With Jan. 6 Rioters Sentenced, Prosecuting Trump Will Be a Different Challenge  —  With leaders of the far-right groups that helped drive the attack on the Capitol sentenced to long prison terms, attention is shifting to the fraught process of prosecuting Donald Trump.

Senate Confirmation Still in Limbo for 301 Military Leaders  —  The Senate has returned to work, and there is still no resolution in sight of confirmation of general and flag officers by the body.  —  Alabama Sen. Thomas H. Tuberville has put holds on the nominations of 301 senior military leaders …

I Can't Keep Trump Off the Ballot  —  Voters should decide elections: That's the simple lesson of Georgia in 2018 and 2020.  —  Atlanta  —  Some legal scholars are arguing that secretaries of state should remove Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment …

The Giuliani aide who ‘vanished’  —  Documents reviewed by POLITICO — and also in the hands of federal prosecutors — offer new details about Rudy Giuliani's ill-fated efforts to reverse the 2020 election.  —  In December 2020, an adviser to Rudy Giuliani circulated a draft email addressed …

‘A Big Circle Jerk’: John Fetterman Dares Republicans To Impeach Joe Biden  —  “Go ahead.  Do it, I dare you,” said the Democratic senator.  “It's a loser.”  —  LOADING  —  Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) had some blunt words for Republicans who are pushing to impeach President Joe Biden: It'll bite you in next year's elections.

Prosecutors will seek Hunter Biden indictment by end of September  —  Special counsel David Weiss will seek to indict Hunter Biden before the end of this month, the prosecutor said in a court filing updating a judge on his investigation into the president's son's failure to pay taxes.

Mexico decriminalizes abortion, extending Latin American trend of widening access to procedure  —  Mexico's Supreme Court threw out all federal criminal penalties for abortion Wednesday, ruling that national laws prohibiting the procedure are unconstitutional and violate women's rights …

Scoop: Trump privately urged to support Biden's Saudi mega-deal  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) told Axios he has urged former President Trump to support the mega-deal President Biden is negotiating with Saudi Arabia, which could pave the way for a historic peace agreement between the kingdom and Israel.

Newly obtained George Santos “vulnerability report” spotted red flags long before embattled Rep. was elected  —  When an outside firm hired by then-congressional hopeful George Santos in 2021 delivered a secret internal report detailing aspects of the candidate's checkered background, several of his aides found it too much to stomach.

Judge Orders Texas to Move Barrier From Middle of the Rio Grande  —  A federal judge ordered the state to move the barrier, placed to discourage illegal crossings from Mexico, to the banks of the river.  —  A federal judge ordered Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday to move a barrier of floating buoys …

Texas AG Ken Paxton's Affair Explains Illegal Acts, Former Aide Testifies  —  An impeachment trial for the suspended Republican began in the state Senate Tuesday.  —  LOADING  —  An extramarital affair Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had with a donor's employee helped connect the dots …

Cancer among adults under 50 surged by 79%: Study  —  A study found that cancer cases in adults under 50 years old have risen sharply.  —  The study was published by BMJ Oncology and analyzed data between 1990 to 2019, finding an increase of 79% in cancer among people under 50 years old in just three decades.

America's Authoritarian Exceptionalism  —  Demagogues usually arise in times of chaos and privation.  In America, our demagogues have become powerful during a period of peace and prosperity.  —  ∙ Paid  —  1. Decadence  —  We're going to keep doing this and I'm sorry.

Biden rejects conditions of plea deal for Sept. 11 attacks defendants  —  U.S. President Joe Biden has rejected several conditions sought by five Guantanamo Bay prisoners as part of a deal with federal prosecutors that would see them plead guilty to conspiring in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.

QAnon-embraced film pulled from screening on-base at SOUTHCOM  —  U.S. Southern Command planned, and then canceled, two showings of the Christian-faith-based thriller “Sound of Freedom” at its headquarters this summer.  The movie's been a runaway hit, grossing more than $200 million …