursday with willfully retaining national security secrets in violation of the Espionage Act and conspiring to obstruct justice.

In Jack Smith, Trump has a legal adversary unlike anyone he has encountered before.  —  Trump Pleads Not Guilty in Documents Case  —  Donald J. Trump, the first former president to be charged with federal crimes, left court in Miami after being arraigned on 37 counts related to his handling of classified documents.

White House Condemns ‘Disrespectful’ Trans Model for Baring Breasts at White House Pride Event  —  “Individuals in the video will not be invited to future events,” a White House spokesperson tells The Messenger of the footage Rose Montoya posted to social media

Trump's strategy to defuse court's “rocket docket”  —  Southern Florida's federal courts are known as a “rocket docket” for their speedy trials, but former President Trump's legal team is likely to unleash a flurry of motions and challenges to delay his criminal trial there, former Trump lawyers say.

Judge allows E. Jean Carroll to amend her defamation lawsuit to seek more damages against Trump  —  A federal judge will allow E. Jean Carroll to amend her original defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump to include comments he made at a CNN town hall.

Girl, 9, accused of being trans at Kelowna track meet  —  CHILD ACCOSTED AT TRACK MEET  —  Two Kelowna moms are speaking out after their 9-year-old daughter was verbally assaulted at a track and field event on Thursday at Kelowna's Apple Bowl.  —  The mothers, who choose not to identify their daughter …

Starbucks Denies Union Allegations of a Ban on Pride Decorations  —  Starbucks has banned Pride decorations in stores halfway through Pride Month, the company's workers union claimed Tuesday.  If true, it would be a stunning cave to far-right anti-LGBTQ fury—but the coffee chain denies that any such policy is in place.

Ron DeSantis Is Picking Some Strange Battles  —  On the menu today: In the last few days, Ron DeSantis has pledged to appoint Supreme Court justices who will “do better” than Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett and pledged to change the name of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg.

EXCLUSIVE: Burisma Founder Mykola Zlochevsky, Who Allegedly Bribed Joe and Hunter Biden, Is an SVR Asset  —  Burisma Holdings founder Mykola Zlochevsky, who allegedly paid a total of $10 million in bribes to Joe and Hunter Biden in 2015 and 2016 in exchange for then-Vice President Joe Biden's assistance …

Cormac McCarthy, Novelist of a Darker America, Is Dead at 89  —  “All the Pretty Horses,” “The Road” and “No Country for Old Men” were among his acclaimed books that explore a bleak world of violence and outsiders.  —  Cormac McCarthy, the formidable and reclusive writer of Appalachia …

NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover Sent Back a Stunning ‘Postcard’  —  The Red Planet never looked so colorful.  —  Deputy Editor, Innovation & Tech  —  NASA's Curiosity rover has been exploring the surface of Mars for more than a decade now—diligently traversing the unexplored landscape to collect soil …

Inside the room: GOP tensions erupt after House floor protest  —  House Republicans sparred in what members described as a “fiery” closed-door conference meeting on Tuesday, with mainstream GOP lawmakers blasting a group of 11 conservatives for the blockade of floor action last week.

Nevada ‘fake electors’ appear before D.C. grand jury investigating Jan. 6  —  Even as Trump is set to appear in court in Miami in the classified documents probe, a grand jury investigation into the aftermath of the 2020 election is continuing in Washington, D.C.

Freedom Caucus adds new members in the wake of House floor rebellion  —  Reps. Diana Harshbarger (R-Tenn.) and Eric Burlison (R-Mo.) are joining the conservative bloc after some of its members mounted a high-profile protest against GOP leaders.  —  After hardline House conservatives aggravated GOP leaders …

EXCLUSIVE: The DeSantis Plan To Wage War on ‘Weaponized’ DOJ  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has been working for months on plans to tear down and rebuild both the Department of Justice and the FBI, consulting with experts and members of Congress to develop a “Day One” strategy to end …

Fox News welcomes swastika-wielding teacher as the latest anti-trans culture warrior  —  On June 12, Fox News' Jesse Watters hosted Glendale, California, teacher Ray Shelton, who was placed on leave following a school board meeting where he held up a swastika sign and then went on an anti-trans …

The NCAA Has a ‘Hot Girl’ Problem  —  The Cavinder Twins, the emerging oligarchs of women's college basketball, aren't the best players.  But they might be the best-looking.  —  We're in the Cavinder Twins' apartment eight floors above the sun-dappled sprawl of South Florida.

Haley ‘inclined in favor’ of Trump pardon  —  Her remarks came after she called the former president ‘reckless.’  —  After calling Donald Trump “reckless,” Nikki Haley on Tuesday said she would still be “inclined” to pardon him if he is convicted of federal charges.