Secret Service investigating suspicious substance found in White House  —  A preliminary field test indicated the substance was cocaine.  Authorities sent the sample to a lab for further testing.  —  The U.S. Secret Service is investigating a suspicious substance that prompted a brief evacuation …

A viral left-wing Twitter account may have been fake all along  —  The Erica Marsh account shows how ‘rage baiting’ remains a powerful way to win attention and score political points  —  In eight months, Erica Marsh has become one of the most consistently viral left-wing voices on Twitter …

Shooting in Fort Worth leaves at least 3 dead and 8 others wounded  —  A shooting that erupted just before midnight Monday in Fort Worth, Texas, left at least three dead and eight others wounded, police said.  —  Ten of the victims are adults and one a minor, according to a news release …

Ukraine live briefing: Kremlin, U.S. have talked prisoner swap for Gershkovich  —  Russian and U.S. officials have discussed a potential prisoner swap that could include detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, though they “don't want them to be discussed in public.”

Elon Musk Really Broke Twitter This Time  —  The social network has never seen chaos quite like this.  —  Twitter may have just had its worst weekend ever, technically speaking.  In response to a series of server emergencies, Elon Musk, the Twitter owner and self-professed free-speech …

Ukraine war: Major Moscow airport flights disrupted by drone attack  —  Ukraine has launched a drone attack on Moscow, the Russian defence ministry says, forcing flights to be diverted from Vnukovo International Airport.  —  Five drones were reportedly used in Tuesday's attack …

Seeing the erosion of our freedoms makes it hard to celebrate this Fourth of July  —  The Supreme Court, conservative governors and gerrymandered state legislatures are racing to shrink our fundamental rights and freedoms.  —  By Jill Lawrence, author of “The Art of the Political Deal …

The Hypocrisy of Mandatory Diversity Statements  —  Demanding that everyone embrace the same values will inevitably narrow the pool of applicants who work and get hired in higher education.  —  Last month, john D. Haltigan sued the University of California at Santa Cruz.

How Wingnuts Made Violent Extremism the New Normal  —  From Ruby Ridge to January 6 and beyond, the radical right has unrelentingly attacked democratic norms for almost half a century.  —  I have been a witness to this march for over forty years.  As a young newspaper reporter and editor working …

Federal court blocks Florida election law  —  A federal court blocked a Florida election law Monday that would've imposed more limitations on voter registration efforts in the state.  —  In a 58-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Mark Walker agreed with the plaintiffs that the new state law …

The Taliban ban women's beauty salons in Afghanistan  —  The Taliban are banning women's beauty salons in Afghanistan, a government spokesman said Tuesday.  It's the latest curb on the rights and freedoms of Afghan women and girls, following edicts barring them from education, public spaces and most forms of employment.

“What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” by Frederick Douglass  —  This is the perfect time to read the entirety of Frederick Douglass's famous speech, and not merely because of the date on the calendar. … What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?

DeSantis is squeezing the sunshine out of Florida's public records law, critics say  —  Ron DeSantis is the only Florida governor known to use “executive privilege” to keep records hidden, experts say, and recently signed a law barring release of his travel records.

Foolish Arguments Against Standing in 303 Creative—Part 1  —  It's been amazing to witness the flurry of foolish arguments that opponents of the simple and straightforward ruling in 303 Creative v. Elenis have spewed over the past several days.  —  1. Let's start with some background.

Statement from President Joe Biden on Gun Violence Across America  —  Over the last few days, our nation has once again endured a wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America — from Philadelphia to Fort Worth, Baltimore to Lansing, Wichita to Chicago.

Republicans Are Divided on Impeaching Biden as Panel Begins New Inquiry  —  A vote to send the Homeland Security Committee impeachment articles against President Biden for his border policies has underscored rifts in the G.O.P. about whether to try to remove him, and for what.  —  Reporting from Washington

7/4/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM  —  THE TOP … In more ways than one, Congress could play a decisive role in this year's NATO summit.  —  The annual gathering, which kicks off next week in Vilnius, Lithuania, was targeted as the aspirational deadline for all members …

THE COLUMN: Grant, the Indispensable Man  —  These first few days of July are of importance to every real American.  Not simply because the Declaration of Independence was unanimously adopted by the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, the document in which the new United States …

'We didn't want to live in fear': Exodus of workers begins as Florida's extreme anti-immigrant law goes into effect  —  Business owners in Florida are worried after Governor Ron DeSantis' new anti-immigrant law took effect on Saturday, forcing many migrant workers to flee the state and head north …