"A growing coalition of law firms representing a New York Times Company shareholder is demanding the publisher turn over its 'books and records' for an investigation 'into whether the company's board has abdicated its basic oversight duties' following a string of controversial Times reports that sought to discredit Israel or support anti-Israel Democratic politicians such as Graham Platner, according to a demand letter obtained exclusively by the Washington Free Beacon.

"If the Times does not produce the materials by July 21, a lawsuit will be filed in the New York County Supreme Court, according to a letter sent Tuesday by a coalition of lawyers representing the National Center for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), a nonpartisan think-tank and beneficial Times shareholder. It is the second time that lawyers from the National Jewish Advocacy Center (NJAC) -- and now several other firms who recently joined the effort -- have demanded access to the news organization's internal data and communications, accusing it of rampant anti-Israel bias and advocacy on behalf of prominent anti-Israel Democratic politicians like Platner -- who withdrew in disgrace last week from Maine's Senate race -- as well as New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani.

"The stockholders, the letter says, aim 'to investigate whether the [Times] Board is engaging in any form of oversight to ensure that the New York Times remains a news reporting agency worth anything to its stockholders, rather than becoming viewed by the public as a simple propaganda arm that selects its articles and reporting in a way that ignores truth in favor of pushing false narratives.'"

Read the entire article here.

"A small town Kansas mayor born in Mexico. A Filipino senior citizen living in Hawaii. Two Pakistani men residing in New Jersey. An Aussie in Louisiana. And a Chinese student studying at the University of Michigan. They all have one thing in common.

"Each has been charged in the last year with illegally voting in U.S. federal elections as foreigners, part of a sudden wave of prosecutions led by the Trump Justice Department for a crime that used to be among the rarest in the federal court system.

"The Trump Justice Department has secured about two dozen non-citizens voting arrests, prosecutions or convictions in the last few months alone, with about another 90 more cases under investigation, officials told Just the News. And all 50 states were sent notices this month that election officials can and will be prosecuted too if they allow non-citizens to vote."

Read the entire article here.

"Democrats have many problems, not the least of which is an inability to understand, and for some the refusal to accept, basic economics. If they did, there wouldn't be proposals to raise the federal minimum wage to a preposterous $25 an hour.

"House Resolution 8555 would 'place the federal minimum wage on a durable path toward a living wage,' requiring 'large, highly profitable corporations to lead the transition.' Under its yoke, large employers would have to raise their lowest wage from the current $7.25 an hour to $15 an hour on Jan. 1, 2027, a more-than-double spike that would shock the market.

"Large companies, defined as those with annual gross revenues in excess of $1 billion (there are more than 6,000 of them) or with 500 or more employees nationwide, will have to ramp up their minimum wage every Jan. 1 thereafter until the minimum hits $25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2031. Smaller companies will have to boost their hourly minimum to $14 next New Year's Day and will have to meet the $25-an-hour standard by 2038."

Read the entire article here.

"Most Americans are well aware that living in debt -- consuming beyond what one can afford -- without a sustainable budget plan is haphazard; those who do so are often deemed to lack foresight. Collectively, Americans carry roughly $18.8 trillion in household debt. America's national debt, meanwhile, is more than double that amount.

"The amount owed by the U.S. government exceeds $290,000 per household. There was a brief period between 1998 and 2001 that the federal budget was technically balanced. Now, running trillion-dollar deficits, the federal government abandoned the goal of returning to a balanced federal budget. In fact, to achieve a balanced budget a decade from now, programs would have to be cut by 36% -- an inconceivable endeavor. The two major entitlement programs that are already largely responsible for budget deficits -- Social Security and Medicare -- already account for 37% of all federal spending, costing the equivalent of more than $12,300 and $7,800 per household, respectively. However, a more difficult dilemma is looming over Washington.

"The 2026 Social Security and Medicare Trustees Reports, released in June, reiterated what fiscal policy experts outside government have long warned about: The retirement trust fund for Social Security is running out of funds. While Social Security's insolvency date is late 2032, Medicare's Hospital Insurance trust fund will follow in 2033. After those dates, incoming revenue would cover only 78% and 89% of scheduled benefits, respectively."

Read the entire article here.

"The Justice Department's top election enforcement official has sent a pointed warning to all 50 states that election administrators can be criminally prosecuted if they knowingly allow noncitizens to vote in the upcoming 2026 election.

"Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Harmeet Dhillon sent the letters Tuesday after the U.S. government conducted reviews that found tens of thousands of noncitizens have made it onto state voter rolls, and DOJ prosecuted a handful of foreigners who voted in federal elections illegally, including an Australian citizen earlier this week."

Read the entire article here.

"President Trump said Wednesday that he believes his memorandum of understanding with Iran is dead after he ordered overnight airstrikes on 80 targets in response to Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

"'I don't like them at all. And frankly, I think we wasted a lot of time with them, I think we should just do our business,' Trump said in his first public remarks after ordering the airstrikes.

"When asked by a reporter if the preliminary peace deal, which Trump signed at the Palace of Versailles in France June 17, was dead, the president replied: 'To me, I think it's over. I don't want to deal with them anymore. They're scum.'"

Read the entire article here.

"A woman who previously dated Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner said he drunkenly forced her to have sex after she told him to stop, according to a Politico report, leading prominent supporters to pull their endorsements and throwing a must-win race for the party into turmoil.

"Platner denied the allegation on Monday, but said he would be considering next steps for his campaign. ...

"'Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins,' Kirsten Gillibrand, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said in a joint statement.

"The Democratic National Committee sent out an email soliciting money for Senate races hours after the Politico report posted, but Maine was not one of them. Ken Martin, the party chair, said, 'Maine Democrats should select a new nominee.'"

Read the entire article here.

"On Tuesday night, Democrats in Colorado's First Congressional District nominated Melat Kiros -- a socialist who cheered the departure of employers like Palantir and Lockheed Martin from her state and suggested the 9/11 terrorist attacks were the 'inevitable' consequence of American foreign policy -- over 15-term incumbent Diana DeGette, a mainstream progressive. Kiros's victory came just one week after similarly radical socialist firebrands Darializa Avila Chevalier, Claire Valdez, and Brad Lander defeated more traditional Democrats in New York's congressional primaries.

"Together, these results should end the comforting fiction that democratic socialism is merely a slogan, a protest movement, or the product of a few charismatic candidates. The Democratic Socialists of America have built out a disciplined political infrastructure that appears poised to continue its gradual capture of the Democratic Party."

Read the entire article here.

Remember and Reflect: USA 250

"American climatologist Dr. Judith Curry on Tuesday announced that she would no longer maintain her influential blog, 'Climate Etc.'

'It's time to declare victory against climate stupidity and move on,' said in her final post. The reelection of President Donald Trump came with an overall shift in the political landscape regarding climate and energy issues. Since then, major media outlets shut down their climate desks, corporations are easing back on emission-reduction targets, and polls consistently show the public rates climate change low on their list of priorities.

Some figures like Curry who disputed the 'climate crisis' narrative -- often in the face of vitriol from those who support it -- are now saying their efforts paid off and an era of climate hysteria is coming to an end."

Read the entire article here.