Mediaite reports: “This’ll be a beauty here,” said moderator Ted Simons — as he prepared to ask the question he knew would set off a round of crazy among the four Republican candidates for Arizona governor. Simons asked Kari Lake — the Donald Trump-backed candidate who is currently the frontrunner in the race — about the 2020 election. “You’ve called …

Politico reports: Rep. Liz Cheney, speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Wednesday, said it’s time for Republicans to make a choice: Donald Trump or the Constitution. The vice chair of the Jan. 6 committee leaned into her message just a day after White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson’s stunning testimony unveiled new details about the highest echelons of the …

CBS News reports: A New York judge ruled Wednesday that Donald Trump is no longer in contempt for failing to turn over documents demanded in a subpoena by the state’s attorney general. The former president’s April 25 contempt finding came after he contested a December subpoena. Trump claimed he had no material that was responsive to the subpoena, leading to …

The Daily Beast reports: The documentary filmmaker who filmed with Donald Trump and his family in the months before and after the attack on the Capitol says he now needs armed protection. Alex Holder, who testified to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection last week, spoke candidly about the risks his disclosures have put him in during …

Reuters reports: North Korean hackers are most likely behind an attack last week that stole as much as $100 million in cryptocurrency from a U.S. company, three digital investigative firms have concluded. The cryptoassets were stolen on June 23 from Horizon Bridge, a service operated by the Harmony blockchain that allows assets to be transferred to other blockchains. Since then, …

The New York Daily News reports: Rudy Giuliani appeared to have admitted asking for a pardon from former President Donald Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 attack — but then quickly deleted the post on Twitter. Trump’s former personal lawyer wrote on Wednesday that former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson was not truthful when she testified before the …

Media Matters has the transcript: JESSE WATTERS (CO-HOST): I want to talk about what the squad said that there’s — there’s going to be a woman’s strike? DANA PERINO (CO-HOST): Yeah, are you worried about that? WATTERS: I’m a little worried about that. I’m watching Wheel of Fortune. Who’s going to turn over the letters? BRIAN KILMEADE (CO-HOST): Good point. …

The Washington Post reports: Thomas Figueroa always knew he didn’t want children. Growing up in Central Florida, he remembers his classmates getting pregnant as early as middle school, and had considered getting a vasectomy for the past few years. But after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, he rushed to schedule one. He registered Monday for a …

Radio New Zealand reports: New Zealand has designated US groups the Proud Boys and The Base as terrorist entities. Set down in the government’s official journal of record – the gazette – last Monday, 20 June, it was published publicly a week later but with no wider dissemination. The move – authorised by Police Commissioner Andrew Coster and signed off …

The Associated Press reports: Russian President Vladimir Putin shot back at Western leaders who mocked his athletic exploits, saying they would look “disgusting” if they tried to emulate his bare-torso appearances. Putin made the comment during a visit to Turkmenistan early Thursday when asked about Western leaders joking about him at the G7 summit. Speaking to reporters, Putin retorted that, …

Florida Politico reports: Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is pushing out a pediatrician from a board in charge of running the state’s Healthy Kids program because of her viewpoints on vaccines for children under five. Patronis’ office notified Dr. Lisa Gwynn [photo], who is also serving as the president of the Florida Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, …

Deadline reports: A little over a month after the more transmissible BA.2.12.1 Omicron subvariant became officially dominant in the U.S. on May 24, two sister subvariants of Omicron have quickly eclipsed BA.2.12.1 across the country. BA.5 and BA.4 are, like BA.2.12.1, more transmissible, but have the added advantage of reportedly being more able to reinfect those who’ve already had Covid. …

The Associated Press reports: The House of Representatives panel probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol said on Wednesday it had subpoenaed Pat Cipollone, who was White House counsel for then-President Donald Trump. “The Select Committee’s investigation has revealed evidence that Mr. Cipollone repeatedly raised legal and other concerns about President Trump’s activities on January 6th and …

First, an op-ed from Arizona’s largest newspaper: Just hours before the only televised debate among the Republican candidates for Arizona governor, a reporter for the state’s largest news operation has been cancelled as a moderator. It seems Kari Lake is afraid to take questions from The Arizona Republic’s Stacey Barchenger. She doesn’t work for OAN or RSBN or even FOX …

From the Justice Department: A Rhode Island man was arrested today on felony and misdemeanor charges for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election. Bernard Joseph …

Reuters reports: U.S. President Joe Biden pledged more American troops, warplanes and warships for Europe on Wednesday as NATO agreed the biggest strengthening of its deterrents since the Cold War in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Biden’s commitment at the Madrid summit “to defend every inch of allied territory” came as the U.S.-led military alliance also set in motion …

Axios reports: An escalating dispute between national Republicans and technology giant Google threatens to bring political heat on the company and could spur significant changes in political email practices. The Republican National Committee fired the latest shot on Wednesday, when chairwoman Ronna McDaniel claimed in a statement to Axios that Google has “systematically attacked” its digital program. The RNC claims …

NBC News reports: Across the U.S., more than 2,500 crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) provide free services and counseling for women struggling with unplanned pregnancies. They outnumber abortion clinics 3 to 1 nationwide, and as some states shutter clinics after Roe’s reversal, that ratio will grow. But when two NBC News producers visited state-funded CPCs in Texas to ask for counseling, …

The Hill reports: In the highly watched Georgia gubernatorial race, incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp (R) finds himself tied with Democrat Stacey Abrams, a new Quinnipiac University poll finds. With both candidates pulling in 48 percent of voters’ support, Abrams gained a point and Kemp lost one since the last Quinnipiac poll in January. In this year’s Senate race, incumbent Sen. …

CNBC reports: A leader of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission said he has asked Apple and Google to remove TikTok from their app stores over China-related data security concerns. The wildly popular short video app is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which faced U.S. scrutiny under President Donald Trump. Brendan Carr, one of the FCC’s commissioners, shared via Twitter a …