Electoral College Ratings: Expect Another Highly Competitive Election  —  Small edge to Democrats but neither side over 270 to start  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — Our initial 2024 Electoral College ratings start with just four Toss-up states.  — Democrats start …

Top Trump campaign aide identified as key individual in classified docs indictment: Sources  —  Susie Wiles, a trusted adviser, is helping lead Trump's reelection effort.  —  One of the top advisers on Donald Trump's 2024 campaign is among the individuals identified but not named …

Russia detains ‘General Armageddon’ in crackdown on pro-Wagner elites  —  Sergei Surovikin was known to have had good relations with warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin  —  Top Russian army general Sergei Surovikin has been detained as the Kremlin cracks down on Wagner sympathisers following the militia's failed mutiny last week.

Chinese spy balloon used American-made parts, did not transmit data: Officials  —  Determining if the parts came from illegal trade is a very serious concern.  —  The Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean in early February was built — at least partly …

National Geographic lays off its last remaining staff writers  —  The magazine, which remains among the most read in the U.S., has struggled in the digital era to command the kind of resources that fueled the deep reporting it became known for  —  Like one of the endangered species whose impending extinction …

Nonreligious Americans Are The New Abortion Voters  —  When Roe v. Wade was overturned last year, many white evangelical Protestants didn't just see the Supreme Court's ruling as a political win — it was a spiritual victory.  For decades, religious conservatives have been singularly focused …

Madonna rushed to hospital, intubated in ICU after being found unresponsive  —  Madonna was found unresponsive and rushed to a New York City hospital Saturday, Page Six can exclusively reveal.  —  We hear the “Material Girl” singer, 64, was intubated for at least one night before having the tube removed …

Aspartame sweetener used in Diet Coke a possible carcinogen, WHO's cancer research agency to say - sources  —  One of the world's most common artificial sweeteners is set to be declared a possible carcinogen next month by a leading global health body, according to two sources with knowledge of the process …

Human remains and debris from sub returned to land after fatal implosion near Titanic site  —  The Titan, a submersible operated by OceanGate Expeditions, lost contact with its home ship on June 18 off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.  All five people on board were killed.

Accused J train stabber acted in self-defense, won't face charges in fatal NYC subway brawl: sources  —  The Big Apple straphanger charged with stabbing a rowdy ex-con to death on a Brooklyn J train was found to have acted in self-defense — leading to his manslaughter case being dismissed Wednesday, The Post has learned.

DeSantis agency sent $92 million in covid relief funds to donor-backed project  —  Mori Hosseini, who lent a golf simulator for the governor's mansion, championed a new exchange on Interstate 95 that feeds into his housing and shopping center project  —  The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis …

Tucker's New Mediaco  —  Life inside the Fox News bunker, the Watters-Hannity-Gutfeld Cerberus, and news on Tucker Carlson's new media ambitions.  —  On Monday morning, while Fox News C.E.O. Suzanne Scott was announcing the network's new evening lineup—confirming Jesse Watters' long-anticipated ascension …

The Wannabe Putin in Saudi Arabia  —  American leaders have peered into Vladimir Putin's eyes to sense “his soul,” have praised him as “very straightforward and trustworthy” or even a “genius.”  They have “reset” relations, tolerated invasions of Georgia and Crimea, averted eyes from atrocities …

Biden warns top aides against offering him political advice about Hunter  —  The president's message, as one source described it, was: “Hands off my family.”  —  WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has made it clear to his closest aides in no uncertain terms that he not only will reject …

Chris Christie rips Ron DeSantis's ‘ridiculous’ Jan. 6 take … A.G. Gancarski  —  A.G. Gancarski has written for FloridaPolitics.com since 2014.  He is based in Northeast Florida.  He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski

Ron DeSantis says he would eliminate four federal agencies if elected president  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, said he would seek to abolish the departments of education, commerce and energy, as well as the IRS.  —  Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that if elected president …

If ‘Bidenomics’ works, it will be a very big deal  —  President Biden might not seem like a revolutionary, but he is presiding over a fundamental change in the nation's approach to economics.  Not only is he proposing a major break from the “trickle-down” policies of Ronald Reagan …

McCarthy confronts a spending mess that will test his speakership  —  The speaker faces a monumental challenge over the next three months: bringing his conservatives and more centrist members together on a workable plan to fund the government.  He's not there yet.

Watchdog group calls on judge to recuse in FTC-Microsoft case  —  Happy Thursday!  A quick programming note: The newsletter will be off until after the Fourth of July.  Hope you enjoy the festivities!  —  Below: OpenAI faces a copyright lawsuit, and new AI chip restrictions are aimed partly at Nvidia.

Domestic terrorism charges in Georgia are prompting concern over political repression  —  ATLANTA — When Luke Harper went to Atlanta in early March, he thought he would just be staying the weekend.  Harper, a 27-year old copywriter from Florida, was going there to join demonstrators …

RFK Jr.: 'I'm proud that President Trump likes me'  —  Robert F. Kennedy Jr. refused to criticize former President Trump on Wednesday night and said he was flattered by recent comments from Trump praising him as a “common-sense guy.”  —  Asked by moderator Elizabeth Vargas what Kennedy thinks about Trump …

Huge Nebraska Solar Park Completely Smashed To Pieces By One Single Hail Storm!  —  Multimillion dollar solar project gets reduced to a heap of toxic rubble by one single hail storm.  —  The Scottsbluff, Nebraska 5.2 MW Community Solar project was part of the NPPD's Sunwise program …

Israeli President Herzog invited to address joint meeting of Congress  —  Congressional leaders have invited Israeli President Isaac Herzog to address a joint meeting of Congress when he visits the United States next month, to mark the 75th anniversary of Israel's founding.

GOP divided on first impeachment target  —  The growing zeal among House Republicans to launch impeachment proceedings has hit an early snag: There's no agreement on which Biden administration figure to target.  —  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) this week threw his support behind …