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📔 Trump's Senate playbook President Trump has three go-to moves for GOP senators who frustrate him: persuade them when he can, ignore them when he must and bully them at will. Why it matters: The approach doesn't always produce results. But it almost always provides drama. 🥕 Persuade: Trump dispatched two top deputies to the Senate GOP lunch yesterday to make the case, in person, for a third reconciliation bill with elements of the SAVE Act. Then he sent in the big guns. Chief of Staff Susie Wiles huddled with the Senate GOP leaders shortly after their lunch. When Trump faced a Senate rebuke over the Iran conflict last month, the White House aggressively lobbied wavering Republicans to flip their votes. Ignore: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche doesn't need Senate confirmation to do the job, Trump declared on Truth Social today. He can serve as acting attorney general indefinitely. Problem solved. 🥊 Bully: Trump began the week by demanding that Majority Leader John Thune scrap the filibuster and pass the SAVE Act. "Remember, stupidity always brings LOSING & DEATH!" Trump wrote. 👀 What we're watching: Bullying appeared to be Trump's preferred tactic this week. By yesterday, he was openly questioning whether Thune should remain majority leader. Thune's best defense was to downplay his own powers. 🪄 "He thinks I can wave the magic wand," Thune told Politico. "I wish it were that easy." Trump's penchant for bullying has emboldened some senators to stand their ground — such as John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who have blocked Blanche's nomination. Both will be out of the Senate in January. 🔎 Zoom in: Trump's anger with the Senate keeps flaring, despite Thune's success in rapidly confirming his nominees. With Jay Clayton's confirmation as director of national intelligence, the GOP-led Senate has confirmed 515 of Trump's nominees — with another batch of 74 on the way. 👟 That's a faster pace than the first administration and leaves only a handful of civilian nominations remaining on the Executive Calendar. Trump now has the authority to install many of the remaining nominees in acting roles across the federal government. 🌎 Zoom out: With one week left before the August recess, Senate Republican vibes are going from bad to worse. New polls show Americans continuing to sour on the GOP. The MAGA base is still enraged over the SAVE Act. Everything from the NDAA to crypto legislation is hitting roadblocks. And Trump doesn't appear interested in easing the pressure on his own party. The bottom line: Trump reserves the right to toggle among his three approaches, depending on his needs and mood. And while he can ignore the Senate on some personnel, he can't ignore it on legislation. He still needs 50 votes — or, in some cases, 60. "When crazy becomes the norm, it feels pretty routine," one GOP senator told us. — Hans Nichols and Stef W. Kight

How long can it take to become a US citizen? For some immigrants, becoming a US citizen takes a few years. For others, limited visa availability and annual country caps mean waiting decades before even applying. https://usafacts.org/articles/how-long-can-it-take-to-become-a-us-citizen/?

Senate committee advances nomination of Dr. Erica Schwartz to be Trump's CDC director A Senate committee on Thursday advanced Dr. Erica Schwartz’s nomination to be director of the nation’s top public health agency, setting aside concerns that she will not stand up to political meddling. Read More.

Mandela Barnes drops out of the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor Mandela Barnes dropped out of the Democratic primary for Wisconsin governor on Thursday amid news that the state party had reviewed past allegations of inappropriate behavior, further shaking up the race less than two weeks before the Aug. 11 election. Read More.

Malaysia begins screening 5,000 refugees for their planned return to Myanmar Malaysia has started documenting and screening thousands of detained Myanmar nationals as part of a repatriation program agreed with Myanmar, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said Thursday. Read More.

Turkey wants to join a new Lebanon security initiative after UN mission ends Turkey is interested in participating in a new security initiative for Lebanon when the 7,500-member U.N. peacekeeping mission in the south of the country expires at the end of the year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said during a joint press statement with his Lebanese counterpart on Thursday. Read More.

Average 30-year US mortgage rate rises to highest level in a year at 6.66% The average long-term U.S. mortgage rate rose for the fourth consecutive week to its highest level in a year, another setback for prospective homebuyers hoping for a break from elevated home loan borrowing costs.The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rate rose to 6.66% from 6.58% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.72%. Read More.

I have often wondered about this. Where are the evil angels now? Clearly some of them are working among us, but there must be a holding place for those not working in the world. Or did God allow all of them to roam and deceive the population? It seems to me, if that were the case, they might be able to overwhelm humanity.

✈️ 1 for the road: Dulles' flashy future Rendering: United Airlines Gold is in and people movers are out at Washington Dulles International Airport, Axios D.C.'s Cuneyt Dil and Mimi Montgomery report. The big picture: President Trump's planned $22.5 billion overhaul replaces aging concourses and adds millions of square feet of new capacity. With Trumpian flair, the president said yesterday that concourses C and D ("basic disasters") will be replaced, while the jet-age-era main terminal designed by Eero Saarinen ("one of the great architects of the world") will stay. Rendering: United Airlines 💰 Funding specifics weren't disclosed. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that United Airlines, which operates a hub at Dulles, "will partake in part of the payment." Trump floated a two-year timeline. United's announcement said the transformation will span "several years." Go deeper ...

📈 The U.S. economy grew at a 1.5% annualized rate in the second quarter, capturing a three-month stretch shaped by the Middle East conflict and a surge in energy prices. That's slightly slower than the 1.8% growth that economists expected. More from Courtenay Brown. US filings for jobless benefits rise to 197,000 last week, but layoffs remain historically low The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but layoffs remain in the historically healthy range of the past few years. Read More.

☄️ Two annual meteor showers — the Alpha Capricornids and Southern Delta Aquariids — are both set to peak tonight. Another top show, the Perseid shower, peaks in mid-August. How to watch.

😬 Americans' midterm concerns Data: Charles F. Kettering Foundation and Gallup. Chart: Noah Bressner/Axios Many Americans are worried that November's midterm elections could be stolen or otherwise compromised, Axios' Avery Lotz reports from new Gallup polling. The findings: Majorities of Republicans (56%) and Democrats (77%) say they fear that politicians will pressure election officials to change voting outcomes. 80% of Americans overall report at least a "fair amount" of concern that political leaders will take actions they know are possibly illegal. 🗳️ Nearly three-quarters of Americans report at least a fair amount of concern about multiple aspects of the election process, rather than just one fear. 40% say that they're concerned about being confronted, followed or recorded while voting. Go deeper ... See the data.

Taco Bell's comeback plan Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images The CEO of Yum Brands, Taco Bell's parent company, says the chain's "magic formula" of "brand buzz, innovation, value and digital" will help it recover from a sales dip tied to the national cyclospora outbreak, Axios' Nathan Bomey reports. Health officials have identified more than 11,000 confirmed or suspected cases of the parasite, which can cause explosive diarrhea. The outbreak has been linked to lettuce from supplier Taylor Farms. 📉 Yum says that the chain's sales are down 2% in the quarter compared with a year earlier. CEO Chris Turner said on an earnings call today: "The brand has seen a meaningful near-term sales impact." But he added: "We expect the sales impact to be temporary." 🥬 Taco Bell has removed lettuce from Taylor Farms. Execs didn't say whether they would keep doing business with the supplier. Turner said: "Our teams are acting quickly and transparently while keeping the safety and well-being of our consumers as the top priority. ... Consumers have become increasingly aware that this is an industry-wide issue, not an issue specific to Taco Bell." Taylor Farms said in a statement: "We are confident in our food and food safety systems and will continue to be transparent as more information becomes available." 👑 Taco Bell has been the crown jewel of Yum's lineup in recent years, delivering consistent sales growth. But as Bank of America analyst Sara Senatore wrote Monday: "The past two weeks have brought the brand's momentum — which seemed accelerated through the year — to a sudden halt." Go deeper.

Everyone thinks we have a wonderful right to free speech because of the first amendment. But that is not true. Just go to Dearborn, Michigan, as I have, and try to preach any Bible doctrine on any street corner. Or try to hand out ANY Christian tract, and see what First Amendment you have.

From another thread, In that article: James wrote: “When we arrived there, disunion existed among the brethren. They had been visited by Stephen Smith and Josiah Hart, who had tried to prejudice them against us. It had had a bad effect, but we went on with the meeting. “The burden of the meeting was pointing out the errors of S. Smith, H. W. Allen, and the importance of church action as to the course of some brethren. Ellen had a vision and saw the frown of God was on us as a people, because the accursed thing was in the camp, that is, errors among us, and that the church must act, and the only way to do Brethren Allen and Smith good was to withdraw fellowship from them, in their present position. All acted on the light given, all received the vision, and, even to an individual, all raised the hand to withdraw fellowship from them.” I wonder. With this LGBT thing in some places, do we have an accursed thing in the camp? What are your thoughts?

Windows 11 Has a Dirty Little Secret, and LG Just Used It to Push Pop-Up Ads You thought plugging in a new monitor was safe. Thanks to a dangerous Microsoft loophole, at least one hardware maker is turning standard PC accessories into adware delivery machines. https://www.pcmag.com/news/windows-11-has-a-dirty-little-secret-and-lg-just-used-it-to-push-pop-up?

Adult Vaccines: Protect Yourself Against Tetanus and More Medically Reviewed by Jabeen Begum, MD on March 07, 2025 https://www.webmd.com/vaccines/ss/cm/slideshow-adult-vaccines

In November 1769, magistrates in Culpeper County, Virginia, warned a young Scottish immigrant named James Ireland that preaching without an Anglican license would land him in jail. He… The post Nicholas Miller and the Protestant Case for the First Amendment appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

Anthony Fauci was sworn in before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on July 29 and delivered a short opening statement accusing the chairman of an obsession with putting him in prison. The post Fauci’s Fifth, the Biden Pardon and the Limits of Silence appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article

European nations vow FIFA World Cup boycott over Infantino private equity plan as opposition spreads GENEVA (AP) — European nations agreed Thursday to boycott the World Cup and all other FIFA competitions to protest Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in soccer’s biggest tournament to private equity investors. The North American soccer body rejected his plan later the same day. https://apnews.com/article/fifa-investors-infantino-kushner-uefa-afc-76169d3e9bb68f4d174b3c87f6b53e50?

Musk’s Massive Midterm Plot to Rescue Trump Revealed The world’s richest man is hoping to plug a gaping enthusiasm gap among Republicans. Elon Musk is planning a massive political spending push to try to help Republicans prevail in the November midterms despite President Donald Trump’s record-low approval ratings. The former “First Buddy” was the president’s biggest donor during the 2024 election cycle, with his America PAC pouring more than $260 million into Trump’s re-election effort. The Tesla chief was rewarded with a powerful White House position as head of the nebulous task force DOGE, but after an explosive falling-out with Trump last year, he said he was pulling back on political spending. Those threats appear to have been short-lived, according to a new report from Axios. The world’s richest man is reviving his dormant super PAC, which will invest heavily in door-knocking, digital advertising, and direct mail aimed at energizing conservative voters who are less likely to cast ballots in off years, sources told the outlet. Polls have shown a worrying lack of enthusiasm among reliable GOP voters, with Trump underwater on key issues including the flailing economy and his deeply unpopular war on Iran. Musk’s representatives declined to say how much he plans to spend, but given his previous donations, it’s fair to expect a windfall for Republicans, according to Axios. Republican super PACS and committees already hold a $300 million cash advantage over their Democratic counterparts, and Musk’s 2024 donations through America PAC made him the largest individual political donor in a single cycle in U.S. history, the outlet reported. James Blair, Trump’s senior political adviser, told Axios that America PAC was an “essential partner for our historic GOTV operation in 2024, and their return for 2026 is a huge boost for Republicans across the country.” America PAC spokesperson Andrew Romeo told the outlet that Trump and the GOP apparatus had “put Republicans in a strong position to buck history and retain control of Congress this fall.” The Daily Beast has also reached out for comment. Musk’s political brand became toxic early last year when he was leading DOGE, the executive branch’s “Department” of Government Efficiency that tried to unilaterally cancel government grants and contracts, dismantle government agencies, and purge the federal workforce. Despite Musk pouring a record $21 million into a normally low-profile, non-partisan Wisconsin state Supreme Court race in April 2025, liberal appellate Judge Susan Crawford beat his preferred candidate, Brad Schimel, by 10 points. After Schimel’s loss, Musk said he would spend far less on political campaigns. He also said he had “done enough” political spending right around the time of his shockingly public—and personal—break from Trump last summer over the Republicans’ “big beautiful” spending bill. Musk, however, has made nice with the president and resumed pouring tens of millions of dollars into Republican super PACs, The Hill reported in February. https://www.thedailybeast.com/elon-musks-massive-midterm-plot-to-rescue-trump-revealed/? ps:Just imagine that, if the democrats had done that in the 2024 election , or any other one, to get people out there to vote the republicans would've been up in arms and crying foul!! But here we are and not one peep from republicans about this travesty!

Trump floats pulling Blanche’s nomination for attorney general to avoid conceding to GOP demands WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday he may pull acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s nomination for the full-time post to avoid conceding to Senate Republicans’ demands over a sweeping tax audit immunity deal benefiting the president and members of his family. https://apnews.com/article/congress-blanche-attorney-general-nomination-trump-2b7240c1844c1efd298257fbb5771ad3?

👋 Good morning! Short and sweet edition for you today. In today's edition: Josh Pastner's viral comments, the NHL's new highest-paid player, NBA power rankings, MLB trade deadline watch, NFL refresher, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES 🏒 Celebrini cashes in: Sharks phenom Macklin Celebrini, 20, is set to become the NHL's highest-paid player ($18.8 million per season) after inking a five-year, $94 million extension with the team. ⚽️ MLS wins All-Star clash: The MLS All-Stars beat the Liga MX All-Stars, 4-3, in Charlotte behind two goals from LAFC star Son Heung-Min. It was a repeat of their win over the same team last year, and their fourth win in five matchups since 2021. 🏀 Kawhi saga update: The NBA's investigation into Kawhi Leonard and the Clippers could reportedly extend into 2027. Such a delay would likely throw a wrench in the proposed trade to send Leonard back to the Raptors, which is currently on hold. ⚾️ Trade alert: The last-place Angels are sending starting catcher Logan O'Hoppe and relief pitcher Chase Silseth to the Rangers in exchange for infield prospect Angel Arredondo. The sell-off has begun in Anaheim. ⚽️ Poch contract talks: Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly "close" to finalizing a deal with the USMNT that would keep him under contract through the 2030 World Cup.   🏀 PAY TO PLAY A COLLEGE HOOPS TEAM FOR SALE? IT COULD HAPPEN (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) UNLV men's basketball coach Josh Pastner went viral over the weekend after suggesting that potential owners trying to buy an NBA expansion team in Las Vegas should instead "buy" Pastner's program for $10-12 million, writes Yahoo Sports' Dan Wolken. "You don't have to spend over a billion dollars to own our team," Pastner said in an interview with KTNV in Vegas. "You still get a great tax write-off and you can be as involved, and you can tell everyone you're the owner of the team." Walking it back: After some backlash to his comments — and after calls started rolling in from wealthy folks who had taken him literally when he talked about the opportunity to "buy" the team — Pastner issued a clarification on Monday. "We're not for sale!" he told Yahoo Sports. "I was saying it more, like, tongue-in-cheek. We need support, but we're really not for sale. The model's not set up for that." State of play: Most of us who follow college sports closely understood what Pastner was trying to say. In the practically unregulated NIL era, where programs are spending as much on rosters as their donors are willing to give, it only takes one person with a wide open checkbook to become the de facto "owner" of a college team. Just look at Texas Tech and the millions upon millions that mega-booster Cody Campbell has poured into NIL funding. No, he doesn't "own" the Red Raiders. But everyone understands he's the person most responsible for making them nationally competitive in football, men's basketball and softball. "It's just a new day and age in college athletics," Pastner said. "Obviously teams can't be for sale. This is the students' team, the alumni's team, UNLV's team. No one can ever own the team. But it's interesting that it went viral. I just think that's the change in the landscape. Every program in the country is looking for ways to get more support financially." Jerry Tarkanian turned UNLV basketball into a national brand in the 1970s. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images) Pastner is wrong about one thing. The idea of buying and selling college teams like pro franchises isn't that far-fetched anymore. In a sense, it's already in motion. Utah finalized a nine-figure deal with Otro Capital earlier this year, forming a new company that will handle revenue-generating aspects of the athletic program. Michigan State just unveiled a new athletic department structure with $100 million in seed money, part of which is a for-profit subsidiary called Spartan Media Ventures where investors will get a return. Next month, LSU is gathering donors at the governors' mansion for a "first look at an alternative revenue-generating opportunity" that's expected to include some type of structure where investors/donors could buy a "share" of a privatized athletic department. Bottom line: Given the increasing cost pressures to compete now, it's not a huge leap to think a desperate school that just wants to win — but can't really afford it with its donor base — might actually be willing to "sell" its football or basketball program.   🏀 EAST VS. WEST NBA POWER RANKINGS (Amy Monks/Yahoo Sports) LeBron James is headed back East to a conference that is much better than it was during his previous stints in Cleveland and Miami. In fact, for the first time in forever, the East looks deeper than the West. East rankings. (Mallory Bielecki/Yahoo Sports) The East may be deeper, but the West still boasts the league's two title favorites in San Antonio and Oklahoma City. How will the rest of the conference shake out? West rankings.   ⚾️ BUY, SELL, HOLD MLB TRADE DEADLINE: 4 DAYS OUT Tarik Skubal may have pitched his final game as a Tiger on Wednesday. (Detroit Tigers) Tick tock. No matter how much MLB front offices would prefer to procrastinate, time is running out for them to upgrade their rosters via trade before the deadline arrives at 6pm ET on Monday. Jordan Shusterman, Yahoo Sports: To be fair, these vacillating executives have more time than ever to determine their deadline strategies. For years, the deadline fell on July 31, but now the league can place the deadline on any day between July 28 and Aug. 3 to avoid conflicting with games. And this year, the stopping point for swaps comes on the latest possible date. This means teams this season will play more games before the deadline than ever before — roughly 112 games, which is five to 10 more on average than when the deadline was always July 31 — giving them more information to determine their plan but also fewer games on the other side to chase down a playoff spot. Recent history indicates that the bulk of the transactions will not take place until the final 48-72 hours before Monday's deadline. But teams need to decide soon whether their goal is to upgrade the major-league team, make moves focused on the future or something in between. Good reads: Skubal sweepstakes: Breaking down who can, who should and who will acquire Detroit's ace Deadline tiers: Sorting out all 30 teams, from aggressive buyers to full-on sellers Trade candidates: Top 25 players who could be moved at the deadline   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: THURSDAY, JULY 30 (Luke Walker/Getty Images) ⛳️ Women's British Open The fifth and final major of the LPGA season is currently underway (4am ET, Golf/USA) at Royal Lytham and St. Annes in Lancashire, England, where a loaded field is competing for a $10 million purse. Meanwhile, in Michigan: The PGA Tour's Rocket Classic tees off this morning (7am, ESPN+/Golf) at Detroit Golf Club, the penultimate stop before the playoffs. More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Nationals at Braves (7:15pm, ESPN) … The Nats (55-54) have far exceeded expectations and sit just two games out of the wild card. 🏀 WNBA: Lynx at Tempo (8pm, Prime); Liberty at Aces (10pm, Prime) … Minnesota, Las Vegas and New York are the three favorites to win the title. 🎾 Tennis: Mubadala DC Open (11am, Tennis) … Americans Jessica Pegula (No. 1 seed) and Ben Shelton (No. 2) headline today's Round of 16 action. Got plans tonight? Gametime is the best place to score last-minute tickets to the events in your city.   🏀 MERCH MADNESS TRIVIA TIME (Amber Matsumoto/Yahoo Sports) LeBron James' Sixers jersey set a new Fanatics record (across all sports) for jersey sales in the first 48 hours after a player changed teams. Question: Which athlete previously held the record for first-48-hour jersey sales? Hint: 2023. Answer at the bottom.   🏈 TRAINING CAMP NFL REFRESHER (Josh Heim/Yahoo Sports) With every NFL team officially at training camp, we recapped the biggest moves of the offseason and answered one burning question for each club.   Trivia answer: Shohei Ohtani (Dodgers No. 17)

Iran Has Figured Out How to Overwhelm U.S. Air Defenses As munitions streaked through the night sky, a plaintive cry like a whale song echoed in the darkness. U.S. troops grabbed their gear and headed for shelter as the warning sirens rang out, a leaked video shows. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/28/iran-missiles-drones-us-air-defenses/? Abdul El-Sayed Faces Islamophobic Attacks From GOP and Democratic Establishment In a July 19 interview with a leading Democratic Senate candidate in the swing state of Michigan, CNN host Jake Tapper homed in on the U.S.–Israeli war on Iran — but he didn’t ask the candidate’s thoughts on the hundreds of Iranian and Lebanese civilians killed, nor the possibility of U.S. war crimes, and not even 18 dead U.S. soldiers. Instead, Tapper posed: “Why were you worried about offending people who support the ayatollah?” https://theintercept.com/2026/07/27/abdul-el-sayed-haley-stevens-aipac-senate-michigan/? House Investigation of BreakThrough News Is an Attack on All Journalism The House Ways and Means Committee last week carried out an attack on journalism that hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves. The committee subpoenaed BreakThrough News, a left-wing outlet with deep ties to the Party for Socialism and Liberation that is highly critical of the United States and Israel, along with two other nonprofits with similar ideologies, The People’s Forum and Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/27/breakthrough-news-journalists-subpoena/? Fauci’s Diary Isn’t the Key to Why Covid Ravaged the U.S. — Our Broken Healthcare System Is Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., has made it his mission to put Dr. Anthony Fauci in prison. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/29/covid-fauci-diary-rand-paul-healthcare-pandemic/? Donald Trump and Wars of Choice President Donald Trump reclaimed the White House last year promising to keep the United States out of conflicts and claiming to be a peacemaker. “Under Trump, we will have no more wars,” he said on the campaign trail in 2024. And Trump has been especially critical of going to war in Iraq. “We should have never been in Iraq,” said Trump during a Republican presidential debate in February 2016. “We have destabilized the Middle East.” https://theintercept.com/2026/07/29/trump-wars-of-choice-iran/? Fetterman Might Leave Democratic Party Because the Only Thing He Loves More Than Israel Is Attention Sen. John Fetterman may switch parties, and the reason is simple: The Democrat from Pennsylvania loves nothing like he loves media coverage. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/27/fetterman-leave-democrat-party-israel/? The Right Seeks to Capitalize on Berlin Pride Attack — Even as It Poses Its Own Existential Threat to Queer Lives On Saturday night, a man drove a van into a crowd near Berlin’s Pride Festival, before getting out and stabbing several people, leaving one woman dead and dozens injured. https://theintercept.com/2026/07/27/berlin-pride-attack-afd-trump/?