June 25, 2026

The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections. -- Federal District Judge Indira Talwani, decision ~~~  

~~~ Nick Corasaniti & Adam Sella of the New York Times: “A federal court in Massachusetts struck down crucial components of an executive order from ... [Donald] Trump that sought to place significant restrictions on mail voting as “unlawful, null, and void.” The order had, in part, tried to use federal oversight of the U.S. Postal Service to regulate mail voting. The ruling from Judge Indira Talwani amounted to a broad rejection of the Trump administration’s attempts to change federal election procedures through an executive order, repeatedly emphasizing that the Constitution grants authority over elections not to the executive branch but to individual states and Congress. 'The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,' Judge Talwani wrote, adding emphasis by underlining the words 'does not.' More than 20 Democratic attorneys general representing states across the country brought the legal challenge in federal court in Massachusetts.” Thanks to RAS for the lead.

Here's Your Not-Trump Sports Report. Watch to the last play! (Admittedly, this is more like Akhilleus' Sports Report than Marie's Sports Report): ~~~ 

Everybody Out! Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Trump administration to end humanitarian protections that have permitted hundreds of thousands of people from Haiti and Syria to live and work legally in the United States.... [Donald] Trump has pushed to terminate the program, known as Temporary Protected Status, as part of his broader crackdown on immigration. The program was created by Congress with bipartisan support in 1990 to provide temporary legal status to people whose home countries were deemed unsafe because of war, natural disasters or other crises. The court’s 6-to-3 decision on Thursday, divided along ideological lines, clears a path for the potential deportation of 350,000 Haitians and 6,100 Syrians, and it is likely to have implications for T.P.S. holders from about a dozen other countries. The ability of the government to quickly expel individuals who previously had protections will depend on whether they already have deportation orders pending. In many instances, T.P.S. holders have not received such orders, which will allow them some ability to contest their removal from the country.”  Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

We Hear You Knockin' But You Can't Come In. Ann Marimow of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday said the Trump administration can turn away migrants seeking asylum along the U.S.-Mexico border by physically preventing them from crossing into the United States as they seek protection from persecution. The administration had asked the court to permit the government to revive a policy, first used in 2016, as part of ... [Donald] Trump’s immigration crackdown. Under that so-called turn-back policy, the government had stopped asylum seekers from setting foot on U.S. soil, where federal law would have entitled them to try to claim asylum and receive protections.The statute at issue says any noncitizen who is 'physically present in the United States' or 'arrives in the United States' can apply for asylum.... A major question in the case was what it meant to 'arrive' in the United States. In its 6-to-3 ruling, the court said noncitizens must fully cross the border to gain the right to apply for asylum. The court’s conservative majority said migrants standing in Mexico do not 'arrive' by 'attempting, and failing, to set foot in this country.' The three liberal justices disagreed, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor reading a summary of her dissent from the bench.” Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a Hawaii law that required gun owners to get permission before carrying a firearm onto private property like grocery stores, coffee shops and gas stations that are otherwise open to the public. The case is the latest victory for gun rights advocates before the court since the justices decided in the 2022 landmark Second Amendment ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen that Americans have a broad right to arm themselves in public. In a 6-to-3 decision, split along ideological lines, the court’s conservative majority held that Hawaii’s gun restriction violated the Second Amendment’s protections.”  Politico's report, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with the manufacturer of the weedkiller Roundup, overturning a jury award for a Missouri man who claimed the widely used herbicide caused cancer in a decision that could have sweeping impacts on thousands of other Americans who similarly claim the product sickened them. In the 7-to-2 decision, written by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, the majority found that a federal law that regulates pesticides barred the Missouri man’s lawsuit. Justice Kavanaugh wrote that the Missouri case would 'require a cancer warning on Roundup’s label,' which would directly conflict with the label required by the federal Environmental Protection Agency. Because of this conflict, he wrote, federal law 'expressly pre-empts' the Missouri man’s claim.” ~~~

     ~~~ Pamela King & Marcia Brown of Politico: “The Supreme Court has dealt a devastating blow to the Make America Healthy Again Movement by blocking a path for users of the popular Roundup weedkiller to secure payouts from Monsanto for failing to disclose the product’s cancer risk.” 

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Collin Binkley, et al., of the AP: “... Donald Trump formally kicked off celebrations for America’s 250th anniversary on Wednesday night by working to get the country excited again — about himself. The president hosted a rally on Washington’s National Mall, including a series of booming flyovers by stealth bombers, music from military bands, and Lee Greenwood singing 'God Bless the USA.'” ~~~

     ~~~ According to the AP's report linked above, “Surprisingly, Trump wrapped his speech in less than half an hour — making it one of the shortest rally addresses of his second term and perhaps his entire political career.” ~~~ Maybe not so surprising, because ~~~

~~~  Charlie Jones of the Daily Mirror: "Donald Trump was left red-faced after supporters left during his key address to an unenthusiastic crowd at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall on Wednesday. A large number of those present seemed to make their way toward the exits precisely around the time Trump started complaining about media outlets reporting his low approval ratings and dwindling supporter base. Trump used the National Mall event to revisit his favorite talking points, such as how great he has made America, ahead of the July 4 Independence Day festivities, eager to shift focus from a tense standoff with Iran."

Crazy Old Man Disrupts Capitol Hill Lunch Party. Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “'He was mad as a murder hornet,' Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, said of the president’s mood during a closed-door lunch on Wednesday with G.O.P. senators. According to people who attended, Mr. Trump arrived on Capitol Hill with a long list of grievances against members of his own party. He lamented Republicans’ failure to push through a bill to impose new restrictions on voting that he has called key to the G.O.P.’s chances of winning the midterm elections, vented about years-old legal disputes, complained about the G.O.P.’s refusal to blow up the Senate filibuster and pressed the senators on stalled judicial nominations. But what appeared to enrage him the most were the four Republicans who had crossed party lines a day earlier to back a war powers resolution directing him to halt military operations against Iran or seek congressional authorization to continue. Their support allowed the measure to be adopted, delivering a rare bipartisan rebuke of his handling of the war....

“For a few moments, senators sat silently, taken aback by the president’s gruff question. Then Senator Bill Cassidy, the Louisiana Republican who lost his primary last month to a Trump-backed opponent, spoke up with a spirited critique of the president’s handling of the war and his lack of consultation with Congress about it.... The exchange quickly became heated..., devolving into a shouting match. 'You lost the election,' Mr. Trump shouted at Mr. Cassidy, whom he called a 'loser.'... During the lunch, Mr. Trump said he was particularly angry with Senator Dave McCormick, Republican of Pennsylvania, for missing Tuesday’s vote, given that the resolution was adopted by a narrow margin. (Mr. McCormick was traveling with the president at the time, and his presence to vote 'no' would not have been enough to defeat the measure.)” He also called Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) a “horrible person.” Here's Politico's story. An MS NOW report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Well, at least Bill Cassidy showed some moxie and stood up to the crazy old man. It's good to see at least somebody will stand his ground. Oh, wait. ~~~ 

     ~~~ Robert Jimison & Michael Gold of the New York Times: “In a 50-to-47 vote, with one senator voting 'present,' they defeated [a war powers] measure in a largely symbolic move that did nothing to change the resolution the Senate had narrowly approved a day earlier. Instead, it served as an unmistakable gesture to mollify a furious president who had just berated them. Of the Republican senators who voted to adopt a resolution on Tuesday that instructed him to end the war with Iran or seek Congress’s approval to continue, two shifted their votes: Senators Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Mr. Cassidy ... said that he changed his vote after a meeting with Vice President JD Vance and Steve Witkoff, the president’s special envoy, at the White House.... Mr. Paul, who voted 'present,' said that Mr. Trump’s remarks in his lunch meeting with senators had affected his vote, though not his views on the conflict and Congress’s role in declaring war.... Mr. Trump celebrated Wednesday’s late-night vote, thanking Republican leaders in a social media post that falsely claimed that the Senate had 'changed its vote on Iran.'... Ultimately, the maneuver did not undo Tuesday’s vote, which was the first war powers measure approved by both chambers since the war began and remains adopted. Wednesday’s vote neither rescinded nor superseded it.”

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: Donald “Trump asked Congress on Wednesday to approve $87.6 billion in extra spending this year for the war with Iran as well as a handful of unrelated programs, a request that came amid growing Republican tensions over his handling of the conflict. The bulk of the request — about $70 billion — 'addresses operational costs' incurred by the Pentagon during the conflict, the administration said in a letter to Congress. The request also includes $11 billion for American farmers, $1.4 billion to respond to the Ebola outbreak in central Africa, and $1 billion to complete the renovation of Pennsylvania Station in New York City.... The request appeared all but dead on arrival in the Senate, where legislation needs to win bipartisan support — 60 votes — to advance. Nearly all Democrats have said they are opposed to the war and will not vote to fund it.” An Axios story is here. Politico's story is here.

Brennan Leach, et al., of NBC News: “... Donald Trump abruptly canceled his plans to sign a major, bipartisan housing bill Wednesday, saying he will not do so until Congress passes the SAVE America Act, a sweeping elections bill.... 'Today’s Housing News Conference and Signing is hereby cancelled until such time as we pass the desperately needed SAVE AMERICA ACT, which I consider to be a National Emergency,' he posted on his Truth Social account. It was not immediately clear whether he still plans to sign the housing bill or veto it.... Trump undercut the [housing] bill just hours before he canceled the planned signing, writing in another Truth Social post that it was 'of minor importance' before pivoting back to the SAVE America Act....  House Republicans were dumbfounded by Trump’s decision, but spoke candidly on the condition of anonymity. 'What a s--- show. ... Crazy crazy crazy,' one House Republican said in a text to NBC News. 'A once in a generation housing bill falls victim to the nuts.'” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

      ~~~ Michael Gold, et al., of the New York Times: “Mr. Trump’s decision threatened to deprive Republicans, in particular, of an opportunity to showcase a legislative success in a year with very few of them — one that spoke directly to voters’ economic concerns.... Even as Mr. Trump was dismissing the housing bill, House Republican leadership was championing it during a weekly news conference.... Mr. Trump also ... called [the bill] 'Warren centric,' along with a racial slur to refer to Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.” The link appears to be a gift link. (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here. 

He doesn't want to win. He wants to cheat. -- Chris Hayes, last night ~~~

Trump Boasts of Using DOJ to Interfere with California Election. Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: Donald “Trump took credit for a Republican’s advance to the runoff for governor in California, telling supporters that he called a federal prosecutor in the state shortly after the June 2 primary election and demanded an investigation into whether the slow-moving vote count was 'rigged.' Mr. Trump made the comments on Tuesday at a speech at a truck manufacturing facility in Pennsylvania, then repeated the claims on Wednesday in the Oval Office. He suggested that the Republican in the gubernatorial race, Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, became the No. 2 vote-getter because Mr. Trump called the federal prosecutor and asked for a look into election fraud.... No evidence has emerged of election fraud in the primary election, and it was unclear what, if anything, a federal prosecutor could do to influence the outcome.... 'Trump just admitted it,' the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on social media after the speech in Pennsylvania on Tuesday. 'The President of the United States is personally directing federal prosecutors to start investigations into his political opponents when his preferred candidate may lose the election.'” Politico's story is here.

Cheyanne Daniels, et al., of Politico: “... Donald Trump ripped into the U.S. oil sector on Wednesday, accusing oil majors of keeping gasoline prices high and prolonging the pain at the pump as he sought to bring his four-month war against Iran to a close. In a post to Truth Social early Wednesday, Trump said consumers were being 'gouged' and he ordered the Justice Department to investigate big oil companies for not bringing gasoline prices down fast enough.... The attack is ... notable since Trump has courted the U.S. oil industry — which he pushed to donate heavily to his campaign — and hailed the record-high oil production that has helped insulate U.S. consumers from the worst of the price spikes since the U.S. and Israel launched their attacks on Iran in late February.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Phillips O'Brien: "... the USA is now negotiating without much, if any, leverage. That really is extraordinary. The Trump administration has put itself in a position where it cannot go back to the use of military force, cannot put much if any real pressure on Iran, and therefore will have to concede most of the main points to the Iranians. And as the past week showed, the Iranians understand this. Personally, I have never seen the US in such a position of weakness. Because the US has no significant leverage over Iran, the Trump administration (as it has been for months, it needs to be said) will simply have to dissemble about non-existent Iranian concessions to try and make it seem that they have not been completely routed.... The US government has reached the stage where the default assumption must be that it is lying when it comes to Iran making any concessions.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm a bit shaky on my history here, but I would say that the U.S. was in a similarly weak position when Biden rapidly withdrew the last troops from Afghanistan (a story we were reminded of just yesterday). IMO, that -- as much as inflation or other domestic problems -- took the bloom off of Biden's presidency. And you know who set the terms for that withdrawal? Why, Donald Trump, in the U.S./Taliban Doha Agreement of February 2020.   

Best Headline of the Week Prize goes to Doktor Zoom of Wonkette: "Barack Obama, With A Knife, At The Reflecting Pool."

How to Use Show-and-Tell to Manage an Angry Toddler. David Sanger of the New York Times: Donald “Trump was launching into a litany of complaints about NATO allies on Wednesday afternoon in the Oval Office when the organization’s secretary general, Mark Rutte, interrupted to show him some charts. Mr. Rutte, a former prime minister of the Netherlands who has gained a reputation as the European leader most skilled at managing Mr. Trump’s moods and critiques..., had ... [set] up posters in the Oval Office to show you what this president was able to achieve.' His charts showed a surge in current and anticipated European defense spending. 'This chart is about the “Trump Trillion,’” Mr. Rutte said, moving around the Oval Office.... He reached back to when Mr. Trump took office in 2017 to show 'the total extra spent by the Europeans and the Canadians,' and homed in on the past two years, when NATO spending was 'over $250 billion.'

“'I can assure you this is because of Russia, because of the threat,' Mr. Rutte said, with the president’s initial anger at the allies appearing to subside as Mr. Rutte made his case directly to him. 'But I am also absolutely convinced that you, being president of the United States,' made the difference, 'pushing for something which, since Eisenhower, has not been achieved: which is the Europeans equalizing their defense spending with the United States.'... He ... ended] his lesson with a note about how many jobs the extra spending created in the United States.”

Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: “A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected an effort by the Department of Justice to force Michigan to turn over its voter rolls, including sensitive voter information — the most significant rebuke yet by courts of the federal government’s effort to obtain private data. The decision deals a major blow to the Justice Department’s efforts to obtain such information from every state as it seeks to compile the largest set of national voter roll data ever collected. That effort is part of an administration-wide push by ... [Donald] Trump and his allies to find evidence of voter fraud. So far, they have not found anything substantial, and critics say the effort is yet another attempt by the president to sow distrust in elections and erect new barriers to voting. 

“Since the department began demanding voter rolls last year, more than half of all states have refused to comply. The department has since sued 30 states and Washington, D.C., to try to force them to hand over the data.... The Justice Department has lost nine of the lawsuits so far in federal court, including one in Maryland last Thursday, and has won none of them. Wednesday’s decision marked the first time an appeals court had weighed in, setting the stage for a potential escalation to the Supreme Court.”

Julie Smyth & Michael Casey of the AP: “A federal judge on Wednesday permanently barred ... Donald Trump’s administration from implementing most of his first executive order on elections, part of which sought to require people to show documentary proof of citizenship when they register to vote. The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Denise Casper in Boston effectively converts a preliminary injunction she issued a year ago, in which she temporarily blocked many of Trump’s efforts to overhaul elections, into a permanent ban. Casper rejected the administration’s argument that the lawsuit to block the changes brought by Democratic state attorneys general was premature because the rules had yet to be implemented. Instead, she agreed that the Constitution gives states and Congress the authority to regulate elections, and that Trump’s requirements violated the separation of powers.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Neither Snow Nor Rain Nor Heat Nor Gloom of Night ... But Trump, Yeah. Jacob Knutson of Democracy Docket: “Postmaster General David Steiner told senators that, under a new proposed rule, the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) will not deliver mail ballots unless states hand over their voter lists to the Trump administration. 'Under our proposed regulation, no,' Steiner said during a Senate Homeland Security Committee hearing Wednesday after being asked whether USPS would refuse to deliver election mail if states refuse to divulge their voter lists. 'We would tell the state that we need the manifest,' Steiner added. Steiner’s alarming answer is yet more evidence that the Postal Service is following through with ... Donald Trump’s sweeping attack on mail voting and breaking from its decades-long history as a neutral, nonpartisan carrier of U.S. election mail....

“Sen. Margaret Hassan (D-N.H.) urged Steiner to 'immediately' withdraw the rule, calling it 'blatantly illegal' and designed to 'reduce participation in our democracy.' In response to a question from Hassan, Steiner said the Postal Service would comply if a court blocks the proposal. Multiple federal courts are hearing lawsuits against Trump’s order and the USPS’s new regulation.” MB: This really cannot stand. (Also linked yesterday.)

⭐Words Fail. Res Ipsa Loquitur. Hamed Aleaziz & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: “In the coming weeks, the United States plans to provide a welcome gift to white South Africans entering the United States as refugees. They will get an Android tablet, an American flag and copies of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. They will also receive a packet of literature that provides a sanitized, Trump-approved view of American and South African history, one that criticizes racial equity and civil rights laws and promotes claims of discrimination against white people. The welcome bags include a report commissioned by Mr. Trump during his first term that downplays the role of slavery in the country’s founding, and a children’s book accusing South Africa’s government of 'favoring the Black population.' The gifts would be the latest step by the Trump administration to welcome the white minority in South Africa, even as the president maintains a ban on refugees fleeing from war and persecution everywhere else in the world.... It is not clear how much the bags cost, or how much of the cost was being paid by taxpayers.” Thanks to RAS for the link.

Ishani Desai of the New York Times: “A federal judge on Wednesday tossed out a lawsuit filed by the Justice Department that accused four New Jersey cities of having 'sanctuary' policies that shield undocumented immigrants from federal immigration enforcement. Justice Department lawyers had sued the mayors and City Council members of Newark, Jersey City, Hoboken and Paterson last month as tensions were rising between local governments in the Garden State and the immigration authorities.... Judge Evelyn Padin, who was appointed by President Joseph R. Biden Jr., ruled that the federal lawsuit had “a fundamental flaw” because it challenged only the cities’ policies and did not take into account an order from the state attorney general’s office, known as the immigrant trust directive, that dictates how local law enforcement officers must engage with the immigration authorities.... The judge dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice, meaning the Justice Department could refile it.” Politico's report is here. 

Here's some clarification on a story linked yesterday: ~~~

~~~ Adam Entous & Greg Jaffe of the New York Times: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has forced Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, the top U.S. Army commander in Europe, to retire, a blow to those who saw him as a key leader of the military’s push to adapt to a future battlefield dominated by drones and artificial intelligence, defense officials said. General Donahue is expected to relinquish command of U.S. Army Europe and Africa on July 2, the Army said in a statement. He plans to retire in August. The general spent most of his Army career in the secretive world of U.S. military special operations, first as an Army Ranger and later as a commando in the elite Delta Force, where he rose to become the unit’s commanding officer. It is unclear why Mr. Hegseth, who has fired or sidelined many of the Army’s most experienced combat leaders over the last 18 months, viewed General Donahue with skepticism. The general has long been seen as one of the Army’s rising stars. Mr. Hegseth, who fought in Iraq and served in the National Guard, was forced out of the Army for tattoos the service deemed extremist. 'The military I loved, I fought for, I revered,' he wrote in a 2024 book, 'spit me out.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is the first time I recall reading a straight news story in a MSM publication that strongly implies Drunk Pete has fired experienced, accomplished military leaders out of spite. ~~~

     ~~~ AND. Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stonewalled a behind-the-scenes effort within the Army and on Capitol Hill to extend the career of an influential general [Christopher Donahue], people familiar with the matter said, leading to that officer submitting retirement paperwork and preparing to step down.... The general’s expected departure makes him the latest apparent casualty in Hegseth’s purge of senior military leaders whom the secretary has deemed insufficiently loyal to the Trump administration or branded “woke” for their past defense of diversity initiatives. Hegseth has fired or otherwise removed dozens of generals and admirals, often without specifying a reason.”

When Ignorant People -- Trump, Burgum -- Makes Thoughtless Rules, This Happens. Judd Legum of Popular Information: “In a cabinet meeting at the White House on August 26, 2025, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum praised ... [Donald] Trump for spearheading a rule change for the U.S. Park Police, allowing them to freely engage in vehicle pursuits.... The prior rules limited police chases to incidents involving violent crimes. But, Burgum announced, 'we got that rule changed in 24 hours because of President Trump’s leadership.' According to Burgum, 'the next night' the Park Police had 'so much fun' chasing 'bad guys.' Trump and other cabinet officials laughed.... 10 months later, an innocent bystander — 46-year-old delivery driver Nolberto Meza — ... died when his moped was struck by a vehicle being chased by Park Police. The chase would not have been permissible before the policy change because police were not pursuing suspects engaged in a violent crime. Meza is at least the second fatality directly related to Trump and Burgum’s policy. In March, a Park Police chase resulted in the death of 18-year-old Josue Chavez when a vehicle 'struck a tree and burst into flames.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump & Burgum think this arbitrary rules changes makes them look like macho-men tough on crime. No, it makes them complicit in at least two manslaughter cases. 

Jake Spring of the Washington Post: “...  recent internal guidance prohibits [national] park staff or other Interior Department employees from directly notifying the public about the deaths [inside national parks].... The memo, issued in December and reviewed by The Washington Post, states that Interior employees, including park staff and others who communicate with the media, are no longer permitted to confirm deaths or details about severe injuries, a restriction that current and former rangers say breaks with the department’s previous disclosure policy. An average of about 350 people die in national parks each year, or about 7 per week, according to Park Service data.... Seven current and former National Park Service staffers ... said public disclosure helps keep visitors safe by informing them about the risks they may encounter while on public lands.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is another manifestation of the Big Trump Lie: "Everything is going very smoothly." As the story about Thomas Kean, Jr., linked next, implies, this is not Trump's problem alone.  

Tracey Tully of the New York Times: “Representative Thomas Kean Jr., who has been missing from Washington for nearly four months with little explanation, is back home in New Jersey. He could be seen from the street on Wednesday evening, standing in a brightly lit front room of his Westfield home just before 8:45 p.m. 'It’s good to see you,' he said after a reporter for The New York Times rang his doorbell. He was wearing a dark suit and a red tie. 'I’ll talk to you next week,' he said.... Mr. Kean’s wife, Rhonda, stood in the background, smiling pleasantly. He declined additional comment and closed the door. Aides had said that Mr. Kean, 57, was being treated for a health condition and was expected to fully recover, but had offered no additional details as their boss missed more than 100 floor votes since the middle of March. Mr. Kean, a Republican, is running for a third term in November in one of the country’s most competitive midterm races.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, apparently no sex change. The logical guess is that Kean suffered some kind of mental breakdown that required a period of hospitalization. If that is the case, Kean's keeping it a secret sets a bad example for the millions of people who seek or require psychological help. Of course Kean is a Republican, and so many Republicans are afraid to admit they suffer common human illnesses. Rather, they like to pretend that they are such models of perfection that they sit around the house wearing suit and tie. Sad! 

Raquel Uribe & Kyle Stewart of NBC News: “Billionaire Bill Gates told the House Oversight Committee this month that he believed Jeffrey Epstein 'contemplated blackmailing' him over extramarital affairs, according to a transcript of the Microsoft co-founder’s interview released Tuesday. 'He never blackmailed me, but looking at these emails, it raises a serious probability that he contemplated blackmailing me,' Gates told lawmakers on June 10 as part of the committee’s probe into the late convicted sex offender.... Gates also told House members in the interview this month that he was aware Epstein had a criminal conviction 'of a sexual nature' when they met and that he 'probably should have' dug into the specifics of the conviction.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

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New York. Jonathan Dienst of NBC News New York, & AP: “A chief of staff to former New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been charged with accepting more than $100,000 in bribes to steer a city contract for emergency housing for migrants to a Queens hotel, according a federal indictment unsealed Wednesday. The indictment lodges multiple charges of bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and other crimes against Frank Carone, along with his brother Anthony Carone as well as a Queens hotel owner Yan Po Zhu and Crystal Chen, an employee of the hotel. They were expected to appear in federal court in Brooklyn on Wednesday afternoon.” (Also linked yesterday.)

South Dakota. Sarah Raza of the AP: “An incumbent South Dakota legislative leader is facing two felony counts, accused of falsifying signatures to put candidates forward for state Republican Party positions without them knowing. Republican state Sen. Thomas Pischke of Dell Rapids represents a deep red district outside Sioux Falls and is seeking a third term in November. He faces two felony counts of knowingly submitting a falsified or forged document.... The charges against Pischke came after a monthslong investigation into the filings.” MB: The investigation itself, which Raza summarizes, has a made-for-TV quality to it: DNA analysis! Surveillance video! 

Utah State Senate Race. Jack Healy of the New York Times: “The president of the Utah State Senate, who championed a huge data center beside the Great Salt Lake, was defeated in his Republican primary on Tuesday night, one of the most high-profile signs of the voter backlash to data center projects. The vote to oust the Senate president, J. Stuart Adams, was a stunner. Mr. Adams was one of the longest-serving and most powerful politicians in Utah, a solidly Republican state, and had won earlier re-elections with little opposition. Mr. Adams lost his Senate seat to Stephanie Hollist, a former university lawyer, who accused Mr. Adams and Utah’s political establishment of lacking transparency and ignoring their own voters by approving a data center project backed by the celebrity investor and 'Shark Tank' personality Kevin O’Leary. Mr. Adams did not directly represent the 40,000-acre proposed site of the data center in Box Elder County.... But he became the focus of an anti-data-center groundswell because he served as chairman of a Utah agency that approved initial plans this spring to build the data center....” The Hill's story is here.

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U.A.E. Rachel Chason of the Washington Post: “Publicly, officials in the UAE and across the Persian Gulf region largely have avoided criticizing Trump and said the war has only made the UAE double down on its relationship with the United States.... Analysts, however, said the friendly public posturing belies a deep frustration in the Gulf with Trump’s decision-making. Regional officials actively tried to avoid war and counseled the U.S. against launching it.... In one of the most public displays of Gulf discontent, Emirati billionaire Khalaf Al Habtoor went viral with a public letter that lambasted Trump’s 'dangerous decision' to 'drag our region into a war,' giving voice to the frustrations that mostly had been expressed behind closed doors.” Chason cites quite a few critics of Trump -- people who thought he would be good for local business but complain his waging an unnecessary Middle East war betrayed them.

Venezuela. The New York Times is liveblogging developments following two earthquakes that struck Venezuela Wednesday. From the pinned item at 5:30 am ET: “Huge, twinned earthquakes struck Venezuela on Wednesday, toppling many buildings and killing at least 32 people and injuring 700 others in a disaster that added to the country’s already severe political and economic turmoil. One of the quakes was the strongest to hit Venezuela in more than a century, and the full scale of the damage was not immediately clear early Thursday morning. President Delcy Rodríguez announced the initial toll of deaths and injuries on television but noted that it did not include the worst-hit state of La Guaira where dozens of buildings had collapsed. In nearby Caracas, Venezuela’s capital, structures shook and fell and people fled into the streets. Neighborhoods in some areas of Caracas went dark because of power outages, while subway and train services were suspended. Some streets were flooded by burst water pipes. Ms. Rodríguez declared a state of emergency, calling on doctors and nurses to report to their jobs.”