Playbook: GOP eyes some Santos payback  —  With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING OVERNIGHT — Gaza cease-fire talks appear to have collapsed following a Hamas rocket attack yesterday that killed three soldiers at an Israeli checkpoint …

Behind the Curtain: 6% of six states … - Those were the battlegrounds disputed by Donald Trump after the 2020 election. … - A seventh state, North Carolina, is included in some swing-state polls. … Republicans think they're winning.  The swing-state map is a big reason why.

Hunter Biden's revenge  —  Smear campaigns have consequences.  —  ∙ Paid … Have you noticed that after years of saturation coverage, Fox News hosts have suddenly cooled it on the Hunter Biden stuff?  There's a reason for that.  —  Last week, Fox News pulled the six-part series …

Kristi Noem Cries ‘Fake News’ After Disastrous Interview on CBS  —  DOGGED BY SCANDAL  —  The South Dakota governor complained that the host of “Face the Nation” had interrupted her “once every 25 seconds”—something that would never happen to, say, Gretchen Whitmer.

Congress voted against funding a cure for cancer just to block a win for Biden  —  Some Republicans, refusing to give President Joe Biden a ‘win,’ voted against the renewal of funding for cancer research.  Vote for those who do not politicize Americans' health.  —  I'm afraid I have some bad news.

400 Rich People Pay $40K to Hear Trump Glorify Cop Assailants  —  On Saturday, a bunch of people paid a lot of money — at least $40,0000 apiece, and one or two people took Trump up on an offer to speak if they gave $1 million — to hear Trump glorify cop assailants.

Congressman praises racist heckling.  Will his corporate backers stand by him?  —  On Thursday, Jaylin Smith, a graduate student at the University of Mississippi, participated in a small, non-violent protest calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.  Smith and the other protesters were greeted …

RNC chief counsel resigns after two months  —  The Republican National Committee's chief counsel Charlie Spies has resigned two months after accepting the position.  —  Spies' departure follows weeks of growing tension with RNC officials, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

Who believes the most “taboo” conspiracy theories?  It might not be who you think  —  White men with graduate degrees, a new study finds, are highly likely to hold especially noxious beliefs  —  Like Henry Ford before him, Elon Musk has emerged as America's top conspiracy spreader.  But he's hardly alone.

Biden Races to Trump-Proof His Agenda  —  Trump made unprecedented use of a 1996 law to overturn Obama-era regulations.  Biden's aides hope to stop the Republican from doing it again if he wins.

Trump's real-time reviews of 2024 VP possibles and other surrogates … - Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) — “As a candidate he did a good job, but as a surrogate he's unbelievable.”  — Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) — “He wasn't a supporter of mine at the very beginning... He was saying things …