Tehran Dispatch: The Crackdown

“After flailing around for months unable to unite on anything, House Republicans finally think they’ve found an issue they agree on — countering the scourge of antisemitism on college campuses nationwide,” Punchbowl News reports. “With 187 days until Election Day, a legislative cupboard that’s all but bare, a presidential impeachment inquiry that’s going nowhere and a speaker who has struggled to generate any discernible level of excitement, the anti-Jewish sentiment that’s spilled out at universities from coast to coast during Gaza war protests offers what Republicans believe is a compelling plot line during the closing months of the 118th Congress.”

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) went on Fox News to defend her decision to kill a family dog, saying it was a “working dog” and “not a puppy.”

“Attempts to suppress pro-Palestinian demonstrations at Columbia and other colleges in recent weeks have instead lit a fuse nationwide, as students at public universities from Austin to Los Angeles have set up tents, defied police orders to vacate and even occupied academic buildings as they protest Israel’s war in Gaza,” Politico reports.

“Despite lagging some 30 points behind President Joe Biden in the latest polls, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. convened national media on Wednesday to make an audacious claim: It’s Biden who should drop out of the race to stop former President Donald Trump from reclaiming the White House,” Politico reports. Said Kennedy: “We only have one chance to beat Donald Trump, and we need a nominee who can get the job done.

“Senate Republicans are six months away from their most favorable Election Day map in a decade, with pickup opportunities in at least a half-dozen states — including sapphire-blue Maryland,” Politico reports. “Mitch McConnell isn’t predicting a red wave ahead, though. There’s a reason for that.” “The minority leader is clearly wary of his party overextending itself despite the advantageous conditions after the twin debacles of 2020 and 2022, when former President Donald Trump’s embrace of flawed GOP nominees contributed to surprising Democratic wins.“

“Donald Trump faces the prospect of additional sanctions in his hush money trial as he returns to court Thursday for another contempt hearing followed by testimony from a lawyer who represented two women who have said they had sexual encounters with the former president,” the AP reports. “Prosecutors are seeking $1,000 fines for each of four comments by Trump that they say violated a judge’s gag order barring him from attacking witnesses, jurors and others closely connected to the case.