Politics

Politico reports: Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of Hungary effectively endorsed Donald Trump for president in an interview and, on the eve of this week’s NATO summit, blasted the United States for having a “war policy” in Ukraine rather than a strategy for achieving peace. Orbán contrasted U.S. policy unfavorably with what he described as a credible “peace plan” from China. …

Axios reports: Senate Democrats won’t meet Monday to discuss their support for President Biden continuing his re-election bid, despite an effort by Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) to organize such a meeting, Axios has learned. Warner’s meeting had been seen as a potential watershed moment for Senate Democrats, who have remained largely silent on Biden’s future amid calls for him to …

First, a report from Al Jazeera: France’s left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon says the left is “ready to govern” after emerging as the largest political bloc in parliament, but the country faces a political deadlock as no party won a clear majority. The New Popular Front (NFP) coalition led by Melenchon won a plurality in France’s National Assembly in the second …

Reuters reports: France’s left-wing New Popular Front coalition won the most seats in the second voting round of parliamentary elections, leading pollsters said on Sunday, putting them on track for an unexpected win over the far right National Rally (RN) party but short of an absolute majority in parliament. Cries of joy and tears of relief broke out at the …

The Hill reports: Rep. Adam Schiff said on Sunday, “Of course,” that he is concerned about former President Trump’s personal threats against him, especially in light of the Supreme Court’s Monday ruling that core presidential powers are immune from criminal prosecution. “Of course,” Schiff told NBC News’s Kristen Welker, when asked on “Meet the Press” about Trump’s accusations of fraud …

Reuters reports: Voter turnout in France’s parliamentary run-off election on Sunday rose sharply from the last time in 2022 in a ballot that could see the far-right National Rally (RN) emerge as the strongest force. Although the RN is expected to win the most seats in the National Assembly, the latest opinion polls indicated it may fall short of an …

Via press release from the White House: President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. spoke today with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom to congratulate him on his appointment as Prime Minister. The leaders reaffirmed the special relationship between our nations and the importance of working together in support of freedom and democracy around the world. The President conveyed that …

The Washington Post reports: Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) is attempting to assemble a group of Democratic senators to ask President Biden to exit the presidential race, according to two people with direct knowledge of the effort. Warner is telling Democratic senators that Biden can no longer remain in the election in the wake of his faltering debate performance, according …

Reuters reports: Britain’s new Prime Minister Keir Starmer will oversee a parliament more ethnically diverse and more female than ever after securing a landslide victory in the election on Thursday that ended 14 years of Conservative rule. Black, Asian and ethnic minority lawmakers will represent around 13% of the House of Commons, up from 10% in 2019, when Britain last …

The Arkansas Times reports: They did it. They did it on a shoestring budget, with no organizational support from national groups. Just Arkansas women with clipboards, hustling. With 100,000 signatures in hand and more still being counted, backers of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment say they’ve got the numbers they need to put reproductive rights on the November ballot. And so …

Politico Europe reports: Slovak Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová blamed the LGBTQ+ minority for Europe’s declining fertility rates in a July 3 interview with Slovak tabloid Topky.sk. “We heterosexuals are creating the future, because we make babies. Europe is dying out, babies are not being born because of the excessive number of LGBTQ+ [people]. And the strange thing is [that it’s …

The Washington Post reports: Top advisers to Donald Trump have begun to discuss draft language for the 2024 Republican platform that antiabortion leaders expect will abandon the party’s decades-long call to amend the U.S. Constitution to extend personhood protections to the unborn. The escalating behind-the-scenes disagreement over the abortion language has become so tense and acrimonious in recent weeks that …

Agence France-Presse reports: Britain’s head of state King Charles III officially appointed Labour leader Keir Starmer as prime minister on Friday during an audience at Buckingham Palace. A photograph released by the palace showed the monarch shaking hands with Starmer, whose party won a landslide election victory. The king earlier accepted the resignation of Conservative leader Rishi Sunak. “The King …

The Associated Press reports: Brazil’s Federal Police have indicted former President Jair Bolsonaro for money laundering and criminal association in connection with undeclared diamonds the far-right leader received from Saudi Arabia during his time in office, according to a source with knowledge of the accusations. This is Bolsonaro’s second indictment since leaving office, following another in May for allegedly falsifying …

Reuters reports: Britain’s Rishi Sunak said he would meet King Charles to formally resign as prime minister on Friday and would also stand down as leader of the defeated Conservative Party after Keir Starmer’s Labour Party won a landslide election victory. “I have given this job my all, but you have sent a clear signal that the government of the …

The BBC reports: Sir Keir Starmer is set to become the UK’s first Labour prime minister since 2010 after his party’s landslide general election victory. Labour is returning to power with a huge parliamentary majority of 174, following a collapse in support for the Conservatives. Sir Keir will be formally appointed by the King at Buckingham Palace later, replacing Tory …

The Associated Press reports: People throughout the United Kingdom will elect all 650 members of the House of Commons, one for each local constituency. There are no primaries or run-offs, just a single round of voting today, July 4. Britain uses a “first past the post” system of voting, which means that the candidate that finishes top in each constituency …

Boston’s NPR affiliate reports: Massachusetts Congressman Seth Moulton says President Biden should bow out of the upcoming election. Speaking with WBUR on Thursday, Moulton said he does not have confidence Biden could defeat former President Trump in November. “President Biden has done enormous service to our country, but now is the time for him to follow in one of our …

Axios reports: President Biden on Thursday spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and discussed developments in the negotiations for a hostage and ceasefire deal in Gaza. Biden has pushed for a deal for months. White House officials said they want to take advantage of Hamas’ positive response to the latest proposal in order to close the remaining gaps and …

The Hill reports: Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) is calling on President Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race, becoming the second sitting Democratic lawmaker to urge the incumbent to step aside after his lackluster performance in last week’s debate. Grijalva — who has served in Congress since 2003 — told The New York Times in an interview that he will …