“The French government’s decision to recognize a Palestinian state is curious and disturbing on multiple levels. I am certain this will embolden Hamas and make a ceasefire more difficult. In addition, here are some questions that come to mind. Who’s in charge? What are the borders and boundaries? What is the governance structure? Does Hamas stay involved politically or militarily? …

The Associated Press reports: Lori Vallow Daybell was sentenced to life in prison Friday on two murder conspiracy convictions in Arizona, marking an end to a winding legal saga for the mother with doomsday religious beliefs who claimed people in her life had been possessed by evil spirits. Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell conspired to kill her husband so she could …

The Barbed Wire reports: State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who authored Texas’ “trigger ban” on abortion, said in a statement on Friday that he has never paid for an abortion. The statement, posted on X, came after Alex Grace — who describes herself as a mother of four, political news curator, and exotic dancer — alleged that the Southlake-based Republican has …

The Texas Tribune reports: Legislation identical to two failed regular session bills seeking to restrict what bathrooms transgender people can use in government and school buildings have been filed in the Texas House and Senate after Gov. Greg Abbott outlined the restrictions as a special session priority. State Sen. Mayes Middleton filed Senate Bill 7 on Thursday, days after Lt. …

The Washington Post reports: The Trump administration plans to release more than $5 billion in funding to public schools that it has withheld for nearly a month, a senior administration official said Friday, ending weeks of anxiety and uncertainty for school leaders who had said the freeze jeopardized programs and staffing for the upcoming academic year. The government placed nearly …

The Hill reports: Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and 13 other Senate Republicans are urging the Trump administration to release National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding that has been held up for months. The GOP senators warned in a letter to White House budget chief Russell Vought that the “slow disbursement of funds” that Congress appropriated in March “risks undermining critical …

The Associated Press reports: Rep. Ralph Norman, among the most conservative Republicans in the U.S. House, is entering South Carolina’s 2026 governor’s race. The wealthy real estate developer and longtime ally of former Gov. Nikki Haley is expected to file his candidacy paperwork with state officials on Friday, his campaign told The Associated Press. Norman, 72, joins several other announced …

“For most of this country’s history, this wouldn’t be a controversial point, but suddenly we’re expected to believe that only a bigot, only a far-right white supremacist would dare to say that being an American actually means something. Only the most racist person imaginable would believe that Americans have a shared culture, a shared language, a shared loyalty. That’s the …

ABC News reports: Israel will coordinate airdrops of aid into Gaza from foreign countries in the coming days, an Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News, as several European countries are scheduled to hold an emergency call Friday over the dire conditions in the enclave. Aid drops have taken place a number of times in the Gaza Strip since the …

The New Republic reports: Asked on two occasions Friday morning whether he would consider pardoning convicted Epstein accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, Trump first said he didn’t “want to talk about” it and, later, made a point to note he is “allowed” to do so. “Well, I don’t want to talk about that,” the president responded to the first query about a …

Baltimore’s Fox affiliate reports: A Gambrills man, who served as a pastor and worked as a teacher, has been arrested and charged with child sex abuse offenses. William Jones, 58, faces more than 20 charges, including felony sex abuse of a minor, third-degree sex offense, and multiple counts of second-degree assault. On May 1, Anne Arundel County Police Officers responded …

The Christian Post reports: Former My Faith Votes CEO Jason Yates, a prominent conservative Christian activist, has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography, months after his arrest. Yates pleaded guilty to two of the eight felony counts of possession of child pornography that he had been charged with last year, in return for the dismissal of the other six counts. …

The New York Times reports: The Justice Department on Thursday cleared the way for Alina Habba to remain in her role as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey. Ms. Habba’s tenure as interim U.S. attorney was set to expire on Friday. The decision will allow Ms. Habba to lead the New Jersey office for at least the next 210 …

Fox News reports: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced that Homeland Security has started flying migrants out of the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention facility. “I’m pleased to report that those flights out of Alligator Alcatraz by DHS have begun. The cadence is increasing. We’ve already had a number of flights, in the last few days, we’ve had hundreds of illegals [that] have …

REPORTER: “What are you hoping Todd Blanche gets out of his meetings with Ghislaine Maxwell?” TRUMP: “Well, I don’t know about the meeting. I know it’s taking place. And he’s a fantastic man. He’s a great attorney. And people should really focus on how well the country is doing, or they should focus on the fact that Barack Hussein Obama …

“Well, darlings… The curtain falls, the spotlight dims, and the rhinestones are packed. From the halls of Congress to the chaos of cable news what a ride it’s been! Was it messy? Always. Glamorous? Occasionally. Honest? I tried… most days. To my supporters: You made this wild political cabaret worth it. To my critics: Thanks for the free press. I …

Posted today by hate group leader Tony Perkins: “Promises made, promises kept” became a hallmark of the first Trump administration — and for many Americans, it set the expectation for his second term. But that expectation, combined with a historic level of distrust in government — now rivaling or even surpassing the lows of Watergate and Vietnam — has ignited …

CNN reports: President Donald Trump is not done re-litigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. And neither are his allies on Capitol Hill. GOP Rep. Barry Loudermilk announced this week he will be leading a select subcommittee to once again investigate the incident, re-scrutinizing the work of the previous, Democrat-led Jan. 6 committee that made the case …

NPR reports: The new president of the German parliament, Julia Klöckner — who is a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party — says the rainbow flag will no longer be raised on top of the legislature building during Pride month, which runs every year in Germany from June 28 until July 27. She has also prohibited parliamentary public servants …

Politico reports: Pam Bondi is in the eye of a storm that has enveloped all three branches of government, consuming the Washington agenda and siphoning oxygen from Trump’s policy priorities. The endgame remains a blur. “She has very little time to turn this around,” said one House Republican. “She is in for a rough September at the very least,” said …