As Media Focus On Trump And Cruz Fisticuffs, The Voters Get A Character Test

USA Today: “It’s the Summer of Trump in the House of Representatives, where Republican lawmakers have flooded the chamber with bills and resolutions honoring the former president, convicted felon and 2024 GOP frontrunner.” “These largely symbolic gestures are a way to get noticed by the Republican powerhouse, who can make or break politicians with his endorsements, according to a former member of Congress.” Sidney Blumenthal: Trump’s enablers in Congress are a fascinating case study of political amnesia.

The leading AI chatbots are regurgitating Russian misinformation, Axios reports. “To conduct the study, NewsGuard entered prompts asking about narratives known to have been created by John Mark Dougan, an American fugitive who, per the New York Times, is creating and spreading misinformation from Moscow.” “Entering 57 prompts into 10 leading chatbots, NewsGuard found they spread Russian disinformation narratives 32% of the time, often citing Dougan’s fake local news sites as a reliable source.”

Politico: “In a break from convention, Trump is not expected to hold a mock debate to prepare for what’s likely to be a blockbuster televised confrontation with Biden, according to one of the people. Instead, Trump’s advisers have been arranging the sessions focused on individual topics they expect will likely come up at the debate.”

“The Democratic political boss George Norcross had a front-row seat to the bombshell criminal allegations levied against him on Monday — literally,” Politico reports. “Norcross arrived uninvited to the press conference hosted by New Jersey Attorney General Matt Platkin, who alleges Norcross is the leader of a longstanding criminal racket centered on South Jersey Democratic politics.

“Dozens of environmental, labor and health care groups banded together on Monday to file a petition to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke as ‘major disasters,’ like floods and tornadoes,” the New York Times reports. Washington Post: How hot? A city-by-city forecast for the prolonged heat wave this week.

“A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Iowa from enforcing its own immigration law, which makes it a state crime to enter Iowa after being deported or denied entry into the United States,” the New York Times reports. “The ruling comes amid a national push by statehouse conservatives to assert authority over illegal immigration, which the Justice Department argues is solely the federal government’s responsibility.”