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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed Tuesday that Donald Trump’s $1.8 billion slush fund for his allies was officially dead in the water. During a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, ranking member Grace Meng asked Blanche what his plans were for Trump’s so-called “Anti-Weaponization Fund.” The Department of Justice agreed to suspend the project until June 12, after a major court loss. “We’re not moving forward with the fund,” Blanche said. “You’re right that there’s a date in the case in the Eastern District of Virginia in June. But we are not moving forward with the fund, period.”“Not moving forward, ever?” Meng pressed. “Correct,” Blanche said.Blanche’s confirmation comes after Republican lawmakers urged the White House to nix the fund, in order to move forward with budget reconciliation. Meng also asked whether Blanche and Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward would sign and release documents reversing the DOJ’s position on the fund, but Blanche claimed it wasn’t necessary. “We’re not moving forward with the fund, I’m not sure what that means to sign documents reversing, there’s nothing to reverse,” Blanche said. Still, Meng urged Blanche to put his claims in writing in order to reassure the American public. “I mean, I think there will be a transcript of what I say here, so that will be in writing,” Blanche said, laughing. “We will work with you, and hold you to it,” Meng said. Acting AG Todd Blanche on Trump’s weaponization fund: We're not moving forward with the fund. Period. pic.twitter.com/dY41OEfhDE— Acyn (@Acyn) June 2, 2026It’s worth noting that Blanche has not backed off the other aspect of Trump’s settlement with the IRS: blanket immunity against being audited, which will empower the president and his family to freely commit financial crimes.

Ukraine is suffering from a global shortage of defense missiles – weaponry that the US has depleted in its war on Iran.

Spencer Gear was ready to kill for Donald Trump—until it was time to face the music before a judge.The 34-year-old Nevadan was sentenced to five years in prison Monday for threatening to murder federal judges who handled cases involving Trump and January 6ers. His messages, which were mostly delivered by way of phone calls between November 2023 and July 2024, were explicit: “This is a death threat,” he told one victim. “I’ll spill your blood,” and “You can’t do shit to Donald Trump,” Gear told others.But Gear suddenly changed his tune when he was seated across from the judge handling his own criminal case Monday, pleading for mercy as he tried to walk back his violent promises. “I’m embarrassed that I ever talked to people in such a manner,” Gear reportedly said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “The republic cannot survive if we continue this path of political discourse.”Gear claimed his brain had been infected by a “mind virus” from the internet and that the supposed disease had caused him to lash out at people he believed were going to destroy the country, reported the Reno Gazette Journal.He was convicted by a jury following a six-day trial in February. He was found guilty on 20 counts, including nine counts of threatening a federal official and 11 counts of transmitting threats. His 60-month prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.“Today’s sentencing should send a clear message that the FBI stands firm in its commitment to protecting our public officials and ensuring that individuals who seek to harm others will be held accountable,” said Christopher S. Delzotto, special agent in charge for the FBI Las Vegas Field Office, in a press release. “Threats of violence are never merely words; they constitute serious federal crimes, and the FBI takes every threat with utmost seriousness. The act of spreading fear and intimidation has no place in our community.”

The news could now unlock relatively quick action on Senate Republicans’ party-line immigration enforcement bill.

The decision could end congressional gridlock over a $70 billion funding package for ICE and Border Patrol.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin had a troubling exchange with Democratic Senator Chris Murphy in which he refused to commit to following all court orders on immigration.“‘ICE has likely violated more court orders in January 2026 than some federal agencies have violated in their entire existence.’ That’s not a Democratic-appointed judge, that is a Republican-appointed judge describing the scale of illegality,” Murphy said in a Senate Appropriations hearing on Tuesday afternoon. “You always struck me as somebody who cared about the rule of law, and so maybe the easiest question is this: When DHS gets a court order telling them that something they are doing is either illegal and unconstitutional … can you commit to us that if a court judges something ICE is doing, something DHS is doing as illegal, unconstitutional, [or] tells you to stop, that you will comply with the court order?”Mullin refused to give a yes-or-no answer, dodging the question at least four times. CHRIS MURPHY: Can you commit to us that if a court judges something ICE or DHS is doing as illegal or unconstitutional and tells you to stop, that you will comply with the court order?MARKWAYNE MULLIN: We will never break the Constitution and we're not going to break the law,… pic.twitter.com/PESeUu577W— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) June 2, 2026Mullin: Ranking member Murphy, I will tell you that we will never break the Constitution, and we’re not going to break the law, but we’re going to enforce our nation’s laws. And we’re gonna enforce the laws that you guys passed and that we implement. We will never go outside that, and if we do, we’ll hold each other accountable for that.Murphy: But that doesn’t sound like the same thing as committing that you will obey a court order. Obviously, the entire structure of the federal government gives the power to the courts to divine whether you are obeying the law or not. I think it’s an easy thing to say—will you, will you not implement court orders?Mullin: If we didn’t think courts were politicized, then I would probably be able to answer that, but we see courts over and over again that use their bench for their political opinion, not just the rule of law.Murphy: So you’ll pick and choose which court orders you obey based upon whether—Mullin: Don’t put words in my mouth.Murphy: Then what are you saying, then?Mullin: What I’m saying is, we’ll enforce the law, and we’re never going to break the Constitution.Murphy: You just said that you will not follow every court order, because—Mullin: Chris, senator, don’t start putting words in my mouth. That’s not what I said. I said I will never break the Constitution.Murphy: Will you implement court orders when they tell you to stop?Mullin: You’re making an assumption on court orders I haven’t seen.Murphy: Will you or will you not?Mullin: I’m going to enforce the law, and I’ll never break the Constitution.

Nearly 6 in 10 Americans say the economy is “getting worse,” according to recent polling data.

Many Lebanese people “sort of feel beholden to the regional and global powers on their fate,” says AP's Kareem Chehayeb.