Elections

Bowers News Media  - In 2025, Donald Trump signed an executive order that, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, "attempted to assert presidential control over significant aspects of federal elections." However, Democratic state officials sued, and that executive order has largely been blocked in court.

In 2026, the Trump administration filed lawsuits against 30 states and the District of Columbia demanding that they turn over their unredacted voter files–including driver's license numbers, partial Social Security numbers, and dates of birth. However, the state officials targeted by the Trump administration fought back in court, and have won every single time, even though most of the judges in ruling on the cases were appointed by Republican presidents.

Also in 2026, the postal service began the process of implementing another executive order on elections from Donald Trump, one that squarely targets mail-in voting. Once again, Democratic state election officials sued, winning in both district and circuit federal courts. That executive order is now blocked nationwide.

The Trump administration has appealed those rulings to the Supreme Court, and as the midterm elections rapidly approach, is begging them to quickly unblock the executive order on mail-in voting. Once again, the legal team on the other side is a coalition of Democratic state officials.

You may have noticed a pattern here: Donald Trump is doing whatever he can to try and take control of our elections, and basically the only thing standing in his way are lawsuits from Democratic state officials.

Roll Call -   The progressive momentum in Democratic Senate primaries continued Tuesday, with Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan defeating the more moderate Rep. Angie Craig in a high-stakes contest. But progressives were dealt a setback in neighboring Wisconsin, with state Rep. Francesca Hong, a self-described democratic socialist and the perceived front-runner in the Democratic primary, losing to Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. …

Flanagan is now set to face Republican Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter, who comfortably won a nine-way Republican primary. If elected, Flanagan, a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, would be the first Native American woman to serve in the Senate.

Meanwhile, Minnesota appears poised to elect its first female governor this fall. Amy Klobuchar, the state’s senior senator, easily won the Democratic primary Tuesday in the race to succeed Gov. Tim Walz, who is stepping down after two terms. The Republican primary represented another defeat for President Donald Trump, with his endorsed candidate, former MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, losing to state House Speaker Lisa Demuth.

Congressional Insider -   During weekend comments covered by a New York outlet, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez encouraged voters to judge a Wisconsin candidate by what she is saying now, not only by older quotes that backed "defund the police." … Her remarks mark a softer tone than her 2020 push for the phrase. The shift comes as both parties argue over crime, police staffing, and how to keep people safe.

TNR Blue Book -  You may have seen some right-wingers trying to compare what Donald Trump did in Ankara, Turkey, to something Bill Clinton did in Pakistan in March 2000. Don't buy it. Yes, Clinton secretly boarded a different plane in that global hotspot, but the press was informed, and human beings were not used as a decoy. 

Polls

Interactive Polls

Zogby poll - If 2028 election were held today, who gets your vote? Democratic Socialist 55% (+22) MAGA Rep 33% Democratic Socialist 42% (+3) Establishment Rep 39% —— Establishment Dem: 50% (+18) MAGA Rep: 32% Establishment Dem 46% (+9) Establishment Rep 37%

Court cases

NY Times - A federal judge in Boston on Thursday dismissed an antisemitism lawsuit against Harvard University, dealing a blow to the Trump administration’s efforts to force the university to make a deal with government.  The lawsuit was part of a broader pressure campaign to force the university to comply with a range of government demands, including how it handles antisemitism but also race in admissions and other issues.

Money

AFL -CIO - The average CEO-to-worker pay ratio of S&P 500 companies increased from 285-to-1 in 2024 to 312-to-1 in 2025. (And that excludes Tesla CEO Elon Musk, whose pay package is so huge it would skew the results.) The average CEO pay at S&P 500 companies increased 21%, from $18.9 million in 2024 to $22.8 million in 2025…..Workers’ share of U.S. national income fell to its lowest level since World War II. While their bosses rake in millions, workers at Amazon, Dollar Tree, FedEx, McDonald’s and Walmart are among the highest users of public assistance, relying on programs like Medicaid and SNAP (or food stamps) to make ends meet.

NPR - Inflation eased slightly last month. Consumer prices in July were 3.4% higher than they were a year ago, according to a new report from the Labor Department. It's a smaller annual increase than in May or June. Rent and airfare prices rose while gasoline and grocery prices fell.... Produce prices often fluctuate depending on growing conditions and other factors, and lettuce prices are expected to rebound once the food scare passes, NPR’s Scott Horsley tells Up First. The lower prices contributed to about 0.1% decline in grocery costs last month, but overall grocery prices are still up about 2.7% over the past year. This week's cooler inflation report may lead the Federal Reserve to monitor whether inflation will continue to moderate rather than raise interest rates, Horsley says.

Health

Maine’s childhood vaccine guidance won’t change due to President Donald Trump’s new executive order .

Axios-  An overhaul of how Medicare pays hospitals for joint replacements could pare hundreds of millions of dollars in program spending while getting facilities to pay more attention to the cost and quality of care.

Why it matters: It's an example of how hospitals are the health sector that's being most rocked by the policy changes of President Trump's second term.

Medicare officials last month expanded a pilot program that bundled payments for hip, knee, and ankle replacements — some of the most common surgeries for seniors — to incentivize providers to manage their spending. Nearly all hospitals in the country will have to participate. The pilot ran from mid-2016 through 2024 in selected regions and generated more than $112 million in savings in its sixth and seventh years. 

The expansion is projected to save $725 million over five years.

How it works: Starting in 2028, Medicare will set spending targets for post-surgical care and other services delivered for 90 days after an operation.

Could England and Wales ever run out of water?

Middle East

The Guardian -  Military families and Congress members are sounding the alarm about an intensifying mental health crisis onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, as its 5,000 sailors and marines endure a record-breaking deployment at sea tied to the war with Iran.

Two leading specialist military papers, the Navy Times and Stars and Stripes, are reporting that there have been multiple attempts by sailors to jump overboard as poor conditions and mental stresses on the Lincoln reach the breaking point. The crew is in its ninth month at sea, and has spent 250 days consecutively without making land – a record for an aircraft carrier in modern times.

Worried families vented their anxieties about loved ones onboard the Lincoln at an emotional town hall meeting with navy leaders in San Diego last Thursday, Stars and Stripes reported. One spouse among the 200 or so family members said that her husband had texted her that day saying “he hopes he doesn’t wake up tomorrow”…..

The Navy Times gave details of thwarted suicide attempts onboard the aircraft carrier during the current deployment. Annabelle Loma told the outlet that her husband had tried to jump overboard after his spell at sea kept being extended.

“He’s scared. He thinks he’ll get a dishonorable discharge, and just because he was burnt out his 13-year career is ruined, just like that,” she said.

The paper quoted another sailor’s wife whose husband was involved in a separate incident onboard the Lincoln in which he prevented a fellow crew member from jumping, grabbing them and bringing them back on deck.

Mike Levin, a Democratic member of Congress from California, has sounded the alarm over conditions onboard the warship, which is in its fifth month of combat operations against Iran. He described the lot of the crew on X as “moldy showers, broken toilets, laundry down for weeks, long stretches with no hot water, a meal that came down to half a cup of rice and two tortillas. No soap, deodorant, or toothpaste.”

Todd Blanche

Congressional Insider - Lisa Murkowski’s planned “no” vote on Todd Blanche: Murkowski says Blanche does not meet her standard for an attorney general who can check presidential overreach.  Her objection centers on Justice Department politicization and the handling of the Epstein files. Blanche’s nomination already cleared committee and now heads toward a full Senate fight. Republican support has been conditional, tied to written assurances on a disputed settlement fund.

Schools

News from the States -   The Trump administration has put on hold $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 schools, according to an Education Department notice obtained by States Newsroom.  The agency informed states on Monday that it would be withholding funding for several programs, including before- and after-school programs, migrant education and English-language learning, among other initiatives.

But the agency notified states just a day ahead of July 1 — the date these funds are typically sent out as educators plan for the coming school year.

“The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibilities,” the Education Department wrote to states.

 The notice, which did not provide any timeline, said the funds are under review and “decisions have not yet been made concerning submissions and awards for this upcoming academic year.”

Donald Trump

Inforgram - Yesterday Trump took a 7 minute nap during a press conference. That’s reportedly the 42nd time he’s dozed off in public.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the Trump administration pulled money from other government agencies and private donors, and then steered that cash into an account that usually holds a few million dollars for routine White House maintenance, known as "White House Repair and Restoration."  But since Trump took office last year, the administration has funneled $875 million to that account. That money consists of transfers from the U.S. Secret Service and the White House Military Office of about $500 million, with $305 billion from private donations. Another $70 million was also directed to the account, according to documents reviewed by the Post, but the source isn't identified.  In all, Trump plans to spend at least $900 million on "modernization projects" on White House grounds, including a helipad, improvements to Lafayette Square, a new visitor screening center, and the White House ballroom that was ruled illegal in federal court last week, with Trump planning to appeal.

Building Communities that Elect Democrats

Voting

Guardian - A federal judge on Tuesday blocked ⁠the US Postal ⁠Service ​from implementing part of Donald Trump’s executive order that aims ⁠to tighten rules for mail-in voting before November’s midterm elections. The ruling expanded on an ‌earlier order that had prevented Trump’s administration from implementing it in 23 mostly Democratic-led states.

Trump's secret flight left 100 staffer and media in danger

Guardian - Democrats have called for a congressional briefing after a charade in which Donald Trump was secretly spirited into a different plane than the one the public and press believed he was travelling on. When US intelligence allegedly found a credible threat that Iran plotted to kill the president last month, Trump left Air Force One in a catering truck. More than a hundred aides, officials and reporters were kept onboard to fly towards Britain from Turkey, without being told there was a threat to their lives. “It appears that the idea was we can reduce the danger to President Trump by offering up 100 or so people to be killed by the Iranians in his place,” said Steven Cash, the executive director of the non-profit Steady State who is a former CIA intelligence officer and senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security’s intelligence branch.

In this video, the Guardian breaks down the footage from that day, showing how the president reportedly boarded the old Air Force One jet in view of television cameras, and then was secretly shuttled minutes later to a smaller plane via an airport catering truck typically used to load meals and other supplies before flight.

14 Reasons not to trust Trump

ICE Agents to Wear Body Cameras but problems remain

ACLU - After years of delays, ICE has announced that it will equip all officers with body cameras. But, the agency’s policy says that it will retain broad control over what videos are released to the public — and that in particular it will only release footage of serious bodily injuries and deaths in custody if “it is in the best interests of the agency.” This is exactly the opposite of a policy that will make body cameras an effective oversight and accountability measure.

At the ACLU we’ve been saying from the beginning that body cameras won’t be an effective accountability measure unless they’re accompanied by good policies on exactly how they’re used — and that foremost among those policies must be ensuring appropriate public release of recordings. Without good policies, police body cameras are reduced to yet more government surveillance devices, with all that implies (such as over-policing and prosecution), and to propaganda systems that let agencies publicize videos showing officers in a positive light while burying those that don’t.

For your Trump archives

 

                           Via Morgan J. Freeman

Visitors from Canada

USA Facts - In 1996, 105.7 million people crossed into the US from Canada by land. In 2025, that number was 36.6 million and, outside of the three years when the pandemic restricted travel, it was one of the lowest totals in three decades. (Note: This data covers legal crossings, not unauthorized entries.)

Vaccines

Axios - President Trump's call for a controversial overhaul of the childhood immunization schedule puts high-risk vaccine policy changes front and center just three months before the midterm elections.

The most immediate impact of yesterday's executive order may be political, if childhood vaccines are as popular as polling suggests. But the announcement could further erode trust in vaccines and public health, in the midst of foodborne and infectious disease outbreaks, including measles. And it undercuts the agencywide reset HHS has been charting over the past several months, through filling vacancies with more mainstream picks and promoting efforts to lower prescription drug prices and make the food supply healthier.

Trump yesterday signed an executive order calling for a slimmed-down childhood vaccine schedule and breaking the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine into three separately administered shots.

It also advises states to review federal vaccine recommendations and update their requirements for school enrollment.

At an Oval Office signing event, Trump suggested the MMR vaccine could be "quite lethal," though, when pressed, acknowledged he had no evidence, adding there are "some people that say it is that way."

"The worst thing that would happen would be, nothing happens," he told reporters. "We're not going to lose anything. At the same time we could gain tremendous - save hundreds of thousands of lives, millions of lives."

The overwhelming majority of scientists and public health experts say the benefits of vaccines greatly outweigh the risks, and though the shots do have rare side effects, no link to autism has been found in numerous studies.

"It is simply astonishing that this administration would continue to respond to ongoing measles outbreaks and the return of other vaccine-preventable diseases by playing politics with children's lives," said Richard Besser, CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Another failed Trump program

NPR - Today marks a year since thousands of National Guard members began patrolling the streets of Washington, D.C., as part of the Trump administration's anti-crime mission. The armed troops' presence in the nation's capital has since been quietly extended to Inauguration Day 2029. marking the longest and largest National Guard deployment under this administration. President Trump ordered the deployment in the nation's capital last year after declaring a "crime emergency" and launching the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, despite violent crime being at a 30-year low. The nonpartisan watchdog Project on Government Oversight estimates that this deployment will cost around $3 billion by 2029, and multiple studies have since found that the National Guard's presence has had no effect on violent crime.

Climate

The Guardian  - Last month’s average temperature was 3.3F (1.8C) higher than the 20th-century average for the contiguous US as repeated, scorching heatwaves across much of the country helping shatter all previous monthly temperature records. Scientists have made clear the increased heat in the US was being amplified by the human-caused climate crisis.

Health

Taylor Farms Recalls Dozens of Jalapeño Products in 26 States Over Salmonella Concerns

Wildfires

Newsworthy News - Fast-moving wildfires in British Columbia forced more than 20,000 people from their homes and pushed the province into a state of emergency. Officials said the Bald Range wildfire spread fast along Okanagan Lake and reached several towns in hours. Summerland, home to about 12,000 people, was ordered evacuated, along with about 8,000 people in and around Peachland…British Columbia already had more than 100 wildfires burning, with many still out of control in hot, windy, dry weather.

State election contests

NBC News-  A week after a big win for progressive Democrats in Michigan’s Senate primary, the party’s ideological and generational divides are on full display again in another set of primaries, particularly in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

In Wisconsin, state Rep. Francesca Hong’s campaign for governor is a major swing-state opportunity for the democratic socialist — and potentially a huge general election test for her movement and the broader Democratic Party. Hong, who has established a substantial polling lead, faces Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, whose candidacy is intended to unite the establishment wing of the Democratic Party.

In Minnesota, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan faces moderate Rep. Angie Craig in the Democratic primary for the Senate. Flanagan has stressed her support for progressive policies while Craig has touted her 2018 win, which flipped the GOP-held House seat, as evidence that she can keep the seat in Democratic hands.

Meanwhile in South Carolina, Republicans will vote for a new Senate nominee after Sen. Lindsey Graham’s death. President Donald Trump threw his support behind appointed Sen. Darline Graham, the late senator’s sister, but it’s possible the crowded race will head to a runoff if no candidate wins a majority.

Primary races are also set for Vermont and Connecticut. And in Alabama, voters in a handful of House districts will pick their nominees now that a new congressional map is in effect, presenting a test of Trump’s endorsements.

GEORGIA 

Alternet-   More than 50 Black Georgia lawmakers have signed onto a statement condemning Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins for associates’ comments and posts that have been widely panned as racist and antisemitic. Collins is set to challenge Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in November with the endorsement of President Donald Trump.

But since clinching the GOP nomination in a June runoff, Collins has come under fire for online posts by his son-in-law and former chief of staff last month after reports the staffer was in a group chat with white nationalists.

The statement issued by Black Georgia lawmakers this week criticized Collins for not apologizing or offering an explanation. “We condemn the Georgia congressman and urge our Republican state legislators to join us in demanding answers for his extensive ties to white nationalists,” the statement reads in part.

NORTH CAROLINA 

Congressional Insider -  Rep. Chuck Edwards dropped his reelection bid after the House Ethics Committee said it found enough evidence to recommend censure over harassment and hostile-workplace claims.

The House Ethics Committee recommended censure after reviewing Edwards's conduct toward two young female staffers. The committee said it found "persistent unprofessional and inappropriate conduct" and no evidence of sexual activity.

Edwards's campaign said the report "completely exonerate[s]" him under House sexual-misconduct rules.

Climate

Insde Climate News   - As global warming continued to reshape Earth’s climate, the planet’s oceans reached record high temperatures for the third year in a row in 2025. Some northern forests and tundra released more carbon dioxide than they absorbed. And the Greenland Ice Sheet lost about 129 gigatons of ice, enough to form a cube of ice about three miles wide on each side.

Those were among the findings in the 2025 State of the Climate report, released Monday by the American Meteorological Society and led by scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The report identified continued burning of fossil fuels as the primary source of record-high greenhouse gas levels, which are raising global temperatures and intensifying extreme weather. In Europe, for example, average temperatures have risen about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit since the 1960s, while extreme high temperatures have shot up by as much as 18 degrees Fahrenheit.

The findings carry added significance in light of an advisory opinion on climate change issued last year by the International Court of Justice, which concluded that countries may be liable for cross-border climate damage they knowingly cause or fail to prevent. As a result, governments that continue to promote fossil fuel use face increasing legal scrutiny and could be held responsible for ongoing and future climate-related harm.

NY Times -   Another round of intense heat is expected to sweep across large swaths of Europe this week, following a record-breaking start to the summer in Western Europe. Forecasters warned that rapidly rising temperatures, combined with persistently bone-dry conditions, could worsen the severe threat of wildfires.

The latest heat wave will be Europe’s fifth since May, as a broad area of high pressure — also known as a heat dome — intensifies across the continent.

The new heat wave comes after Western Europe recorded its hottest June to July period on record, according to Copernicus, the European Union’s climate monitoring service. The average temperature across the region during the two-month period was 21.62 degrees Celsius (70.92 degrees Fahrenheit), 2.79 degrees Celsius (5.02 degrees Fahrenheit) above average, which surpassed the previous record set in 2022.

The most extreme heat is expected initially across parts of France, Spain and Italy before shifting toward Central Europe, where some of the highest temperatures are forecast across Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Money

America's best states

WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of livability. They range from housing costs and income growth to the education rate and hospital systems.
 

Top 20 States to Live in America
1. Idaho	11. Iowa
2. New Jersey	12. New York
3. Wisconsin	13. Virginia
4. Massachusetts	14. Montana
5. New Hampshire	15. Maine
6. Wyoming	16. North Dakota
7. Utah	17. South Dakota
8. Minnesota	18. Illinois
9. Pennsylvania	19. Vermont
10. Florida	20. Nebraska

 
Best vs. Worst

• Maine has the fewest violent crimes (per 1,000 residents), which is 7.2 times less than in Alaska, the state with the most.
   
• New Hampshire has the lowest share of residents living in poverty, which is 2.6 times lower than in Louisiana and Mississippi, the states with the highest.
   
• South Dakota has the shortest average commute time, which is 1.8 times shorter than in New York, the state with the longest.
   
• Kansas has the highest quality of roads, which is 7.1 times higher than in Rhode Island, the state with the lowest.

To view the full report and your state’s rank

Middle East

New Republic -   New Republic-  President Donald Trump may be willing to end the Iran war without a nuclear deal.  The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the president floated declaring victory in the war if Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz without a deal on the country’s nuclear program. But that seems increasingly unlikely with Iran now demanding that U.S. soldiers leave the area, as well as an end to the American blockade and billions of dollars in payment.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to escalate the war with more intense bombing of Iranian targets, but he hasn’t followed through, claiming that a deal is imminent. In reality, the America’s allies in the Middle East urged Trump not to ramp up bombing, and U.S. commanders have told him that missile and bomb stockpiles have dwindled.

Voting

 NPR  - American voters are open to sweeping changes as they grow tired of the two-party system, according to a new poll. The data shows that voters support a system that allows multiple representatives to be elected from a single district, with seats roughly proportional to each party's vote share.

Health

Intermed - Medicare Annual Open Enrollment is coming soon. Starting October 1, 2026, you will be able to review information about 2027 Medicare and Medicare Advantage plans. Open Enrollment runs from October 15 through December 7, 2026. Any changes you make during this time will begin on January 1, 2027.

As we shared this spring, InterMed will no longer accept Martin’s Point insurance plans beginning in 2027. We understand that choosing a Medicare plan can feel confusing, and this year may bring extra questions for some patients. Open Enrollment is a good time for all Medicare-eligible patients, no matter which insurance plan they currently have, to review their options and choose the coverage that best meets their needs.

To help, InterMed is offering educational sessions for InterMed patients ages 64 and older. These sessions are meant to explain Medicare in clear, easy-to-understand terms, answer common questions, and help you feel more confident as you prepare for Open Enrollment.