How DeSantis is Making Trump Look More Electable  —  The FL Governor is running a race designed in a lab to strengthen Trump  —  The largest drivers of electoral outcomes are beyond anyone's control — the mood of the country, the state of the economy, world events, etc.

Biden Appeal Opens a New Front in Battle Over Internet Speech  —  The Biden administration's battle with Republican-led states over free-speech limits escalated with its appeal of a judge's sweeping order barring federal officials and agencies from communicating with social media companies over postings they deem objectionable.

Belarus leader claims Wagner chief is in Russia, adding uncertainty about his fate after revolt  —  The mercenary leader who led a short-lived mutiny against the Kremlin is in Russia and his Wagner troops are in their field camps, the president of Belarus said Thursday, raising new questions …

Former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says White House cocaine can't be Hunter Biden's  —  Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany eliminated Hunter Biden as a suspect in the Biden administration's cocaine bag scandal despite the president's son's well-documented history of drug use.

A New Poll on the Trump Indictments Has a Surprising Result  —  A new POLITICO Magazine/Ipsos poll finds one thing that unites people on the Trump indictments.  —  Not much unites the country when it comes to Donald Trump.  And the public's reaction to the former president's two historic indictments …

Bypassing Biden: Democrats Think of What Could Have Been  —  In Michigan, a governor with a powerful message seems ready for the next step, but an octogenarian president stands in her way.  —  MACKINAC ISLAND, Mich. — At the very moment last month that images of President Joe Biden falling …

The Mayor Had a Photo of a Fallen Officer.  Was His Story About It True?  —  Mayor Eric Adams has often talked about a wrinkled photo of a fallen police officer that he kept in his wallet.  Now that photo and the story have been called into question.  —  In Mayor Eric Adams's first month in office …

Attorney who challenged Trump's 2020 loss gives up law license as states weigh disciplining him  —  Attorney Lin Wood, who filed legal challenges seeking to overturn Donald Trump's 2020 election loss, is relinquishing his law license, electing to retire from practicing rather than face possible disbarment.

Former U.S. officials have held secret Ukraine talks with prominent Russians  —  The aim of the discussions is to lay the groundwork for potential negotiations to end the war, people briefed on the talks tell NBC News.  —  LONDON — A group of former senior U.S. national security officials …

Trump posted what he said was Obama's address, prosecutors say.  An armed man was soon arrested there.  —  WASHINGTON — Former President Donald Trump posted on his social media platform what he claimed was the home address of former President Barack Obama on the same day that a man with guns …

How Tom Brady's Crypto Ambitions Collided With Reality  —  The superstar quarterback is among the celebrities dealing with the fallout from the crypto crash.  Others, like Taylor Swift, escaped.  —  Erin Griffith covers start-ups and venture capital, and David Yaffe-Bellany writes about the crypto industry.

My Deeply Unsettling Return to the Moms for Liberty Conference  —  Beneath the “joyful warrior” cosplay was a startlingly dark agenda.  —  Last Friday morning, at the beginning of a hot June day in Philadelphia, I walked through a phalanx of about a hundred protesters in order …

Australian minister calls Trump Jr a ‘big baby’ over cancelled tour  —  Australian Home Minister Clare O'Neil on Thursday called Donald Trump Jr. a “big baby”, after the son of the former U.S. president cancelled a planned speaking tour.  —  The younger Trump, who had been booked on a three …

Why a sudden surge of broken heat records is scaring scientists  —  Scientists say to brace for more extreme weather and probably a record-warm 2023 amid unprecedented temperatures  —  A remarkable spate of historic heat is hitting the planet, raising alarm over looming extreme weather dangers …

Justice Jackson's Incredible Statistic  —  Her dissent from the ruling on affirmative action makes an obviously implausible claim.  —  Even Supreme Court justices are known to be gullible.  In a dissent from last week's ruling against racial preferences in college admissions …

New York State Built Elon Musk a $1 Billion Factory.  ‘It Was a Bad Deal.’  —  New Tesla facility in Buffalo was supposed to house a huge solar-panel operation, but the project hasn't turned out as planned.  —  BUFFALO, N.Y.—New York spent nearly $1 billion over the past decade …

Tony Evers uses veto powers to extend annual increases for public schools for the next four centuries  —  Molly Beck Jessie OpoienMilwaukee Journal Sentinel  —  MADISON - Gov. Tony Evers, a former public school educator, used his broad partial veto authority this week to sign into law …

He was the CIA whiz kid in 'Charlie Wilson's War.' His new book offers advice for the US in Ukraine  —  After the last Soviet troops left Afghanistan in 1989, defeated by an insurgency equipped and guided by the U.S., a two-word cable arrived at CIA headquarters: “WE WON.”

Private sector companies added 497,000 jobs in June, more than double expectations, ADP says  — Private sector jobs surged by 497,000 in June, well ahead of the 267,000 gain in May and much better than the 220,000 estimate.  — Leisure and hospitality led with 232,000 new hires …

Mike Pence would consider pardoning Trump if he's found guilty, wants to ‘clean house’ at DOJ  —  SIOUX CITY — Former Vice President Mike Pence said Wednesday it would only be appropriate to consider pardoning former President Donald Trump if Trump is found guilty of a crime.

Trump Co-Defendant Walt Nauta Finally Hires a South Florida Defense Lawyer Before Arraignment (Exclusive)  —  The ex-president's valet has hired Sasha Dadan, a 34-year-old Republican all-purpose criminal defense attorney  —  A Facebook icon representing an external link to share the article …

A Radical Idea for Fixing Polarization  —  Can proportional representation save American democracy?  —  For most americans, voting for a member of Congress is one of their simplest civic duties.  Every two years, they pick the candidate they like best—usually the same one they chose last time …

7/6/23 ☀️ Punchbowl News AM  —  THE TOP … In an interview ahead of next week's NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, McConnell backed Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Bob Menendez's (D-N.J.) hold on the proposed sale of F-16s to Turkey.

Trump Begins to Sour on ‘Spotlight Hound’ Kari Lake for VP  —  Trump advisers say Kari Lake has been losing her footing with the former president because, in his eyes, she always wants attention.  —  When the annual Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll was taken this year …

U.S. Is Destroying the Last of Its Once-Vast Chemical Weapons Arsenal  —  Decades behind its initial schedule, the dangerous job of eliminating the world's only remaining declared stockpile of lethal chemical munitions will be completed as soon as Friday.  —  Dave Philipps reported from Pueblo, Colo., and John Ismay from Richmond, Ky.

Philadelphia shooting suspect isn't trans, officials say, but speculation continues  —  An adviser to the district attorney's office addressed the speculation Wednesday, saying the suspect hasn't “identified themselves as trans,” only as male.  —  Less than 24 hours after Monday's mass shooting …

Fake “liberal” Twitter account exposed: We should worry less about AI and more about human stupidity  —  “Erica Marsh” was obviously not real, but MAGA Twitter just can't quit their addiction to disinformation  —  The funniest aspect of the “Erica Marsh” story is how obvious …

Fight or Flight: Transgender Care Bans Leave Families and Doctors Scrambling  —  Laws in 20 states have left the fate of clinics in doubt and families with transgender children searching for medical care across state lines.  —  David and Wendy Batchelder hate the thought of putting …

Ukraine war: Four killed in Lviv as Russian strike hits apartment building in western city  —  A Russian rocket has hit an apartment building in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, killing at least four people, Ukraine's interior minister says.  —  Ihor Klymenko added another 32 people …

Justice Department had video of boxes being moved at Mar-a-Lago before FBI search, unredacted document shows  —  The Justice Department has made public more about the significant photographic and video evidence they collected last summer from Mar-a-Lago after the Trump presidency …

Democrats eyeing suburban women to launch new gun control effort  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) says the Senate is going to make another attempt to pass gun control legislation in response to a new round of mass shootings.  —  At least 10 people were killed in separate shootings …