The Washington Post reports: President Trump warned Thursday that North Korea could face “some pretty severe” consequences after its defiant test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, but Washington also confronted firm opposition from Russia and China over any possible response. Trump did not specify potential U.S.-directed punishment for North Korea, which on Tuesday launched a missile that experts say had …

At a joint press conference this morning with the Polish president, Trump fielded a question from the Daily Mail, who asked about CNN’s handling of the Reddit user who created his wrestling video. Via Mediaite: Putting North Korea on the back burner Trump pounced on CNN with obvious relish. “I think what CNN did was unfortunate for them. As you …

Its cringeworthy title aside, Britain’s Channel 4 this week broadcast a fascinating look at gay life in the 70s and 80s in which host Rupert Everett tours demised gay bars and cruising sites, pondering whether things were more fun when gays were outsiders to mainstream British society. The Telegraph reviews: Everett idiosyncratically explored the changes in gay life in the …

NBC News reports: Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, the third-ranking Republican in the House, has been readmitted to intensive care as he recovers from last month’s congressional baseball shooting, a Washington, D.C., hospital said Wednesday night. Scalise, 51, the House majority whip, was listed in serious condition, MedStar Washington Hospital Center said. It said that doctors were concerned about infection …

The Chicago Tribune reports: The president of the country’s largest labor union, Lily Eskelsen García of the National Education Association, told delegates at her organization’s annual gathering that they would not work with the Trump administration because the president and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos could not be trusted to do what is in the best interests of children. Eskelsen García …

NBC News reports:  The arts-and-crafts chain Hobby Lobby will pay $3 million to settle a federal case over smuggled Iraqi antiquities it bought to demonstrate its “passion for the Bible.” The Oklahoma-based retailer also agreed to forfeit thousands of clay artifacts it bought in 2010 — an acquisition that prosecutors said was “fraught with red flags” the company didn’t heed. …

Fox News reports: The vice chair of President Trump’s voter fraud commission took aim Wednesday at media reports of a mass boycott of the ongoing probe, dismissing it as “more ‘fake news.'” Kris Kobach, who also serves as secretary of state in Kansas, said “despite media distortions and obstruction by a handful of state politicians,” the committee will “continue its …

The Hill reports: The campaign arm for House Democrats on Wednesday tried out a new slogan: “I mean, have you seen the other guys?” The sticker slogan, one of several floated as part of a fundraising effort by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), caused a stir on social media, where many wondered why the party would try out such …

The Independent reports: Parliament this evening approved the second reading of the bill introducing gay marriage, with one Nationalist MP, Edwin Vassallo, voting against. The committee stage, as announced this evening by Prime Minister Joseph Muscat, will take place on Thursday and Friday with a final vote on the third reading to be taken on Wednesday 12 July. The Bill, …

For a Fourth Of July documentary that aired last night on HBO, filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi (daughter of Nancy) invited Trump and former presidents to select a portion of the US Constitution to read for the camera. And so of course, Trump chose the section about the Electoral College. Here’s the bit he recited: The executive Power shall be vested in …

“If you’re feeling a bit pessimistic today, just imagine what this 4th of July would be like if Hillary Clinton had ‘won’ the election – if all her election fraud and 5.7 million illegal alien votes had been enough to nullify the tidal waive of discontent that Trump rode to the White House. Thankfully, it was not, or you’d likely …

Gay Star News reports: Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has joked he almost wore this ‘Masc’ He-Man t-shirt to his first Pride march last year. Khan is looking forward to Pride in London on Saturday – the second since he became mayor. He told guests at City Hall: “One of the great things when you become mayor, is you get …

The Hill reports: A majority of Americans say they have more confidence in German Chancellor Angela Merkel as a leader than they do in President Trump, according to a Pew Research survey published Wednesday. Fifty-six percent of Americans polled said they have more confidence in Merkel, while 46 percent said they have more confidence in Trump. Results are divided along …

Via Mediaite: Ted Cruz suggested on Twitter Wednesday that the ongoing debacle surrounding CNN’s apparent threat to reveal the identity of the anonymous Redditor who created the video depicting President Donald Trump beating a man with a CNN logo superimposed on his head. CNN reporter Andrew Kaczynski put out an article on Tuesday in which he notes that Reddit user …

Those aren’t just the names of cocktails: Four teens were arrested after they allegedly started having sex at a Cape Cod beach on the Fourth of July. Dennis police said an officer was on patrol on an ATV at Mayflower Beach just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday when the officer learned there were four people who were “acting inappropriately in the …

The Associated Press reports: Trump’s first trip to Europe as president in May saw a series of awkward encounters, including a tough speech to the leaders of NATO countries urging them to spend more on their armed forces, an uncomfortable handshake with France’s new president, and a caught-on-camera moment when Trump pushed past the prime minister of Montenegro, Europe’s newest …

The BBC reports: Carmaker Volvo has said all new models will have an electric motor from 2019. The Chinese-owned firm, best known for its emphasis on driver safety, has become the first traditional carmaker to signal the end of the internal combustion engine. It plans to launch five fully electric models between 2019 and 2021 and a range of hybrid …

The Guardian reports: The spread of Russian-made fake news stories aimed at discrediting Hillary Clinton on social media is emerging as an important line of inquiry in multiple investigations into possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Moscow. Investigators are looking into whether Trump supporters and far-right websites coordinated with Moscow over the release of fake news, including stories implicating …

From an “exclusive” on Breitbart: Shiva Ayyadurai, the man who is credited with inventing email among several other life-improving creations such as EchoMail, Systems Health, and CytoSolve, has announced that he is challenging Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) for her seat in the 2018 elections. “I consider myself an embodiment of the American dream: an all-American Indian,” Ayyadurai told Breitbart News …

CNN reports: New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker seems to tread carefully around speculation of a potential 2020 White House bid. “I don’t know what the future’s going to bring,” Booker told David Axelrod on “The Axe Files,” a podcast from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN. “I’m not making predictions, but I want to unleash the fullness …