The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee told ABC News Tuesday it pulled in $33.5 million in donations from April to June – $12.5 million of which was came in June alone finishing June with more than $53.5 million in the bank. This compares to the National Republican Senate Committee’s previous announcement they raised $25.6 million, finishing June with $28.5 million cash on hand.

The methods used by Texas law enforcement and Border Patrol agents to pursue suspected undocumented migrants–which prompted 47 lockdowns at Robb Elementary School from February to May–caused Uvalde police and school administrators to react lackadaisically to the alarm sounded after an active shooter entered the school, according to the report written by investigators for the Texas state house, USA Today reports.

The frequency of these alerts led administrators, faculty and staff at the school to become complacent, and initially react slowly to the lockdown alarm sounded on May 24th when an 18-year-old gunman entered the building.  One of the first police officers on scene said that when he went to the school and didn’t see bodies in the hallway, he assumed the alarm was because of a bailout situation.

Whenever local, state and/or federal law enforcement agencies were pursuing suspected undocumented immigrants in the area, officials would order the school to go on lockdown, the report stated, particularly when those pursued “bail out” of a vehicle–often times after a high-speed pursuit and a crash–and run to evade capture.

After the Financial Times reported that a Congressional delegation led by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would visit Taiwan as part of a tour of Southeast Asia, China warned that there would take “forceful measures” to show its displeasure, Reuters reports.

Pelosi’s office has not confirmed the plans to visit Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia and Singapore, as well as Taiwan, citing security issues, but sources within Democratic leadership have hinted such a trip could take place during the coming Congressional recess.

The US maintains a “One China” policy, walking a tightrope that does not explicitly recognize either the People’s Republic of China control over Taiwan nor stating that Taiwan is a sovereign state.  Earlier this year, President Joe Biden has said that the US would intervene on behalf of Taiwan if China unilaterally attempts to occupy Taiwan, and the US sells weapons to the Taiwanese government.

In the middle of some long rant in which he again explicitly came out in favor of replacement theory, Tucker Carlson went ahead and asked “Why is some foreign-born billionaire allowed to change our country fundamentally?” without acknowledging that other people quite often ask the same thing about his boss. It’d be helpful to Tucker if he’d just say “foreign-born billionaire Jew.” That way we wouldn’t have to come up with some not particularly original headline here.

Taste the rainbow of titanium dioxide the next time you satisfy your sweet tooth with a bag of colorful Skittles, the sugary candy at the center of a lawsuit in which a California man claims the candy is unfit for human consumption, the Washington Post reports.

The Food and Drug Administration allows manufacturers to use titanium dioxide as a coloring agent so long as the amount used is less than one percent of the overall weight of the product.  However, the chemical does not exit the body entirely after consumption, and toxic buildup of titanium dioxide can cause genotoxicity, a modification of DNA, and has been linked to cancer.

Mars, the company that makes Skittles, stated in 2016 that it would phase out the use of artificial coloring, including titanium dioxide, within the following five years.  It hasn’t.  The class action lawsuit, filed on behalf of San Leandro resident Jenile Thames, states that Mars’ failure to disclose the fact that it is continuing to use the chemical is a fraud by omission.

The communications director for Trump-endorsed Republican former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s Senate campaign was spotted in footage of the Oath Keepers marching toward the Capitol on January 6th by CNN’s KFile. Courtney Holland, the new top spokeswoman for the Laxalt campaign, was not charged herself for any crimes over her involvement in the insurrection, and there’s no evidence she entered the Capitol, but she’s seen being guided through the crowd by Oath Keepers Kenneth Harrelson – a member charged with seditious conspiracy – and Jason Dolan, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Also spotted with Holland was Dr Simone Gold, the anti-vaxxer asshole recently sentenced to 60 days in jail for entering the Capitol during the insurrection.

🚨URGENT🚨
Arizona,
If you have a Mail-In Ballot, fill it out and Mail it in ASAP.

I've talked to True the Vote election experts–they say the US MAIL is the safest way to be sure your Mail-In vote is counted–Not the drop boxes.

FILL IT OUT & MAIL IT OUT NOW.
Let's win this!

— Kari Lake (@KariLake) July 19, 2022

Two years after George Floyd’s murder, the Minneapolis Police Department has again raised concerns about their interactions with the Black community in the city after two police snipers shot an armed young Black man who was having a mental health episode isolated in an apartment, the Associated Press reports.

Last Thursday, a neighbor called 9-1-1 after Andrew Tekle Sundberg, 20, started firing a gun, with some of the rounds entering a neighboring apartment.  That led to a six-hour standoff with police during which police evacuated the neighboring residences.  The standoff ended when two snipers fired simultaneously, killing Sundberg.

Police have not released what Sundberg did to force the snipers to fire, which would require a threatening move toward officers or a bystander.  Sundberg’s parents, who adopted him from Ethiopia when he was a young child, have questioned police tactics and whether the order to fire was given because police were frustrated with the length of time they had been at the scene.

The House of Representatives on Monday voted 267 – 157 to protect same-sex marriage from far right asshole Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Sam Alito, NBC News reports.

“Arizona State Representative Mark Finchem is running for Secretary of State, and he is the kind of fighter we need to turn Arizona and our Country around. Mark is tough, strong, and he loves his State. His opponent, Michelle Ugenti-Rita, is a weak ‘Never Trumper’ RINO, and friends with all the Radical Left Democrats. She doesn’t make a move without them, and their sole purpose is to stop Mark Finchem because they know he is the only candidate who will put an end to the Weak Border and Massive Voter Fraud. He will bring Integrity back to our Elections. Vote for Mark Finchem on August 2, he has my Complete and Total Endorsement – he will not let you down!” says demented former President Trump, evidently forgetting he already officially endorsed piece of shit insurrectionist Arizona state Senator Mark Finchem on September 13th, 2021.

Firefighters are continuing to battle significant fires across #London this evening. You can help us to prevent more fires:

⚠️Don't have a barbecue or a bonfire tonight
⚠️ Don't leave broken bottles or glass on the ground
⚠️Dispose of cigarettes safely pic.twitter.com/RI1Joje2kn

— London Fire Brigade (@LondonFire) July 19, 2022

This fire prevention tweet’s second tip about not leaving broken glass and glass bottles on the ground after the London Fire Brigade’s worst day probably since the Blitz seems a little extraneous. Like yes, glass is a safety hazard and theoretically a fire hazard if a concentrated refraction of sunlight is directed at a patch of dry grass, but is that really a top three-level cause for this unfortunate shitshow? How many of these fires were definitely started by bottles? Wouldn’t maybe a lawnmower or an edge trimmer be more likely to start a brushfire? God bless them for working their asses off in brutal conditions, but maybe they should read some of this stuff out loud and make sure it makes sense before tweeting it out to the public.

Far left socialist Congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Ilhan Omar have been arrested in Washington DC! Yes! They’re facing justice for their crimes finally! No more two-tiered system! They, along with a bunch of other liberal members of Congress have been cuffed! Oh my God, what if it’s treason?!? Can you imagine? This headline is so exciting for America First Conservatives!

National Zero will resume our regular news coverage now that we’re done cruelly misleading our MAGA readers with that clickbait. AOC and Omar were actually arrested at an abortion protest outside of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, they’ll probably have to pay a fine or something.

A motion filed Tuesday by an attorney representing the 11 fake Trump 2020 electors in Georgia – Joseph Brannan, James ‘Ken’ Carroll, Vikki Townsend Consiglio, Carolyn Hall Fisher, state Senator and GOP Lt Gov candidate Burt Jones, Gloria Kay Godwin, David G. Hanna, Mark W. Hennessy, Mark Amick, John Downey, Cathleen Alston Latham, Daryl Moody, Brad Carver, state GOP chairman David Shafer, Shawn Still, and CB Yadav – said that on June 28th a prosecutor in the Fulton County district attorney’s office told them that “as our investigation has matured and new evidence has come to light, in a spirit of integrity we feel it only fitting to inform you that your clients’ status has changed to ‘Target,'” when previously they were only witnesses. Several of the above fake electors, including Jones and Schafer, had been previously reported to be targets of a criminal investigation.

The rest of it is pretty fucking hilarious whining about why they shouldn’t have to answer a subpoena if they’re currently targets of the criminal investigation. Separately, Lindsey Graham agreed to have his subpoena fight be adjudicated in either a state or federal court in Georgia, dropping his bid to have it be fought in a South Carolina federal court, which presumably would’ve been friendlier territory given he probably got at least half of the judges there nominated.

It’s clear the people of #NY10 are looking for another option and I respect that. Time for me to leave electoral politics and focus on other ways to serve. I am really grateful for all the people I met, the stories I heard and the many good souls who helped out. Thank you all! pic.twitter.com/gpt6V6WLUf

— Bill de Blasio (@BilldeBlasio) July 19, 2022

Democrats and Republicans are tied at 46% each on the “If the elections for Congress were being held today, which party’s candidate would you vote for in your Congressional district?” question of this month’s CNN/SSRS poll, an improvement for Dems over the 47 – 42 GOP lead found in May.

CNN politics guy Ron Brownstein points out that Democrats still get support from “19% of voters who disapprove of Biden – exactly the same result as recent NYT/Siena poll. In ’18, Rs won only 8% of Trump disapprovers. That decoupling gives Ds a mid-term path-if it can last.”

Indiana University OB-GYN Dr Caitlin Bernard filed a tort claim notice Tuesday against state Attorney General Todd Rokita for defamation over his public claims Bernard had not properly notified state authorities she had performed an abortion on the 10 year old rape victim from Ohio.

Separately on Tuesday the dean of the Indiana University Law School filed a formal misconduct complaint against Rokita with the state Supreme Court, alleging Rokita attempted to “harass and intimidate” Bernard and other physicians who had performed abortions in the state.

“Through several news sources, the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) has become aware of the potential unauthorized deletion of United States Secret Service (Secret Service) text messages. These reports address the deletion of text messages dated January 5 and January 6, 2021, following requests by DHS oversight officials investigating the agency’s response to the events that took place on January 6, 2021 at the United States Capitol building. In accordance with 36 CFR 1230.16(b), NARA requests that the Secret Service look into this matter.”

“If it is determined that any text messages have been improperly deleted (regardless of their relevance to the OlG/Congressional inquiry of the events on January 6, 2021), then the Secret Service must send NARA a report within 30 calendar days of the date of this letter with a report documenting the deletion. This report must include a complete description of the records affected, a statement of the exact circumstances surrounding the deletion of messages, a statement of the safeguards established to prevent further loss of documentation, and details of all agency actions taken to salvage, retrieve, or reconstruct the records,” writes National Archives official Laurence Brewer to the Secret Service, hinting that a criminal investigation is next.

Said right wing Congressman Guy Reschenthaler on Tuesday, “We are the world’s largest GDP. If we have inflation then the world has inflation, because we literally export it, that’s just how economics works. And to blame Ukraine? Ukraine might play a part in this, but who’s to blame for Ukraine? It’s President Biden. It was the weakness and vacillation, the surrender in Afghanistan that, that emboldened Putin. It was the- It was the vacillation, it was the ‘minor incursion’ comment that he had that gave Vladimir Putin the green light to invade. Had he just been more resolute in our national security we could’ve deterred this invasion. So he owns Ukraine as well.”

Man, what a scorching hot take. We “export” the inflation to other countries AND it’s Biden’s fault that the war in Ukraine happened and contributed to that inflation which the US exported to other countries. What a great way to simultaneously pave over the “inflation is only happening in the US” and “inflation was happening before Russia invaded Ukraine” plot holes in the GOP talking points.

He skipped over the parts where where MAGA Land variously acted like Biden was lying about Russian plans to invade Ukraine, was trying to start World War III on purpose, was trying distract from the Durham investigation into Hillary’s spying, that Russia should just do whatever they want to Ukraine because it’s none of America’s business, sometimes even all of those things at the same time during the lead-up to the invasion, but that’d probably be too tough of a sell for Reschenthaler. He obviously already had a hard time slapping this retcon together.

Autocratic far right Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Monday summoned dozens of foreign diplomats to give them the heads up that the October election he’s widely expected to lose by a significant margin will be stolen by fraud, the New York Times reports, describing the diplomats as being left “shaken” by the corrupt asshole’s rant. “I know that you all want democratic stability in our country,” said Bolsonaro. “And that will only be achieved with transparent, reliable elections.”

The song and dance echoes Trump in the run-up to the 2020 election, who instead of confidently predicting he was going to win by a landslide had repeated meltdowns about mail-in voting (despite voting by mail himself), and still to this day refuses to admit he lost a free and fair election.

Now it’s easy enough to call this a real-time portrait of the cowardice and malevolence of right wingers who govern as if they shouldn’t be held accountable by a democracy. That’s the “hot take” your Marc Elias Twitter follower is going to have here, and not incorrectly so. However, there’s a bigger picture concerning the question of what the fuck is going on inside the heads of Bolsonaro fans when they see their Lord and Savior saying this, and that’s why are they accepting his evident but unstated powerlessness to preemptively rectify the situation? Yeah, Bolsonaro says he’s going to get the military involved in the count, but why would he keep saying this kind of shit if he was 100% confident they were going to come through for him with an unambiguous win?

Conservative politicians rely on either willful or natural void of capacity for critical thinking from their supporters. That’s nothing new. However these are such simple questions it’s hard to understand how even the dumbest and most gullible of Bolsonaro’s fans (and Trump fans back before the 2020 election) can’t or won’t ask openly: If you know the upcoming election is rigged then why haven’t you already done what needs to be done to expose this rigging and preempt it? Why are you acting like such a whiny libtard loser instead of grabbing your balls and kicking some socialist ass? This isn’t why I voted for you so why should I vote for you again?