June 23, 2026

⭐The Mysterious Case of the Unidentified Fat Man. Ellie Houghtaling of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "Millions of Americans are eagerly awaiting access to retatrutide, a powerful new drug from the pharmaceutical company. But one unidentified [then-79-year-old man] has been able to gain premature access to the drug via the FDA's 'compassionate use' program, STAT reported Tuesday. The FDA program is designed to prioritize access to experimental drugs for patients with grave or life-threatening medical issues. And while the name of the individual is not known, several signs indicate that they are likely very well-connected. A senior clinician at the National Institutes of Health, Ranganath Muniyappa, requested access to the drug for the unnamed patient in April. Muniyappa cited a diagnosis of refractory obesity with obstructive sleep apnea and pulmonary hypertension, a potentially life-threatening disease characterized by high blood pressure in the lungs. The request reportedly drew the attention of top health officials, which STAT noted was indicative of the patient's influence.... The White House did not explicitly deny the patient was Trump." ~~~

~~~ Darius Tahir of KFF News (May 18, 2026): "... Donald Trump earlier this year bought as much as $680,000 in stock of Eli Lilly, the maker of blockbuster obesity drugs, as the agencies he oversees undertook an agenda that largely benefited the company.... The timing of Trump’s purchases coincides with several favorable government decisions benefiting the drugmaker’s GLP-1 business, including progress toward a long-held goal: qualifying the drugs for reimbursement from Medicare..., when they are prescribed for weight loss. The disclosure forms — which bear Trump’s distinct signature — give ranges rather than exact dollar amounts for the trades. They show seven purchases of Lilly stock made on the president’s behalf through the end of March, the first of which occurred on Jan. 6. During that period, and just afterward, several Trump administration initiatives ultimately benefited Lilly." 

The link to the dead ducks story below has been changed to a gift link.

It Was a 6-3 Kind of Day: 

Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: “The Supreme Court sided with the Trump administration Tuesday in an immigration case dealing with the government’s power over green card holders accused of crimes. The 6-3 decision centers around an immigration officers’ 2012 decision to put lawful permanent resident Muk Choi Lau on immigration parole when he returned from a short trip to China because he had been accused of a counterfeiting crime. Lau argued that the officer overstepped their authority, and the decision wrongly allowed the Department of Homeland Security under then-President Barack Obama to swiftly begin deportation proceedings after he pleaded guilty to selling counterfeit clothes in New Jersey. The high court disagreed. 'Border officers did not have the burden to establish by clear and convincing evidence that Lau had committed a crime involving moral turpitude,' Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in the opinion. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disagreed, writing that the decision to put Lau on immigration parole effectively sentenced him to 'immigration limbo' before he’d been convicted of any crime, she wrote. ”

Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for Exxon Mobil to seek compensation from Cuban-owned entities over oil and gas assets the Communist country seized in 1960. Then known as Standard Oil, Exxon had supplied, refined and distributed fuel throughout the island with more than 100 service stations, when its assets were abruptly confiscated after Fidel Castro rose to power and nationalized private property. Exxon later sued three government-owned companies that it said had been exploiting its stolen refineries and service stations without compensation ever since.... Foreign governments and the businesses they own are generally shielded from liability in U.S. courts under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, but Exxon had argued it qualified for an exemption to the prohibition. In its 6-to-3 vote, [with the liberal justices dissenting,] the court’s conservative majority agreed because of a separate statute, the Helms-Burton Act, which the court said permits such lawsuits against Cuba and Cuban-owned entities at the president’s discretion. Presidents, not the courts, are the 'gatekeeping authority over those suits,' wrote Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, a strong proponent of executive power. The “president has determined that permitting those suits will promote U. S. foreign policy interests,” and blocking them because of other federal laws would 'thwart Congress’s design and directly contravene the president’s foreign policy judgments,' he wrote.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Just for a little context here, I asked Art Intel to compare the annual income of Exxon with Cuba's GDP. Art sez, "ExxonMobil’s annual revenue sits at approximately $332.2 billion, with annual net earnings reaching $28.8 billion. In contrast, Cuba's GDP is estimated to be around $108 billion to $109 billion." I'm not saying that the win should always go to the underdog, but I will assert that Standard Oil, along with other U.S.-based companies, exploited Cuba & its people before the revolution. Art Intel sez Standard Oil "imported crude oil — largely sourced from its operations in Venezuela—and established a virtual stranglehold on Cuba’s fuel supply." So I'm having a mighty hard time seeing the justice of reimbursing Exxon for its losses.  

Mark Sherman of the AP: “The Supreme Court on Tuesday barred a former Louisiana inmate from suing prison officials who cut off his dreadlocks in violation of his Rastafari religious beliefs. The justices condemned what happened to the former inmate, Damon Landor. But they ruled that a federal law designed to protect the religious rights of inmates does not permit lawsuits for money damages even when rights are violated. The high court agreed with lower courts that without exception had ruled that the law, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, can’t be used to hold those who violate inmates’ rights financially responsible.... The justices refused to apply the rationale from their decision in 2020 that allowed Muslim men to sue over their inclusion on the FBI’s no-fly list under a sister statute, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” ~~~

     ~~~ Justin Jouvenal of the Washington Post: “In a 6-3 ruling along ideological lines, the justices found Damon Landor could not sue prison officials as individuals under a 2000 federal law that requires states to protect the religious rights of prisoners in state institutions. The ruling is a departure from a series of decisions by the Supreme Court expanding religious freedoms in recent terms.... That trend has pushed up against another set of court decisions limiting the ability of prisoners to obtain compensation for ill treatment in custody.”

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court said on Tuesday that members of the Falun Gong spiritual movement could not sue a U.S. company that they claimed helped facilitate the Chinese government’s efforts to target and torture them. Writing for the majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett signaled an unwillingness to expand the scope of a 237-year-old law that had been designed to allow foreigners to bring lawsuits in U.S. courts for violations of international law. The ruling in favor of Cisco Systems, a technology company based in San Jose, Calif., could help insulate other companies from legal risks in dealings with foreign governments with histories of engaging in human rights abuses. The company has denied that its technology was customized to enable the Chinese government to facilitate repression, calling the allegation 'inaccurate and entirely without foundation.'

“In a mixed ruling that reversed a lower appeals court that had sided with the Falun Gong members, all of the court’s conservatives joined Justice Barrett in the majority, and two of the court’s liberals joined in part. Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented, joined in part by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The Supreme Court case involved a federal law known as the Alien Tort Statute, which was enacted in 1789 by the country’s first Congress.”

The New York Times' liveblog of developments in the Iran War is here. 

Ephrat Livni of the New York Times: “Iran is taking steps to cement its control over the Strait of Hormuz and to generate revenue from the waterway through new entities and procedures, experts say. The moves come even as negotiations with the United States and Iran’s neighbors over managing the vital waterway are taking place. The head of Iran’s primary insurance regulator, Mousa Rezaei, said on Sunday that a new insurance company had been established that was dedicated solely to the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state media reported. And late last week, the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which was created by Iran in May, demanded that vessels register and sign up for a new mandatory Iranian insurance policy — free of charge for now. Shipping experts see these steps as an attempt to assert Iranian control over the whole waterway, which it shares with Oman. They appear to be a prelude to Iran’s demanding payments from vessels that once transited without fees or need of its assent, the experts say. The Iranian requirements could set a dangerous precedent for global shipping, experts say, and they are already making a confusing situation in the strait much more so.”

Don Moynihan writes a fine little essay on what the Reflecting Pool reflects about Trump. Enjoyable reading.

There are primary elections in three states today: New York, Maryland and Utah. The New York Times is liveblogging developments today in the races.  

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Tyler Pager of the New York Times: “As Vice President JD Vance entered the fifth hour of negotiations with Iranian leaders over the weekend..., [Donald] Trump weighed in with an ill-timed threat to start bombing again. If the Iranians closed the Strait of Hormuz, Mr. Trump told a Fox News reporter, the negotiators talking to Mr. Vance would never make it back to their country — in fact, they would have no country to return to at all. For Mr. Vance, this was the latest example of his increasingly tricky role as the frontman in the U.S. negotiations with Iran, as Mr. Trump repeatedly creates disruptions in his path.... Mr. Vance will have to find a way to end a war that he opposed at the start, while navigating his boss’s whims and an adversary that has proved itself, at least in part, immune to Mr. Trump’s threats.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If JayDee really wants to end the war, I'd suggest the 25th Amendment as a preamble. Oh, and he could get rid of Jarhead & Witless, too. ~~~

~~~ Isaac Arnsdorf & Karen DeYoung of the New York Times: “Vice President JD Vance said Iran agreed to allow international inspections of its nuclear program, which would restore a safeguard from President Barack Obama’s deal with Tehran that ... Donald Trump threw out. 'That is a major milestone for the American people, and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran,' Vance said Monday at a news conference at the Bürgenstock resort in Switzerland.”~~~

     ~~~ Marie: How brilliant of JayDee to maneuver Iran into returning to the standards President Obama's negotiators secured eleven years ago. Except maybe Team JayDee has not done even that. According to the NYT report by Lara Jakes & others, linked next, “officials in Tehran said 'no new commitments' had been made.” ~~~

~~~ Lara Jakes, et al., of the New York Times: “The Trump administration temporarily lifted oil sanctions against Iran on Monday in a sharp reversal of U.S. policy that could provide Iran with an economic boon after years of having to sell at a discount to buyers who risked running afoul of the United States. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the 60-day sanctions exemption, which authorizes the purchase of Iranian oil in U.S. dollars, giving Iran greater access to American currency, was the result of 'ongoing productive' talks with Iran in Bürgenstock, Switzerland.” ~~~

~~~ Marie: Everything is going very smoothly. It often does when you give away the store. As Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said last night on MSNBC, this so-called "60-day" extension will go on until at least after the November elections, as Trump isn't going to rock the boat in late August & reignite an unpopular election a few months before the midterms.

Pond Scum Chronicles, Ctd. Luke Broadwater & Maxine Joselow of the New York Times: Donald “Trump knows one thing for sure about the sorry state of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool: It’s not his fault.... To hear Mr. Trump tell it, the renovation was going perfectly until vandals armed with knives and fertilizer set their sights on the century-old pool, which stretches between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial.... The president also lashed out on Monday at former President Barack Obama for not properly fixing the Reflecting Pool. Between 2010 and 2012, the Obama administration spent more than $35 million trying to solve problems with the Reflecting Pool. The project failed. The pool was matted with green algae within a month of its reopening. It still leaks 16 million gallons of water a year, which the National Park Service must pay to replace. 'Barack Hussein Obama, have you ever heard of him?' Mr. Trump snapped at reporters [in the Oval Office Monday].”

They're Killing the Ducks. They're Killing the Ducklings. Dana Hedgpeth & Maura Judkis of the Washington Post: “... over the weekend ... a duck carcass was photographed floating in the algae-filled water, days after the 'American Flag Blue' paint began peeling off the bottom of the pool. Then, two other dead ducks were found in a pond at Constitution Gardens on the National Mall — roughly 250 feet from the Reflecting Pool.... Animal experts ... expressed concern that the construction activity is placing additional stress and 'drama' on the ducks and their habitat. They also worry that algae blooms containing toxins called cyanobacteria, or chemicals from the paint in the Reflecting Pool, could harm wildlife.... The veterinary staff at City Wildlife plans to conduct necropsies on the two dead ducks....” The Interior Department isn't revealing the location of the dead duck found floating in the pool. Update: the link has been changed to a gift link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I also heard two reports yesterday on MSNBC that the Reflecting Pool now stinks.

Marie: Here's a strange thing I kinda wondered about yesterday, and now it turns out others are wondering as well: ~~~

     ~~~ Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump claimed Sunday that he personally inspected the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool’s condition as U.S. Park Service crews continued to try to clean up the ever-expanding algae blooms.... Trump returned to the White House Sunday from Camp David, where he spent the night for undisclosed purposes. White House reporters did not record a visit by the president to the reflecting pool....  Trump wrote on Truth Social[:] 'I just inspected it, and could only say to myself, and those gathered around me, WOW, who would do such a thing? SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE! We will fix it? [sic] President DJT.'” (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

      ~~~ So (a) what was Trump doing at Camp David, which he doesn't like & seldom visits? It seems some secret shenanigans must have transpired. (A tryst? A medical procedure?) And (b) why was he claiming he went and inspected the Reflecting Pool when it's almost certain that he did not? Would the press have just neglected to record a visit that advanced one of the top political stories of the day? I don't think so. Is Trump so out-of-it that he doesn't realize the press tracks his every move? That's what his version of reality suggests. I mean, he made an imaginary visit to a place where imaginary SICK, DERANGED PEOPLE are persecuting him, and then he told the world about his imaginary adventure. WOW, indeed.

Michael Luciano of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump said his administration is about to sue ABC over its reporting on the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.... On Monday night, the president went on Truth Social and wrote that a lawsuit is headed ABC’s way. He accused ABC News of not reporting that his two predecessors spent $100 million to renovate the pool, a figure which he appears to have made up, as President Joe Biden oversaw no major work on it. Meanwhile, the Obama administration spent $35 million on the pool.... ABC News Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl reported from the Reflecting Pool last week. 'Fourteen million dollars was spent to drain this whole thing and to paint the bottom American flag blue,' Karl said, standing next to the pool. 'As you can see, it’s all green now. They know that. They’re trying to kill the algae. But as they’re doing that, something else has happened.' In the video, Karl reached down and held up a piece of peeling paint that was still connected to the bottom so viewers could see what was happening. Trump angrily responded by falsely claiming that Karl was 'trying to rip the rubber off of the surface.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's hilarious that Trump's case against ABC News for "false reporting" is a pack of falsehoods. Oh, and he's upping his suit against the New York Times, too, for "TREASONOUS" reporting.

Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “ABC viewers across the country are getting a message from the network: If you like your local stations, or 'The View,' help us get the government off our back. ABC on Monday launched an on-air campaign asking viewers to send comments to the Federal Communications Commission’s website pushing back on the agency and its chairman, Brendan Carr. Since February, the FCC has been investigating whether ABC’s 'The View' violated the commission’s equal-time rule, which guarantees equal airtime to all candidates running for the same public office. ABC has maintained that “The View” qualifies as what the commission calls a 'bona fide' news program and is exempt from the rule, accusing the FCC of violating the First Amendment in a legal filing. In April, the FCC also ordered an early review of ABC’s eight local stations over its diversity, equity and inclusion practices.” The link is a gift link.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: “A private company run by a supporter of ... Donald Trump has pledged to restore the grass on the South Lawn of the White House after it was destroyed by the Ultimate Fighting Championship event held there earlier this month. The White House announced last week that ScottsMiracle-Gro, an Ohio-based company, will commit $1 million to restore the South Lawn after the UFC event held on Trump’s 80th birthday left it heavily damaged. The company said it is donating 'a combination of monetary and product support,”'including re-sodding the South Lawn and then creating a 'custom turfgrass blend' with which to reseed it.... The National Park Service, which typically handles White House lawn maintenance, directed inquiries Monday to the White House....

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, a nonprofit government watchdog, said the arrangement raises ethics questions, particularly following the recent failed repairs at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, which was done under a no-bid contract awarded to a Trump ally.... [Jason] Libowitz [of CREW] noted that ScottsMiracle-Gro markets and distributes the herbicide Roundup, whose active ingredient, glyphosate, has been the subject of lawsuits alleging that it causes cancer. In February, Trump signed an executive order calling glyphosate 'crucial to the national security and defense' of the country....”

Jonathan Edwards of the Washington Post: “New photos show that ... Donald Trump’s name is indeed off the Kennedy Center, offering the first public look at the performing arts venue’s facade since crews removed the letters by court order. The images were taken last week inside the tarp-covered scaffolding that has hidden the title of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts for the nine days since crews removed Trump’s name. The images were first provided to The Washington Post by the activist group Hands Off the Arts before being independently obtained and verified by The Post.... For nine days, barricades manned by security guards have kept people from approaching and blocked any view of the exterior.” ;The article includes two photos which are a bit hard to "read," but they would seem to be conclusive.

Heather Cox Richardson has a good summary of yesterday's Trump Fail News. She ends with this: “[Monday] night Trump posted a picture of a person dressed in a pink inflatable frog costume with the word 'AMPHIFA' written across the belly, carrying a sign that reads: 'FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE ALGAE.' Trump called the activist 'a crazy pro-algae (likely paid) protestor.' 'Who’s paying team algae?' social media poster The Volatile Mermaid retorted. 'George Sporos?'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While these things do wax and wane, we are at a stage in the reign of Trump where outrage has turned to mockery, even among usually sober-sided scholars.

Gabe Cohen & Tierney Sneed of CNN: “The Trump administration is threatening to withhold tens of millions of dollars in federal homeland security funds from states unless they adopt a sweeping set of election changes, according to multiple sources and internal documents obtained by CNN. The move ... as multiple states have passed laws that seek to prevent the federal government from interfering with elections. Under new rules governing several homeland security grant programs, states must take a number of steps, including phasing out certain electronic voting systems and moving to hand-marked paper ballots. They must also run their voter rolls through a controversial Department of Homeland Security citizenship verification database. If not, states would lose out on some funding from DHS. These grants, expected to total more than $1 billion in the current fiscal year, are one of Washington’s main vehicles for helping state and local governments prevent terrorism, protect infrastructure and prepare for major disasters.” (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ Here's what one judge thinks of Trump's interfering in elections: ~~~

~~~ Zach Montague of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Monday barred the Trump administration from letting states query a centralized national database of citizens built for checking immigration status to screen their voter rolls, finding that the repurposing of the federal data to monitor voting violated at least three laws. In a sharply worded ruling, Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan ordered the Homeland Security Department to stop permitting states to search the data, which also incorporates Social Security records.... [Donald] Trump had ordered several agencies last year to pool data that states could use to verify citizenship. The combined data set allows state and local election officials to search immigration records stored by the Department of Homeland Security about migrants, as well as a much larger database of information maintained by the Social Security Administration. Judge Sooknanan, a Biden appointee, wrote that the executive order had resulted in a rush by agencies to 'haphazardly' adopt a system that they knew was flawed and that would flag eligible voters along with those who might have registered illegally. She warned that states were already 'actively' using it to potentially purge eligible voters ahead of an election.” ~~~

~~~ AND here's what a conservative judge thinks of Trump's using strong-arm tactics against states. ~~~

~~~ Kyle Cheney of Politico: “A federal judge has thrown out Justice Department grand jury subpoenas aimed at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his allies, calling them an abusive and retaliatory process to punish Walz based on his refusal to assist ... Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. In a blistering ruling, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz said there was 'no doubt' that the subpoenas were issued to damage Walz — part of what he said was a pattern of Trump administration efforts to use criminal process to punish the president’s adversaries.... The federal government is barred by the Constitution from forcing states to enforce federal laws, Schlitz added.... Though Walz [MB: I think Cheney means Schiltz, not Walz, here] issued the ruling last week, he said he delayed release until Monday to allow the Justice Department to appeal. But court dockets reflect that no appeal has been filed in the five days following Schiltz’s decision.” Schiltz is a George W. Bush appointee. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Update. Former U.S. pardons attorney Liz Oyer said on MSNBC Monday afternoon that quashing a subpoena is quite a remarkable and unusual occurrence; there is "a very high legal bar to block a subpoena. A subpoena is an investigative tool" prosecutors can use, she said, before they have any real evidence a crime has been committed. They need have only "a good-faith basis" to believe an investigation of a possible crime is warranted.

     ~~~ Marie: Wouldn't it be something if Congressional Republicans had the guts this Dubya-appointed judge does? Tenure matters.

Linda Qiuof the New York Times: “A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from barring the use of food stamps to buy sugary drinks and candy. Since last year, the Agriculture Department has approved waivers in more than 20 states that allow them to bar participants in the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from using their benefits to buy soda, energy drinks, candy or other prepared desserts. In March, recipients in five states sued the agency over the waivers, arguing that the limits were unlawful and confusing and made it difficult to manage health conditions like diabetes. Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the Federal District Court in Washington, in a 68-page decision, agreed with the recipients that the Agriculture Department did not have the authority to approve the waivers and also failed to abide by a notice period. Monday’s decision was a rollback of restrictions that officials have characterized as a major achievement of the Make America Healthy Again movement.” Politico's report is here.

Ellen Mitchell of the Hill: “More than 220 troops have contracted influenza at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, up from 160 reported last week in a major outbreak that comes less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declared that flu vaccinations would no longer be mandatory for service members. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), whose district includes Lackland, on Friday said the Air Force informed his office that the number of cases had hit 222 as of Thursday, 62 more than had been reported earlier in the week.”

Kristen Holmes, et al., of CNN: “The large-scale cuts that ... Donald Trump’s acting director of national intelligence had been considering imposing at his own office started on Monday, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. 'The deep state firings have begun,' the source said.... Sources had previously told CNN that Bill Pulte, Trump’s pick to serve as director of national intelligence in an acting capacity, was looking at cutting hundreds of jobs at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Last week, Pulte showed up to his new job a day early after asking for a list of every employee in the office, sources told CNN, catching even outgoing director Tulsi Gabbard off-guard. A source familiar with the matter told CNN that the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) and the National Counterintelligence and Security Center were expected to be hit hard by the cuts.All offices were asked to provide a list ranking their personnel by Monday, according to two sources familiar with the matter, who associated the request with Pulte’s mandate to carry out mass firings.” Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: "Deep state firings"? It seems to me that it would take years to develop the expertise necessary to more-or-less accurately advise top officials on the significance of incidents and possible flare-ups around the world. Not all of that experience would necessarily be in government service, but many trustworthy analysts probably have worked for the federal government for a long time; that is, they are -- by the Trumpian definition -- the "deep state." And that piss-ant Bill Pulte -- who is so ignorant he asked last week if he could take the President's Daily Briefing home -- is firing them. One just might think Trump had placed Pulte in the job to greatly weaken our national intelligence resources. Why would he do that?

Hurubie Meko & Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Monday reversed a lower court decision that had reopened the case of the man convicted in the killing of Etan Patz, a 6-year-old boy whose 1979 abduction in Manhattan reshaped American childhoods. The court’s unsigned opinion restores the conviction of the man, Pedro Hernandez, who the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit had said last year was entitled to a new trial. The three liberal justices — Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson — noted their objection to the majority’s order.... The liberal justices did not explain their disagreement.... The Supreme Court’s action sends the matter back to the lower courts.... In its 10-page opinion on Monday, the Supreme Court said the Second Circuit, a federal court, exceeded its authority by undoing Mr. Hernandez’s conviction in state court. Federal law imposes strict limits on the power of federal judges to grant relief to prisoners convicted in state courts.” (Also linked yesterday.) See also Patrick's comment in yesterday's thread.

Jarrell Dillard of the Washington Post: “The Senate passed a major housing bill Monday with a goal of helping to bring down housing prices for Americans by stopping Wall Street investors from buying up single-family homes, among other things. The Senate voted 85-5 across party lines in favor of the bill, which is the first major piece of housing legislation since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. The bill now heads to the House, where passage is expected. The measure would bar institutional investors from buying more than 350 single-family homes, in an effort to stop them from competing with families for existing homes as Americans grapple with affordability. It would also expand federal grant programs to direct money toward cities for building new homes and eliminate an outdated federal construction rule, lowering manufacturing costs. Housing advocates have hailed the legislation as a good first step.” The AP's report is here.

Jordain Carney of Politico: Donald Trump “was invited to GOP senators’ Wednesday lunch to push for his No. 1 priority, the GOP election bill known as the SAVE America Act. But several outgoing Republicans who have clashed with Trump said Monday they will be there to deliver a reality check: The bill isn’t passing, and it’s time to move on.... 'I’m a co-sponsor, but it doesn’t have the votes, and so it’s time to talk about something else,” said [Bill] Cassidy [R-La.], who ... lost [his re-election bid] to a Trump-backed primary opponent.”

Eric Lau & Erin Cox of the Washington Post: “Americans are voting this year for Democrats at far higher numbers in primaries and special elections compared with previous contests, suggesting that voters are unusually motivated heading into November.... Turnout is rising in Democratic primaries even when they aren’t hotly contested and the nominee has little chance of winning in the general election.... So far this year, people cast 12.6 million ballots in Democratic House primaries compared with 8.6 million in GOP primaries. Democrats have also been making big gains in special elections since ... Donald Trump began his second term. Election experts caution that trends in primary and special elections trends do not always predict results in general elections.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Tuck, Tuck, Tucker, Goodbye?? Josephine Walker of Axios: "Conservative pundit Tucker Carlson says he's 'out' of the Republican Party moving forward, arguing the GOP no longer reflects his views.... 'I would not support the Republican Party.'.., Carlson said, adding that the GOP has 'betrayed' voters by prioritizing Israel's national security over America's."

Ariana Baio of the Independent: “Elon Musk, the trillionaire CEO and former temporary government employee, threatened to sue Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna after the lawmaker accused Musk of “possibly” sentencing 4.5 million children to death by cutting funding to the U.S. Agency for International Development. 'The reality is that money was being sent to corrupt politicians under the guise of aid! Liars and stock insider traders like Ro the Robber should be in prison!!' Musk wrote. Khanna responded to Musk’s attacks by pointing to a 2025 study that determined, without access to USAID resources and funding, 14 million people in low-and-middle-income countries could die by 2030 – including more than 4.5 million children under the age of 5.” ~~~

     ~~~ Garrett Downs of CNBC: "Potential 2028 presidential hopeful Rep. Ro Khanna challenged newly minted trillionaire Elon Musk to a televised debate on the impact of cuts made during Musk’s time atop the Department of Government Efficiency initiative, following an ugly social media spat between the Silicon Valley congressman and tech titan."  

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