Brett Breaks Things

Trump's Justice Department is making the chain of command pretty clear. Todd Blanche won't promise independence from the president, while the administration eases scrutiny on shell companies and redirects fraud enforcement toward smaller targets. Meanwhile, the Trump family's crypto empire pushes deeper into banking and AI — and Truth Social's latest money-making scheme is raising fresh legal questions.

From sailors pushed to the brink aboard an overstretched Navy to a depleted drone fleet and mysterious attacks on fishing boats near the Galápagos, America's war machine is showing serious cracks. And now, reporting points to a covert CIA operation behind those strikes. So we're asking: Is the CIA open for business?

Primary night shook up both parties, with incumbents falling, progressives scoring wins, and Trump-backed candidates taking some major hits.

Meanwhile, the bigger fight is over the election itself. A federal judge blocked Trump's mail-in voting restrictions as Trump openly floats using emergency powers to influence the midterms and DHS ramps up its voter-fraud crusade. The battle over who votes—and who controls the rules—is just getting started.

Jared Kushner's luxury resort plans in Albania are running into some very inconvenient problems — including disputed land, a suspected gangster, and a newly revealed letter raising fresh questions about how the deal came together.

We break down the fight over one of Albania's most valuable stretches of coastline, the characters standing in Kushner's way, and why this latest Trump-family business venture is starting to look a lot messier than the glossy renderings suggest.

Trump's foreign policy is losing ground on every front. Netanyahu rejects his Gaza plan, Iran keeps the Strait of Hormuz shut while forcing Washington back toward the negotiating table, and the Pentagon is scrambling to replenish weapons depleted by the war. For all the talk of strength and leverage, America suddenly looks like it's reacting—not dictating.

Lisa Murkowski may be a no, but Bill Cassidy just gave Todd Blanche the lifeline he needed. After weeks of uncertainty, the vote count finally appears to be there for Blanche's Attorney General confirmation.

We break down the last-minute Senate maneuvering before August recess, then turn to Trump's newest executive orders targeting birthright citizenship and so-called "birth tourism" — another major constitutional fight headed straight for the courts.

We break down the effort to turn Fauci into a villain, what his private diary actually reveals, and why the real casualty of this crusade may be America's willingness to put scientists anywhere near government again.