“Now the U.S. needs Ukraine’s help,” NBC News reports. “The world’s most expensive, powerful military is leaning on the world’s scrappiest fighting force for combat drone technology that’s upending the economics of war.”

“Rep. Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) returned a donation to a man convicted of fraud in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal following reporting that President Donald Trump pardoned him just three days after the contribution,” NOTUS reports.

President Trump suddenly finds himself losing control on nearly every front. The war with Iran is expanding rather than winding down. A drone attack on ships in Egypt, new threats from the Houthis against traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and joint U.S.-Saudi strikes on militant groups in Iraq all point in the same direction: […]

“President Donald Trump wants Congress to add tariffs on Iran to a sanctions bill against Russia and Tehran that has bipartisan support,” CNBC reports. “Those duties would have little effect because the U.S. imports nearly nothing from Iran. But tacking them on to the bill may torpedo its chances of becoming law.”

“The U.S. State Department will now offer passports featuring President Donald Trump’s image on the inside cover at special events across the United States,” CNN reports. “The commemorative passports, which show a stone-faced Trump leaning over the Resolute Desk above his signature on the inside cover, were first announced in the spring and billed as […]

“Mortgage rates jumped to their highest level in a year, dealing another blow to a long-stalled housing market that shows little sign of recovering,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Department of Commerce quietly announced this week it will designate more than $870 million in federal incentives for semiconductor manufacturing in exchange for a minority equity stake in seven companies,” NewsNation reports.

“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche met Thursday afternoon with Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) — the key holdouts on his nomination as permanent AG,” Politico reports. “It took place just hours after President Donald Trump indicated he would not give in to demands made by Cornyn and Tillis to modify his May […]

“A senior health official with the State Department presenting at an international AIDS conference in Brazil this week used a map of Africa to illustrate U.S. government funding for HIV programs on the continent,” the New York Times reports. “There was only one problem. The map incorrectly identified several African countries.”

“Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) has ended his campaign for governor,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. “The decision by Barnes came amid reporting into allegations that Barnes was taking advantage of his role in the party to have sexual encounters with young adult women, which promoted an investigation last year by the state Democratic […]

“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer held a high-level video call with China’s vice premier to prepare for the September visit of its president, Xi Jinping,” Axios reports. “The call sets the stage for President Trump and Xi to sign future trade deals between the U.S. and China.”

New York Times: “It looked like an exercise in futility, not only because similar efforts have failed repeatedly — the vote was 50 to 49 on Thursday, similar to last week’s — but because one such resolution actually succeeded last month, winning approval in both the House and Senate only to have Mr. Trump ignore […]

New York Times: “There are good reasons that no earlier president had sought to use the court to deport accused terrorists, and they cut in opposite directions. One is that the court’s procedures, which allow the use of secret evidence that the defendant cannot see, are at odds with ordinary conceptions of due process.” “Filing […]

“With three months remaining until election day, there is now little the Trump administration can do to bring relief to Americans battered by years of stagnant wages and steep inflation before they hit the polls, experts say — complicating midterm campaigning for Republicans and sharpening the opportunity for Democrats to win back some control in […]

“After another night of massive strikes on Iran, the U.S. is once again facing a conundrum: escalate the conflict in retaliation for Iran’s attacks on U.S. assets, or focus on restocking strained munitions and calming turmoil in global energy markets,” Bloomberg reports. “Neither tack promises a quick end to the five-month war. President Donald Trump […]

“Rep. Max Miller’s domestic violence case against his ex-wife, the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno, was formally dismissed this week after a judge concluded that the lawmaker had not actually been harmed or made to fear for his safety,” the New York Post reports.

“Elon Musk, a year after voicing deep frustration with the Republican Party and threatening to start a third party, appears to be back in the fold and prepared to spend big in the midterms to help GOP candidates,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, has authorized his super PAC to […]

“The Trump administration is considering attaching a $100,000 price tag on international students’ ability to work in the U.S. after they graduate from an American university, according to people familiar with the matter, a move that would make it much less attractive for foreigners to study in the U.S,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “If […]

“Several Democratic members of Congress are requesting the House Ethics Committee investigate their colleague, Congressman Max Miller (R-OH), over allegations that he assaulted his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and possibly injured their child,” Mother Jones reports.

“Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched an online cooking show on Thursday that aims to teach to teach Americans that making healthy meals can be ‘delicious and affordable,’ according to the show’s splashy new web page,” NOTUS reports.

“ABC accused the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday of retaliating against the company because the agency ‘dislikes the content and viewpoints expressed’ on the network’s programs, the latest salvo in the unusual clash between the company and the Trump administration,” the New York Times reports.

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“President Donald Trump says he may withdraw and delay Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general until Republican senators who are seeking concessions from the top prosecutor leave office,” the Associated Press reports. “Trump doubled down Thursday on choosing his former personal lawyer as the nation’s top lawman, calling him ‘a STAR’ and said he will […]

A new Emerson College poll in South Carolina finds Ralph Norman (R) leading the filed for the Senate special election primary, followed closely by Darline Graham at 19%, Russell Fry at 12% and Mark Sanford at 11%. A quarter are still undecided ahead of the August 11 election.

“Investigators believe a cyberattack this week on dozens of municipal water systems in Minnesota was probably the work of Iranian hackers, a potential act of aggression that comes at a precarious moment in the U.S. war against Iran,” the New York Times reports.

Here’s a roundup of the latest polls showing President Trump’s approval rating: CNN: 34% AP-NORC: 33% Quinnipiac: 32% Verasight: 39% Reuters/Ipsos: 37% Navigator Research: 37% The Economist/YouGov: 34%

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Out just before the midterms: Go and Do Likewise: How We Heal a Broken Country by Andy Beshear. Beshear is almost certainly ramping up for a 2028 presidential campaign.

“More and more uninsured patients are showing up in hospital emergency rooms and clinics, having lost their coverage under the Affordable Care Act,” the New York Times reports. “Executives running some of the biggest hospital systems, including large for-profit chains spanning many states, expressed concern over the unexpectedly sharp rise in uninsured patients and the […]

“The U.S. government is on the hook for potentially millions of dollars in legal bills demanded by successful challengers to some of the Trump administration’s most controversial executive actions and policies,” Bloomberg reports. “Attorneys have sought fees exceeding $100,000 in at least 10 cases over the past year, totaling more than $2.5 million, according to […]