• Senate passes no tax on tips: So popular was Donald Trump’s “no tax on tips” policy idea that even Kamala Harris stole it for her campaign. Now, with congressional Republicans struggling to get Trump’s “one big, beautiful” spending bill across the finish line, the issue saw resounding success. Sen. Ted Cruz introduced a resolution to include “No Tax On Tips” within the budget bill. No senator blocked a call for the resolution, so the Senate passed it by unanimous consent. Cruz responded, “This legislation will have a lasting impact on millions of Americans by protecting the hard-earned dollars of blue-collar workers, the very people who are living paycheck-to-paycheck.” He also encouraged the House to include the “No Tax On Tips” provision in its spending bill. The resolution limits no tax on tips to occupations “which traditionally and customarily received tips.” Expect the number of those occupations to grow.

• Laurel Libby ordered uncensured: Maine has been at the center of an imbroglio with the Trump administration for months surrounding the state’s stubborn refusal to protect girls’ sports. One Maine lawmaker, State Rep. Laurel Libby, has been a frontline leader against boys in girls’ sports and has been punished for it. In February, Libby shared a video of a boy stealing first place in a girls’ pole vault competition. Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau successfully moved to censure Libby for this, claiming that she violated the political principle of “leaving kids out of it.” The transgender movement crossed that line first, Mr. Speaker. All Libby had to do was apologize for her actions to remove the censure, but she rightfully refused. Libby escalated her fight for relief to the Supreme Court, which ruled 7-2 that Maine must revoke the censure.

• Bernie eats his own: Bernie Sanders is an old man, but he’s not yet blind to his party’s failings. While on the “Flagrant” podcast hosted by Andrew Schultz and Akaash Singh, Bernie agreed when Singh laid out that Democrats are a “threat to democracy” by refusing to have a fair primary since 2008. “Fair enough,” Sanders said in a startling admission. He supports the Democrat establishment even while officially being listed as an independent. The Democrats, of course, have not had a genuine primary in which the establishment and the voting base agree on a choice for president since 2008, or arguably since Bill Clinton. Democrat insiders desire power and don’t care about the process. Bernie Sanders has been on the wrong end of that. How much life does the party have left in it?

• Tesla vandalism and less political spending from Musk: When Elon Musk decided to support Donald Trump’s run for the presidency in 2024, he spent nearly $300 million of his own cash in the successful effort. Musk joined Trump’s team temporarily by heading DOGE in its waste- and fraud-cutting efforts, which has proven to be fruitful, but political opposition has cost Musk, most notably the vandalism campaign against Tesla, which has seen sales decline. Musk recently addressed the vandalism, calling for perpetrators to be imprisoned, as well as the people who funded them. Musk noted that he is stepping back from politics to focus on his companies, primarily Tesla. He also said he would cut back significantly on his political spending because he sees no reason to continue. However, he was quick to note that he would spend again if he had a reason to do so.

• COVID vax policy change: On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration announced that it was requiring a new round of clinical trials for the COVID vaccine booster shots for individuals under the age of 65. Clinical trials on the COVID booster for children and adults have not been conducted. The FDA issued new guidelines for the COVID booster, which is still available for millions of Americans considered high-risk. However, FDA officials noted, “We simply don’t know whether a healthy 52-year-old woman with a normal BMI who has had Covid-19 three times and has received six previous doses … will benefit from the seventh dose.” Furthermore, FDA Commissioner Dr. Marty Makary and FDA vaccine chief Dr. Vinay Prasad rejected the view that COVID vaccine policy should be based upon the notion “that the American people are not sophisticated enough to understand age- and risk-based recommendations.”

• Democrats foment anti-ICE hatred, endanger agents: “I’m going to kill these b*stards,” said one North Carolina man of ICE agents. In California, attempts to brake-check an ICE vehicle to cause an accident have led to a criminal charge. Two judges have been charged, one in Wisconsin and one in New Mexico, for aiding and abetting illegal immigrants and gang members. Tim Walz uses Nazi imagery when describing ICE. It’s clear that the Democrats’ anti-ICE rhetoric has reached a fever pitch, and their base is responding with actions. It’s not just the base, either. Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) has been charged with assault for her actions while trying to enter an ICE facility earlier this month. As ICE and the Trump administration try to protect America’s border and U.S. interests, Democrats are not shying away from violent tactics to impede them.

• Trump to meet South African president amid worsening relations: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will visit the White House today to address accusations of genocide and deteriorating relations between the two countries. Trump and Elon Musk have leveled heavy criticism at South Africa since February, with Trump blaming the nation for a “massive Human Rights VIOLATION” regarding the native Afrikaner population. Elon has accused the country of denying him, a native South African, a license to operate his Starlink company there “because I’m not black.” Ramaphosa hopes to correct these pieces of “misinformation,” insisting there is no racial persecution of Afrikaners. The murders on Afrikaner farms aren’t racially motivated, he insists, just a result of rampant crime.

• Female athlete defends integrity on the podium: At a recent state high school track meet in California, 16-year-old Reese Hogan, who came in second place in the triple jump, briefly stood in the first-place spot on the podium following the medal ceremony to cheering and applause from some in the stadium crowd. You see, Hogan lost the championship to a male athlete posing as a female, and everybody knew she was the rightful female champion. Riley Gaines posted a video of Hogan’s action on X with the following message: “When the boy got off the podium, she assumed her rightful spot as champion. The crowd erupts with applause. THIS is the way. Congrats to Reese Hogan, the REAL champ!!!” Demonstrating the insanity of this “transgender” ideology, the male athlete bested Hogan’s personal record jump by over four feet.

Headlines

• Virginia Democrat Rep. Gerry Connolly dead at 75 (Fox News)

• DOJ opens investigation into Andrew Cuomo over NY nursing home deaths testimony (NY Post)

• Pete Hegseth to launch probe of Biden’s Afghanistan debacle (Daily Wire)

• Venezuela frees U.S. Air Force veteran in bid to ease tensions with United States (Daily Wire)

• Trump, Hegseth announce “Golden Dome” to protect American homeland (Fox News)

• Women’s college honors inveterate foe of women’s rights, “Rachel” Levine (Daily Signal)

• Humor: 10 jobs that are totally safe from being replaced by AI (Babylon Bee)

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