Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked an energy infrastructure in Sevastopol, Crimea, resulting in a temporary power outage in the city, Sevastopol Governor Mikhail Razvozhaev wrote on Telegram.
"A special regime has been introduced at facilities, and public facilities have switched to backup power systems. Specialists are currently doing everything possible to restore power to homes," he stated.
The outage follows Russia's missile and drone barrage on Kyiv.
More missiles were reported flying toward Kyiv, Ukraine, as the city came underintense bombardmentby the Russian forces in the early hours on Monday, local time.
Cruise missiles struck the capital, and in the meantime, Ukrainian monitoring channels said drones were also used in the attack.
The ongoing Russian air raids are among the largest since the start of the conflict. Other regions of the war-torn nation also came under attack.
This Fourth of July marks America’s 250th birthday, a milestone that reminds us just how durable our Constitution has been. For a quarter of a millennium, our system has endured wars, depressions and political upheaval because theFounders designeda structure both strong enough to absorb conflict and flexible enough to keep governing.
But one of our most important institutions has been changing in ways that should concern anyone who cares about how our republic functions. The House of Representatives — the People’s House — is increasingly shifting away from a body that rewards coalition-building and towards one held hostage by radicals bent on making governance impossible.
Millions across the country and around the world tuned in to witness that rare spectacle of political endurance. You might recall the dramatic scenes on the House floor: of representatives standing one-by-one, alphabetically, to announce their vote; of intense roaming huddles and hushed conversations; and of members almost, quite literally, coming to blows near the end. Even Pope Francis later confided in Kevin that he and his staff watched all 15 ballots from his offices in the Vatican.That week certainly made for captivating television. But more importantly, what unfolded over the five-day fiasco made clear that the House has become a place where tiny factions exercise outsize control over the whole institution — and by extension, the whole country. Not because they command a majority, but because they can stop one.
Put differently, a small bloc inside the majority can now work, intentionally or not, alongside the minority party — whose political incentive is often to maximize dysfunction — and together grind the institution to a halt.
In the lead-up to our showdown, for example, conservative Rep. Chip Roy of Texas kept making the same point to me: “No one currently has 218” — a reference to the number of votes required to pass any given measure in the House. My response was simple: “It’s not enough to just block 218. We also need to be able to build 218 — week in and week out this entire Congress.”
This gridlock has not been confined to the McCarthy Era. In recent weeks, House Republicans have repeatedly been forced to cancel votes on key items tied to national security because small factions have chosen to cite leadership’s inaction on a variety of bills as procedural grounds for blocking the broader House agenda.
John Leganski (right) was McCarthy’s Deputy Chief of Staff.CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
That is a remarkable place for the institution to be: unable to advance core priorities because a handful of members are choosing to stop the process before it begins.
Worse still, this strain of parliamentary extremism appears to be spreading.
Look no further than the latest rounds of Democratic primaries in New York and Colorado, where democratic socialist candidates have scored major victories, adding to a growing ideological bloc on the far left that appears willing and eager to thwart their party leadership.
The lesson is the same for both parties: Narrow majorities make small factions more powerful, with profound ramifications not only for legislation, but also the leadership tasked with running the House.
Americans might think the fight for the Speaker’s gavel starts in January, when the new Congress is sworn in. That is incorrect. It starts now, in primaries and in the election of members who may ultimately decide whether the next Speaker governs or drowns.
Every insurgent primary victory strengthens a bloc. Every ideological litmus test shrinks the room for compromise. The shape of the next Congress is being formed as we speak. And — regardless of party — the next Speaker will almost certainly inherit the same stubborn math that tormented this one: razor-thin margins, hardened ideological factions and a chamber where a handful of members can dictate terms far beyond their numbers.
As America enters its 250th year, we should remember that what has sustained this republic for so long has never been unanimity, but governability. While our Constitution was intentionally designed to protect dissent, it was never meant to produce paralysis without end. Take note: If Congress cannot recover the proper balance, future Speaker’s battles and legislative showdowns may make our 2023 look tame by comparison.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavittbelieves her generation is drifting toward the far left thanks to a mix of “laziness” and “liberal indoctrination” on college campuses.
Leavitt, 28, made the assertion Sunday as she ripped into the “bad faith” actors who highlighted an interview she did with Fox News’ Jesse Watters last week about the rise of the far left, during which she argued that some young people are lazy, before elaborating on the phenomenon.
“A combination of laziness, yes, and the liberal indoctrination that has been taking place in our education system for far too long,” Leavitt argued on X about the factors leading to the far left’s rise.
“There are far-left educators pumping students’ heads with garbage, convincing them that hard work and sacrifice won’t pay off down the road because they want them totally reliant on the government instead,” she wrote.
Both President Trump and Leavitt have described the self-styled democratic socialists who won recent Democratic primary victories as “communists.” Many of those lefty victors have insisted they are socialists, not communists.
Meanwhile, Leavitt also suggested that school choice could be part of the remedy for the rise of the radical left and underscored that she was not trying to paint all young people as lazy.
“It’s also true that many Gen Z Americans are hardworking, entrepreneurial, and deeply patriotic, and it’s vital we protect the American Dream for them,” she wrote.
“As the President has correctly warned, ‘communism is the enemy of free people everywhere. It is the enemy of the Constitution. Above all, it is the enemy of July 4, 1776.’ ”
During her interview with Watters, Leavitt warned that a full-blown “communist revolution” was unfolding in Congress and called communism “the biggest threat” to America in 250 years.
Many of the lefty winners in Democratic primaries so far have been in deep blue areas such as House districts in New York City.
Trump warned about the rise of communism during his addresses at Mount Rushmore and the National Mall for Independence Day.
“Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen,” he vowed Saturday.
Several pro-Iran regime US figures said they attended funeral events in Tehran for slain former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, including influencer Jackson Hinkle, Vermont local official Christopher Helali and activist Calla Walsh.
Hinkle, a pro-Iran regime US influencer, said he was “honored” to attend the funeral ceremony with Iranian state TV pundit Mohammad Marandi.
“I was honored to spend my day with Professor Marandi at the last farewell to Sayyed Ali Khamenei,” Hinkle wrote on X.
Helali, who describes himself as the elected high bailiff of Orange County, Vermont, said he was in Iran to “honor and participate” in Khamenei’s funeral.
“I am the ONLY elected USA politician in Iran right now,” Helali wrote on X, adding: “Death to US Imperialism and Zionism!”
US activist Calla Walsh also reported from Khamenei’s funeral prayers in Tehran, describing the gathering as “a resounding referendum on the Iranian masses’ loyalty to the Islamic Revolution.”
Israel is preparing to hand over two limited areas in southern Lebanon to the Lebanese army under a US-backed framework agreement, while retaining most of the territory it controls in the security zone until Hezbollah is disarmed, Israeli news outlet Ynet reported.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convened a security consultation with his small security cabinet on Sunday evening as Israel awaited confirmation that the Lebanese army was ready to enter the areas and approval from US Central Command, the report said.
As Iran holds week-long funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, the political dynamics unfolding behind the scenes point to a striking reality: the succession question that dominated elite politics for more than a decade did not end with his death.
The rapid elevation of his son Mojtaba within ten days was intended to close that chapter. Instead, with the new Supreme Leader still absent from public view, it appears to have opened a new one.
Roughly twenty messages attributed to Mojtaba Khamenei since his succession have failed to convince many Iranians that he is truly exercising power.
Efforts by officials and supporters to prove his presence have often been contradictory, deepening rather than resolving the uncertainty.
