“Israel has asked the Trump administration over the past 48 hours to join the war with Iran in order to eliminate its nuclear program,” Axios reports.
“Israel lacks the bunker buster bombs and large bomber aircraft needed to destroy Iran’s Fordow uranium enrichment site, which is built into a mountain and deep underground. The U.S. has both within flying distance of Iran.”
Wall Street Journal: “Israel had spent months smuggling in parts for hundreds of quadcopter drones rigged with explosives—in suitcases, trucks and shipping containers—as well as munitions that could be fired from unmanned platforms.”
“Republican and Democratic politicians are warning about rising violence targeting elected officials in the aftermath of a series of attacks, including the killing of a state official in Minnesota on Saturday,” Politico reports.
“Within the last year, there have been multiple assassination attempts against President Donald Trump, an arson attack on Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro’s residence, and the killing of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington — setting a new cycle of violence in the country.”
Wall Street Journal: “On Thursday, Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill were at each other‘s throats. By Saturday, they were joining to decry political violence and seek more security.”
“The middle-of-the-night killing in Minnesota of a top Democratic state lawmaker and the shooting of a colleague, allegedly by a suspect posing as a police officer who had a list of other elected officials, jolted Capitol Hill, eight years to the day after Republican lawmakers were targeted by a lone gunman at a congressional baseball practice.”
Axios: “Members of Congress went into this weekend with their nerves already severely frayed. The shooting of two lawmakers in Minnesota on Saturday has sent those tensions over the edge.”
“Americans turned out en masse in communities across the country Saturday, raucously pushing back on what they see as President Donald Trump’s widening authoritarianism, attacks on immigrants and deep cuts to scores of federal programs,” the Washington Post reports.
“Yet the day was marred by the news of deadly violence overnight in Minneapolis, where two Democratic state legislators were shot with their spouses in what Gov. Tim Walz called a ‘politically motivated’ attack.”
Axios: “No Kings” anti-Trump protests attract millions, organizers say.
New York Times: “For an event that relied on mesmerizing production and an awe factor for spectators, a number of logistical obstacles and muted enthusiasm were palpable on the ground.”
“Reporters for The New York Times who attended the parade described an at-times underwhelming performance and crowds dispersing early amid a light drizzle.”
Washington Post: Tanks, troops and flyovers in D.C. as Trump gets his military parade.
“The sky over Tehran was engulfed in smoke and flame on Sunday after the city’s main gas depot was struck during Israel’s latest wave of attacks on Iran,” the New York Times reports.
“The two countries launched renewed waves of attacks on each other late on Saturday, as leaders of both countries vowed to intensify their assault despite international pleas for de-escalation.”
Axios: Israeli air force achieved freedom of operation in Tehran’s airspace.
“The Democratic establishment descended on the Hamptons this weekend for something of a political royal wedding that brought together the worlds of big-money politics and Clinton-era insiders,” the New York Times reports.
“The newlyweds were Alex Soros, the son of George Soros, the Democratic Party’s most generous patron, and Huma Abedin, a political aide who has been described as almost a daughter to Hillary Clinton, the former first lady and secretary of state. Held on Saturday at a Soros family estate in Water Mill, N.Y., the wedding drew private jets and Clinton aides galore in a rare concentration of wealth and power.”
Graham Parsons: “Up until a week ago, the blurring of the boundaries between the administration’s ideology and the military had not yet manifested as an attempt to employ the military directly on Trump’s—or the Republican Party’s—behalf. The steps taken until that point had been mostly symbolic…”
“But these symbolic expressions of military politicization have paved the way for that endgame—presidential orders that deploy the military for directly partisan ends. In just the past week, the Trump administration responded to protests against the enforcement of his immigration policies with military deployments. The likelihood that the administration will try to use the military against its political opponents is now very high. If that comes to pass, we will then learn just how successful Trump’s efforts to politicize the military have been.”
Adam Nagourey: “This country has faced — and survived — spasms of tension and disruption before. Debate and disagreement, as well as military and even domestic conflict, are knitted into its history and DNA, from the Civil War to the antiwar demonstrations of the 1960s (not to mention two World Wars, the assassinations of four presidents and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks).”
“But two things, many historians suggest, distinguish this moment from other troubled times in our past. The first is the sheer number of conflagrations taking place at once — not only in the United States but also around the world…”
“The second thing is Trump himself. At fraught moments like this, it normally falls to the president to step up as the reassuring figure, whether it was George W. Bush heading to downtown Manhattan after the destruction of the Twin Towers in 2001, or Bill Clinton going to Oklahoma City after a truck bomb destroyed a nine-story federal building and killed 168 people in 1995.”
“Not Trump.”
Two law enforcement officials told CNN the suspect in the killing of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband is 57-year-old Vance Boelter.
Officials found a “manifesto” identifying “many lawmakers and other officials” in his vehicle.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports the suspect is at large, and a massive manhunt is underway.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel will “strike every target” of Iran’s regime, as tensions between the long-standing foes continue to flare, CNN reports.
Netanyahu said that in the “very near future, you will see Israeli planes, the Israeli Air Force, our brave pilots, above the skies of Tehran.”
Wall Street Journal: “A review of dozens of known far-right social-media accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers across leading platforms like X, Truth Social, and Telegram are posting about the ‘No Kings’ rallies and encouraging their people to respond, in some cases with violence.”
“President Trump prepared on Saturday to make a show of American military might with a parade of tanks, missiles and aircraft through the heart of the nation’s capital,” the New York Times reports.
“The celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States Army has already transformed into a test of wills and competing imagery, with demonstrators around the country decrying his expansion of executive power.”
“The parade is set to begin at 6:30 p.m. Eastern.”
Trump said in a post on social media that the military parade would go ahead “rain or shine.”
“Protesters began filling plazas and streets in cities across the country on Saturday morning, mobilizing for mass demonstrations against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, cuts to federal services and a large military parade in Washington that coincides with the president’s 79th birthday,” the New York Times reports.
“Warning of a protracted fight, Israel and Iran carried out waves of deadly attacks on Saturday, with neither side heeding international pleas for an de-escalation of hostilities,” the New York Times reports.
“In sweeping attacks that started early Friday, Israel has struck at the regime in Tehran, hitting Iranian nuclear and military assets. The Israeli strikes have killed more than 70 people, including four top security chiefs, and damaged Iran’s main nuclear site at Natanz.”
“Iran, in turn, has launched barrages of ballistic missiles and drones at Israel, targeting what it says are military assets, but with less apparent success.“
“Michael Avenatti, the once-swaggering celebrity lawyer who represented adult film star Stormy Daniels in her court battles against President Trump, was resentenced Thursday to 11 years in prison for dodging taxes and stealing millions of dollars from clients,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“U.S. District Judge James V. Selna resentenced Avenatti to 135 months — slightly more than 11 years — but credited him 40 months for the time he has served in prison for stealing nearly $300,000 from Daniels’ advance on a book contract. That brought his sentence to nearly eight years.”
“Two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses were shot by someone impersonating a police officer,” KMSP reports.
“A source tells ABC News that two of those shot are state Sen. John Hoffman of Champlin and state Rep. Melissa Hortman of Brooklyn Park. Both were shot at their homes, and authorities believe the shooter was impersonating law enforcement, the source says.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.