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Trump hijacked US's 250 anniversary to serve 'political ideology and pet projects', congressional report says

(The Guardian) Donald Trump staged a hostile takeover of the US’s 250th anniversary celebration to enrich political allies, harvest voter data and promote Christian nationalist ideology, according to a congressional investigation released on Thursday. The interim report, “From Vanity to Insanity: How the White House Cheated the American People Out of Their 250th Birthday”, outlines a web of alleged corruption, wire fraud and pay-to-play schemes orchestrated through a shadow corporation embedded within the National Park Foundation (NPF).

riversedge

U.S. Air Force Officer Arrested on Capitol Steps for Call to Impeach Trump: 'The Bill Must Come Due'

(Mediaite) Air Force Major Jason Watson was arrested on the Capitol Steps after delivering a speech calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. Watson listed several perceived crimes committed by the president and vice president, including unconstitutional military actions and granting sweeping authority to unelected individuals. Watson was joined by various individuals and organizations in his call for impeachment, with Free Speech for People praising his courage and commitment to upholding the Constitution.

BumRushDaShow

U.S. economy added 57,000 jobs in June, less than expected; unemployment rate at 4.2%

(CNBC) The U.S. economy saw job creation cool sharply heading into the summer, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. Nonfarm payrolls for June increased by a seasonally adjusted 57,000 for the month, slower than the downwardly revised 129,000 added in May and worse than the 115,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast.

Dulcinea

Soaring revenue at Mar-a-Lago shows how Trump's business interests and politics intersect

(CNN) As President Donald Trump’s wealth has soared since retaking office, a new financial disclosure shows his two premier Florida resorts have also delivered record-breaking surges in revenue – a potent illustration of how Trump’s personal business and presidential politics overlap. Trump has visited the properties, Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral, more than two dozen times since the beginning of last year, hosting million-dollar-per-plate fundraising dinners, feting foreign dignitaries and welcoming GOP galas as industry leaders and political groups have scrambled to book their own events there as well.

KS Toronado

Thursday's Condensed News Cartoons & Memes

RandySF

Trump vows to give long July 4 address even if it is 107 degrees

(The Hill) President Trump on Wednesday vowed that he will deliver a long speech on the National Mall for the U.S.’s 250th birthday, even as forecasters anticipate temperatures climbing to 107 degrees. “By the way, on July 4th, it’s going to be approximately 107 degrees out, and I’m going to go, and I’m going to make a really long speech just to show that I can do anything,” Trump said during his appearance at the opening ceremony for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora, N.D.

applegrove

Jon Ossoff Opens Big Lead in Georgia

(Political Wire) A new Fox News poll finds Sen. Jon Ossoff (D) leading challenger Mike Collins (R) in his re-election campaign, 56% to 43%.

mahatmakanejeeves

OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure: report

(CNBC) OpenAI has proposed handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported Thursday, as the artificial intelligence startup seeks to defuse mounting political pressure in Washington. ... A 5% holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion, after the AI fab closed a record-breaking funding round in March at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.

babylonsister

Trump plan will destroy DC's 'oldest grove of cherry trees' for golf practice: report

(Raw Story) A new Washington Post report says President Donald Trump's golf course redevelopment plan would destroy "Washington's oldest grove of cherry trees," the sole survivors of Japan's original 1910 gift to America. Photos from Trump's Sunday tour of East Potomac Golf Links showed plans far larger than the government had publicly admitted, the Post said. The trees — planted in 1910 and more than twice the species' expected maximum age — sit on an area that the plans would raze for a practice facility.

douglas9

Chicago FBI chief leaving unexpectedly, raising eyebrows amid feds' ongoing credibility crisis

(Chicago Sun-Times) Chicago FBI boss Douglas S. DePodesta will leave his job after the Fourth of July holiday, an unexpected move causing further tumult in the city’s federal law enforcement community, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned. His last day on the job will be Monday, according to a law enforcement source. The FBI’s Rapid Response social media account late Wednesday said, “It’s simple: Anyone who is not on board with THIS FBI under the leadership of President Trump — which has achieved the lowest murder rate ever — is free to leave.”

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Sexual assault nonprofit in New Mexico providing space for Epstein survivors

14 min ago - Posted 2:49 PM, Jul 02, 2026 Less than 50 miles from Jeffrey Epstein's Zorro Ranch, a Santa Fe nonprofit is serving as a haven for survivors of his alleged crimes — a middle ground between their pain and the public. Solace Sexual Assault Servic ... (Scripps News)

Google search empire stuck with $4.7 billion fine after losing final Android appeal in Europe

1 hr ago - July 2, 2026 (CN) — The smartphone that put Google in millions of pockets also left it with one of Europe’s biggest antitrust fines after the EU’s highest court rejected the company’s final Android appeal Thursday. The European Co ... (Courthouse News Service)

Trump administration's $46 billion 'smart wall' races ahead on the US-Mexico border

1 hr ago - Updated 7:48 AM EDT, July 2, 2026 PHOENIX (AP) — For decades, all that separated the U.S. from Mexico was barbed wire. Now, after a massive infusion of cash from Congress, President Donald Trump’s administration is swiftly building what it ... (AP)

The Dan Sullivan saga in the Alaska Senate race is under investigation, sources say

1 hr ago - July 2, 2026, 2:19 PM EDT State and federal prosecutors in Alaska are investigating whether the campaign for a U.S. Senate candidate who has the same name as the Republican incumbent could be part of a conspiracy to confuse voters, two people with kn ... (NBC News)

Tugboat workers go on strike days before Sail Boston and July 4th fireworks: "You need us"

2 hrs ago - By Penny Kmitt July 2, 2026 / 12:40 PM EDT / CBS Boston Tugboat workers in Boston have gone on strike, just days before two of the city's biggest events this summer, Sail Boston and the July 4th fireworks on the Charles River Esplanade. Riley Tucker ... (CBS News)

Tillis: SAVE America Act is 'dead' as time has run out to implement new voting rules

2 hrs ago - 07/02/26 11:50 AM ET Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) says the SAVE America Act, President Trump’s No. 1 legislative priority, is “dead” on Capitol Hill because there is not enough time to change election laws before the midterms — even ... (The Hill)

Exclusive: Trump-tied Freedom 250 sent ticket seekers to GOP fundraising site

2 hrs ago - Updated July 2, 2026, 2:33 p.m. ET WASHINGTON – Americans seeking free tickets to the kickoff celebration for the nation’s 250th birthday on the National Mall were asked to consent to receiving requests for donations to an organization affi ... (USA Today)

Polis defends data centers as Colorado juggles energy demands

3 hrs ago - 10h ASPEN, Colo. — Colorado's Democratic governor, Jared Polis, defended data centers, touted oil and gas rules and bemoaned climate change in a recent interview in this mountain town. Why it matters: Colorado has long been a microcosm of the na ... (msn/Axios)

Why the media lets Republicans keep medical woes a mystery

3 hrs ago - Here we go again with the extraordinary, taxpayer-funded disappearing acts of Republican politicians. A headline in the Louisville Courier-Journal crystalized the state of affairs on Capitol Hill: “As Tom Kean returns, Mitch McConnell‘s ab ... (Salon)

N95 mask encouraged for July 4 Washington DC National Mall fireworks

4 hrs ago - Story by Mike Stunson, USA TODAY NETWORK • 2h • Saturday's Fourth of July fireworks on the National Mall in Washington DC could be the largest ever staged, according to President Donald Trump, but officials are also warning of health conce ... (msn.com)

Warren Urges Fed's Waller To Halt Work On Reserve Bank Proposal

4 hrs ago - July 2, 2026 at 6:00 AM EDT Senator Elizabeth Warren is asking Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller to halt his efforts to overhaul operations at the central bank's 12 regional branches. Warren, the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee ... (Bloomberg)

U.S. Olympic canoeist David 'Davey' Hearn charged in Reflecting Pool vandalism

4 hrs ago - U.S. Olympic canoeist David "Davey" Hearn was indicted Thursday on a single count of destruction of property following his arrest last month at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Hearn was indicted in D.C. Superior Court on the felony charge. Hear ... (NBC News)

'Weird Al' Yankovic Pulled Out of AI Ad Despite Offer to Make a 'Nice Pile of Money': 'I Can't Be the Poster Boy for AI'

4 hrs ago - Some things are too weird even for parody king “Weird Al” Yankovic. Ahead of a Syracuse, New York, stop on his “Bigger & Weirder” tour, Yankovic revealed to Syracuse.com in an interview published this week that he was offered ... (Variety)

Microsoft commits $2.5 billion and 6,000 employees to new AI implementation unit

4 hrs ago - Microsoft is investing $2.5 billion into a new group focused on assisting clients with AI implementations, becoming the latest tech company to commit hefty resources to helping businesses understand and adopt emerging artificial intelligence technolo ... (CNBC)

Congressional Republicans confront a lost summer

4 hrs ago - 07/02/2026 04:45 AM EDT The Republican congressional agenda is melting in the summer heat. Intraparty fights, tight margins, election-year pressures and an indifferent president have grounded the pre-midterm legislative plans of GOP leaders on Capit ... (Politico)

Heat wave forecast: Dangerous temps to continue into July 4 holiday

6 hrs ago - July 2, 2026, 9:38 AM A dangerous heat wave is bringing prolonged extreme heat to more than two dozen states across the Midwest, the South and the East Coast. The heat wave began in the Midwest on Monday and has since spread east, where it's set to ... (ABC News)

FBI directing hundreds of analysts to dig into Georgia election probe subjects, sources say

6 hrs ago - Jul. 2, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT The FBI is surging resources into what it calls a “priority” investigation related to the 2020 election in Georgia, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter, in an extraordinary effort by the nation ... (MS NOW News)

Venezuelan security guard pulled alive from building basement 8 days after twin quakes

7 hrs ago - CATIA LA MAR, Venezuela (AP) — Rescuers pulled a 43-year-old security guard alive from a collapsed basement early Thursday, ending a grueling days-long operation that became a symbol of hope after the devastation of twin earthquakes that struck ... (AP News)

Hegseth faces off with 'Free DC' protesters at National Guard event

7 hrs ago - Hegseth faces off with 'Free DC' protesters at National Guard event by Filip Timotija 07/02/26 11:25 AM ET Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed protesters and praised the National Guard's work Thursday morning during a D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task ... (The Hill)

'Ingratitude!' Hegseth lashes out at 'ingrates' burying Trump's top officials in boos

7 hrs ago - Nicole Charky-Chami July 2, 2026 10:27AM ET Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was furious as demonstrators overpowered Trump administration officials speaking to a crowd of National Guard members on Thursday. Hegseth, White House Deputy Chief of Staff ... (raw story)