The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Todd Blanche as the nation's 88th attorney general as part of an early morning, marathon voting session ahead of the chamber's August recess on Saturday morning. The outcome followed an extended confirmation process that included delays in the Senate Judiciary Committee and opposition from two Republican senators on the floor.

Blanche, who previously served as a personal attorney for President Donald Trump, had been confirmed as deputy attorney general in March 2025. He assumed the role of acting attorney general on April 2, 2026, after Trump removed Pam Bondi from the position.

The president stated at the time that Bondi would transition to a private-sector role and that "our Deputy Attorney General, and a very talented and respected Legal Mind, Todd Blanche, will step in to serve as Acting Attorney General." Trump later announced his intention to nominate Blanche permanently

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has confirmed that he intends to remain on the bench for the upcoming term of the Court.

Alito, 76, confirmed that he intends to stay on while speaking with the Wall Street Journal. "Obviously, I'm here for another term," he said.

The interview, which was conducted by James Taranto in Alito's chambers, addressed questions about his future plans amid recent public discussion of a possible retirement. Alito, who was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2006 and has completed 20 full terms on the Court, is the second-oldest sitting justice.

The Court's next term is scheduled to begin in October 2026 and is expected to continue through the end of June or early July 2027. The justices are currently in their summer recess.

Speculation regarding Alito's potential departure had intensified in the preceding months. Discussion reached a fever pitch

Three New York City homeowners have filed a lawsuit in Staten Island Supreme Court challenging the implementation of a new state-authorized surcharge on certain non-primary residences, commonly known as the pied-à-terre tax.

The petitioners — Rachel O'Brien, Carmine Morano, and Simon Hedley — named the City of New York, Mayor Zohran Mamdani in his official capacity, the New York City Department of Finance, and Finance Commissioner Richard Lee as respondents. The action, which was brought as an Article 78 proceeding and declaratory judgment claim, does not contest the underlying statute itself.

The surcharge, which was enacted by the state Legislature and signed by Governor Kathy Hochul as part of a budget package earlier this year, took effect for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2026. It applies to one- to three-family homes with a market value of at least $5 million and to cooperative and condominium

Coca-Cola's online personalized can service is facing intense scrutiny after social media users documented inconsistencies in its automated content filter.

The tool, available through the Coca-Cola Store website, allows customers to create custom messages on cans for a fee. Videos and tests shared online showed the system rejecting certain phrases — including faith-based messages — while accepting others, which prompted allegations of anti-Christian bias.

Content creator Ryan Haff posted screen recordings of live tests on the site. In one demonstration, the phrase "the devil is king" was accepted and appeared in a digital preview. Entering "Jesus is king" produced an immediate rejection, however.

Haff also tested "Satan is good," which was approved, while "Jesus is good" was rejected. Additional trials showed acceptance of "Jesus is bad" and "Jesus is evil." In a follow-up video, "I love Satan" proceeded, "I love Jesus" was blocked, and "I hate Jesus"

Disturbing images obtained by Savanah Hernandez of Turning Point USA's Frontlines highlighted the extent of decay and disorder inside Seattle's $165 million library, which has been plagued by vagrancy and open drug use.

"I visited Seattle's $165 million dollar downtown library and it was OVERRUN with drug addicts. Not only is this library filled with adults who are high on drugs, but they also offer FREE fentanyl test strips, syringes and injectable narcan that anyone, including children, can access," Hernandez said in a new video report released on August 6.

"Visitors have complained of 'foul odors', unusable restrooms and harassment by the homeless and I experienced all of this while at this location. Seattle residents just passed a tax increase to raise $480 million dollars for libraries just like this one and this is unfortunately the state that they're in."

The accompanying video shows Hernandez outside

Perez Hilton's children were inside his Miami home just minutes before the longtime celebrity blogger suffered a severe mental health crisis during a disturbing livestream, his family revealed.

Hilton was hospitalized Tuesday night after appearing on TikTok while harming himself with a knife inside the home.

His family has now disclosed that his children, sister and niece were present shortly before the livestream began and were forced to leave as the situation escalated.

According to a statement published on Hilton's website, relatives "immediately fled" once they realized he was "experiencing a severe mental health crisis and harming himself."

The family said the decision was made to shield the children from "witnessing any further trauma."

"Our family cannot express enough our continued gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and prayers we have received during this incredibly difficult time," the statement began.

"The events of the past several days have

Reports of ordinary Iranians resorting to stealing basic groceries from supermarket shelves have underscored the severity of the country's deepening economic crisis, with analysts warning that the Islamic Republic's economy is nearing a critical breaking point.

An investigation published by the Iranian newspaper Jahan-e Sanat detailed accounts from supermarket workers of customers concealing inexpensive items like cheese, butter, cakes, pastries, and meat or consuming packaged products inside stores without paying. One employee, identified only as Amirhossein, told the newspaper that he had witnessed several suspected thefts over the previous 10 months.

"I think poverty is the main reason," he said. "You cannot judge everyone the same way, but when someone steals a simple item, they are probably under enormous pressure."

These anecdotal reports align with stark macroeconomic data, according to Miad Maleki, an associate fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former U.S. Treasury Department

President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday addressing categories of individuals not entitled to birthright citizenship under the administration's interpretation of historical exceptions, as well as directing efforts to halt the practice of birth tourism.

The orders follow the Supreme Court's June 30, 2026, decision in Trump v. Barbara, which addressed an earlier executive order issued on January 20, 2025. That prior order had directed federal agencies not to recognize citizenship for certain children born in the United States to parents who were unlawfully present or lawfully but temporarily present, when the other parent was neither a U.S. citizen nor a lawful permanent resident.

The Court held that the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment extends the privilege of citizenship to children born to parents in the United States "for whom no extraterritorial fiction applie[s]."

Trump maintained that he would take additional action against birthright

U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) lost his primary bid for re-election in Tennessee's 5th Congressional District to Charlie Hatcher, the state's former agriculture commissioner. The narrow upset loss comes despite the fact that Ogles was backed by President Donald Trump and other prominent Republican figures.

With most ballots counted, Hatcher received approximately 53.2 percent of the vote to Ogles' 46.8 percent, a margin of roughly six percentage points. The Associated Press and other notable election forecasters called the race for Hatcher roughly three hours after polls closed.

Ogles is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, the most conservative bloc within the Republican conference. Multiple scorecards have ranked him among the more conservative members of the House. Heritage Action assigned him a 100 percent score for the relevant Congress and a perfect lifetime score since his election.

Freedom Index evaluations have

Russian President Vladimir Putin could test NATO's resolve with a limited attack on one of the alliance's member nations as soon as this fall, according to a new U.S. intelligence assessment.

The potential move could range from a major cyberattack to direct military action, including a possible ground incursion, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.

The warning comes as questions swirl around U.S. weapons stockpiles and whether years of military aid to Ukraine have strained America's ability to respond to another major conflict.

The Journal reported that U.S. officials are increasingly concerned that Russia may be willing to probe NATO's defenses despite being tied down in Ukraine.

"The assessments, described by U.S. officials, come amid a shortfall in certain critical munitions that the military would need to confront Russia or China in a potential future war.

The U.S. has severely degraded its stockpile of these weapons

Dr. Anthony Fauci's bad week got a little more awkward Thursday when his wife flipped off a photographer just hours after a Senate committee voted to hold the former COVID czar in contempt of Congress.

Fauci was spotted outside his $2.4 million Washington, D.C., home looking noticeably glum as he wheeled a recycling bin to the curb following the latest round of congressional scrutiny.

For a man who spent years lecturing Americans from behind a podium, the post-hearing assignment was decidedly less glamorous.

Fauci later climbed into the passenger seat of a vehicle driven by his wife, Christine Grady, a Georgetown University colleague.

That is when Grady apparently decided she had heard enough from the press.

She raised her middle finger toward the photographer before driving away, while Fauci stared blankly out the window.

The not-so-subtle gesture came after the Senate Homeland Security Committee voted 8-5 along party lines to

President Trump says he's ready to put his massive political war chest to work, pledging to help Republicans in the 2026 midterms with what he now says is an $800 million stockpile.

In an interview with Punchbowl News' Jake Sherman released Friday, Trump confirmed he plans to spend the money after Sherman asked whether he intended to deploy the massive cash reserve during the midterm elections.

Trump replied that he would help Republicans in the midterms, signaling his political operation is preparing to get involved after months of speculation over when the money would be used.

The commitment comes after MAGA Inc., Trump's flagship super PAC, spent months building one of the largest political war chests in the country while largely holding off on direct spending in competitive races.

Federal Election Commission filings showed the PAC had roughly $400 million in cash on hand by the end of