News From Around the Web
#1 Clinton's Subpoenaed to Testify in Congressional Epstein Investigation - Ben Hatton and Kayla Epstein for BBC, Thitipa Khim, GSJ Media, Ed Krassenstein/Atlas Shouts, The Artist Known as Jeff/eaglefan68, Art, Politics, & Culture, il Donaldo Trumpo/Just Sayin', and UncoverDC on X
Former US President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, are among high-profile figures to be sent legal summonses from a congressional committee investigating the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Republican James Comer, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, issued the subpoenas to the Clintons and eight other individuals. The committee is seeking information about Epstein's history, after President Donald Trump's administration decided against releasing more federal files on the dead financier. That decision sparked outrage among Trump supporters and some Democrats, who refused to accept the Justice Department's statement that there was no "incriminating client list" in the Epstein files... Texas Democrats stand to be fined nearly $400,000 for fleeing the state in a gambit to stop Republican-led redistricting. And should they stay away during potential successive legislative sessions this year, they’d face more than $3.2 million in penalties. Those figures, which POLITICO calculated based on the fewest lawmakers needed to break quorum, the anticipated length of their out-of-state trips, and the $500-per-day fine they’re incurring, reveal how much pain Democrats are willing to sustain in order to thwart President Donald Trump’s push to remap Texas to create five more Republican seats... President Donald Trump’s trusted foreign envoy Steve Witkoff is meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday, after the Kremlin requested that Witkoff visit in a last-ditch effort to avoid the punishing new sanctions Trump has threatened to impose this week, people familiar with the matter said. Witkoff landed in Moscow on Wednesday morning and was greeted at the airport by Russia’s investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev, Reuters reported. Video later posted by the Kremlin showed him shaking hands with Putin ahead of their meeting... President Donald Trump on Tuesday reignited his threat for the federal government to “run” Washington, DC, after a former Department of Government Efficiency employee was assaulted in an attempted carjacking. “I have to say that somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt … A young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in DC, and either they’re gonna straighten their act out in the terms of government and in terms of protection or we’re gonna have to federalize and run it the way it’s supposed to be run,” Trump told reporters Tuesday. Edward Coristine, the 19-year-old former DOGE worker once known by the online moniker “Big Balls,” and another individual were assaulted in an attempted carjacking on Sunday, according to a DC Police Department incident report obtained by CNN affiliate WUSA... The Department of Health and Human Services will cancel contracts and pull funding for some vaccines that are being developed to fight respiratory viruses like COVID-19 and the flu. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced in a statement Tuesday that 22 projects, totaling $500 million, to develop vaccines using mRNA technology will be halted. Kennedy’s decision to terminate the projects is the latest in a string of decisions that have put the longtime vaccine critic’s doubts about shots into full effect at the nation’s health department. Kennedy has pulled back recommendations around the COVID-19 shots, fired the panel that makes vaccine recommendations, and refused to offer a vigorous endorsement of vaccinations as a measles outbreak worsened. Legendary radio host Howard Stern faces an uncertain future at SiriusXM as his five-year, $500 million contract winds down, according to a report. The 71-year-old shock jock would be open to a short-term contract if the price is right, but he’s also considering calling it quits with SiriusXM, sources familiar with the negotiations told the Daily Mail. “He may do a one- to two-year contract if they can meet him where he wants financially. He doesn’t want to pull the plug on his employees like this,” one source told the outlet. “He is off in the summer but this year has been saying ‘Maybe I should retire,'” another source told the outlet... Vice President JD Vance would be favored to secure the Republican nomination for president in 2028, President Donald Trump said Tuesday. Trump was at the South Court Auditorium, where he signed an executive order to create a 2028 Los Angeles Olympics task force, when senior Fox News White House correspondent Peter Doocy asked him if Vance was likely to become the face of the Make America Great Again movement after noting the president said he wouldn't be running for a third term. "You could clear the entire Republican field right now," Doocy told Trump. "Do you agree that the heir-apparent to MAGA is JD Vance?" A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked the Trump administration's efforts to reallocate more than $4 billion in federal funding geared toward natural disaster mitigation projects, arguing the transfer could lead to "irreparable harm" to flood-prone areas. The injunction by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns in Boston followed a July lawsuit brought by 20 states. They argued that FEMA's Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program had been unlawfully terminated in April 2025 under the Trump administration, with more than $4 billion in unspent funding that had been allocated by Congress redirected without its authority. Stearns wrote that the court was "not convinced" that Congress had intended for the money to be reallocated...
#2 Texas Democrats Could Be Fined Nearly $400,000 for Fleeing the State - Liz Crampton and Andrew Howard for Politico, The Bork Report, Rep. Jarad Patterson, Obama/Attorney General Ken Paxton/FH, Chicago1Ray/Scoob, and Texas Tribune/thauser1964 on X
#3 Witkoff Meets With Putin as Trump’s Sanctions Threat Looms - Kevin Liptak and Kylie Atwood for CNN, Freedom State Channel, Real Global News, Shu'a, and Caitlin Doornbos/MFA Russia on X
#4 Trump Reignites Threat to Take Over DC After Former DOGE Worker Assaulted in Attempted Carjacking - Rashard Rose for CNN, Thomas Barrows, Backround Artists Coalition, Elon Musk/Printtrent (community note), and Ricardo B�nffy on X
#5 RFK Jr. Pulls $500 Million in Funding for Vaccine Development - Amanda Seitz for AP, The HighWire, Secretary Kennedy, Alpha Mike Foxtrot, This is the Conversation Project, Shirley C, and Ann on X
#6 AAP Wants to End Religious Vaccine Exemptions for School - Tracy Beanz and Michelle Edwards for The HighWire, UncoverDC, Clai Loizou, Jessica Rojas/Dr. Wojak, M.D./Korma Queen, Y and Laura Powell/Mr. Nite on X
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has renewed its push to eliminate nonmedical exemptions—in other words, religious exemptions—for routine childhood vaccinations. In a revised policy statement issued on July 28, 2025, which was followed three days later by updated vaccination stats from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) emphasizing an increase in exemptions, the AAP stressed the importance of medical exemptions for children with legitimate health concerns but warned that nonmedical exemptions are creating disparities in immunization coverage. The group, which doesn’t publicly display contributions from its donors but which receives donations from Big Pharma, insists that those exemptions, which vary widely across states, are weakening the safety of school environments and increasing the risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.
#7 Howard Stern’s Future With SiriusXM Up in the Air as $500M Contract Nears Its End - Caitlin McCormack for New York Post, Eric Daugherty, Cillian, The General, Desiree, Autism Capital, and MAZE on X
#8 Trump Says JD Vance Would Be ‘Probably Favored’ for 2028 Republican Presidential Nomination - Louis Casiano for Fox News, Eric Daugherty, Cryptid Politics, New York Post, and Reuters on X
#9 Disney’s ESPN to Acquire NFL Media Assets in Major Deal - Dawn Chmielewski and Lisa Richwine for Reuters, WSJ Business News, Jake Kline, and Wall St Engine on X
Walt Disney and ESPN reached a landmark deal with the National Football League to acquire NFL Network and other media assets from the league in exchange for the NFL taking a 10% equity stake in the sports network, the parties said on Tuesday. ESPN said the deal would bolster the offerings on its upcoming ESPN streaming service, but it is subject to regulatory approval, and no value was provided.
#10 Judge Blocks Trump Admin. From Reallocating Billions in FEMA Disaster Relief Funds - Hannah Marr for CBS News, Tracy Solomon, ijustwannaknow, Dizza, and Homeland Security/Mel on X
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