Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier urged women to report ex-boyfriends who are "in the country illegally."
In a Tuesday post on X, Uthmeier explained that his office had recently handled the case of an "abusive" ex-boyfriend.
"We recently got a tip from someone whose abusive ex overstayed a tourism visa. He is now cued up for deportation," he wrote.
"If your ex is in this country illegally, please feel free to reach out to our office. We'd be happy to assist," the attorney general added.
One commenter noted that the fear of being deported could prevent some domestic violence victims from seeking help.
"What about victims whose status may not be on the up and up? What will you do to protect those victims?" a user going by the name of Relentless Bunny asked. "DV goes unreported anyway and I would bet those numbers have increased since the ICE raids began."
Others, however, applauded the attorney general's tactic.
"How about Mother-In-Laws?" Publius, a self-described independent journalist, quipped.
Politico congressional reporters Jordain Carney posted on X, "Sen. Mike Lee tweeted (and appears to have deleted) what he appears to believe is a resignation letter (??) from Powell."
Semafor political reporter David Weigel and Politico's Ben Jacobs pointed out other errors in the fake letter.
"The typo ridden letter has now been deleted by both Benny Johnson and Senator Mike Lee," Jacobs said.
Weigel replied, "A GOP senator not being able to spot a fake, loaded with typos... good stuff here. If you really think you're going to scoop the Bloomberg terminal on a Powell move, get psychological help."
Veteran and lawyer John Jackson similarly pointed out Lee's ignorance. "Mike Lee is an idiot. He just fell for this fake letter of Jerome Powell resigning."
Influencer and commentator Boston Smalls, jeered on X, "For a senator. This is extremely embarrassing. I mean, Mike Lee is a complete toilet fish, but this is just another level."
Washington Post opinions editor Benjy Sarlin posted a screen capture of the Dow Jones after one person pointed out it wasn't smart to post about "market moving news without verifing it."
"It's funny that day traders, who frequently panic sell off viral rumors, were like 'Oh that's just Mike Lee, he does this all the time, ignore it,'" said Sarlin on X.
President Donald Trump has been attacking Powell for years for refusing to reduce interest rates.
House Republicans have effectively “been paralyzed” out of fear of inter-party dissent on Jeffrey Epstein, and have left key GOP priorities on the cutting room floor ahead of a congressional recess, CNN’s Lauren Fox noted Tuesday.
“You have some conservatives who are very frustrated with the fact that they feel like this is a campaign promise,” Fox said.
“They feel like this is the president putting them in a position where they are up against their loyalty to Donald Trump, and also their loyalty to people who put them in office because they're still getting a number of calls.”
That interparty dissent largely comes from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who filed a legislative measure to force a vote on compelling the Justice Department to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender alleged to have maintained a blackmail operation targeting powerful figures.
Five other House Republicans have signed on to Massie’s measure, and according to Massie, he also has the support of enough House Democrats to reach the required 218-signature threshold to force a vote on the measure.
Fear of being forced to vote on releasing more Epstein files led to the House Rules Committee adjourning early Monday, leaving a GOP-priority immigration bill, on the cutting room floor, and without time to be taken up before Congress goes on recess.
“What you're seeing right now is the House has essentially been paralyzed; the House Rules Committee, which is required for pushing through legislation that will only get Republican votes on the House floor, is essentially stalled out because Democrats were going to push Republicans for yet another vote on releasing the Epstein files,” Fox said.
“Rather than take that vote and potentially face backlash from their constituents, Republicans decided to adjourn that meeting and they have not returned. That means that a series of immigration bills that they were supposed to be voting on this week ahead of the August recess aren't going to come up.”
Epstein continues to plague Trump and GOP leadership, largely a creation of Trump’s own making given that he pledged to release files on the disgraced financier ahead of his 2024 victory, only to disappoint his base with a DOJ memo earlier this month shutting the case down.
“All of the Republican agenda meanwhile has stalled out in this week before congressional recess,” Fox said.
“...That just shows you how much pressure Republicans are under and how much they do not want to continue to be talking about this, even though there are some conservatives who keep arguing they want more information.”
Former interim U.S. Attorney Alina Habba's appointment was stalled in the Senate, and the only way she was going to keep her job was to have judges step in to save her. Instead, they stepped in to hand her job to someone else, and it's leading to chuckles across social media.
Habba was only able to stay in the post as an interim U.S. attorney for 120 days. Once that timeline has ended, if there is no person confirmed by the Senate, the judges can appoint someone who will remain until a person is confirmed by the Senate.
Legal correspondent for Business Insider, Jacob Shamsian, noted that the judges picked Habba's "assistant instead."
Actor Jon Cryer argued, "Alina Habba lied about Ras Baraka. She should be disbarred."
"The new acting US Attorney should promptly dismiss the outrageous case brought against Congresswoman McIver," wrote Democracy Docket founder and elections lawyer Marc Elias.
Legal analyst Ken White quipped, "Alina Habba’s willingness to represent both sides in the same dispute should make it twice as easy for her to get a new job!"
Raw Story reported Monday that Habba is leaving behind an angry staff and pictures of herself on the walls. That report inspired legal analyst George Conway to mock, "moral of the story is that when you Habba ‘nuff you have to say it."
"BREAKING NEWS!" the president wrote. "We have just achieved a BIG AND IMPORTANT WIN in our Historic Lawsuit against 60 Minutes, CBS, and Paramount. Just like ABC and George Slopadopoulos, CBS and its Corporate Owners knew that they defrauded the American People, and were desperate to settle."
Trump sued "60 Minutes" over an October interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that Trump claimed was edited "completely and corruptly" to change Harris's answers.
The settlement was seen as a way to appease Trump during Paramount's $28 billion merger with Skydance, which required sign-off by the Federal Communications Commission. Political satirist Stephen Colbert called the deal "a big fat bribe," and was fired shortly thereafter.
Trump's post continued, "Paramount/CBS/60 Minutes have today paid $16 Million Dollars in settlement, and we also anticipate receiving $20 Million Dollars more from the new Owners, in Advertising, PSAs, or similar Programming, for a total of over $36 Million Dollars."
Trump called the settlement "another in a long line of VICTORIES over the Fake News Media, who we are holding to account for their widespread fraud and deceit." He then threatened other outlets he has beef with, including The Wall Street Journal, which recently published a story about Jeffrey Epstein that he tried to quash. Trump filed a $10 billion suit against WSJ and owner Rupert Murdoch.
"The Failing New York Times, The Washington Post, MSDNC, CNN, and all other Mainstream Media Liars, are ON NOTICE that the days of them being allowed to deceive the American People are OVER. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) shared and then deleted what appeared to be a fake resignation letter from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
In a message posted to X on Tuesday, Lee claimed that "Powell is out." Soon after, Lee's post was deleted.
The letter, written in Powell's voice and addressed to President Donald Trump, claimed that the Fed chair would resign on July 22.
"I am proud of what we have accomplished," the letter said. "However, at this critical juncture, I believe new leadership is needed to carry forward the important work of the Federal Reserve and to reinforce public confidence in its independence and effectiveness."
"I remain confident in the strength and resilience of the American economy and in the professionalism of the Federal Reserve staff," it added. "I am grateful for the opportunity to have served, and I extend my full support to my successor as they continue the vital work of fostering maximum employment and price stability."
According to Politico's Jordain Carney, Lee deleted the post "out of an abundance of caution."
"I don't know whether it's legit or not," he admitted.
Republican strategist and political analyst Susan Del Percio slammed House Republicans’ efforts to stonewall measures to unseal documents on Jeffrey Epstein on Tuesday, arguing their tactics are actually “prolonging” criticism of Republicans among their base.
“I think he's prolonging it and making it actually worse,” Percio said Tuesday on MSNBC’s Ana Cabrera Reports.
On Monday, House Republican leadership shut down House proceedings to block a bipartisan measure to force a vote on releasing more files on Epstein, the disgraced financier who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on human trafficking charges. A convicted sex offender, Epstein was alleged to have maintained a “client list” of powerful figures for blackmail purposes, and was long a close friend of President Donald Trump.
Johnson has called the measure a “political game” from Democrats, and said that he hoped “Republicans don’t join in that.” Percio, however, argued the stonewalling will hurt Republicans in the long run.
“Those folks in MAGA land that are the big conspiracists, they are going to be talking about it among themselves every single day,” Percio said. “The attacks will drum on against [Attorney General] Pam Bondi, against President Trump. I think this was a big mistake, they should have let it come forward. But I don't think we'll ever see all those documents anyway.”
Trump and his administration have been under renewed scrutiny in recent weeks after a Justice Department memo shut down further investigation and disclosure related to Epstein. Trump’s dismissal of criticism of the move, along with a bombshell report from the Wall Street Journal revealing new details about Trump and Epstein’s relationship, has only heightened scrutiny, particularly among Trump’s most loyal supporters.
Trump has made efforts to quell the rage among his base, including calling for grand jury transcripts to be released related to Epstein, as well as beginning talks with Epstein associate and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell. However, critics have labeled those efforts as largely performative.
The English heavy metal superstar John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne died on Tuesday, just weeks after reuniting with members of his band Black Sabbath for a farewell show, Sky News reported.
Ozbourne’s cause of death has yet to be reported, though his family released a statement that read he died “surrounded by love,” Sky News reported.
His final show, performed in Birmingham, England, saw an audience of more than 40,000 spectators and nearly 6 million watching via live stream. Having long suffered with Parkinson’s disease, he was seated during the performance, with proceeds from the event being donated to several medical initiatives, including The Cure Parkinson’s Trust.
He leaves behind five children and his wife, Sharon.
House Republicans voted Tuesday to rename the opera house at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts after first lady Melania Trump.
Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID) announced on social media, "Yes, we renamed the opera house at the Kennedy Center for the First Lady who is the honorary chairman of the board of trustees for The Kennedy Center. This is an excellent way to recognize her support and commitment to promoting the arts."
Scripps News Nathanial Reed added context to the renaming, writing, "Buried in amendments to the Interior Dept. Gov funding bill, is a stipulation that the Kennedy Center Opera House must be renamed the 'First Lady Melania Trump Opera House' in order to receive federal funds. The Appropriations Committee adopted that amendment by a vote of 33-25."
The fiirst lady and President Donald Trump recently attended the opening night of the musical "Les Misérables" at the opera house, receiving both cheers and boos from the crowd.
In the spring, the president created an uproar when he named himself chairman of the board of directors.
When taking over the Kennedy Center, Trump claimed that he had eliminated DEI and “brought back family-friendly programming that will attract large audiences once again.”
However, notable artists like maestro cellist Yo-Yo Ma announced he was parting ways with the center, while stars of the musical "Hamilton" boycotted their run at the Kennedy Center.
According to a June report in The New York Times, "Single-ticket sales were down roughly 50 percent in April and May, compared with the same period in 2024, according to the data. Subscriptions, traditionally an important source of revenue, have also declined significantly this season: Revenue was down 82 percent for theater and 57 percent for dance. At the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center’s flagship ensembles, subscriptions declined by 28 percent, the data showed. At Washington National Opera, subscriptions were down 25 percent."
A panel of federal judges ordered Alina Habba, President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, to be removed from her current role as New Jersey's interim U.S. attorney.
In an order issued on Tuesday, the panel of judges stated that Desiree Leigh Grace, Habba's first assistant prosecutor, would assume the role immediately.
The New York Timesnoted that the "unusual decision" could be "undone by President Trump."
Habba's ouster came after Democrats accused her of pursuing "frivolous and politically motivated" prosecutions even though she had no previous experience as a prosecutor.
Federal officials at the US Geological Survey instituted a “media blackout” in the waning days of Joe Biden’s presidency amid President Donald Trump’s calls for the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed to the Gulf of America, ignoring any and all media requests, Notus reported Tuesday.
“I don’t mean (to respond to media requests with) ‘...has no comment at this time…,’ I mean do not respond at all,” wrote Michael Tischler, director of USGS’s National Geospatial Program, which produces and maintains topographic maps.
He was relaying to staff that the agency’s communications office had instructed all employees “to not respond” to media requests.
Tischler’s communications were obtained by Notus via a Freedom of Information Act request, as were close to 150 pages of internal agency emails and records, many of which reveal the panic at the agency amid Trump’s pledge to rename the Gulf.
“I can’t stay on top of this AND do my day job,” wrote Matthew O’Donnell, Board of Geographic Names researcher, in an email to Tischler and another USGS leader.
“Where’s that ‘it has begun’ meme from Lord of the Rings...?” wrote another USGS employee on Jan. 7, referring to their fear of an impending swath of media requests.
Before he took office for his second time on Jan. 20, Trump pledged to rename the Gulf in an effort to recognize its “critical importance to our nation’s economy,” and signed an executive order on his first day in office to direct the USGS to rename the body of water.
The USGS’s preemptive media blackout, however, constituted “unacceptable” behavior for a taxpayer-funded government agency, argued Caroliine Hendrie, executive director of the Society of Professional Journalists, the nation’s oldest organization representing journalists with around 300 chapters across the country.
“It’s unacceptable for public officials, particularly those in communications roles funded by taxpayers, to adopt a deliberate strategy of ignoring journalists’ requests,” Hendrie said, Notus reported.
“It sends a message across government that transparency is optional, and that’s corrosive for press freedom and the public’s right to know. Agencies need to put public interest over political convenience. The public has a right to know about government decision-making that affects shared resources and shared identity, like place names.”
President Donald Trump lobbed criminal allegations at Barack Obama, Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and other political opponents during an Oval Office meeting with Philippines president Bongbong Marcos.
The U.S. president was asked about his Department of Justice seeking a meeting with Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell as House speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sends lawmakers home to avoid action on the growing scandal, and Trump instead told reporters they should be talking about his administration's criminal claims against Obama and others.
"President Trump has a long history of accusing former President Obama of committing crimes while not specifying how exactly those crimes were supposedly committed," said CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale. "So in this case, he kept saying Obama was caught, his name was on a document. He didn't specify what Obama was caught doing and did not say what document he was talking about, so it's a bit difficult to fact check."
"But I think there's a strong chance he's talking about something highlighted by the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, that refers to an email post-election in 2016, where the member of the intelligence community said the president had directed the intelligence community to come up with a new assessment of how Russia had attempted to use tools to intervene in the 2016 election," Dale added. "So two things about that. First of all, that is post-election, that is pre-inauguration, but post-election so would not be an election rigging effort as President Trump specified, and, second of all, the president directed the intelligence community to assess Russian interference is simply not treason. There is very little there."
That directive by Obama has been repeatedly examined, and Dale said Gabbard was misrepresenting the facts.
"Tulsi Gabbard has alleged that that assessment that was produced after that meeting, she said, directly contradicted previous assessments," Dale said. "She did not prove that, and she is emphasizing the fact that that assessment in January of 2017 did not find that Russia, sorry, that previous assessment, did not find that Russia had altered the election results, altered vote counts, while the new assessment didn't either. What the new assessment found was that Russia engaged in hacking operations targeting Democrats, had engaged in influence operations online to attempt to alter the results in favor of Trump to hurt [Hillary] Clinton. That is not contradictory as far as we know, and a GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee review of this found that these conclusions were correct and that there had not been political interference by the Obama administration."
"So, look, there continues to be analysis by this current administration of of what happened back then," Dale added. "But what we have so far from Ms. Gabbard, from President Trump, simply does not come close to proving that President Obama committed any crimes here."
Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones accused President Donald Trump of a plot to silence Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell after Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said he would meet with her before she testified before Congress.
Hours before the House Oversight Committee approved a motion to subpoena Maxwell, Blanche confirmed that he intended to meet with her at the direction of Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"This Department of Justice does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, nor from the responsibility to pursue justice wherever the facts may lead," Blanche said in a statement.
Jones, however, suggested that the deputy attorney general's meeting was meant to silence Maxwell.
"So I just wish to heaven, whatever's going on, and the advice Trump's getting, and the things they're doing, I mean, my Lord! Sending the Deputy AG to meet with Maxwell, as soon as the Democrats are trying to talk to her," Jones opined on his Tuesday program, "and trying to cut it off at the pass before she testifies to Congress."
"I mean, they got a name for that. Why not just point out she's a convicted human trafficker? You can't believe a damn thing she says, I mean, seriously, you can't ever."
Jones insisted that the Trump administration should "poison the well" by smearing Maxwell instead of meeting with her.
"And the media goes, oh, look, he's telling Trump to shut up," the host continued. "He's giving advice on how to cover up. No, that's not what I'm doing. Any idiot knows that. Why are they doing the exact thing you would do to destroy yourself?"
"Trump is smart, this is unprecedented!" he exclaimed. "The idiot people go, 'It'll make the Democrats release the list.' Trump can release it all, he's in charge, you morons!"
