1/ Trump has been notified that he’s a target in the Jan. 6 criminal investigation by special counsel Jack Smith. Trump confirmed the development in a post on his personal social media platform, writing: “Deranged Jack Smith, the prosecutor with Joe Biden’s DOJ, sent a letter (again, it was Sunday night!) stating that I am a TARGET of the January 6th Grand Jury investigation, and giving me a very short 4 days to report to the Grand Jury, which almost always means an Arrest and Indictment.” The target letter indicates that another indictment could be imminent, though it’s unclear what kind of charges Trump could face. It is also not clear whether anyone else received a target letter. It is, however, the second time that Smith has notified Trump that he’s a target in a federal investigation. The first was in June in connection with his handling of classified documents after leaving office and his alleged efforts to obstruct the government’s investigation. Days later, a federal grand jury indicted Trump on 37 charges. In March, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on state charges related to hush money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign. The district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., is also leading an ongoing investigation related to the 2020 election and attempts to overturn the state’s results. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press / ABC News / Politico / Wall Street Journal / USA Today / NBC News / CNBC)

2/ The Georgia Supreme Court dismissed Trump’s petition to block the state’s investigation into his efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to throw out evidence gathered by a special purpose grand jury in the case. All nine justices said Trump’s lawyers had failed to present “extraordinary circumstances” that warranted shutting down the investigation. The ruling came weeks before Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek indictments in the election probe. Trump is expected to be one of the defendants. (Washington Post /

1/ An Iowa judge temporarily blocked the state’s new six-week abortion ban. For now, abortion is legal again in Iowa up to 20 weeks of pregnancy while the legal challenge plays out in the court system. On Friday, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed the “fetal heartbeat” law. It took effect immediately and banned nearly all abortions after cardiac activity in the embryo is detected, which can occur about six weeks into a pregnancy – before most women know they are pregnant. (NBC News / Des Moines Register / Associated Press / The Hill)

2/ House Republicans narrowly approved a must-pass defense policy bill, which restricts Pentagon policies that reimburse travel costs for troops seeking abortions and medical care for transgender troops. The $886 billion defense package authorizes funding and sets the policy for the Defense Department, and includes a 5.2% pay raise for service members. All but four Democrats voted against the package. The National Defense Authorization Act, however, expected to go nowhere in the Democratic-majority Senate, which will begin debate on its own defense legislation this month. (Associated Press / Politico / Vox / NPR / CNN / CBS News)

3/ A Republican from Arizona referred to Black people as “colored people” during a floor debate over his proposed amendment to the annual defense policy bill. Eli Crane’s amendment would prohibit the Pentagon from considering race, gender, religion, political affiliations or “any other ideological concepts” in training, promotion or retention decisions. “My amendment has nothing to do with whether or not colored people or Black people or anybody can serve,” said Crane. “The military was never intended to be, you know, inclusive. Its strength is not its diversity. Its strength is its standards.” Crane later claimed he “misspoke.” (Washington Post / NBC News / CBS News)

4/ The Biden administration eliminated $39 billion in student debt for more than 800,000 borrowers. The relief is part of an effort to fix what the administration calls “administrative failures” that denied student loan borrowers relief they were eligible. Under those repayment plans, borrowers could get any remaining debt canceled by the government after having made qualifying payments for 20 years or 25 years. However, “inaccurate payment counts” an...

1/ Trump asked a federal judge to postpone his trial on charges of illegally retaining classified documents until after the 2024 election. Trump’s lawyers argued that it would be “unreasonable, telling, and would result in a miscarriage of justice” if the trial takes place as scheduled, citing the “unprecedented” legal issues, the amount of evidence and involvement of classified material, Trump’s presidential campaign, and the challenge of seating an impartial jury before the election. The filing was submitted 30 minutes before the midnight deadline. Judge Aileen Cannon, who Trump appointed to the bench, is overseeing the case. Last year, Cannon granted Trump’s request to temporarily block federal investigators from reviewing classified documents the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago, and appointed a “special master” to review all 11,000 documents. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, however, twice reversed her decisions. Special Counsel Jack Smith, meanwhile, has requested a Dec. 11 trial date, noting that the case “involves straightforward theories of liability, and does not present novel questions of fact or law.” Trump faces 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / Bloomberg / Politico / NBC News / CBS News / ABC News)

2/ Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis seated a grand jury in Atlanta, which will likely decide whether Trump or his Republican allies should face criminal charges for their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Willis launched the criminal investigation shortly after Trump asked Georgia’s secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Biden’s victory in the state. Willis has indicated that charging decisions from her investigation into “possible criminal interference in the administration of Georgia’s 2020 general election” will be announced in August. She has asked court officials that trials and in-person hearings not be scheduled between July 31 and Aug. 18. (CNN / NBC News / Washington Post / Associated Press)

3/ The Justice Department won’t defend Trump from civil liability in E. Jean Carroll’s defamation lawsuit against him. Justice Department lawyers said in a letter that it has “determined that it lacks adequate evidence” to conclude that Trump was acting within the scope of his office as president in 2019 “when he denied sexually assaulting Ms. Carroll and made the other statements regarding Ms. Carroll that she has challenged in this action.” The move allows Carroll’s civil lawsuit to move forwa...

1/ The Biden administration will send cluster bombs to Ukraine, as well as armored vehicles and air defense missiles, in the next $800 million weapons package. Cluster weapons have been banned in more than 100 countries because they scatter “bomblets” across large areas that can fail to explode on impact but can cause indiscriminate harm to civilians long after the fighting ends. Biden defended the decision saying “the Ukrainians are running out of ammunition” in the fight against Russia. National security adviser Jake Sullivan added that Russia has already targeted Ukraine with cluster bombs. Biden, meanwhile, said it’s “premature” for Ukraine to join NATO, saying that Russia’s war in Ukraine needs to end before the alliance can consider adding Kyiv. (New York Times / Politico / CNN / CNN / Politico)

2/ A U.S. drone strike killed a top Islamic State group leader in Syria. Usamah al-Muhajir was killed while riding a motorcycle in northwestern Syria in an area where Russia conducts flight operations in support of the Syrian regime. Hours earlier, the same MQ-9 Reaper drones were “harassed” by Russian military jets for about two hours, according to the Defense Department. (Politico / ABC News)

3/ A retired college football coach turned U.S. senator has single-handedly blocked hundreds of promotions for key military officers since February. As a result, the Marine Corps are without a confirmed leader for the first time in 164 years and the nominations of more than 200 general and flag officers are currently stalled in the Senate. Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville is protesting the Defense Department’s reproductive health policies, which offer time off and travel reimbursement to service members if they cannot obtain abortions in their state. Further, more than half of the current Joint Chiefs are expected to retire in the coming months without a Senate-approved successor in place. [Editor’s note: Roll Tide.] (CNN / New York Times / The Hill / Politico)

4/ The House Freedom Caucus removed Marjorie Taylor Greene from their pro-Trump group “for some of the things she’s done.” The caucus voted just before Congress went on recess at the end of June and days after Greene got into a verbal fight with Lauren Boebert, another Freedom Caucus member. Greene called Boebert a “little bitch” on the House floor. (Politico / CNN / ABC News /

1/ Earth recorded its hottest day ever for three straight days. The record was first set on Monday, when average global temperatures hit 61.16 degrees Fahrenheit, surpassing a previous record set in August 2016. That was followed by an average global temperature of 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday and Wednesday. “It’s not a record to celebrate and it won’t be a record for long, with northern hemisphere summer still mostly ahead and El Niño developing,” said Friederike Otto, senior lecturer in climate science at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment in the UK. (CNN / ABC News / Axios)

2/ Texas’ strict abortion law led to nearly 10,000 more births than expected over a nine-month period. Texas Senate Bill 8, passed in September 2021, effectively banned abortions after six weeks of pregnancy with few exceptions. The research team estimated that from April to December 2022, Texas would have typically seen 287,289 births after analyzing years of previous live birth data from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Instead, there were about 297,000 total births during that nine-month period – about 3% more than expected without the law. The ban also decreased abortions in Texas and six adjacent states by 38%, according to researchers. (Texas Tribune / CNN / The Hill)

3/ U.S. companies added 497,000 jobs last month – the most in over a year. The ADP National Employment Report was well above 220,000 forecasted by economists. The government’s official employment report is due Friday. And while the ADP data often differs, it’s consistent with broader trends in the labor market and is viewed as a proxy for overall hiring activity. Job openings, meanwhile, fell to 9.82 million in May, down from 10.3 million in April and below the 9.9 million estimate. Monthly job openings, however, remain historically high: Before 2021, job openings never hit 8 million. Due to the strength of the labor market, some economists worry that the Federal Reserve will continue to push up interest rates to combat inflation that hit a four-decade high last year. (Bloomberg / Associated Press / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / CNBC)

The “Great Resignation” Is Over. “Tens of millions of Americans have changed jobs over the past two years, a tidal wave of quitting that reflected — and helped create — a rare moment of worker power as employees demanded higher pay, and as employers, short on staff, often gave it to them.” (New York Times)

Americans Have Quit Quitting Their Jobs. “A slowdown in voluntary departures can i...

1/ July 4th was Earth’s hottest day on record, with the global average temperature reaching 62.92 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it was the highest temperature since records began in 1979, some scientists believe July 4 may have been one of the hottest days on Earth in around 125,000 years. “It’s a death sentence for people and ecosystems,” Friederike Otto said, a senior lecturer at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment. The World Meteorological Organization added that “The onset of El Niño will greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean.” El Niño is a naturally occurring climate pattern associated with warming of the ocean surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Meanwhile, June 2023 appears to have been the hottest June on record since the late 1800s, according to preliminary global data. (Associated Press / Washington Post / USA Today / Bloomberg / NPR / Axios)

2/ At least 17 mass shootings were recorded across the country over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. At least 18 people were killed, with at least 102 others injured. Meanwhile, a Trump supporter was arrested last week near Obama’s home with two guns, 400 rounds of ammunition, and a machete in his van. Taylor Taranto showed up at Obama’s home after Trump posted what he claimed was Obama’s address on his personal social network. “We got these losers surrounded!” Taranto wrote on Telegram. “See you in hell, Podesta’s and Obama’s!” (NBC News / Associated Press / NBC News / CNN)

3/ Special Counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office as part of his investigation into Jan. 6 insurrection. Smith’s office requested information related to two lawsuits that alleged errors and fraud in the 2020 presidential results. Although Smith subpoenaed the secretary of state, he hasn’t reached out to former Gov. Doug Ducey, who played a central role in certifying Biden’s win in Arizona. Trump reportedly called Ducey to pressure him to find alleged voter fraud in the Arizona election that would help him overturn his loss in the state. Trump also repeatedly asked Pence to pressure Ducey to find the evidence to substantiate his claims of fraud. (AZ Central / Washington Post / CNN)

Trump once said a president...

1/ A civil rights group demanded that the federal government end Harvard’s special admissions treatment for children of alumni, saying the policy discriminates against applicants of color in favor of less qualified white candidates. Following last week’s Supreme Court ruling that rejected race-based affirmative action, three civil rights groups filed a complaint with the Education Department claiming that Harvard’s preferences for “legacy” applicants violates a provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that bans racial discrimination in programs that receive federal funds. 70% of legacy admissions to Harvard are White, compared with about 40% of regular applicants. Further, legacy applicants are more than five times as likely to be admitted than non-legacy applicants. Washington Post / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / Associated Press / Reuters)

2/ The Supreme Court blocked Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, which aimed to cancel up to $20,000 of student debt for up to 40 million borrowers. In a 6-3 decision, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the Biden administration exceeded its authority when it used emergency “waiver” powers tied to the Covid-19 pandemic to wipe out more than $400 billion in federal student loan debt. Biden, however, announced a “new path” for loan forgiveness using a different legal authority, the Higher Education Act. The 1965 law allows the secretary of education the authority to “compromise, waive or release” debt. The new plan, however, may not be implemented before the 2024 election. In the mean time, Biden said his administration would offer a temporary, 12-month “ramp” repayment program for student loan borrowers. The Education Department won’t refer borrowers with missed payments to credit agencies for 12 months “to give them a chance to get back up and running,” Biden said. (NBC News / CNN / Washington Post / Politico / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / CNBC)

3/ The Supreme Court ruled in favor of an evangelical Christian web designer who refused to work on same-sex weddings despite a state law that bars discrimination against gay people. The justices, divided 6-3 along ideological lines, said that Lorie Smith, who opposes same-sex marriage on religious grounds, has a free speech right under the First...

1/ Roughly 87 million people in 17 states – representing nearly a third of the American population – are at risk for poor air quality as smoke from the Canadian wildfires spreads. Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh were among the cities with the worst air quality in the world, leading the EPA to warn “everyone should stay indoors” as the air quality indexes fell into the “very unhealthy” category. The smoke is the result of one of Canada’s worst wildfire seasons in decades, with more than 19 million acres of land already burned this year. There were nearly 500 active wildfires burning in Canada as of this morning, with more than 250 burning out of control. Wildfires in the U.S. have been growing in frequency, duration, and intensity due in part to human-caused climate change. The United Nations has also warned that a similar trend is occurring worldwide. Elsewhere, another 69 million people face heat alerts in the South, Southeast, and parts of the Midwest and California. (NBC News / Wall Street Journal / NPR / Washington Post / New York Times / Associated Press)

2/ Trump sued E. Jean Carroll for defamation after a jury found he sexually abused and defamed her. Trump alleges that Carroll defamed him the day after the jury awarded her $5 million in damages when she said she Trump raped her. The federal jury had found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll, but not raping her. Trump “has been the subject of significant harm to his reputation, which, in turn, has yielded an inordinate amount of damages sustained as a result,” according to the filing. He wants Carroll to pay him unspecified compensatory and punitive damages, as well as to retract multiple statements. Meanwhile, a New York judge earlier this month allowed Carroll to amend her defamation lawsuit against Trump, letting her to seek additional damages after Trump repeated statements the jury found to be defamatory after the verdict. (CNN /

1/ The Supreme Court rejected a legal theory that state legislatures have the power to decide the rules for federal elections and draw partisan congressional maps. The justices ruled in a 6-3 vote that the North Carolina Supreme Court was acting within its authority when it struck down a congressional districting plan as excessively partisan under state law. In doing so, the court rejected the so-called “independent state legislature” theory, a fringe legal theory that Republicans claims limits the authority of state courts to question state legislatures on election laws for federal contests. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority that “state courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints when legislatures act under the power conferred upon them by the Elections Clause. But federal courts must not abandon their own duty to exercise judicial review.” Roberts added: “The Elections Clause does not insulate state legislatures from the ordinary exercise of state judicial review.” Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch dissented. Trump and his allies used the now-rejected “independent state legislature” theory to justify their attempts to overturn the 2020 election. (Washington Post / NBC News / NPR / New York Times / Associated Press / Politico / CNN)

2/ Special counsel Jack Smith’s office will interview Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as part of the federal investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In January 2021, Trump called Raffensperger and pressed him to “find” the votes needed to win Georgia – a state that Biden won by nearly 12,000 votes. Trump told Raffensperger: “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.” Trump has repeatedly defended the call, calling it “perfect.” (Washington Post / NBC News /

1/ The Supreme Court dismissed Louisiana’s effort to block the creation of a second Black-majority congressional district, restoring a federal court’s ruling that the state’s congressional lines diluted the power of Black voters in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. The court order noted that the case should be resolved “in advance of the 2024 congressional elections in Louisiana.” Louisiana state officials were sued last year for a new congressional map that the Republican-led state legislature adopted after overriding Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards’s veto. The new map made one of the state’s six districts majority Black, despite the 2020 census showing that the state’s population is 33% Black. (Associated Press / NBC News / CNN / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

2/ Roughly half a dozen Secret Service agents have testified before the grand jury investigating Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 insurrection. It’s not known how close the agents were to Trump on Jan. 6 or what information they have provided to special counsel Jack Smith’s grand jury. A year ago, former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told the Jan. 6 committee that she heard secondhand that Trump knew some of his supporters were armed when he directed them to march on the Capitol on Jan. 6 and that he wanted Secret Service agents to drive him to the Capitol to join the rioters. Hutchinson said she heard this from Tony Ornato, who was Trump’s deputy White House chief of staff at the time. (NBC News)

3/ The Biden administration announced $42.5 billion in new federal funding to expand high-speed internet access to every American household by 2030. An estimated 8.5 million homes and small businesses – which represent more than 7% of the country – are considered underserved, with internet speed below 25 megabits per second for downloads and 3 Mbps for uploads. The funding, allotted by Congress through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will go to all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories, with each state receiving a minimum of $107 million. 19 states receiving over $1 billion. (CNBC / Washington Post / ABC News)

4/ The Supreme Court rejected a Republican effort to block the Biden administration’s immigration policies. The Supreme Court said Texas and Louisiana lacked standing to challenge the federal guidelines, which prioritized the deportation of immigrants who pose a risk to public safety or those who entered the U.S. illegally. The states had argued that the policies prevent immigration authorities from doing their jobs. Writing for the majority, Justice Brett Kavanaugh called the legal challenge “an extraordinarily unusual lawsuit.” (