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Wednesday, July 22nd, 2026 - Hegseth Wants $1.5 Trillion More For Iran, Measles & Cyclospora Hit Record Highs, Trump Finances Going To BBC Jul 22, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Pete Hegseth went to Congress to ask for $1.5 trillion more for the Iran war — on top of the $37.5 billion already spent — while the Pentagon has been quietly underreporting troop injuries, with the New York Times revealing over 400 Americans have been hurt, nearly 100 just in July, which the Pentagon characterized as "mostly mild concussions" which is indeed, an injury. The 17 service members killed in a war we supposedly won several times were also not mentioned with particular urgency. In another Oval Office mess of an interview, Trump met with Lebanon's president to discuss the Israel-Lebanon peace agreement, then took press questions and downplayed Chinese election interference the week after his entire primetime election fraud circus, because consistency is not the vibe. On the election beat, New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill announced that a software glitch registered over 6,600 noncitizens to vote between 2023 and 2024, with fewer than 400 ultimately voting — a mix of Democrats, Republicans, and independents — the glitch was fixed in 2024, the vendor was fired, ineligible voters were removed, and Trump is going to love every second of this regardless of context. Graham Platner's replacement in the Maine Senate race is state legislator Troy Jackson, who secured the nomination and had reporting drop about his temper within 24 hours — including allegedly throwing a water bottle during a meeting about red flag gun laws. On public health, cyclosporiasis cases hit a record high with over 4,100 confirmed and 7,400 more under investigation, and measles cases reached a 35-year record with nearly 2,300 cases — the highest since measles was eliminated from the US in 2000 — and we're only halfway through the year. And finally, a judge ruled Trump must hand over detailed financial records for over 400 companies in a family trust as part of the defamation lawsuit he brought against the BBC over a January 6th documentary, which is the legal equivalent of suing someone and accidentally showing them your diary.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

WSJ: Hegseth Estimates Cost of Iran War at $37.5 Billion

NYT: Pentagon Withheld Dozens of U.S. Military Injuries in Iran War

WaPo: Trump meets with Lebanese leader, pledges support for peace efforts with Israel

CNN: Trump downplays Chinese election interference five days after describing breach of historic proportions

WaPo: Nearly 400 noncitizens voted in elections in New Jersey, governor says

WaPo: Democrat set to replace Platner in Maine led state Senate with a temper

NYT: Cyclosporiasis Cases in the United States Hit Record High

WaPo: U.S. measles cases hit 35-year record with months left in 2026

Politico: Judge says Trump must hand over financial records to BBC

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Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Tuesday, July 21st, 2026 - Kash Is Going to Russia, DOJ Targets Journalists’ Family, FBI Won’t Probe ICE Jul 21, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Kash Patel scheduled a trip to Russia in October with no disclosed agenda or meeting list, which is a perfectly normal thing for the FBI director to do while leading an agency that investigates Russian interference. In tariff news, Trump dropped new tariffs on Canada — specifically cars, alcohol, cheese, and hockey sticks — on products covered by the USMCA trade deal he negotiated himself in 2020 and called "the best deal ever," though they don't kick in for 30 days so this is probably a stunt. Meanwhile, the cyclospora lettuce saga got weirder when the FDA announced the positive test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a "false positive" — conveniently after Taylor Farms donated a million dollars to Trump's super PAC in 2025, six days after the FDA delayed food traceability rules that would have applied to companies like Taylor Farms, and one day after Taylor Farms executives met with senior FDA officials before issuing their voluntary recall and blaming Taco Bell, so the whole thing smells like something other than lettuce. On ICE, the FBI will no longer investigate confrontations between ICE agents and civilians — essentially eliminating the only oversight ICE was ever exposed to — with responsibility for investigating ICE now falling to ICE itself, and traffic stops resuming less than 24 hours after DHS said they'd stop them. On a related press freedom note, the DOJ subpoenaed phone records of multiple New York Times journalists, at least two of their spouses, and one of their mothers, dating back to January 1st — long before their reporting on Trump's Qatari jet. A judge temporarily blocked the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger for two weeks, siding with 12 state attorneys general on antitrust grounds, which means Bari Weiss running CNN is on hold until at least August 3rd. On the election beat, Lindsey Graham's sister Darline — sworn in less than two weeks after her brother died — announced on Sean Hannity that she's running for the full six-year term, citing "inner peace," which is one way to process grief. And finally, on a genuinely positive note, Senator Andy Kim introduced MediKIDS, legislation that would automatically enroll every child at birth in health insurance through age 26, covering 4.4 million uninsured kids.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

AP News: Trump imposes 50% tariffs on Canadian goods, citing disputes over autos, alcohol and cheese

Reuters: US FDA says false-positive lettuce test doesn't change Taylor Farms cyclospora probe

NYT: Federal Agents Were Told FBI Will No Longer Investigate ICE Confrontations

NYT: Trump Administration Sought Phone Records of Times Journalists and Their Relatives

NBC NEws: Judge pauses Paramount-Warner merger

Politico: Sen. Darline Graham will run for full term to replace brother Lindsey

Politico: FBI Director Kash Patel plans Russia trip

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Monday, July 20th, 2026 - Tate Brothers Arrested, Trump Selling Insider Trading Service, Four US Troops Killed in Iran Strike Jul 20, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Andrew and Tristan Tate were arrested in Miami by US Marshals at the UK's request, facing 59 total charges including rape, sex trafficking, assault, and charges related to indecent images of a child — their attorney says they're innocent, they'll fight extradition. On the corruption beat, Trump is now selling hedge funds early access to his Truth Social posts for $100,000 a month through a service called Truth API, which is institutionalized insider trading dressed up as a subscription service — and he owns 41% of the company selling it, so that's clean. Meanwhile, Trump's primetime election fraud document dump turned out to contain zero evidence of Chinese meddling or a deep state coverup, but did confirm that Russia was pushing the exact same Biden corruption narratives Trump was pushing in 2020 — which is not the smoking gun he was looking for. In other news, The State Department hosted a global left-wing terrorism summit led by Marco Rubio and Stephen Miller, with 60+ countries invited on short notice to discuss a threat that far-right extremists — responsible for over 75% of domestic terrorism deaths since 2001 — were not mentioned at, not even once. In war news, four US service members were killed after Iran struck Al-Azraq Air Base in Jordan with ballistic missiles and drones, bringing the total American death toll to 17 since the war started, and Trump's response was to order the military to "open the gates of hell" on Iran. After the mystery explosive diarrhea culprit was discovered, Taylor Farms recalled all of its central Mexico iceberg lettuce across 27 states, with Walmart, Sysco, and Taco Bell pulling products, and the same lettuce supplies Chipotle, McDonald's, Costco, and Trader Joe's, so America's salad situation is complicated. And finally, Spain won the World Cup defeating Argentina 1-0 in overtime, Trump attended, got booed multiple times, and photobombed Spain's trophy photos by overstaying his welcome on stage. .

Resources/Articles mentioned:

AP News: Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate arrested in Miami, US Marshals Service tells AP

CNN: Iceberg lettuce recalled in 27 states due to potential cyclospora contamination

Time: Trump Media to Sell Traders ‘the Fastest’ Access to Truth Social Posts

PBS: Trump says these documents prove his false claims of election fraud. Here's what they really say

NBC News: At global gathering, Rubio and Miller urge world to defend against ‘radical leftism’

AP News: US announces another troop death as Israel warns Tehran's attacks are coming close

AP News: Highlights: Spain beats Argentina 1-0 to win its second World Cup title

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Friday, July 17th, 2026 - Trump's Big Boy Speech, Blanche Forced To Meet Epstein Survivors, Diarrhea Mystery Solved Jul 17, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Trump's Big Boy speech was overhyped, overproduced, and deeply disappointing — with NBC and ABC refusing to air it. In true Donald fashion, he threatened to shut down both networks and the content itself were his greatest hits of repeatedly disproven 2020 election claims delivered at an off-pace that makes more sense now that we know his teleprompter operator was placed on leave for making $100,000 on Kalshi bets predicting the content of Trump's speeches — a guy who has operated Trump's teleprompter since 2016, personally takes his last-minute edits, and was questioned about how the January 6th speech came together. The actual upshot of the speech is that the administration plans to release thousands of declassified 2020 election documents and send letters to states they suspect of malfeasance, giving themselves cover to deploy election monitors and potentially troops in November. Meanwhile, Todd Blanche reluctantly met with Epstein survivors after Republican Senator Thom Tillis threatened to withhold his confirmation vote unless he did — survivor Liz Stein called it a box-checking exercise that had "absolutely nothing to do with them," Tillis immediately tweeted his commendation, and Blanche's confirmation is now essentially assured, which is the least surprising outcome imaginable. In a surprising shift, a hundred House Democrats — a third of the caucus — voted to cut off military aid to Israel, up significantly from 37 last time, right after California congressman Ro Khanna was detained for over an hour by armed Israeli settlers and soldiers in the West Bank and released only after contacting the US embassy, with Ambassador Mike Huckabee calling it a stunt. In other news, the cyclosporiasis parasite outbreak has been traced to shredded iceberg lettuce at Taco Bell supplied by Taylor Farms across five states, with over 5,000 cases and 4,000 in Michigan alone. The Treasury's top tax policy official was pushed out after raising concerns that a White House request could violate IRS law carrying a five-year prison sentence — following the law cost him his job, which is exactly why the law exists. And eleven Republican lawmakers sent a formal letter to the WNBA demanding accountability for "racially motivated" attacks against Caitlin Clark, because weaponizing women's sports never goes out of style.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

CNN: Live updates: Trump delivers speech, claims declassified documents show US election vulnerabilities

ABC News: White House teleprompter operator made more than $100K betting on Trump's speeches: Sources

WSJ: Authorities Link Parasitic Outbreak to Taylor Farms Lettuce Supplied to Taco Bell

CNN: Todd Blanche holds tense meeting with Epstein survivors after key GOP senator’s ultimatum

ESPN: In letter, lawmakers seek 'accountability' from WNBA on Clark

Axios: Measure to cut Israel aid fails in bipartisan House vote

The Hill: Khanna accuses Israeli military of ‘lying’ about West Bank incident that led to detainment

WSJ: Top Treasury Tax Official Ousted After Clashes With White House Over IRS Audits

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Thursday, July 16th, 2026 - Hegseth's “High T”, Todd Blanche's Freudian Slip, JD Vance Goes Epstein Truther on Rogan Jul 16, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Pete Hegseth announced that the military will now annually screen all service members over 30 for testosterone deficiency with voluntary testing for under-30s who are concerned, and testosterone replacement therapy available to anyone who wants it — which is gender-affirming care, offered by the guy who banned gender-affirming care. In Congress hearings, Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation hearing featured him calling himself "the president's lawyer — was the president's lawyer" in real time, being grilled about the Epstein files coverup, Ghislaine Maxwell's prison spa with an emotional support puppy, and the fake IRS settlement, while Texas Senator John Cornyn said he hasn't decided how to vote. Meanwhile, Jay Clayton, Trump's pick for Director of National Intelligence overseeing all 18 spy agencies, spent his hearing refusing to say who won the 2020 election, offering only that Biden "was certified" — which is the kind of answer that tells you everything you need to know. On the Epstein files, Epstein's email friend Kathy Ruemmler testified that her emails with him were "taken out of context," which is the phrase everyone involved with Epstein eventually lands on, while JD Vance went on Joe Rogan and called himself "one of the OG Epstein conspiracy theorists," said Epstein had access to the highest levels of American and Israeli intelligence, and admitted the administration "absolutely screwed up" the files release — which is a remarkable set of statements from a sitting Vice President. Vance's Secret Service detail is also reportedly fed up with his family using military helicopters for his eight-year-old's golf lessons and house-hunting trips at $16-24,000 an hour. Finally, the widow of Corey Comperatore — killed at Trump's Butler rally — said in an interview she believes the assassination attempt was an "inside job" based on a government report showing the Secret Service missed over 100 local radio warnings about the shooter, and is hoping Trump will reach out to answer her questions, and the Trump administration is considering requiring some green card applicants to post $100,000 bonds at US consulates abroad as a condition of their applications, with the money returned only after they become citizens — a five-year minimum process — and no word on who keeps the interest.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

AP News: Hegseth announces new policy to test troops for low testosterone

NBC News: We can keep doing this': Ossoff questions Jay Clayton over who the 2020 presidential election

WaPo: Blanche insists he’s not Trump’s ‘yes-man’ as attorney general vote looms

WSJ: Kathryn Ruemmler Grilled in Congress Over Her Emails Joking With Jeffrey Epstein

Axios: Vance: "We did" mishandle Epstein files release

MS Now: Vance’s security detail ‘fed up’ with hastily arranged personal and family travel requests

News Nation Now: Widow of Trump rally shooting victim talks report on Secret Service failures

WSJ: U.S. Weighs Bond of $100,000 for Some Green-Card Applicants Abroad

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Wednesday, July 15th, 2026 - Elon Musk's WI Bribery, ICE's Deadly Week Forces Pause, Blanche Blocks Epstein’s Zorro Ranch Probe Jul 15, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: ICE has halted most traffic stop arrests nationwide after killing two people in one week who weren't even their targets — and before that pause could even be properly announced, a third ICE-related death occurred in Florida when a man fleeing an early morning gas station stop was hit by a tractor-trailer, bringing the week's total to three. Elon Musk has been referred for potential criminal prosecution in Wisconsin after a bipartisan election board found probable cause he violated the state's bribery law by handing $1 million checks to voters during last year's Supreme Court race — his guy lost by ten points anyway, so the bribery was both illegal and ineffective. The Supreme Court is requesting $15 million in additional security funding after threats against justices jumped 25% last year and are expected to jump another 40% this year. On the Epstein Files beat, Todd Blanche's Senate confirmation hearing to become the real attorney general is today, right as New Mexico's attorney general accused him of obstructing the state's investigation into Epstein's Zorro Ranch — where documents allege Epstein had two women buried — so the timing is immaculate. On Iran, Trump dropped the Strait of Hormuz toll idea and went back to threatening Iranian civilian infrastructure, while also telling Netanyahu to pull Israeli troops out of Syria and Lebanon. Meanwhile, the Trump administration removed protections on nearly three million acres of Utah national monuments to allow drilling and mining, despite Utah officials saying there's little energy potential at Bears Ears and companies previously found Grand Staircase-Escalante's coal deposit unprofitable during Trump's first term — so the destruction is both gratuitous and pointless. And finally, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a one-year ban on data center construction in the state while assessing their environmental impact, which is the most rational thing anyone in government has done all week.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

NYT: Trump Drops Plan to Charge Ships Fees in the Strait but Will Restore Blockade: Iran War Live Updates

Axios: Scoop: Trump tells Netanyahu to move forces out of Syria and Lebanon

CNN: Elon Musk likely broke the law by giving voters $1 million, Wisconsin board says

Axios: Kagan: Threats against SCOTUS expected to soar

MS Now: New Mexico’s AG says DOJ is stonewalling probe of Epstein ranch — again

WaPo: Blanche to face skeptics in GOP after judge’s scathing criticism

WaPo: ICE halts most traffic-stop arrests in wake of fatal shootings

AP News: Man fleeing immigration officers in Florida is struck and killed by tractor trailer, police say

Axios: Trump cuts nearly 3M acres from 2 Utah national monuments

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Tuesday, July 14th, 2026 - ICE Kills Yet Again…Again, Trump's Void IRS Settlement & Planned Election Gaslighting Speech Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Lindsey Graham's sister Darline Graham Nordone was appointed to his Senate seat within days of his death — never held office, framed as a neutral placeholder, and now South Carolina's first female senator, which would be more historic if it weren't handed to her by Trump as a favor. The FBI also showed up at Graham's DC home less than 48 hours after his death with at least 8 agents, claiming "abundance of caution" and "nothing indicated foul play." On the administration's ongoing efforts to undermine election integrity, Trump announced a primetime speech Thursday night, which MSNBC immediately reported will be used to declare the 2020 elections of Warnock and Ossoff illegitimate due to "voting machine vulnerabilities" — part of a broader whole-of-government effort to relitigate 2020 that includes a new White House task force run by Bill Pulte, whose dad is in the Epstein files, and thousands of pages of classified documents they claim show election irregularities. Two FBI agents in Atlanta were also fired for refusing to join the sham Georgia election probe. On Iran, US strikes on Iran entered their third consecutive night with the naval blockade back in full force, and Trump is now suggesting the US charge other countries tolls for Strait of Hormuz passage, which is a thing he said out loud. Meanwhile, ICE shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian man named Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine — authorized to work, had a social security number, on his way to work, not even the person ICE was targeting — in front of his three-year-old daughter in Bluey pajamas in the backseat. There is no bodycam footage but plenty of iPhone witnesses, and hundreds immediately came out to protest. In yet another blow to our narrowing freedoms, Four New York Times reporters were subpoenaed at their homes on a Friday night in a probe run by Kash Patel, apparently because Trump was angry about reporting that his Qatari jet lacks adequate security, which is the most efficient abuse of FBI resources we've seen yet. Finally, we leave you with a little bit of hope. A federal judge voided Trump's fake IRS settlement, called it "collusion" and an "exercise in self-dealing," and referred Trump's lawyers and senior DOJ officials to state bar authorities for ethical review. And twelve state attorneys general sued to block the Paramount-Warner Brothers merger that would put Bari Weiss in charge of CNN, with Paramount threatening to leave California in response.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

AP News: Darline Graham Nordone, sister of Lindsey Graham, chosen to fulfill remainder of his US Senate term

The Hill: FBI visits Graham’s DC home

Reuters: Trump to assert voting machine vulnerabilities in Thursday speech

Yahoo: Two FBI agents fired for refusing to join Georgia 2020 election probe

MS Now: Trump election task force to begin releasing classified intel documents

AP News: Trump says US is ‘reinstating’ blockade on Iran in Strait of Hormuz

AP News: ICE officer who fatally shot driver in Maine was 'fearing for public safety,' agency says

Maine Morning Star: Hundreds protest fatal ICE shooting in Biddeford

NYT: White House Directed Patel to Oversee Investigation Involving Times Reporting

Reuters: U.S. judge finds Trump misused court in IRS case, refers lawyers for discipline

Deadline: Paramount-WBD Merger Is Anti-Competitive, State AGs Allege In Proposed Action

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Monday, July 13th, 2026 - Lindsey Graham Dead at 71, Iran War Escalates, Housing Bill Became Law Jul 13, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Senator Lindsey Graham died Saturday night at 71 from a ruptured aorta, just hours after returning from Ukraine where he'd met with Zelensky and signed a new sanctions deal against Russia — the internet immediately blamed the Russians, his office says it was heart disease. South Carolina's governor will appoint a replacement to finish his term, a special Republican primary is set for August 11th, and Nancy Mace — who came in last in the governor's race one month ago — is already considering running against Democratic candidate Dr. Annie Andrews, which would be must-see television. On a related note, Mitch McConnell's office finally released an actual photo proving he's alive, which matters more than usual this week since Graham's death made the Republican Senate majority even thinner. On the war beat, Trump bombed 140 targets across Iran on Saturday night, Iran responded by firing missiles and drones at US bases across Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Bahrain, and the UAE, the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, and Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a statement promising revenge "whether he himself is dead or alive," which is ominous enough without needing to name Trump specifically. In election shenanigans, Trump fired all three members of the Election Assistance Commission by email ahead of the midterms and the DOJ is deploying election monitors to swing jurisdictions in six states. Meanwhile, Apple sued OpenAI for allegedly asking job candidates to bring Apple prototypes to interviews and having a former Apple employee download technical documents on a company laptop before jumping ship, which tracks with everything anyone knows about Sam Altman. A parasite called cyclosporiasis tied to contaminated produce has infected nearly 3,000 people across 31 states with prolonged diarrhea as the main symptom, the CDC is investigating. And finally, the bipartisan housing bill Trump refused to sign automatically became law after he failed to veto it within 10 days, because he either doesn't know or doesn't care how bills work.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

Politico: Lindsey Graham dies at 71 after ‘brief and sudden illness,’ his office says

WaPo: Lindsey Graham dies of aortic dissection, preliminary medical report says

NYT: Lindsey Graham Was Facing Re-election in November. What Happens Now?

X: Jake Sherman | Mitch McConnell Statement

NBC News: Trump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission ahead of midterms

Newsweek: Map shows states where Trump admin is deploying election monitors

WaPo: US strikes Iran again as it tries to limit attacks on ships on the Strait of Hormuz

NBC News: Dozens hospitalized with cyclosporiasis as cases of gastrointestinal illness spike in 31 states

CNBC: Apple sues OpenAI alleging trade secret theft, says scheme was 'at every level'

The Hill: Bipartisan housing bill becomes law after Trump’s signature snub

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Friday, July 10th, 2026 - ICE Kills Yet Again, Ken Paxton Voted Illegally, Walmart Is Finally Cutting Prices Jul 10, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Mitch McConnell is still missing with zero health updates, Elaine Chao's spokesperson says she left for China two days before he was hospitalized and has since returned. Mitch’s absence is now actively complicating Senate business since he sits on the Appropriations Committee that needs to pass a government funding bill by September 30th — so the republicans need him conscious and present, which remains unconfirmed. In other news, The Secret Service apparently made Trump swap planes leaving Turkey out of "an abundance of caution" over Iran escalation concerns about how quickly the Qatari hand-me-down was retrofitted, despite Trump insisting the plane is fine. Meanwhile the White House columns are now covered in a tarp printed to look like the White House, which is a real thing that exists. On the Immigration beat, ICE shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national with no criminal record who had lived in the US for decades and was on his way to work, with federal officials claiming self-defense and no footage to back it up — and Mexico is now reportedly planning to file criminal complaints in the US over multiple ICE custody deaths, because apparently diplomatic complaints weren't getting through. In Texas, Ken Paxton, AG and Republican Senate candidate who literally just created a voter fraud tip line, appears to have voted at an address he hadn't lived at for over a year across six elections including the primary that made him the Republican nominee — information that only surfaced because of his divorce filings — and spent July 4th weekend in England with his alleged mistress, patriotic. On the cost of living beat, Walmart is cutting grocery prices by 12%, DeBeers is making its deepest diamond price cuts ever now that lab-grown diamonds have broken their monopoly, and the government is quietly changing how it calculates inflation in a way that will make the numbers look slightly better going forward, with timing that is, shall we say, convenient.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

WLKY: Sen. Mitch McConnell's wife releases statement amid his hospitalization

WaPo: How Mitch McConnell’s absence complicates the Senate’s business and war funding

ABC News: Secret Service urged Trump to depart Turkey on old Air Force One as a security precaution, sources say

The Daily Beast: White House Gets Tacky Tarp Over Trump’s New Project

AP News: Family demands an independent probe after ICE officer fatally shoots a man in Houston

Axios: Mexico threatens legal action over citizens' deaths in ICE custody

The Texas Tribune: Ken Paxton’s voter registration may violate Texas election law

SA Current: Republican Ken Paxton spotted with alleged mistress in England over Independence Day weekend

WSJ: Walmart Lowers Prices on Thousands of Items, Including Beef and Coca-Cola

Bloomberg: De Beers Makes Diamond Price Cuts for Shrinking Buyers Club

Axios: Measurement tweaks will make inflation data look better

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson

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Thursday, July 9th, 2026 - Platner Is Out, Trump’s NATO Chaos, Mitch Watch Still On, Prince Harry Loses Daily Mail Suit Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

Today's Headlines: Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear had to write his own senator a letter asking if he's alive, after Trump blew up the cover story that multiple Republican senators had "just spoken to McConnell" by telling reporters on Air Force One that he has "no idea" what condition Mitch is in. The clock is ticking to August 4th, when Kentucky's Democratic governor loses the ability to appoint a replacement, and the suspicion is that McConnell's office is very deliberately running it down. Graham Platner dropped out of the Maine Senate race Wednesday night with an 11-minute video blaming corporate media, the Democratic Party, and "large forces" — notably not himself — and Maine Democrats are now holding a 600-person convention to find a replacement for a must-win seat. At NATO, Trump declared the Iran ceasefire over, threatened to cut off all trade with Spain, begged for Greenland, called Zelensky "President Putin," reminded everyone he's number one on TikTok, and then wrapped up by affirming the US's "ironclad commitment" to Article 5 — so the summit ended better than it started, barely. He also had to fly home on the old Air Force One instead of his Qatari hand-me-down, and when asked if it was due to an assassination threat, didn't deny it but said he's "number one on Iran's kill list," just like TikTok. In a rare moment of actual consequences, Trump was ordered to pay E. Jean Carroll her $5.8 million damages award after his appeals ran out, leaving him with a remaining balance of a mere $83 million. And Prince Harry lost his privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mail along with Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and others, with the group potentially owing $50 million pounds in attorneys fees.

Resources/Articles mentioned:

Yahoo: Trump Blows Up Claims That Mitch McConnell Is Healthy

NYT: Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear Demands Health Update on Mitch McConnell

X: Graham PLatner Suspends Campaign

Press Herald: Maine Democrats planning 600-person convention to replace Graham Platner

The Guardian: Sabre-rattling to ‘tremendous love’: erratic Trump dominates final hours of Nato summit

NBC News: Judge orders release of the $5.8 million payment Trump owed E. Jean Carroll

The Guardian: Prince Harry and other claimants could face £50m legal bill after losing phone-hacking case | Associated Newspapers

Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com

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