DeSantis donors privately worry about campaign as Florida governor lags in 2024 polls  — Some of Ron DeSantis' fundraisers have recently heard concerns from donors about the trajectory of the the campaign.  — The governor continues to lag former President Donald Trump in GOP primary polls.

Arizona Man Cited in Conspiracy Theories Sues Fox News for Defamation  —  Ray Epps, a two-time Trump voter, says Tucker Carlson repeatedly and falsely named him as a covert government agent who incited the Jan. 6 attacks.  —  Ray Epps, the man at the center of a widespread conspiracy theory …

Republican Gains in 2022 Midterms Driven Mostly by Turnout Advantage  —  An examination of the 2022 elections, based on validated voters  —  An examination of the 2022 elections, based on validated voters  —  How we did this Terminology  —  In midterm elections that yielded mixed results …

Suspect in Larry Nassar stabbing said ex-doctor made lewd remark watching Wimbledon, AP source says  —  A prisoner suspected of stabbing Larry Nassar at a federal penitentiary in Florida said the disgraced former sports doctor provoked the attack by making a lewd comment while they were watching …

Justice Department appeals Jan. 6 prison sentences for Stewart Rhodes, Oath Keepers  —  Prosecutors are dissatisfied with the severity of the sentences handed down by the federal judge overseeing the case.  —  The Justice Department on Wednesday appealed the sentences handed down to seven members …

SAG-AFTRA Television, Theatrical and Streaming Contracts Expire Without a Deal  —  Negotiating Committee Votes Unanimously to Recommend a Strike SAG-AFTRA National Board to Meet Thursday to Vote on a Strike  —  SAG-AFTRA's Television/Theatrical/Streaming contracts have expired without a successor agreement.

G.O.P.'s Far Right Seeks to Use Defense Bill to Defund Ukraine War Effort  —  The group's proposals have no chance of passage, but they have further mired the military spending bill in a partisan fight and highlighted Republican divisions over the war.  —  Reporting from Washington

A Sea Otter Is Stealing Surfboards Near Santa Cruz, California  —  California wildlife officials are hoping to apprehend a 5-year-old sea otter, who has a knack for riding the waves after committing longboard larceny.  —  Annie Roth lives in Santa Cruz, Calif., where she knows enough to stay away from sea otters in the ocean.

Floods, fires and deadly heat are the alarm bells of a planet on the brink  —  The world is hotter than it's been in thousands of years, and it's as if every alarm bell on Earth were ringing.  —  The warnings are echoing through the drenched mountains of Vermont, where two months of rain just fell in only two days.

Senate appropriators to debate Supreme Court ethics proposal  —  Good morning, Early Birds.  Congrats to the Bad News Babes for beating the Members of Congress 15-9 in the Congressional Women's Softball Game last night.  The best stat of the game: A record $588,000 was raised to beat cancer.

Kamala Harris plans tour energizing key Democratic groups in coming weeks  —  The vice president will speak to major Black and Latino groups and a gun safety organization in a month-long series.  —  Vice President Kamala Harris is preparing to kick off a month-long series …

The White Media Has Missed a Key Part of the Affirmative Action Ruling The White Media Has Missed a Key Part of the Affirmative Action Ruling  —  The upshot isn't just that colleges must end affirmative action, it's that they'll have to cut Black enrollment to avoid lawsuits questioning their compliance with the decision.

Secret Service to brief House committee on cocaine found at White House  —  The drug was found near the West Executive entrance on July 2.  —  The U.S. Secret Service on Thursday will give a classified briefing to members and staff of the Republican-led House Oversight Committee …

Judge rules Michigan law broadly bans ‘undue possession’ of voting machines  —  Lansing — Laying the groundwork for potential criminal charges in a high-profile case, Oakland County Circuit Judge Phyllis McMillen ruled Wednesday it is illegal for someone to take possession …

The FTC is investigating whether ChatGPT harms consumers  —  The agency's demand for OpenAI's documents about AI risks mark the company's greatest U.S. regulatory threat to date  —  The Federal Trade Commission has opened an expansive investigation into OpenAI, probing whether the maker …

WATCH: Train Conductor Tears Passenger a New One for Spewing Racist Crap  —  “Look at me,” he told the woman on the Connecticut train line.  “You will never ride my train again.”  —  A commuter Karen was forced to humble up during a ride through Connecticut last week after a conductor threatened …

A Small Number of Drugs Account for a Large Share of Medicare Part D Spending  —  The Inflation Reduction Act requires the federal government to negotiate the price of certain high-spending drugs covered by Medicare Part D, Medicare's outpatient prescription drug benefit program …

Georgia sues True the Vote over refusal to show ‘2000 Mules’ evidence  —  X  —  Texas-based group objected to subpoena seeking proof of voting fraud  —  The Georgia State Election Board is suing True the Vote over the organization's failure to comply with subpoenas that would back up its allegation …

Driver kills pedestrian after fleeing Secret Service near National Mall in D.C., is still at large  —  The driver had been pulled over for expired registration, officials said.  —  One dead after hit-and-run near White House, suspect still at large  —  A driver who fled a traffic stop near …

Chinese hackers breach government email accounts through Microsoft cloud  —  The State Department discovered the Microsoft vulnerability, which affected unclassified government systems, last month  —  Chinese cyberspies, exploiting a fundamental gap in Microsoft's cloud …

Texas A&M Celebrated a New Journalism Director.  Then Came the Complaints.  —  Kathleen McElroy was appointed head of a journalism program at the university.  But then her work in D.E.I. seemed to come into question.  —  Kathleen McElroy, who had recently served as the director of the University …

British response to China threat ‘completely inadequate,’ damning report warns  —  LONDON — The British government has taken too long to act against Chinese interference, leading to a “serious failure” in its response and “one that the U.K. may feel the consequences of for years to come,” …

Democrats Try a Novel Tactic to Revive the Equal Rights Amendment  —  Proponents of the measure to enshrine a guarantee of sex equality into the Constitution are using a creative legal theory to try to resurrect the long-stalled amendment.  —  Reporting from Capitol Hill

California Democrats vote against making child trafficking a “serious crime” UPDATED  —  Some people think I am exaggerating when I point out that Democrats are moving to normalize pedophilia.  —  “It can't be!”  “Nobody is that evil!”  —  Is it hyperbole?  No. Is it perhaps a misrepresentation or a misunderstanding on my part?