Morning Announcements

Today's Headlines: Mitch McConnell has apparently been on death's door for three weeks and nobody thought to mention it — Punchbowl News reported yesterday that he was found unconscious after likely suffering a heart attack, with EMS dispatch audio referencing CPR in progress for a cardiac arrest, while his office has been telling us he's "working closely with staff," which is one way to describe being in a hospital after cardiac arrest. Harvey Weinstein is also in Bellevue Hospital with heart failure as a complication of pneumonia after being rushed from Rikers, awaiting his September sentencing for sexual assault. America's 250th birthday celebration is upon us, with Trump promising the world's longest fireworks show starting at 10:30pm, plus a speech he's calling a rally that he promised to deliver even if it's 107 degrees, so happy birthday to us. Trump also took his Qatari hand-me-down plane on its inaugural flight to North Dakota for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening, where he compared himself to Teddy Roosevelt without quoting him once, interacted with an AI version of Roosevelt, floated giving himself the Medal of Honor for "taking on Russia Russia Russia," and bragged about winning the Iran war. Meanwhile, Former CIA Director John Brennan is suing the DOJ to prevent them from destroying evidence related to Trump's revenge investigations into him, which is the correct move and the only language Trump can read. Democratic panic is setting in after DSA candidate Melat Kiros, 29, beat 29-year incumbent Diana DeGette in Colorado's congressional primary — with Colorado's attorney general Phil Weiser also beating establishment favorite Michael Bennet in the governor's primary. And the Trump administration lifted its restrictions on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos, which it banned weeks ago for cybersecurity concerns, while simultaneously asking OpenAI to restrict its new GPT-5.6 Sol model for national security vetting, because the administration's relationship with AI safety is whatever is most convenient at any given moment.

Resources/Articles mentioned: 

NY Post: Mitch McConnell was found 'unconscious' in DC home last month, may have suffered heart attack

TMZ: Harvey Weinstein Suffers Heart Failure at Rikers Island, Sources Say

WaPo: Trump’s July 4 fireworks to start much later and last much longer

AP News: Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump's trip to North Dakota

NYT: Ex-C.I.A. Chief Asks for Order Forcing Trump Administration to Preserve Records

NBC News: Colorado Senate Primary Election 2026 Live Results: Hickenlooper, Gonzales and More

CNBC: Anthropic says Trump admin has lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5

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Today's Headlines: The Supreme Court ended its term with three rulings: birthright citizenship was technically upheld 6-3, but the fine print is alarming — the actual split on birthright citizenship itself was 5-4, Kavanaugh wrote a wink-wink concurrence suggesting Congress could legislate it away, and Thomas wrote a 91-page dissent about an explicit constitutional sentence, so Trump immediately announced he wants Congress to start ending it today. The Court also ruled 6-3 to uphold state bans on transgender female athletes in women's sports, setting precedent for 25 other states, and lifted federal limits on coordinated party spending in elections, which is a major practical win for Republicans who spend more through super PACs. Meanwhile, NPR briefly reported that Samuel Alito was retiring, retracted it ten minutes later, and veteran Supreme Court reporter Nina Totenberg — who has covered the court for four decades — had to personally apologize to Alito, which is an institutional mistake of historic proportions. On the corruption beat, Trump reportedly made at least $1.4 billion in 2025 from crypto and memecoins alone — $600 million from World Liberty Financial, $600 million from memecoins — bringing his Bloomberg net worth to $7.6 billion, which is a remarkable glow-up for someone who needed help posting bond for a court verdict last year. The New York Times reported that the Trump administration convinced Kazakhstan to give a US mining company — in which Trump's sons and Howard Lutnick's sons have stakes — access to tungsten reserves, then gave that company $1.6 billion in federal funding to mine it, and that Trump and Lutnick family businesses have financial ties to at least 14 companies receiving or under consideration for nearly $9 billion in federal minerals funding. The Atlantic reported that Trump's 250 pardons are actively in motion, with a former official describing the volume of requests as "batshit crazy," $2 million apparently being the going rate, and foreign nationals from India, Greece, Turkey, and France reportedly told their cases are under consideration. Congress left for July 4th recess early after the SAVE Act failed again, won't be back until July 13th, and Mitch McConnell has now been missing for nearly 20 days — with the suspicion that his office is running out the clock to August 4th, when Kentucky's Democratic governor can no longer appoint his replacement if something were to happen.

Resources/Articles mentioned: 

NYT: Supreme Court Rejects Trump's Efforts to End Birthright Citizenship: Live Updates

NYT: Supreme Court Allows States to Bar Transgender Athletes From Girls’ Sports

NYT: Supreme Court Lifts Spending Limits on Political Parties and Candidates

CNN: ‘I am so, so sorry’: NPR reporter explains SCOTUS retirement error

The Atlantic: The White House Considers Granting 250 Pardons for the Nation’s Birthday

Bloomberg: Trump Reports at Least $1.4 Billion in 2025 Crypto Earnings

NYT: Trump Cut a Billion-Dollar Mining Deal. His Sons Stand to Profit. 

WaPo: GOP rebellion over Trump’s elections overhaul leads House to recess for July Fourth early

WaPo: Congressman says depression diagnosis caused months-long absence

Yahoo: Few details known on Mitch McConnell’s health 2 weeks after hospitalization

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Today's Headlines: Clarence Thomas showed up to Congress yesterday and was all sus about why, though Politico reported Republicans say he was there for the special members-only doctor's office. The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that mail ballots postmarked by election day can be counted even if they arrive up to five days later — not what Trump wanted, who went off on the justices despite his own voters benefiting equally — and separately declined to hear his appeal of the E. Jean Carroll verdict, meaning he has to pay her $5 million. The Court also overturned the 91-year-old Humphrey's Executor precedent, allowing Trump to fire FTC commissioners without cause and setting a standard that applies to basically every federal regulator except the Federal Reserve Board, meaning he still can't fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook like he wanted. More major rulings are expected this week on transgender athletes in sports, campaign finance, and birthright citizenship, which the administration is determined to end. In other news, Airbnb cofounder Joe Gebbia, now running Trump's "National Design Studio" alongside DOGE veterans, has reportedly been quietly rebuilding government websites — including passport applications, TrumpRX, and a White House-controlled mirror of vote.gov — with tracking code that records and replays every click, scroll, and keystroke and sends the data somewhere off the public internet, so that's normal. Meanwhile, a Wall Street Journal investigation found that over 1,000 viral Polymarket betting videos showing people winning big were entirely staged — Polymarket paid influencers to post fake wins using a password-protected dupe website that mimicked real trades, then paid clippers to spread the videos, racking up 140 million views of completely fabricated winnings. And finally, Comcast announced it's spinning off NBCUniversal — including Bravo, SNL, Law & Order, the theme parks, and Peacock — to focus on broadband, and investors loved it, sending shares up over 4% after a rough year.

Resources/Articles mentioned: 

The Daily Beast: Clarence Thomas, 78, Busted on Mystery Medical Visit

SCOTUS Blog: Justices uphold state law allowing for late-arriving mail-in ballots

The Hill: Supreme Court won’t hear Trump’s bid to overturn Carroll sexual abuse verdict 

SCOTUS Blog: Supreme Court allows Trump to fire FTC commissioner and overturns major restraint on presidential power | SCOTUSblog

SCRIPPS News: Eight cases await Supreme Court ruling as major opinion day arrives Monday

The Guardian: ‘It’s dangerous and it’s going to erode trust’: redesign of US government websites stokes surveillance fears | Trump administration

WSJ: They Looked Like They Were Getting Rich on Polymarket—but None of It Was Real

WSJ: Comcast Plans Company Split as Competition Escalates

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Today's Headlines: Trump's America 250 Great American State Fair opened on the National Mall in the rain, the power went out, the ferris wheel didn't work, there was no fair food, at least 10 states declined to send delegations, and Trump called it "packed to the brim" — the North Carolina booth displayed a Confederate flag overlay on a video loop before sponsors pulled out, which is on brand for an event whose main attractions were a Turning Point USA booth and a broken ferris wheel. Trump also unveiled a limited edition passport featuring his own face with the words "welcome, but be good!," announced plans to renovate a DC golf course starting September 1st, and personally inspected Lafayette Park to ensure it will have exactly 47 maple trees because he's the 47th president. The administration also announced the "Patriot Games" — aka the Hunger Games — a high school athletic competition on the National Mall in August where kids from each state compete for a $250,000 scholarship they split two ways, streaming on ESPN. The Iran war is back on: Trump announced strikes on Iranian targets after an attack on a commercial tanker, threatened to "militarily complete the job," Iran responded by asserting full control of the Strait, threatening to halt negotiations, and launching drone and missile attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait — while Israel and Lebanon signed a framework agreement requiring Israel to withdraw if Lebanon verifies Hezbollah has been fully dismantled, with the US committing $100 million in humanitarian aid. On the Russia beat, coup rumors against Putin got louder this weekend as Russia continues losing in Ukraine, Putin has dramatically increased his personal security, and former Russian defense minister Sergei Ivanov — once seen as Putin's potential successor — died at 73, with his death announced first by a basketball organization he was honorary president of, which is suspicious to say the least. In other news, a new CNN analysis found that Americans in Democratic congressional districts live longer, with nearly 70% of House Democrats representing districts where life expectancy exceeds the national average versus over 70% of Republicans representing districts where it falls below, alongside higher rates of diabetes, obesity, and uninsured residents in Republican districts. Mississippi passed a law creating a registry of undocumented immigrants to share with ICE, covering fewer than 30,000 people out of nearly 3 million state residents. And finally, a dangerous heat dome is forecast for the central and eastern US just in time for July 4th celebrations, so happy 250th America.

Resources/Articles mentioned: 

Newsweek: Map Shows States Skipping America 250 Fair

News Observer: Confederate flag fuels fresh controversy over NC at national ‘State Fair’

WaPo: Organizers remove Confederate flag image from N.C. booth at fair on the Mall

Forbes: Trump’s Patriot Games: What We Know About Nationally Televised Event

NYT: White House Releases Images of the Trump ‘Patriot Passport’

WaPo: Work on East Potomac Golf Links overhaul will begin Sept. 1, Trump says

DW: How real is a coup threat against Russia's president?

MSN: Putin faces internal strains as ally Ivanov dies at 73

Axios: U.S. launches fresh Iran strikes as Trump threatens to "complete the job"

WaPo: Iran insists it has sole control of Hormuz, ignoring Trump’s threats

AP News: Iran attacks Bahrain and Kuwait following US strikes and threatens to halt talks

MS Now: Israel and Lebanon sign framework agreement after marathon talks

AP News: A new law could create a list of immigrants illegally living in Mississippi. Advocates are alarmed

CNN: Americans now live longer in Democratic-held House districts. Here’s why

NYT: A ‘Heat Dome’ Could Bring Triple- Digit Temperatures to the Midwest and Eastern U.S. 

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

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Today's Headlines: Meta tried to silence former employee Sarah Wynn-Williams from promoting her tell-all Careless People for over a year through an arbitration agreement, she's now suing in federal court, and the book sold 130,000 copies anyway. On the Epstein files, Leon Black is testifying to Congress today about his $170 million payment to Epstein and his alleged use of Epstein as a hush money middleman, with "please call Leon Black" appearing over 300 times in the Epstein files, and a federal judge separately ruled the DOJ must unredact specific Epstein file pages by July 2nd — including FBI interviews with a woman who claimed Trump sexually assaulted her as a minor — or make a case in court for why they can't. On the war beat,  Bill Cassidy reversed his war powers vote essentially the day after his screaming match with Trump, Iran attacked another ship in the Strait of Hormuz, the chief negotiator announced that "management of the Strait will never return to the way it was before," and the White House formally requested $87 billion more from Congress for the war, because the previous billions went so well. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court dropped three 6-3 rulings that struck down Hawaii's gun law banning firearms in public spaces, ended TPS for Syrian and Haitian refugees who have been here over a decade and made it illegal for consumers to sue manufacturers over undisclosed product hazards, which is bad news for the MAHA crowd. A lower court judge blocked Trump's executive order restricting mail-in voting and creating citizenship voter lists, calling it an attempt to "intimidate local election officials" that falls outside presidential authority. And finally, New York City's Rent Guidelines Board voted to freeze rent on approximately one million rent-stabilized apartments starting October 1st, which is Zohran Mamdani's second big win this week after sweeping the primaries, and landlords are already preparing to sue about it.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

WSJ: Meta Tried to Silence Her. Now She’s Suing

NBC News: Lawmakers expected to press billionaire Leon Black about Epstein ties

The Hill: Judge orders DOJ to produce, unredact sought after Epstein files

ABC News: In reversal, Senate votes to block war powers resolution, delivering Trump a win

Axios: Federal judge blocks Trump's mail-in voting order

The Hill: 5 takeaways from Supreme Court's big rulings on immigration, guns

CNN: Supreme Court gives Trump major wins on two immigration cases

Axios: Supreme Court blocks lawsuits over chemical risks

WSJ: New York City Board Approves Mamdani’s Rent Freeze

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Today's Headlines: In a rare occurrence, we’re starting with good news. The FDA approved a new drug called Trodelvy that reduces aggressive triple-negative breast cancer progression by 40% compared to chemo — affecting 48,000 Americans a year — science is awesome. Zohran Mamdani swept Tuesday's New York primaries, no he wasn’t on the ballot but all three of his DSA-endorsed challengers defeated incumbent Democrats including Dan Goldman and Congressional Hispanic Caucus chair Adriano Espaillat, triggering a full Democratic Party freakout — Letitia James called out Mamdani on CNN, former DNC chair Jaime Harrison posted a barely-veiled "if you hate the party don't use its resources" thread, and Mamdani responded with a Jalen Brunson clip from the Knicks parade. In Trump shenanigans, Donald admitted at a Pennsylvania rally that he personally called the US attorney in California to "take a look" at the governor's primary results, claiming Steve Hilton started winning about an hour after the call, which is either a confession of election interference or the most casual admission of abuse of power we've heard yet. He then refused to sign the bipartisan housing bill his own White House negotiated unless Republicans first pass the SAVE Act to overhaul voting laws before the midterms, got into a screaming match with Bill Cassidy at a Senate lunch over the Iran war vote. As expected, Speaker Mike Johnson immediately announced he'd push the SAVE Act through budget reconciliation to appease him — which is not what budget reconciliation is for, but here we are. In other news, Pete Hegseth forced out highly respected four-star General Christopher Donohue, who headed the Army in Europe and Africa, with more "personnel changes" expected next week as Hegseth continues his speed run of replacing competent military commanders with pliant ones. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte visited the Oval Office, kissed Trump's ring, and had to sit there while Trump ranted for the fourth consecutive day about someone cutting the reflecting pool with a box cutter. And finally, Bending Spoons — the Italian tech company that owns Vimeo, WeTransfer, AOL, and Eventbrite — is planning a $19 billion US IPO.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

WSJ: New Drugs Are Replacing Chemo for Aggressive Breast Cancer

NYT: Cait Conley Wins Primary to Face Mike Lawler in N.Y. Swing District

NBC News: Trump endorses a second candidate in the South Carolina governor’s race

Axios: Socialist "earthquake" in NY leaves Democrats reeling: "Huge defeat"

Politico: Trump says he asked US attorney for California election probe: ‘Do me a favor’

AP News: Live updates: Trump speaks at National Mall rally for America 250

CNN: What’s in the ‘SAVE America Act’ and why is it so important to Donald Trump?

MS Now: Inside Trump's closed-door clash with Senate Republicans

The Hill: Speaker Johnson says he will push SAVE America Act through reconciliation 3.0

The Hill: Trump lays out new details on Reflecting Pool ‘vandals’

WSJ: Hegseth Cuts Army Commander’s Storied Career Short as Part of Broader Shake-Up

Reuters: Vimeo owner Bending Spoons seeks $1.62 billion US IPO, sources say

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

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Today's Headlines: Anti-ICE protesters in Texas were sentenced to between 50 and 100 years in prison after a judge stacked consecutive sentences for each count — normally they'd run concurrently — in what was explicitly viewed as a test case for how courts will handle dissent against the Trump administration, and separately the DOJ indicted 15 Minnesota protesters for "violently opposing federal law enforcement" by trying to block ICE arrests, so the message is clear. The Washington Post dropped a blockbuster investigation revealing that Tulsi Gabbard's political career was effectively run by her cult leader guru Chris Butler, who emailed her directives from a special address telling her what policies to support, how to behave on television, and writing her tweets down to the word and exact time to post. Ukraine, meanwhile, is winning the intelligence war against Russia using an underground network of "vidmas" — female honey pots drawn from Ukrainian folklore — to locate Russian troops for drone strikes, and separately knocked out power to half of Russian-occupied Crimea.  On the Iran war beat, the Senate passed a war powers resolution to prevent further military action in Iran on its tenth attempt — ten! — with four Republicans joining Democrats, Fetterman voting for the war, and Mitch McConnell still missing. In a rare bipartisan effort, Congress also passed a housing bill banning private equity from buying more than 350 homes at once and relaxing local building regulations, which won't fix the housing crisis immediately but is technically something. In other news,  Foreign hackers from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea are infiltrating American homes through smart devices and cheap consumer gadgets like digital photo frames to steal data. Also, the Trump administration installed AI surveillance towers around the reflecting pool in the rain — which refilled the pool they had just drained — and put up chain link fences around the national monument, classy. Finally, SpaceX's stock is already down 45% from its all-time high less than two weeks after its IPO, and the company has already issued $25 billion in bonds despite just raising $75 billion, which is not a great sign.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

The Guardian: Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison

PBS News: Federal prosecutors charge 15 people with conspiracy to impede agents during Minnesota immigration crackdown

The Atlantic: The Warrior-Witches of Ukraine’s Resistance 

Kyiv Post: Half of Crimea Left Without Power After Overnight Explosions

WaPo: Tulsi Gabbard, her guru and the mysterious messages that shaped her political career

AP News: Senate for first time approves a war powers resolution in a rebuke to Trump over Iran conflict

Axios: Congress passes big housing bill with bipartisan support

WSJ: How Hackers Found a Back Door Into the American Living Room

Yahoo: Trump Launches AI Surveillance of Reflecting Pool as Disaster Grows

Yahoo Finance: SpaceX stock tumbles 16.4%, shaving off most IPO gains since debut

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Today's Headlines: Mitch McConnell has been hospitalized for over a week with his office offering nothing beyond "he's still working closely with staff." Meanwhile, JD Vance called the Iran talks a "classic Trump deal" while the administration temporarily lifted oil sanctions letting Iran sell oil in US dollars for the first time since 2018 — when Trump blew up the original deal — with Iran saying they made "no new commitments," the Strait of Hormuz status depends entirely on who you ask, and Vance gets visibly snubbed by Iran's foreign minister during a photo op. Trump responded to New York Times war coverage by threatening to add their reporting to his $15 billion defamation lawsuit and calling them treasonous, which is bold from someone whose last Times lawsuit was thrown out within days. The administration is threatening to withhold a billion dollars in homeland security funding from states unless they overhaul their election laws — paper ballots, federal audits, administration-preferred voter databases, all at state expense — which is unconstitutional and headed straight for court, while a George W. Bush-appointed judge blocked DOJ subpoenas targeting Tim Walz and other Minnesota officials, finding "overwhelming" evidence they were issued purely to harass political opponents. Jeanine Pirro is threatening to prosecute anyone caught "vandalizing" the reflecting pool, at least five people have been federally cited for being near it, and Trump claimed someone made a 350-foot gash in a pool he simultaneously described as uncuttable. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer resigned — the country's seventh prime minister in ten years, right on Brexit's tenth anniversary — with Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as frontrunner to replace him, while researchers found Elon Musk played an "instrumental" role in inciting Belfast's anti-immigrant riots by generating over half of 115 million views driving the unrest, prompting England and Wales's attorney general to ban his office from using X. Finally, Tucker Carlson announced he's done with the Republican Party and won't support them in the midterms. 

Resources/Articles mentioned:

WAVE: Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell in the hospital, ‘still working closely with staff," says office

WSJ: U.S. Allows Iran to Sell Oil in Dollars for First Time in Decades

NYT: U.S. Eases Sanctions on Iranian Oil, but Progress on Nuclear Issues Is Muddy 

The Daily Beast: Grimacing Vance Snubbed by Diplomats at Iran Peace Summit

Yahoo News: Trump calls New York Times story "treasonous," vows to add to lawsuit

CNN: Exclusive: Trump administration plans to use homeland security funds to pressure states into election changes

Axios: Judge blocks Trump subpoenas targeting Walz, other Minnesota Democrats

Yahoo: Jeanine Pirro vows to prosecute anyone ‘vandalizing’ Reflecting Pool

BBC: Andy Burnham sworn in as MP after Keir Starmer announces resignation

PBS News: How UK's Keir Starmer went from election landslide to downfall 

NYT: In the U.K., a Violent Cycle: Hateful Attacks, Right-Wing Agitation and Riots

LeMonde: Elon Musk's role was 'instrumental' in the Belfast riots, researchers say

The Guardian: Attorney general tells department to stop using X amid UK disinformation concerns

Axios: "I'm out": Tucker Carlson says he's done with the GOP

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Today's Headlines: Oh boy, what a weekend! Trump deployed the National Guard to the reflecting pool, where they arrested a 67-year-old former Olympic cyclist who stopped during a bike ride and touched the water to feel the liner — charging him with destruction of government property. Trump posted that "multiple individuals" were arrested for vandalism and threatened "years in jail." The algae situation is now worse than ever, and we now know that the no-bid contract was awarded to a company owned by a Trump donor and Mar-a-Lago member named John Cafaro whose firm Greenwater Services was clearly not equipped for the job. Trump also got into a feud with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni after claiming she "begged" him for a photo at the G7, which Italy responded to by canceling a planned state visit and Meloni posting a video saying "Italy and I do not beg," and Trump doubled down anyway. He also posted a photo of a random woman captioned "great daughter, my honor!!" who turned out to be a Clinton-era businesswoman whose actual daughter is the chairwoman of the Manhattan Republican Party. On the war beat, less than a day after signing the memorandum of understanding, US intelligence warned Trump that Netanyahu would likely undermine the deal — which he immediately did by continuing strikes in Lebanon, prompting Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz again. JD Vance made it to Switzerland for negotiations on Sunday with Tweedles Dee & Dum (Kushner & Witkoff), and Trump promptly torpedoed the meeting by posting threats of "harder strikes" against Iran while it was actively happening, causing Iran to walk out and demand an apology. As of Sunday night talks were back on, and Trump announced that if everything falls apart he's blaming JD Vance. The Pentagon also told Congress it needs $80 billion to cover the cost of the Iran war and replenish depleted ammunition supplies, Republicans need 60 Senate votes to pass it, and it's not looking great. Meanwhile, the Qatar-gifted $400 million plane has completed modifications and is ready to join Trump's Air Force One rotation, and the DOJ refused in a court filing to put in writing that they won't create the Traitor Fund, calling a written promise "unnecessary" because they already said so verbally, which is exactly what someone planning to do it anyway would say.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

Newsweek: Cyclist Arrested at Reflecting Pool Speaks Out as National Guard Deployed

NYT: Firm Tied to Trump Donor Got No-Bid Contract to Clean Reflecting Pool

NPR: Trump claims vandals damaged D.C. Reflecting Pool, and says it will be drained again 

AP News: Trump deepens the dustup with Italy's Meloni, who says his 'unprovoked attacks are senseless'

Newsweek: Trump Late-Night Post Sparks Scramble to ID Mystery Woman in Photo

WaPo: White House says goodbye to an Air Force One as it prepares for Qatar jet

The Independent: Trump’s DOJ refuses to supply signed statements saying ‘slush fund’ is really dead

WaPo: U.S. intelligence warns Israel is likely to undermine Iran peace deal, officials say

The Guardian: Iran says it is closing strait of Hormuz over Israeli strikes in Lebanon 

AP News: US-Iran negotiations expected through the night after Trump shakes talks with threats

WSJ: Pentagon Tells Lawmakers It Needs $80 Billion for Iran War and Other Bills

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Today's Headlines: The Obama Presidential Center officially opened on the South Side of Chicago yesterday — a 19-acre campus with a museum, library, gardens, and a sledding hill — on Juneteenth, the same day Trump signed a worse version of Obama's Iran deal at Versailles, which is the kind of historic irony that writes itself. The Knicks held their ticker tape parade in downtown Manhattan to celebrate their first NBA championship in 53 years, Zohran Mamdani gave them the keys to the city, and Knicks owner James Dolan used his remarks to shade the mayor without naming him. JD Vance spent yesterday claiming Trump would rank at the top of an IQ test against all 45 previous presidents and telling Israel to "wake up and smell the reality" that Trump is their only ally left in the world, which is both a threat and an accurate description of what Trump's Iran deal accomplished. Ukraine hit a major Moscow oil refinery for the second time this week in one of its largest drone attacks of the war, with Zelensky saying the goal is to bring Putin back to the negotiating table and announcing G7 leaders — including the US — reached "unprecedented agreement" on additional air defense support for Ukraine. On the immigration beat, a Reuters analysis found that the death rate in ICE detention centers has more than doubled under Trump, from one death per 3,848 detainees historically to one per 1,630 since January, with 50 people dying from suicides, cardiovascular events, and untreated chronic conditions. The Trump administration quietly redirected $350 million from Secret Service training and recruitment funds to the White House ballroom-bunker, bringing its total projected cost to $600 million with taxpayers footing more than half — despite Trump's promise that he and donors would cover it entirely. And the Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, less than a week after its $14 million renovation, now has the worst algae levels in five years, and the hydrogen peroxide treatment meant to fix it caused the new paint to start peeling off in sheets.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

NYT: Barack Obama Presidential Center Opens in Chicago

The Hollywood Reporter: Spike Lee, Timothée Chalamet and All the Stars Spotted at the New York Knicks Ticker-Tape Parade

NY Post: Knicks owner Dolan throws shade on Mamdani after mayor’s longwinded speech: ‘I don’t need your vote’ 

Axios: Vance warns Israel: Don't fight "only ally" Trump on Iran deal

AP News: Ukrainian drones set a Moscow refinery ablaze in a major attack on the Russian capital

Reuters: Death rate in ICE immigrant detention centers more than doubles under Trump, Reuters analysis finds 

WaPo: Millions in Secret Service funds redirected amid ballroom construction

WaPo: Reflecting Pool algae bloom is one of biggest recorded in years after $14M renovation

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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