Fauci Pleads the Fifth, Blanche Wobbles, Musk Goes to Court, and Apparently Clapping Is Now a Crime
Today’s major news is a tidy little portrait of power trying to protect itself. Todd Blanche’s nomination is reportedly in trouble, Anthony Fauci faced a politically explosive Senate hearing, and Elon Musk is fighting rules that interfere with his platforms and ambitions. Meanwhile, Americans confronting data centers, ICE, religious favoritism, disinformation, and war are discovering that freedom remains extremely popular in speeches and considerably less fashionable in practice.
Key Developments
- What Comes Next for Todd Blanche examines the Senate fight over Blanche’s nomination and the public pressure campaign seeking to stop Donald Trump’s former personal attorney from becoming the nation’s permanent attorney general. Apparently, transforming presidential loyalty into a Justice Department qualification is not sailing through as quietly as planned.
- The Secret Strategy That Could Break Putin argues that Ukraine can weaken the Kremlin by raising the physical cost of war inside Russia while Putin’s own policies erode Russians’ willingness and ability to finance it. The battlefield matters, but so does the moment when an empire discovers patriotism cannot be direct deposited.
- Fauci’s Lawyer Confronts Rand Paul reports that attorney David Schertler accused Paul of pursuing an obsessive vendetta against Anthony Fauci before security removed Schertler from the hearing. Nothing demonstrates confidence in an investigation quite like having the opposing lawyer escorted away while he is still making his point.
- Fauci Invokes the Fifth More Than 100 Times reports that Fauci declined to answer questions during a Senate inquiry into the origins of COVID and federally supported research, while Paul threatened possible repercussions. Fauci says the hearing was designed to create a prosecution opportunity, which makes invoking a constitutional right considerably less mysterious than the headline alone suggests.
- A Data Center Opponent Was Arrested for Clapping reports that Kansas physics teacher Lux Claridge and two relatives were removed in handcuffs after attending an Emporia City Commission meeting to oppose a proposed hyperscale data center. The artificial intelligence industry apparently needs so much electricity that local democracy must now operate in silent mode.
- A CIA Assessment Reportedly Describes Israel’s Long Term Strategy says Israeli officials are seeking deeper military, intelligence, and technology integration with the United States as public support for Israel declines. The reported goal is to make the alliance harder for future administrations to unwind, because unpopular policy becomes much more durable once it is buried inside the machinery.
- Elon Musk Is Suing Minnesota examines a lawsuit challenging a Minnesota law addressing sexually explicit deepfakes, child sexual abuse material, and nonconsensual intimate imagery on online platforms. Musk continues to market X as a monument to freedom, although the freedom being defended keeps arriving with a victim attached.
- Donald Trump’s 2015 Company Ownership List presents a newly surfaced list identifying more than 500 companies reportedly owned by Trump in 2015. It is not a substitute for tax returns or proof of misconduct, but it offers researchers a valuable road map through the corporate maze Trump spent years asking everyone to admire without examining too closely.
- Right Wing Media and OnlyFans Feed Each Other explores the profitable cycle in which conservative outrage directs attention toward adult creators while those creators gain subscriptions and visibility from the condemnation. The moral panic machine remains shocked to discover that repeatedly advertising something can increase its audience.
- Elon Musk’s 20 Billion Dollar Bet examines Musk’s effort to replace older transportation systems through the Boring Company as the tunneling venture reportedly seeks billions in new funding at a valuation near 20 billion dollars. Investors are once again being invited to finance a future in which the main engineering challenge may be separating Musk’s promises from functioning infrastructure.
- Blanche’s Nomination Is Reportedly in Peril says Republican senators are withholding support unless the Justice Department gives a written commitment to eliminate a controversial 1.8 billion dollar fund for people claiming political persecution. Blanche may have discovered that loyalty can open the door to power, but it does not always count the committee votes correctly.
- Climate Change Is Increasing Nuclear Risk in the Arctic warns that melting ice, thawing permafrost, military competition, radioactive contamination, and weakened international cooperation are creating overlapping dangers that current institutions are not equipped to manage. We have successfully combined climate collapse, nuclear weapons, and geopolitical rivalry into one frozen crisis that is no longer staying frozen.
- Pete Hegseth Is Undermining Religious Freedom in the Military argues that Pentagon prayer services organized around Hegseth’s preferred evangelical tradition are sidelining military chaplains and weakening religious pluralism. Freedom of religion becomes something else entirely when the secretary of defense picks the religion and invites everyone else to watch.
- Iran Has Learned How to Pressure American Air Defenses examines how concentrated missile and drone attacks can strain finite American interceptor supplies and expose vulnerabilities in regional bases. Washington built extraordinarily expensive defenses, and Iran appears to have noticed that inexpensive volume can become a weapon all by itself.
- Meta Will Train Its Artificial Intelligence on Newsmax reports that Meta will use current and archived Newsmax material to support artificial intelligence responses across its products, despite the outlet’s documented record of election misinformation and costly defamation settlements. Garbage in, garbage out has apparently been upgraded from a warning to a corporate partnership strategy.
- The Right Has Somehow Started Fighting With Ms. Rachel examines the backlash against the children’s educator over her advocacy for children affected by war, displacement, and ICE detention. Picking a political fight with the woman who teaches toddlers kindness is certainly one way to clarify which side of the moral lesson you occupy.
- Witnesses Say ICE Chased and Tackled a Woman reports witness allegations that immigration agents pursued and physically detained a woman as community members documented the encounter. These local accounts matter because aggressive enforcement increasingly depends upon confusion, fear, and the hope that nobody nearby is keeping receipts.
Featured Resisters and Resources
- The Open Government Guide is a comprehensive legal resource from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. It explains public records laws and open meetings laws in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- POGO Investigates is the independent news reporting division of the nonprofit Project On Government Oversight. Its investigative journalists examine systemic corruption, conflicts of interest, government misconduct, corporate influence, wasteful federal spending, civil rights violations, and abuses of public power.
What We Are Watching Today
- 8:30 AM EDT
House Pro Forma Session - 9:30 AM EDT
U.S. House Candidate Matt Maasdam Attends Canvass Launch in Lansing - 10:00 AM EDT
U.S. Senate Live - 10:30 AM EDT
Ambassador, IMF & U.S. Agency for Global Media Nominees Testify at Confirmation Hearing Live - 1:30 PM EDT
President Trump Makes Announcement on Freedom Haulers Initiative - 2:00 PM EDT
NASA Holds News Conference on Upcoming Spacewalks - 6:00 PM EDT
U.S. Senate and House Candidates Scott Brown and Brian Cole Host Town Hall in Manchester - Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions | 9:45 AM (EDT) | Meeting Details
- Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media | 10:00 AM (EDT) | Meeting Details
- Senate Committee on Finance | 10:00 AM (EDT) | Meeting Details
Today’s Call to Action
1. Read Today’s Resistance Survival Guides
2. Sign these Petitions and Send These Pre Written Letters
- Congress must fix RFK Jr.’s public health disaster
- Sign the petition if you agree: Legally block Donald Trump’s $1.776 billion taxpayer-funded “weaponization” compensation fund for his political allies. Todd Blanche’s promise that the fund is dead is not enough.
- Tell Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella: Stop cutting jobs to protect Wall Street returns. Suspend stock buybacks and invest in workers instead.
- Sign and send a petition your members of Congress: Do not cut Social Security. Instead, pass legislation protecting and expanding our earned benefits by removing the income cap on Social Security taxes.
3. Verify your voter registration status and help at least one other person check theirs
4. Save contact information for local legal aid and voting support organizations
5. Attend an Event
- Attend a Discussion About Journalists at Risk: Reporters at Risk: The State of Press Freedom in Iraq brings together journalists and press freedom experts to discuss intimidation, detention, violence, and assassination targeting reporters in Iraq. Thursday, July 30, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. Eastern
- RSVP now for The Plan to Protect Your Vote with Stacey Abrams, Thursday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
6. Contact Your Lawmakers Directly
- Call Your Senators: Stop Unauthorized War With Iran
- Action: Call both United States senators and demand that they support the War Powers Resolution and require congressional authorization for continued military action against Iran.
- Script: Hello, my name is [NAME], and I am a constituent from [CITY AND ZIP CODE]. I am calling to demand that Senator [NAME] support the War Powers Resolution and vote to end unauthorized military action against Iran. The Constitution gives Congress the power to decide whether this country goes to war. American troops are being harmed, weapons supplies are being depleted, and the conflict is spreading across the region. Congress must stop surrendering its authority to the president. Please record my demand for a public vote against any continued military action that has not received congressional authorization. Thank you.
- Call Your Senators: Reject the Saudi Nuclear Deal
- Action: Call both United States senators and demand that they oppose the Saudi nuclear agreement unless it includes strict international inspections and a complete prohibition on uranium enrichment and fuel reprocessing.
- Script: Hello, my name is [NAME], and I am a constituent from [CITY AND ZIP CODE]. I am calling to ask Senator [NAME] to oppose the Trump administration’s nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia unless it includes the strongest possible safeguards. Saudi Arabia must accept comprehensive international inspections and permanently give up domestic uranium enrichment and fuel reprocessing. The United States cannot claim to oppose nuclear proliferation while creating a dangerous exception for a politically connected monarchy. Please demand the full agreement, hold public hearings, and vote against it if these protections are missing. Thank you.
- Call Congress: Stop the SEC Cellphone Surveillance Contract
- Action: Call your United States representative and both senators. Demand an investigation into the SEC plan to acquire artificial intelligence tools capable of monitoring cellphone locations, social media activity, and credit information.
- Script: Hello, my name is [NAME], and I am a constituent from [CITY AND ZIP CODE]. I am calling to demand immediate congressional oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s proposed surveillance contract with Babel Street. Public documents indicate that the agency wants artificial intelligence tools capable of analyzing cellphone location data, social media activity, and credit information. A financial regulator should not be quietly building a system that can track ordinary people without meaningful transparency or clear protections. Please demand the contract documents, hold a public hearing, and block funding until Congress establishes strict warrant, privacy, retention, and audit requirements. Thank you.
7. Boycott Fascist Businesses
- Why boycott Amazon: An estimated 123,000 Amazon employees receive Medicaid at an annual public cost of approximately $927 million. Jeff Bezos grows richer while taxpayers help provide the health care Amazon wages fail to cover. Do instead: Buy directly from manufacturers, independent bookstores, local shops, eBay sellers, or worker owned businesses.
- Why boycott Walmart: An estimated 156,000 Walmart employees receive Medicaid, costing taxpayers approximately $1.04 billion annually before dependent coverage is included. The Walton family has accumulated extraordinary wealth while the public subsidizes its workforce. Do instead: Shop at local grocers, farmers markets, Aldi, Costco, thrift stores, cooperatives, and independent retailers whenever possible.
- Why boycott Tesla: Elon Musk continues denying the human consequences of the DOGE assault on foreign aid, including programs that supplied food, medicine, and disease monitoring. Do not reward him for converting government destruction into personal branding. Do instead: Keep the vehicle you already own, use public transportation, or consider an electric vehicle made by a unionized manufacturer.
- Why boycott X: Musk uses X to spread his political message, attack critics, and dismiss concerns about the consequences of DOGE cuts. Every active user, advertisement, and paid subscription helps preserve the platform’s political influence. Do instead: Move conversations to Bluesky, Mastodon, independent forums, newsletters, or your own website.
- Why boycott Botanic Tonics: The company sells Feel Free, a kratom and kava tonic that critics have linked to dependency and described as gas station heroin. Growing public health concerns deserve more attention than the company’s political connections or wellness marketing. Do instead: Do not purchase Feel Free products. Ask local gas stations, smoke shops, and convenience stores to stop selling them, especially near products marketed to young people.
Let’s Roll Kitties
The common thread running through today’s news is not subtle. Political power is being embedded inside institutions, technology companies are deciding what information their systems will absorb, and public officials are treating ordinary scrutiny as an obstacle to be managed. Yet people are still documenting hearings, challenging nominations, recording ICE operations, opposing destructive development, and even clapping when someone in power would prefer silence. Resistance is rarely glamorous. Sometimes it is simply refusing to let the official version become the only version.
