• Israel-Iran update: Israel continued its campaign to cripple Iran’s military and nuclear capability over the weekend. Israel reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence chief and his deputy were killed Sunday. Those deaths are added to the list of top Iranian military leaders killed by Israel since Thursday. Iran has responded with more than 270 missiles fired at Israel — the Iron Dome and other Israeli defenses intercepted all but 22 of those. Israel has asked for the U.S. to join its campaign against Iran, specifically to target its underground nuclear sites. One reason is that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claims both of the assassination attempts on President Donald Trump last year were Iranian-backed. While the U.S. is helping shoot down Iranian missiles targeting Israel, Trump’s position is that the U.S. will not become involved unless Iran targets American military bases. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Iran wants to resume nuclear talks “as long as the U.S. doesn’t join the attack.” Translation: Iran has nothing left to lose vis-à-vis nukes, so the mullahs are coming to the table now to prevent Israel from toppling their regime. (Some will say this was the plan all along.)

• Second judge blocks Trump’s voting integrity EO: Back in March, Donald Trump signed a sweeping federal elections overhaul executive order that included directing states to require documentation of proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. A group of Democrat state attorneys general quickly filed a lawsuit arguing that the EO “usurps the States’ constitutional power and seeks to amend election law by fiat.” In April, U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly in Washington partially blocked Trump’s order but allowed for a requirement that all mail-in ballots be received by Election Day. However, this past Friday, U.S. District Judge Denise Casper in Massachusetts also ruled against Trump’s order, including the mail-in deadline requirement. Casper contended, “The Constitution does not grant the President any specific powers over elections.”

• Teachers union boss leaving DNC: American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, head of the second-largest teachers union in the nation, announced that she would soon be leaving her post at the Democratic National Committee. Weingarten, who has held a position with the DNC since 2008, explained in her resignation letter that while she remains “proud to be a Democrat,” she has lost faith in the party’s leadership. Her resignation comes on the heels of the DNC booting Vice Chair David Hogg after he promised to spend money to primary Democrat lawmakers whom he deemed to be not progressive enough. Weingarten had supported Hogg and was critical of the decision to remove him. She did note that her leaving the DNC does not mean the AFT won’t be politically active in supporting “pro-public education” candidates.

• Tom Cotton calls for new security measures for Americans targeted by Iran: Amid the newly hot Israeli-Iranian conflict, Senator Tom Cotton is calling for increased security for Americans who are or might be targeted by the Islamic regime. Cotton pointed out that Trump has been the focus of Iranian assassination threats and emphasized that Americans who worked for Trump during his first and second terms should be protected from the threat of Iranian agents. Two former Trump national security advisors are currently without the highest level of government protection: Robert O'Brien and John Bolton. O'Brien was denied security by the Biden administration, while Trump removed certain protections from Bolton during this term. Iran has a history of meddling in American politics, attempting to kidnap a human rights activist in 2021, and it is believed to be responsible for a hacking operation against Donald Trump’s 2024 election campaign.

• Musk activates Starlink access in Iran: Following Israel’s strike against Iran, the Iranian regime shut down Internet access across the country. The regime in Tehran is not popular, and the move to block Internet access was likely an effort to quell any communication that might facilitate organizing a public uprising. On Friday, Elon Musk announced on X, “The beams are on,” indicating that Starlink, his satellite-based Internet access system, had been activated over Iran. This will give anyone in Iran with a Starlink terminal on their roof access to the Internet.

• Is Tim Walz an idiot or a Chinese stooge? Minnesota Governor Tim Walz hurt his White House ambitions again at a Friday event hosted by the Center for American Progress (CAP). Walz explained that Iran has to respond to the Israeli strikes and that the U.S. is not the neutral arbiter who will be able to bring about peace in this conflict. Donald Trump seems to disagree; he’s still pushing the Iranian leadership to come to the table. Walz explained that the only group with the “moral authority” to hold a peace summit “might be the Chinese.” To quote the ‘90s sitcom “Home Improvement,” “I don’t think so, Tim.” Walz’s relationship with China was controversial during the presidential election last year. He taught in the Guangdong Province in 1989 and has made over 30 trips to the nation.

• Trump’s ICE raids: Donald Trump has clarified his deportation policy. On Thursday, Trump explained that ICE would defocus deportations of illegals working on farms or in the hospitality industry. Then, on Sunday, he ordered ICE to prioritize deportations in “sanctuary cities,” mentioning Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York. Trump explained that illegals in those cities are being used to boost Democrat power by allowing the illegals to vote, grow dependence on the welfare state, and to “cheat in elections” — inflating population counts for redistricting. Conservative commentator Matt Walsh has criticized Trump’s uneven policies, while The Wall Street Journal has praised his choice to spare farms and hotels from ICE raids.

• Khalil judge’s about-face: Columbia University anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil, who immigration officials detained as the Trump administration works to deport him, had initially gotten some favorable news earlier last week when U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz ruled that the Trump administration could no longer detain him. However, just days later, on Friday, that changed when Farbiarz noted that allegations Khalil had left out important information on his green card application would need to be ruled on by the immigration judge overseeing his case; therefore, his continued detention was not considered “unlawful.” Khalil’s legal team has objected, claiming that he had been forthcoming on his application and that the Trump administration was engaged in speech suppression due to Khalil’s pro-Palestinian advocacy.

Headlines

• Afghan national pleads guilty to plotting Election Day terror attack in the U.S. (Justice.gov)

• Social Security claims skyrocket (Newsweek)

• Why so many cases against Trump are heard by Democrat-appointed judges (RCI)

• Is Britain about to legalize abortion until birth? (Daily Signal)

• Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw adds Bible reference to rainbow hat for Pride Night (Daily Wire)

• Humor: “Trump is a king!” say people freely protesting in a free country (Babylon Bee)

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