The conservative Wall Street Journal slammed Florida's attorney general for his latest effort to attack vaccination — this time by cracking down on private Catholic schools.

The Journal has frequently gone after what it sees as Democrats assaulting religious liberty, particularly when they try to enforce birth control coverage requirements — and they had just as much contempt for this particular policy, which they called a "dangerous constitutional turn."

In July, the board noted, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier "issued a peremptory letter to Catholic bishops accusing them of violating Church doctrine and state law by requiring students to be immunized and not allowing parents who object to vaccines for religious reasons to opt out. There is 'no legitimate religious reason' to deny religious exemptions, he wrote. Thus sayeth the gospel of James Uthmeier."

"He might have done Catholic bishops the courtesy of meeting with them to discuss the issue before posting his threatening letter on social media. Perhaps he thinks picking a public fight with the bishops is smart politics," the board wrote. Regardless, they noted, Florida's Conference of Catholic Bishops director Michael Sheedy hit back with a letter saying “any insinuation that a government official can dictate to the Catholic Church (or any religion) how to apply her tenets and dogma, violates well-established constitutional religious freedom rights.”

Uthmeier, noted the board, only doubled down after this with a social media post slamming the bishops, by saying, “Should Muslim schools teaching sharia law in violation of Florida law nevertheless get state funding? I don’t think so.”

"Is he really suggesting that Catholic schools’ enforcement of vaccine requirements is akin to Sharia law?" the board fumed, slamming Uthmeier for "a callow understanding of religious liberty" and warning he "will hurt children if he bars them from using state scholarships to attend Catholic schools."

Outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) dropped the hammer on several of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein's alleged co-conspirators in a scorched-earth rant on Monday night.

Massie took to the House floor and read the names of several alleged Epstein co-conspirators. The names included Jes Staley, Leon Black, Les Wexner, David Copperfield, Lapo Elkann, Tom Pritzker, Glenn Dubin, Frédéric Fekkai, Eduardo Teodorani-Fabbri, Jean-Luc Brunel, Daniel Siad, Ramsey Elkholy, Prince Andrew, and Lesley Groff. Everyone Massie mentioned who has spoken publicly about their relationship with Epstein has denied any wrongdoing.

Massie said he hoped the move would "shame the Department of Justice into releasing the names of more co-conspirators."

This is the second time that Massie has exposed the names of some of Epstein's alleged co-conspirators. In February, Massie and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) exposed three names: Leon Black, Jes Staley, and Les Wexner.

It happened at a time when the Trump administration is trying to outrun the Epstein files saga, which has consumed much of the second Trump presidency. The Trump DOJ has claimed it won't release any more files, despite acknowledging that it holds more than 3 million unreleased records.

MS NOW's Chris Hayes flagged a suspicious episode of tomfoolery in a Democratic primary in Maine, pulled off by Republican dark money — with a deeply ironic twist.

"As Republicans head towards what is currently looking like it could be a shellacking in November ... they are returning to a time-tested playbook," said Hayes. Specifically, he said, that playbook is "unlimited dark money spending."

One of the strangest instances so far, he said, took place in June, when "there was a competitive Democratic House primary underway in northern Maine. Progressive State Auditor Matt Dunlap was running against the more moderate centrist state Senator Joe Baldacci" — all in a competitive but Trump-leaning district occupied by outgoing Democratic Rep. Jared Golden.

Because of the district's "Trumpy" lean, said Hayes, "conservatives wanted the more progressive candidate."

"They wanted Dunlap to win because they believed he would be easier to defeat in the fall," he said. "And so a Republican-linked dark money group started running attack ads against the other guy, the centrist Baldacci, accusing him of being the candidate — get this, wait for it — who was backed by dark money."

Hayes played the ad.

"Joe Baldacci, the hand-picked yes man of Dark Money D.C.," said the narrator. "He's bankrolled by D.C. and beholden to them, not us. The truth: Joe Baldacci is the only Democrat running for Congress who stands with Trump and opposed implementing Medicare for All Mainers. Good for the establishment, bad for Mainers. Reject dark money and corporate Democrats — vote No on D.C.'s handpicked yes man Joe Baldacci."

The ad, noted Hayes, was cut by a group called "Real Change PAC" — which seems to have Republicans' fingerprints all over it.

"[It's] just preposterously, breathlessly cynical stuff," said Hayes. "A dark money ad by right-wing pro-billionaire interests painting the guy they want to defeat ... as the handpicked yes man of dark money."

Ultimately, he said, Dunlap won that primary. "Now, again, money's not dispositive. I think there's a lot of reasons Maine Democrats in that district clearly had an appetite for progressive fighters this cycle, and Dunlap's still got a chance to hold that race." Nevertheless, he added, "I'm sure having hundreds of thousands of dollars in dark money accusing you of being a simp for dark money dropped on your head didn't do any favors."

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