Republicans are suddenly within striking distance of flipping one of America&#8217;s bluest states after a new poll showed GOP gubernatorial candidate Christine Drazan narrowly leading incumbent Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek.
Public Opinion Strategies found Drazan leading Kotek 48% to 44%, though the poll&#8217;s four-point margin of error means the race remains statistically close. Six percent of voters were undecided. 
The survey comes as multiple nonpartisan election forecasters have shifted Oregon&#8217;s gubernatorial race in Republicans&#8217; favor. The <a href="https://www.cookpolitical.com/governor/race/479576">Cook Political Report</a> downgraded the race from &#8220;Solid Democratic&#8221; to &#8220;Likely Democratic&#8221; on Friday, while <a href="https://insideelections.com/election-year/2026/?state-district=or&amp;office=governor">Inside Elections</a> moved it to &#8220;Lean Democratic,&#8221; citing Kotek&#8217;s weak standing with voters. &#8220;Kotek is unpopular and voters may be open to change after decades of Democratic control,&#8221; the analysis firm wrote last month.
Kotek has consistently ranked among the nation&#8217;s least popular governors. A recent <a href="https://intel.morningconsult.com/mc-content/trackers/governor-approval-ratings">Morning Consult</a> survey found that just 48% of Oregonians approve of her job performance, while 42% disapprove, placing her near the bottom among Democratic governors nationwide.
Her political struggles have mounted after a series of high-profile controversies during her first term. Kotek has drawn criticism for <a href="https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2026/02/06/oregon-gov-tina-kotek-ranking-unpopular-governors/88550241007/">her handling</a> of Oregon&#8217;s transportation funding crisis, where lawmakers failed to pass a long-term funding package during the regular legislative session. After negotiations collapsed, Kotek called a special session to push through a scaled-back tax package, only to later urge lawmakers to repeal parts of the legislation amid fears it would trigger an anti-tax backlash.
Transportation funding, however, has never ranked among voters&#8217; top concerns. Instead, the episode reinforced a broader perception that Kotek has struggled to manage the legislature effectively, despite having previously served for years as Speaker of the Oregon House.
Meanwhile, many of the priorities Kotek campaigned on in 2022 have shown <a href="https://www.governing.com/politics/tina-koteks-complicated-road-to-re-election">little measurable progress</a>. The governor pledged to dramatically increase housing production to address Oregon&#8217;s affordability crisis, setting a goal of building 36,000 new housing units annually. The state has instead continued to fall well short of that benchmark, while housing costs remain among voters&#8217; top concerns. Education has likewise remained a political vulnerability, as Oregon continues to post among the nation&#8217;s weakest academic outcomes despite years of Democratic control.
Kotek also faced intense scrutiny earlier in her term after <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2024/05/01/oregon-governor-tina-kotek-aimee-wilson-politics-first-lady-staff-politics/">internal emails</a> revealed she had quietly explored creating a formal Office of the First Spouse that would have expanded the official role of her wife, Aimee Kotek Wilson.
The documents showed senior staff repeatedly warned the governor about ethical concerns surrounding the proposal before Kotek ultimately abandoned the effort amid public backlash. The controversy also coincided with the departures of several senior aides from the governor&#8217;s office.
While Democrats continue attempting to nationalize the race by tying Drazan to President Donald Trump, Republicans argue Oregon voters are focused primarily on affordability, homelessness, public safety, and dissatisfaction with Democratic governance after decades of one-party control.
Drazan has largely centered her campaign on economic issues, promising to lower taxes, reduce the cost of living, improve schools, restore public safety, and address homelessness. While the Republican remains firmly conservative on social issues, her campaign messaging has focused overwhelmingly on affordability and government competence rather than divisive cultural debates.
Kotek&#8217;s campaign has dismissed Republican optimism, arguing Oregon voters will ultimately reject a Republican governor in a state that has not elected one since the early 1980s. &#8220;Christine Drazan is desperate to show that she has a shot, but the reality is she is out of step with Oregon values,&#8221; Kotek campaign spokesman Federico Araujo said.
Political analysts caution that Oregon has produced misleadingly competitive polling before. In both 2018 and 2022, Republican gubernatorial candidates appeared within striking distance before ultimately falling short on Election Day.
Still, the latest polling underscores an uncomfortable reality for Democrats: even in one of America&#8217;s most reliably blue states, growing dissatisfaction with Kotek&#8217;s leadership has created what Republicans view as their best opportunity in decades to recapture Oregon&#8217;s governor&#8217;s office.

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Historic Flip? Democrats Suddenly Have A Governor Problem In Deep-Blue State

Elections

Oregon

Politics

Graham Platner, the scandal-ridden Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate in Maine, officially withdrew from the race Friday, days after suspending his campaign amid mounting allegations of rape, sexual misconduct, and scrutiny over a Nazi tattoo.
Platner submitted a formal withdrawal letter to the Maine Department of the Secretary of State, ending his candidacy after initially resisting calls from Democratic leaders to step aside. &#8220;Please consider this notice as my official withdrawal from consideration for this office,&#8221; Platner wrote. The letter closes with a political message reading, &#8220;F*ck ICE. Free Palestine. Up the Hearts. Solidarity forever.&#8221;
&#8220;Up the Hearts&#8221; appears to reference Portland Hearts of Pine, Maine&#8217;s first professional soccer club.
Platner framed his withdrawal as an effort to preserve the political movement that propelled him to the Democratic nomination last month. &#8220;On June 9th, 156,084 Mainers voted for a new kind of politics,&#8221; he wrote, adding that voters supported &#8220;Medicare for All,&#8221; banning billionaires from influencing elections, ending &#8220;taxpayer-funded genocide and forever wars,&#8221; strengthening unions, and expanding affordable housing. &#8220;My name may have been on the ballot, but that ballot line belongs to the people of Maine,&#8221; he added.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<a href="https://t.co/gQzOXBJHJz">pic.twitter.com/gQzOXBJHJz</a>
— Graham Platner for Senate (@grahamformaine) <a href="https://x.com/grahamformaine/status/2075681947142004895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2026</a></blockquote>
His departure leaves Democrats scrambling to choose a new nominee to challenge Republican Sen. Susan Collins in one of the nation&#8217;s most closely watched Senate races of the election cycle. Former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Platner ally who publicly urged him to withdraw, has emerged as a potential replacement after launching an exploratory committee.
The race remains a top Democratic pickup opportunity as the party attempts to regain control of the Senate in November.

Maine Democratic Candidate For Senate Graham Platner Campaigns Across The State

Graham Platner Ends Senate Bid With Profane Political Message

Nobel Prize-winning chemist Omar Yaghi, who arrived in the United States as a teenage refugee and built one of the world&#8217;s most celebrated scientific careers at American universities, is leaving the country for a full-time position in China.
Yaghi, who shared the 2025 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/09/science/nobel-winning-us-chemist-will-move-to-china-to-lead-ai-institute.html">has accepted</a> a faculty appointment at Beijing&#8217;s Tsinghua University, where he will lead a newly created artificial intelligence research institute focused on accelerating the discovery of advanced materials.
The move comes as China continues to aggressively recruit top Western scientists while expanding government investment in scientific research and artificial intelligence, against the backdrop of the Trump administration&#8217;s efforts to rein in federal research spending and refocus taxpayer funding.
Born in Amman, Jordan, to Palestinian refugee parents, Yaghi spent his childhood in a one-room home without electricity or running water. At age 15, his father sent him to the United States in search of greater opportunity.
That opportunity ultimately led to one of the most distinguished careers in modern chemistry.
After decades of working and conducting research at American universities, Yaghi joined the University of California, Berkeley, faculty in 2012. He became internationally renowned for pioneering metal-organic frameworks, or MOFs — ultra-porous materials capable of storing gases, capturing carbon dioxide, harvesting drinking water from desert air, and enabling a wide range of industrial and medical applications.
His work earned him a share of last year&#8217;s Nobel Prize in Chemistry alongside Richard Robson and Susumu Kitagawa.
One of the most widely publicized applications of Yaghi&#8217;s research came in 2018, when his Berkeley laboratory successfully demonstrated a passive water-harvesting device capable of pulling clean drinking water directly from desert air. The invention, inspired in part by Yaghi&#8217;s childhood experience growing up with limited access to running water, is now moving toward commercialization through one of several American companies he helped found.
Despite building his career in the United States, Yaghi has become increasingly critical of the direction of American scientific research.
Before receiving his Nobel Prize, Yaghi criticized President Donald Trump&#8217;s immigration policies, arguing they threatened America&#8217;s ability to attract talented scientists from around the world. More recently, he has expressed concern over reductions in federal research funding and warned that American researchers have not embraced artificial intelligence quickly enough to remain globally competitive.
In a recent interview with <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/omar-yaghi/">Scientific American</a>, Yaghi said the current state of U.S. science was &#8220;not so encouraging&#8221; because of cuts to research grants and declining support from federal science agencies. He also argued that researchers must adopt AI &#8220;as a matter of survival of the advanced research system in the U.S.&#8221;
Tsinghua University announced that Yaghi will head a new institute dedicated to using artificial intelligence to dramatically accelerate the design and synthesis of new materials. University officials said the institute aims to replace years of traditional trial-and-error experimentation with AI-assisted research capable of solving complex scientific problems far more quickly.
Speaking during his appointment ceremony, Yaghi said he hopes the institute will develop new materials to address global challenges, including water shortages, carbon neutrality, and sustainable development, while also training a new generation of scientists working at the intersection of chemistry and artificial intelligence.
Yaghi&#8217;s move reflects China&#8217;s broader effort to attract internationally recognized researchers as Beijing seeks to establish itself as the world&#8217;s leading scientific power.
According to <a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/data/insights/statistical-releases/2026/03/oecd-overall-rd-growth-stable-government-rd-budgets-decline-and-reorient-towards-defence.html">data</a> from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, China&#8217;s overall research and development spending surpassed that of the United States in 2024. Chinese universities and government-backed research institutes have increasingly offered generous funding packages, cutting-edge laboratory facilities, and leadership opportunities to scientists from around the world.
Researchers say Beijing&#8217;s strategy has evolved beyond simply recruiting foreign experts to teach students.
Marina Zhang, a science policy researcher at the University of Technology Sydney, told Nature that Yaghi&#8217;s appointment suggests China is attempting to build entirely new research models that combine artificial intelligence with advanced materials science rather than merely catching up with Western institutions. Tsinghua officials similarly described Yaghi&#8217;s appointment as an effort to bridge scientific disciplines and create technological breakthroughs capable of reshaping future industries.
Although Yaghi will now conduct his primary research from Beijing, he is expected to maintain ties to several American companies and nonprofit initiatives that continue developing technologies based on his discoveries. Still, his departure represents one of the highest-profile examples yet of China successfully recruiting a scientist whose career was largely built in the United States.
As competition between Washington and Beijing increasingly extends beyond trade and military power into artificial intelligence and advanced technology, Yaghi&#8217;s decision underscores a growing battle not only over innovation itself, but over the scientists responsible for creating it.

SWEDEN-NOBEL-AWARD-CEREMONY

America Let This Palestinian Refugee In — Now He’s Taking His Award-Winning Science To China

Israel has shared intelligence with the United States indicating that Iran has developed a new plot to assassinate President Donald Trump, according to multiple reports citing sources familiar with the matter.
The warning, first reported by <a href="https://www.wsj.com/world/middle-east/iran-hatched-fresh-plot-to-kill-trump-israel-told-u-s-1511d9d2">The Wall Street Journal</a> and later corroborated by <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2026/07/09/politics/trump-assassination-plot-iran-israel">CNN</a>, marks the latest in a years-long series of Iranian threats against Trump following the 2020 U.S. airstrike that killed Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani.
According to CNN, one source said Israel relayed the warning to U.S. officials this week, while another said American intelligence agencies had already been tracking a steady stream of threats against Trump in recent weeks. The Israeli intelligence reportedly described a more specific assassination threat than previously known, though no details have been made public. 
Neither the White House nor Israeli officials publicly commented on the reported intelligence. Iran&#8217;s mission to the United Nations also did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Instead, the White House referred reporters to <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/08/world-news/trump-says-iran-peace-deal-likely-dead-he-no-longer-will-deal-with-sick-people/">remarks</a> Trump made Wednesday. 
&#8220;They want to take out the U.S. leader — me,&#8221; Trump said. &#8220;I&#8217;m on every list. I saw this morning, I&#8217;m on every single one of their lists. And so far, I guess I&#8217;ve been a little bit lucky, but maybe that doesn&#8217;t last very long.&#8221;
Trump added that Iran&#8217;s leaders are &#8220;evil, sick people&#8221; and compared the regime to &#8220;cancer&#8221; that must be confronted before it spreads. Iran has repeatedly vowed revenge against Trump since the January 2020 strike that killed Soleimani, one of the Islamic Republic&#8217;s most powerful military commanders and the architect of many of Iran&#8217;s regional proxy operations. Calls for Trump&#8217;s assassination have remained a recurring feature of official Iranian rhetoric. 
During recent funeral ceremonies following the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, mourners chanted &#8220;Death to Trump&#8221; while <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/09/world-news/iranians-unfurl-banner-with-trump-assassination-threat-at-ayatollah-khameneis-burial/">banners</a> declared, &#8220;We Will Kill Trump.&#8221;
The Justice Department has previously <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/member-irans-islamic-revolutionary-guard-corps-irgc-charged-plot-murder-former-national">charged</a> individuals linked to Iran&#8217;s Revolutionary Guard in assassination plots targeting former Trump administration officials, including former National Security Adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
While U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed the specifics of Israel&#8217;s intelligence, the reported warning underscores that threats against Trump remain an ongoing concern for American security agencies.

Donald Trump Campaigns For President In Georgia Ahead Of November Election

Key U.S. Ally Warns Of New Iranian Plot To Assassinate Trump

Death Threats

Donald Trump

Executive

Iran

Israel

Wall Street Journal

Secretary of State Marco Rubio will host representatives from more than 60 countries next week for a counterterrorism summit focused on what the Trump administration describes as a resurgence of transnational political extremism, particularly violent far-left networks.
The July 15 gathering in Washington follows President Donald Trump&#8217;s counterterrorism strategy released earlier this year, which prioritizes disrupting politically motivated violent groups, including anarchist movements and what the administration describes as Antifa-affiliated networks, while also addressing extremists on the political right. 
According to the State Department, the meeting will bring together ministers and senior officials from Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere to improve intelligence sharing and law enforcement cooperation against politically motivated violence. 
&#8220;Our counterterrorism operating system needs an update to deal with the reality of such threats, to protect American citizens and U.S. national security and interests,&#8221; a State Department official told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/rubio-host-summit-political-violence-july-15-2026-06-26/">Reuters</a>.
The initiative, however, has <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/07/09/rubio-tries-enlist-other-nations-antifa-fight-some-allies-recoil/">drawn criticism</a> from some current and former government officials, European diplomats, and terrorism experts, many of whom argue the administration is overstating the scale of the far-left threat. Some European officials have reportedly questioned why their governments were invited, saying left-wing political terrorism is not viewed as a major national security concern in their countries. Others have expressed concern that expanding counterterrorism authorities could eventually be applied against domestic political activists. 
The summit comes after several high-profile incidents involving alleged Antifa-affiliated extremists in the United States.
Most notably, the Justice Department last month <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/leader-antifa-cell-members-north-texas-sentenced-100-years-prison-terrorist-attack-ice">announced</a> lengthy prison sentences for members of what prosecutors described as a &#8220;North Texas Antifa cell&#8221; that carried out a coordinated July 4, 2025, attack on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas. Prosecutors said the group arrived armed with firearms, explosives, body armor, and medical kits before launching fireworks and explosives at the facility, vandalizing property, and opening fire on responding officers. One Alvarado police officer was shot in the neck during the attack. 
Federal prosecutors argued the attack demonstrated planning, encrypted communications, reconnaissance, and coordination consistent with organized political violence rather than spontaneous protest. FBI Director Kash Patel said investigators would continue targeting Antifa funding networks. 
The administration has also cited repeated confrontations outside ICE detention facilities and immigration enforcement operations as evidence that violent anarchist networks have become increasingly organized.
State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott defended the summit, saying far-left political terrorism is &#8220;an old threat re-emerging with strong transnational links and new convergences&#8221; and argued that previous administrations had not adequately addressed it. 
&nbsp;

NATO Summit In Ankara Day 2

Rubio Bringing 60 Nations Together To Confront A Growing Threat

Anarchism

Antifa

Marco Rubio

Terrorism

World

Nigel Farage resigned his seat in Parliament this week, hoping voters would clear his name amid an ethics investigation. Instead, Britain&#8217;s populist leader now finds himself campaigning against Count Binface, a satirical candidate who wears a trash can on his head. 
Farage, leader of the surging Reform UK party, stepped down Tuesday as the member of Parliament for Clacton after Parliament&#8217;s standards watchdog opened an investigation into whether he improperly disclosed financial gifts from wealthy donors. Farage has denied any wrongdoing and insists the investigation is politically motivated.
Rather than wait for Parliament&#8217;s ethics process to play out, Farage triggered a by-election by resigning his seat, arguing that the people of Clacton — not what he calls Britain&#8217;s political establishment — should decide his political future. &#8220;I&#8217;ve decided the people of Clacton should be the judges of my actions,&#8221; Farage said. &#8220;I will fight to win. I will fight to continue the political revolution that Reform has started.&#8221;
The move immediately drew criticism across Britain&#8217;s political spectrum, with opponents accusing Farage of staging a political spectacle to distract from questions about his finances. Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the resignation a &#8220;desperate stunt,&#8221; while other Labour figures dismissed it as a gimmick intended to shift attention away from the investigation.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
This is a desperate stunt from Nigel Farage.
Politics should be about improving the lives of millions of people, not about personal gain. <a href="https://t.co/UVgmYkxhHJ">pic.twitter.com/UVgmYkxhHJ</a>
— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) <a href="https://x.com/Keir_Starmer/status/2074518309404348544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
In an even more unusual twist, Britain&#8217;s major political parties have largely refused to participate in the by-election at all. Labour, the Conservatives, and the Liberal Democrats each announced they would not field candidates, arguing that Farage&#8217;s resignation should not be rewarded with a conventional campaign.
That decision has left Farage facing perhaps the most unconventional opponent imaginable: <a href="https://thelead.uk/count-binface">Count Binface</a>. The Count — an “intergalactic space warrior” and leader of the Recyclons, an alien species hailing from the planet Sigma IX — portrayed by comedian Jon Harvey, has become something of a fixture in British politics after repeatedly running against prime ministers and other high-profile politicians, all while wearing a silver cape and an oversized trash can helmet.
&#8220;Game on, Nige,&#8221; Binface <a href="https://x.com/CountBinface/status/2074488375499735505">posted on X</a> shortly after Farage announced his resignation. Appearing on BBC Radio, Binface quipped that his campaign slogan was simple. &#8220;I&#8217;m not Nigel Farage.&#8221;
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Count Binface: I&#039;ll take on Farage in by-election | BBC Radio 4 Today" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aGOmzQbRT_E?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The satirical candidate has spent years running on comedic proposals such as forcing cyclists who repeatedly violate traffic laws to ride unicycles, building a singular affordable house, and nationalizing Adele. Now, however, his candidacy has suddenly taken on a more serious profile as anti-Farage voters search for the only viable alternative on the ballot. When asked if he could win, he replied, “Probably not, but then, my job is to celebrate and defend the wonders of British democracy.”
Farage&#8217;s allies argue the boycott demonstrates that Britain&#8217;s political establishment is afraid to confront the Reform leader directly. Reform UK chairman Zia Yusuf blasted the decision by the major parties as &#8220;cowardly and transparent,&#8221; <a href="https://x.com/ZiaYusufUK/status/2074846908187615650">writing on X</a> that &#8220;the establishment is on the ropes.&#8221;
The by-election comes as Reform UK continues to lead or closely contest national opinion polls, cementing Farage&#8217;s status as the dominant figure on Britain&#8217;s political Right despite never serving in government. Whether his decision ultimately strengthens that image remains to be seen.
What was intended as a populist referendum on Farage himself has instead produced one of the strangest electoral contests in recent British history, a race that may ultimately pit one of the country&#8217;s most polarizing politicians against an extraterrestrial with a garbage can for a helmet.

GettyImages-2150873116

Nigel Farage Makes Election Gambit After Resignation, Now He Faces A Man With A Trash Can Head

Global Politics

Nigel Farage

United Kingdom

After days of mounting speculation about Sen. Mitch McConnell&#8217;s health, Senate Republicans and longtime McConnell ally Scott Jennings say they have personally spoken with the Kentucky Republican, offering the first public indications that the former Senate leader is actively communicating from his hospital room.
The updates come just days after <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rumors-swirl-as-mitch-mcconnell-hospitalization-enters-fourth-week?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Rumors+Swirl+As+Mitch+McConnell+Hospitalization+Enters+Fourth+Week">widespread online rumors</a> claimed McConnell was brain dead or on life support following his June 14 hospitalization after suffering what emergency dispatch recordings indicated was a cardiac arrest requiring CPR.
CNN contributor and former McConnell adviser Scott Jennings said on Tuesday that he spoke with his &#8220;old friend&#8221; for nearly twenty minutes.
&#8220;I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky,&#8221; Jennings wrote on X. &#8220;He&#8217;s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes &#8230; about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a little bit of Senate history. I told him we want to see him back at work as soon as possible.&#8221;
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I spoke to my old friend Mitch McConnell this morning, the senior Senator from Kentucky. He’s still recovering in the hospital. We talked for just shy of 20 minutes … about IRAN, UKRAINE, the unfolding situation in MAINE, my visit to the TR Presidential Library, and even a…
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) <a href="https://x.com/ScottJenningsKY/status/2074537046752845872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2026</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Jennings&#8217; account was echoed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who said he held a &#8220;lengthy and substantive conversation&#8221; with McConnell that covered a range of topics, including national security. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) likewise told The <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5957438-mcconnell-thune-barrasso-health/">Hill</a> that he spoke with McConnell for roughly twenty minutes Tuesday, saying their conversation included discussion of recent legal and political developments.
McConnell&#8217;s office also released another brief statement Tuesday, saying the senator &#8220;continues to improve and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.&#8221;
The conversations appear to undercut claims circulating online that McConnell is no longer conscious or capable of communicating. Those rumors intensified after conservative activist Laura Loomer <a href="https://x.com/LauraLoomer/status/2074210061447307773">claimed</a> she had been told by a White House source that McConnell was &#8220;brain dead.&#8221;
As previously reported by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rumors-swirl-as-mitch-mcconnell-hospitalization-enters-fourth-week?author=Drew+Berkemeyer&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rumors+Swirl+As+Mitch+McConnell+Hospitalization+Enters+Fourth+Week">The Daily Wire</a>, McConnell&#8217;s office has declined to disclose the nature of his medical emergency or provide specifics about his prognosis, despite emergency dispatch recordings indicating first responders performed CPR on an unconscious patient at the senator&#8217;s Washington residence on June 14.
The lack of detailed updates fueled questions not only about McConnell&#8217;s health but also about the political implications of a potential vacancy. Kentucky&#8217;s revised Senate succession law, enacted in 2024, replaced gubernatorial appointments with a special election process, leading some observers to speculate about how the timing of any vacancy could affect the state&#8217;s already scheduled Senate race.
Questions also surfaced after McConnell&#8217;s wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, traveled to China just days after his hospitalization for what her office described as a long-planned philanthropic trip. Chao&#8217;s spokesperson said at the time that McConnell&#8217;s condition &#8220;did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.&#8221;
Despite Tuesday&#8217;s statements, significant questions remain unanswered. McConnell&#8217;s office has still not disclosed what caused his hospitalization, what treatment he is receiving, or when — or if — the 84-year-old senator is expected to return to the Capitol.
For now, however, multiple firsthand accounts from Jennings and Senate Republican leadership indicate that McConnell is alert enough to hold extended conversations, providing the clearest public evidence yet that the former majority leader remains engaged with current events while continuing his recovery.

Mitch McConnell

Top Republicans Speak With Hospitalized McConnell To Shut Down Rumors

Top Republicans, Scott Jennings Say They Spoke With Mitch McConnell Amid Health Speculation

Senator Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) extended hospitalization has fueled mounting questions about both his health and what would happen if Kentucky&#8217;s longest-serving senator were unable to complete his final term.
The 84-year-old Kentucky Republican has remained hospitalized <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senator-mitch-mcconnell-hospitalized?author=Jacob+Wheeler&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=84-Year-Old+Mitch+McConnell+Hospitalized+After+%E2%80%98Unknown+Medical+Incident%E2%80%99">since June 14</a>, when emergency responders were dispatched to his Washington residence following what widely reported emergency radio traffic described as a cardiac arrest requiring CPR. McConnell&#8217;s office has released only brief statements since then, declining to disclose the nature of his condition or his prognosis.
The lack of information has sparked widespread speculation online, but it has also drawn renewed attention to an unusual wrinkle in Kentucky election law that could become significant if McConnell were to resign or otherwise vacate his seat before his term expires in January 2027.
McConnell&#8217;s office attempted to tamp down speculation last week, issuing another short <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/07/02/congress/mcconnell-remains-hospitalized-00986648">statement</a>. 
&#8220;Senator McConnell appreciates the outpouring of support he&#8217;s receiving while he continues his recovery in the hospital,&#8221; his office said. &#8220;The Senator continues to improve and is working closely with his staff on Kentucky and Senate matters while the Senate is out of session.&#8221;
Beyond that statement, his office has declined to provide additional details regarding his medical condition. The limited disclosures have become increasingly notable as conservative commentators and online activists speculate about the senator&#8217;s status, with some questioning whether his office is withholding information until a key election-law deadline passes.
Much of that speculation centers on changes Kentucky lawmakers made last year to the state&#8217;s Senate vacancy process.
In 2024, Kentucky enacted House Bill 622, repealing the state&#8217;s previous law allowing the governor to appoint an interim U.S. senator and replacing it with a special-election process. Under the revised statute, if a Senate vacancy occurs before a term expires, the governor must issue a proclamation calling a special election to fill the remainder of that term.
Unlike many states, Kentucky no longer provides for an interim gubernatorial appointment under the statute.
However, adding another layer of complexity, Kentucky law does not require a separate special election if a vacancy occurs within three months of a regularly scheduled general election. This year&#8217;s three-month cutoff falls on August 3.
Legal experts caution, however, that Kentucky&#8217;s revised succession law has never been tested in court. Josh Douglass, associate dean for research at the University of Kentucky Rosenberg College of Law, told <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/mitch-mcconnell-health-questions-raise-kentucky-senate-succession-issues-12159137">Newsweek</a> that the legislation could face constitutional questions because Section 152 of the Kentucky Constitution grants the governor appointment authority over statewide vacancies, while the Seventeenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution allows — but does not require — states to authorize temporary gubernatorial appointments before an election.
If challenged, courts would have to determine whether Kentucky&#8217;s revised statute is consistent with both the state and U.S. constitutions, all in a very short timeframe.
Complicating matters further, the statute provides detailed procedures for calling special elections but does not explicitly address how a vacancy would be handled when the same Senate seat is already scheduled to appear on the general-election ballot only months later. The uncertainty comes as Kentucky is already preparing to elect McConnell&#8217;s successor. Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY), who secured President Donald Trump&#8217;s endorsement and won the GOP primary, will face Democratic nominee Charles Booker in the general election for the seat. Barr enters the race as the clear favorite in a state that has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1992.
While questions surrounding Kentucky&#8217;s election law have attracted increasing attention, another aspect of McConnell&#8217;s hospitalization has generated its own round of speculation. Three days after McConnell was hospitalized, his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, traveled to Beijing as part of what her office described as a previously scheduled philanthropic trip connected to her family&#8217;s charitable work.
Chinese state media <a href="https://en.people.cn/n3/2026/0618/c90000-20468740.html">published photographs</a> showing Chao meeting with Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, who encouraged continued efforts to strengthen relations between Beijing and Washington.
The timing of the trip prompted even more speculation because of the limited public information surrounding McConnell&#8217;s condition. Chao&#8217;s <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/what-we-know-about-mitch-mcconnell-health-12165797">spokesperson rejected</a> suggestions that the travel reflected anything unusual. &#8220;The secretary was on a long-planned trip in China to support her family&#8217;s philanthropic endeavors,&#8221; the spokesperson said. &#8220;During the trip, she met with a number of people, including the U.S. ambassador. The Senator&#8217;s health did not warrant an immediate return to the U.S.&#8221;
For now, McConnell remains a sitting senator, and there has been no public indication that he intends to resign. But with his office continuing to release only brief updates, his prolonged hospitalization has placed renewed attention on Kentucky&#8217;s untested Senate succession law — and the unusual legal questions that could arise if his status were to change before voters elect his successor in November.

Rumors Swirl As Mitch McConnell Hospitalization Enters Fourth Week

Kentucky

Senate

Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee Andrew Gillum was arrested last week in Alabama on multiple drug charges, marking the latest legal setback for the one-time Democratic rising star whose political career has unraveled since narrowly losing the 2018 governor&#8217;s race to Republican Ron DeSantis.
Gillum, 46, was booked Thursday in Baldwin County, Alabama, on charges of possession of dangerous drugs, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records. He was later released after posting a combined $6,500 bond. Authorities have not disclosed what led to the arrest or identified the drugs involved.
The arrest comes eight years after Gillum appeared poised to become one of the Democratic Party&#8217;s brightest national figures. After upsetting the Democratic establishment to win the party&#8217;s gubernatorial nomination in 2018, the then-Tallahassee mayor lost to DeSantis by roughly 30,000 votes in one of the closest statewide races in Florida history.
Instead of becoming the face of a Democratic resurgence in Florida, Gillum&#8217;s post-election years have been dominated by personal scandals, ethics investigations, and criminal proceedings.
In <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article249009610.html">2020</a>, Miami Beach police found Gillum intoxicated inside a South Beach hotel room with a male escort after emergency responders were called over concerns that another man had overdosed. Officers recovered suspected methamphetamine and prescription pill bottles from the room, though prosecutors ultimately declined to file charges because they could not establish ownership of the drugs.
Gillum later entered rehabilitation, saying he had developed an alcohol dependency after his election defeat.
&#8220;This has been a wake-up call for me,&#8221; Gillum said at the time. &#8220;Since my race for governor ended, I fell into a depression that has led to alcohol abuse.&#8221;
Gillum&#8217;s legal troubles continued in 2022, when federal prosecutors <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl/pr/former-tallahassee-mayor-and-gubernatorial-candidate-and-associate-charged-conspiracy">accused</a> him of conspiracy, wire fraud, and making false statements as part of an alleged campaign finance scheme. While a jury acquitted him on one count in 2023, the remaining charges ended in a mistrial. Separately, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws by accepting gifts from undercover FBI agents posing as developers. He later agreed to pay a $5,000 civil fine to resolve most of the allegations.
Under Alabama law, possession of dangerous drugs is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $7,500 fine. The marijuana and drug paraphernalia charges are misdemeanors that can each carry up to one year in jail if convicted.

AfroTech Conference 2025

Former Dem Golden Boy Arrested Again Just Three Years After He Was Let Off The Hook

Alabama

Andrew Gillum

Drugs

Florida

Police

A California public school teacher who publicly suggested she married a man living in Gaza to help him obtain U.S. citizenship should &#8220;expect to be discovered and prosecuted&#8221; if the marriage was fraudulent, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said this week.
The warning came after Laura Pinho — a Los Angeles dance teacher and activist with the leftist group CODEPINK — <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/27/us-news/far-left-teacher-married-gaza-man-to-give-him-us-citizenship/">appeared to admit</a> during a June webinar that her marriage was motivated, at least in part, by a desire to use her American citizenship to benefit a Palestinian man.
&#8220;These individuals should expect to be discovered and prosecuted for this illegal activity,&#8221; USCIS spokesman Zach Kahler told the <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/07/04/us-news/laura-pinho-who-wed-gaza-man-to-give-him-us-citizenship-in-hot-water/">New York Post</a>. &#8220;USCIS is constantly enhancing its investigative capabilities and will aggressively pursue individuals who engage in marriage fraud in an effort to obtain immigration benefits.&#8221;
Federal law makes marriage fraud punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Pinho made the comments during a June 16 CODEPINK webinar titled &#8220;Challenging Zionism In Our Schools.&#8221; Speaking about her recent marriage, she framed the decision as a way to &#8220;equalize the playing field.&#8221;
&#8220;I have power as an American citizen. I have a passport that I was just born with, and how can I live in this world if I don&#8217;t make every effort to equalize the playing field on whatever way that I can,&#8221; she said.
Marriage records filed in Utah show Pinho married Salem S.E. Abu Amra on April 5. Utah is one of a handful of states that permits remote marriage ceremonies.
The marriage came only weeks after Pinho organized a GoFundMe campaign for Abu Amra, portraying him as the primary provider for his family in Gaza and urging supporters to help him survive the ongoing war.
Abu Amra has also posted material on social media praising or glorifying Palestinian militants. Among the posts is a 2019 tribute to Palestinian Islamic Jihad commander Baha Abu al-Atta after the terrorist was killed in an Israeli airstrike, as well as images featuring rifles alongside pro-Palestinian slogans. Pinho has denied Abu Amra has any connection to Hamas.
After questions were raised about her remarks, Pinho denied marrying Abu Amra to obtain U.S. citizenship for him, insisting instead that she is &#8220;wildly in love&#8221; with her new husband. She claimed she avoided discussing those feelings during the CODEPINK webinar because her former domestic partner, Derek J. Reid, was within earshot.
Reid, who shares two children with Pinho and still lives at the same address, previously told reporters he had no knowledge that Pinho had married Abu Amra. Although the couple are now separated, Reid said they continue living under the same roof but sleep in different rooms. He also suggested Pinho had become increasingly radicalized by her anti-Israel activism, telling the Post, &#8220;She&#8217;s been radicalized — I don&#8217;t know anything about that &#8230; the crowd she runs with &#8230; I&#8217;m worried for her.&#8221;
Her explanation has done little to quiet concerns after she appeared to publicly describe using the privileges of her U.S. citizenship to advance what she characterized as the Palestinian cause.
Immigration attorney and former federal prosecutor Michael Wildes previously told the Post that publicly acknowledging a marriage entered into for immigration purposes could itself trigger federal scrutiny. &#8220;She can be prosecuted criminally, brought up on federal conspiracy charges,&#8221; Wildes said. &#8220;Marriage fraud is one of the top five crimes you can perpetrate &#8230; The fact that somebody would be foolish enough to say they actually did it makes it actionable for the federal government to investigate.&#8221;
Pinho has long been a player in California&#8217;s pro-Palestinian activist movement. She sponsors the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at Canoga Park Senior High School, has spoken publicly about incorporating Palestinian political messaging into her classroom, and has encouraged students to participate in anti-Israel demonstrations. Her social media activity has also drawn scrutiny, including posts claiming Israel was created by &#8220;Satanic bankers&#8221; and another endorsing a statement from Candace Owens alleging America is controlled by &#8220;Satanic pedophiles who work for Israel.&#8221;
But while Pinho’s and CODEPINK’s activism has generated controversy for years, it was her remarks about marrying a Gaza resident to &#8220;equalize the playing field&#8221; that drew the attention of federal immigration authorities. If investigators determine the marriage was entered into to obtain immigration benefits, USCIS has made clear it intends to pursue prosecution.

Houston Chronicle

Teacher And Left-Wing Activist Should ‘Expect To Be Prosecuted’ For Green Card Marriage To Gaza Man

Code Pink

A prominent Michigan Democrat suspended her U.S. Senate campaign Sunday, clearing the way for a direct showdown between the Democratic establishment and the party&#8217;s leftist wing in one of the nation&#8217;s most consequential Senate races.
State Senate Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow announced she was ending her bid less than a month before the August 4 primary, leaving U.S. Representative. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and left-wing candidate Abdul El-Sayed to compete for the nomination to replace retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
McMorrow&#8217;s withdrawal dramatically reshapes a race Democrats must win if they hope to have any realistic chance of reclaiming the Senate majority in November.
The state senator, who launched her campaign positioning herself as an alternative to both Stevens and El-Sayed, thanked supporters in an <a href="https://x.com/MalloryMcMorrow/status/2073823061191659714?s=20">X post</a> Sunday but offered no endorsement. &#8220;Today, I&#8217;m announcing that I am suspending my campaign for United States Senate,&#8221; McMorrow said. &#8220;I&#8217;m doing it with a deep, deep sense of gratitude.&#8221; While McMorrow promised to support the eventual Democratic nominee in the general election, she declined to back either of her former rivals.
Her departure sets up a two-candidate contest between Stevens, a four-term congresswoman backed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and much of the party establishment, and El-Sayed, a progressive favorite endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and other prominent figures on the Democratic Left.
The ideological split has become yet another proxy battle over the future direction of the Democratic Party, with establishment leaders arguing Stevens is the strongest candidate to defeat Republican Mike Rogers in November, while the left-wing contends El-Sayed represents the party&#8217;s energized grassroots base.
McMorrow&#8217;s exit also removes a political obstacle that had kept some influential Michigan Democrats from taking sides. Several Democrats had remained neutral because of their relationships with McMorrow, but her departure immediately prompted movement toward Stevens. According to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-senate-democratic-primary-mcmorrow-stevens-elsayed-2f99c6e065402f730fc8925b5a43c788">Associated Press</a>, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel endorsed the congresswoman shortly after McMorrow announced she was suspending her campaign. McMorrow&#8217;s departure also clears the way for other prominent Michigan Democrats who had remained neutral because of their relationships with her to endorse Stevens, whose backers argue she is the party&#8217;s strongest general-election candidate.
El-Sayed, meanwhile, argued McMorrow&#8217;s departure highlighted what he described as establishment efforts to shape the primary. &#8220;We cannot allow the establishment to decide our nominee for us,&#8221; he wrote on <a href="https://x.com/AbdulElSayed/status/2073825501886705756?s=20">X</a> while inviting McMorrow supporters to join his campaign.
Stevens on the other hand <a href="https://x.com/HaleyforMI/status/2073825503769670132?s=20">responded</a> by praising McMorrow as &#8220;an important voice&#8221; in both the Senate race and the Michigan Legislature, saying she looked forward to working with her in the future while continuing to make the case that she is &#8220;the strongest Democrat to defeat Mike Rogers.&#8221;
McMorrow entered the race as one of Michigan Democrats&#8217; rising stars, but her campaign struggled to keep pace financially as millions of dollars in outside spending flowed into the race, much of it boosting Stevens through establishment-aligned super PACs. She emerged as one of El-Sayed&#8217;s most vocal Democratic critics after he campaigned alongside left-wing streamer Hasan Piker, who has repeatedly courted controversy with inflammatory comments about Israel and the United States. McMorrow condemned the appearance, comparing Piker to white nationalist influencer Nick Fuentes and warning that Democrats should not elevate figures who &#8220;say extremely offensive things in order to generate clicks and views.&#8221; 
The criticism did little to slow El-Sayed&#8217;s momentum, instead her comments coincided with her own decline in the polls. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/michigan-us-senate-election-polls-2026.html">Recent polling</a> showed McMorrow falling into a distant third place behind both Stevens and El-Sayed. The Democratic nominee will face Republican Mike Rogers, who narrowly lost Michigan&#8217;s Senate race in 2024 to Sen. Elissa Slotkin.
With Republicans defending relatively few competitive Senate seats this cycle, Democrats need to hold Michigan while flipping multiple GOP-held seats to regain control of the chamber, making the battleground state&#8217;s primary one of the most closely watched as November draws nearer.

Mallory McMorrow

Democrat Throws Major Curveball In Battleground Fight That Could Decide Senate

Michigan

The ongoing saga surrounding the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool reached a boiling point this weekend as Interior Secretary Doug Burgum forcefully pushed back against media coverage that he characterized as overtly partisan and detached from the physical reality on the ground.
Appearing on CNN’s &#8220;State of the Union,&#8221; Burgum directly challenged anchor Dana Bash over what the administration views as a deliberate media campaign to frame a high-profile case of criminal vandalism as an executive failure. The dispute stems from a $14.8 million restoration project authorized by President Donald Trump. The effort aimed to revitalize the historic 1922 landmark ahead of America&#8217;s 250th anniversary, successfully resolving a chronic infrastructure issue that had been causing the pool to leak roughly 45,000 gallons of water every day.
However, within weeks, reports emerged highlighting algae blooms, floating debris, and what critics claimed were &#8220;chunks of paint&#8221; peeling off the floor. When Bash pressed Burgum on these reports, asking &#8220;what went wrong,&#8221; the Interior Secretary rejected the premise entirely. &#8220;It keeps being reported that this was paint; it was not paint,&#8221; Burgum clarified. &#8220;This was an industrial liner that was put into the pool for the very first time &#8230; multiple layers, fixing two and a half miles of expansion.&#8221;
Burgum noted that the pool&#8217;s temporary green hue was a &#8220;momentary thing&#8221; caused by residual algae in the pipes during the initial refilling process. He emphasized that the administration&#8217;s new ozone nanobubble technology has already left the water &#8220;completely clean and clear.&#8221; 
The crux of the interview, however, centered on physical damage to the pool&#8217;s basin. While critics have seized on floating blue material as proof of a botched, rushed construction job, Burgum insisted the reality is far more sinister. &#8220;It didn&#8217;t peel off. There was vandalism. There were box cutters, there have been seven arrests,&#8221; Burgum stated. &#8220;There were people literally trying to destroy part of a monument. The Reflecting Pool is not just a pool on the Mall; it is part of the Lincoln Memorial.&#8221; When Bash pressed him on whether the administration could definitively prove the damage was intentional, Burgum replied, &#8220;Oh, yeah, absolutely we can.&#8221; He noted that investigators have thoroughly documented the site. &#8220;The only way you can end up with actual slices in one spot and not the other is that someone physically cut it &#8230; it would never just like peel off or fall off.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
🚨 HOLY CRAP! CNN&#8217;s Dana Bash just got OBLITERATED for trying to say leftists didn&#8217;t vandalize Lincoln Reflecting Pool
SEC. DOUG BURGUM: We CAN prove it!
BASH: People cutting a 350 foot gash in the reflecting pool?!
BURGUM: &#8220;Dana, I&#8217;m not SURE WHY YOU and others in the media… <a href="https://t.co/yKNx7j1im0">pic.twitter.com/yKNx7j1im0</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/2073777230270877730?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
Federal prosecutors recently <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool-case-just-took-a-turn-for-an-ex-olympian">announced charges</a> against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, who was indicted for allegedly damaging the structure. National Park Service employees reportedly witnessed Hearn forcefully pulling away approximately two square feet of the protective liner. Authorities have noted the site was targeted by multiple bad actors, including individuals who used sharp blades to carve a massive gash — now estimated to be over 300 feet long — directly through the liner.
The U.S. Park Police have filed 14 distinct vandalism reports, resulting in at least seven total arrests and five federal citations. Investigators are also looking into reports that individuals introduced &#8220;corrosive and destructive chemicals&#8221; into the water, mirroring a separate incident where the numbers &#8220;86 47” were chemically burned into the surrounding grass.
Burgum used the CNN platform to slam the mainstream media&#8217;s hyper-fixation on the pool&#8217;s temporary aesthetic issues while ignoring broader law-and-order concerns in the nation&#8217;s capital. &#8220;I&#8217;m not sure why you and others in the media think that you want to keep trying to question whether or not things happened,&#8221; Burgum told Bash. &#8220;The real scandal is about the fact that the state of our capital was in such total disrepair.&#8221; He specifically criticized the press for failing to cover pro-Hamas graffiti that defaced neighboring monuments during recent demonstrations, suggesting that reporters would rather hyper-fixate on algae than actual domestic lawlessness.
That hyper-fixation has taken on increasingly bizarre forms. On Capitol Hill, House Democrat Debbie Dingell (D-MI) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/swing-state-democrat-claims-reflecting-pool-algae-is-the-biggest-issue-back-home">said</a> that her constituents were &#8220;outraged&#8221; by the presence of algae, attempting to tie the natural organic growth to a constitutional failing ahead of the country&#8217;s semi-quincentennial.
Despite the political theater and criminal disruptions, the administration maintains that the restoration is a net success. Burgum also corrected the record regarding why the pool area was fenced off over the holiday weekend, refuting claims that it was closed due to lingering repair failures.
&#8220;The fence was there because of the fireworks,&#8221; Burgum said, noting that the location hosted the country&#8217;s largest Fourth of July pyrotechnic display. &#8220;You can&#8217;t have people around fireworks when they&#8217;re being set up.&#8221;
With the holiday concluded, the security fencing is slated to come down. The administration official confirmed that daily testing shows the pool&#8217;s water chemistry remains perfectly safe — treated with a mild hydrogen peroxide system equivalent to a natural swimming pool — and that final touch-ups to the vandalized sections will be completed swiftly.

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Drew Berkemeyer