WHAT WE'RE WATCHING

🚔 Two Israeli embassy aides fatally shot in Washington. Two young aides to the Israeli embassy, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, were killed outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC. The suspect shouted “Free, free Palestine” after his arrest, and police are investigating the incident as an act of targeted violence. The shooting highlights how the pro-Palestine movement often devolves into Jew-hatred, far beyond the anti-Israel sentiments they describe.

🇿🇦 Trump grilled South Africa’s president over white farmer killings. President Trump showed South African President Cyril Ramaphosa video footage of alleged white Afrikaner farmer graves during their Oval Office meeting, lambasting Ramaphosa over mass violence committed against them. Trump’s public focus on this issue puts international pressure on South Africa’s leadership to address claims of violence against white farmers.

🏳️‍⚧️ FTC scrutinizes transgender procedures for minors. The Federal Trade Commission will hold a July workshop on transgender surgeries and hormones for children, signaling possible legal action against providers accused of misleading families about the risks. This signals a new federal strategy to crack down on the medical industry’s bogus claims about youth sex changes.

⚖️ DOJ investigating Cuomo over COVID nursing home order. The Justice Department has opened a criminal probe into former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) for allegedly lying to Congress about his directive that sent COVID-positive patients into nursing homes. Cuomo, now leading the NYC mayoral race, claims the investigation is politically motivated. The probe could upend the mayoral contest and force a reckoning with the state’s deadly pandemic legacy.

INSIDER RADAR

Steve Witkoff on Iranian nuclear negotiations

Insiders behind the paywall: Steve Witkoff, Marco Rubio, Chris Van Hollen, Tom Homan, and Pete Hegseth.

HOAX TRACKER

“Thousands of babies in Gaza are at risk of imminent death, per the UN”

QUICK AND IMPORTANT

• The US Army issued a memo stating transgender-identifying soldiers' birth records will only show their sex at birth.

• Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA) passed away Wednesday morning at age 75 after battling esophageal cancer.

• Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) filed a resolution to expel Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) over federal charges from an altercation with ICE officers.

• Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) vetoed a bill that would have created a commission to study reparations for black residents.

INSIDER EXCLUSIVE

The freshman congressman fighting the media

Recent elections have been framed as existential. No matter which side you’re on, the stakes are clear.

Voters aren’t imagining it — it truly feels that way. Washington press releases and comms shops echo this urgency, but once election season ends, the Capitol often returns to business as usual…

Read Now

_JOIN THE DISCUSSION_

What priorities would you like to see young Republicans like Brandon Gill take up?

_{Comments are open for everyone.}

THE MAIN STORY

Trump reverses Biden’s anti-police agenda

WHAT’S HAPPENING_

The Justice Department (DOJ) announced Wednesday it will dismiss lawsuits against the Minneapolis and Louisville police departments, effectively ending Biden-era consent decrees that would have imposed federal oversight on these agencies.

Consent decrees are court-approved agreements designed to fix issues like misconduct or civil rights violations — often leading to federal oversight of local police departments for years.

The decision rejects the Biden-Harris administration's findings of unconstitutional policing in both cities in the aftermath of the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in 2020.

_THE FACTS_

• DOJ is withdrawing consent decrees for Minneapolis and Louisville police, calling them “factually unjustified.”

• Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon said the Biden DOJ cherry-picked statistics and ignored context in its investigations.

• In Memphis, the Biden administration suggested that police were racially discriminating against the homeless. However, the city and police department are both majority-black, as is 75 percent of the homeless population.

• DOJ is also ending investigations in Phoenix, Memphis, Oklahoma City, Trenton, Mount Vernon, and the Louisiana State Police.

• Biden-era decrees would have governed officer training, hiring, discipline, and use-of-force policies in local police departments for years.

• Dhillon said the decrees would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions and reduce police effectiveness.

• Many of these investigations were initiated by former Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke, an open supporter of defunding the police.

_OUR INSIGHTS _

Insights and analysis are for members only.

Insights behind the paywall: Obama-era measures and consent decree failures.

_JOIN THE DISCUSSION_

Besides removing consent decrees, are there any other measures you’d like to see the administration take?

_{Comments are open for everyone.}

MEDIA BIAS SPOTTER

How left and right outlets frame Trump grilling South Africa’s president

Mentioned behind the paywall: The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Caller, and The Washington Examiner.

THE DAILY DEBATE

POLL RESULTS FROM YESTERDAY

Do you agree with President Trump telling Israel to “wrap up” the war?

🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 👍 Yes (749)
🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️ 👎 No (378)
🟨⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 🤔 Unsure (159)
⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️⬜️ 💬 Other (Comment) (31)

POP QUIZ

🔎 Tip line: See something the media won’t touch? Got a story from your campus, community, or company that needs exposure? Send tips, questions, or ideas to [email protected].

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