Key MomentTrump Formally Nominates Todd Blanche For Attorney General RolePresident Donald Trump on Monday formally nominated acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to serve in the role permanently, the White House announced Monday.The nomination, which comes after Trump fired Pam Bondi from the role in April, has been sent to the Senate for approval. Some Republicans in the chamber have expressed skepticism about Blanche in the role. In May, Blanche granted Trump, his family and the Trump Organization immunity through the Justice Department from prosecution by the Internal Revenue Service.Latest Live UpdatesBeware: The New World Screwworm Has Crossed State LinesThe Department of Agriculture has confirmed that the dreaded New World screwworm found last week in southern Texas has since spread to a point beyond state lines, with a case of an infested dog reported Monday becoming the first in New Mexico."This is believed to be an isolated case," the agency said of the Lea County infection. "However, because the dog's recent travel and exposure history remain unknown, USDA and state partners have initiated inspection of additional animals in the dog's home and increased outreach in the area while continuing to investigate the animal's movement history."Every other case recently reported to the USDA has been in Texas. Since last week, the agency has found two infested calves in Zavala County, one infested calf in LaSalle County and one infested goat in Gillespie County.USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins said her agency is expanding the capacity for sterile fly production and dispersal, as well as increasing surveillance and detection in wildlife along the border. The screwworm poses a serious threat to livestock, pets and wildlife.Rollins has previously tried to blame the Biden administration for the reemergence of screwworm, despite President Donald Trump and Elon Musk gutting funding for detection and firing a quarter of the workers responsible for monitoring the parasitic fly larvae.Trump Calls On John Thune To Fire Senate Parliamentarian Over SAVE America Act RullingPresident Donald Trump on Monday called for Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to fire the Senate parliamentarian so Republicans can pass the SAVE America Act. "Senate Majority Leader John Thune should immediately fire the Parliamentarian, who treats Republicans, and everything that they stand for, horribly," the president wrote on his website. Trump lashed out at Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough, calling her a "radical left lunatic" after she ruled the SAVE America Act -- a GOP-backed bill to crack down on supposed election fraud -- violated the Byrd Rule, which dictates what can be included in budget reconciliation bills."We have every right to change her, and should do so, IMMEDIATELY," he wrote. "As long as she’s there, we will never get our desperately needed, SAVE AMERICA ACT, approved, and put into full force and effect."Trump last month went on a similar social media rant about MacDonough after she blocked funding for his ballroom in Republicans’ budget reconciliation package. More Than 120 Democrats Condemn Anti-Muslim 'Sharia-Free America' CaucusAbout 126 lawmakers signed on to a letter Monday condemning the recently established, bicameral so-called "Sharia-Free America Caucus" – saying the xenophobic group and its proposed legislation "reflects longstanding Islamophobic narratives and anti-Muslim sentiment rather than any demonstrated policy need."The lawmakers and civil rights activists said the "hateful caucus" – in which some members have described Muslims in dehumanizing terms – promotes measures that discriminate against the Muslim community and would violate their free speech and religious rights."To be clear, American Muslims serve this nation in every capacity and are entitled to the same constitutional protections as all other Americans," the letter to congressional leaders stated. "They are guided by both faith and civil responsibility to respect the U.S. Constitution, follow the law and contribute positively to their communities and to the nation they call home."Bigotry against Muslims has skyrocketed in the U.S. since 9/11, with the community having to go above and beyond to show they are upstanding members of society like Americans of other faiths, and not extremists as falsely depicted by media and anti-Muslim politicians.Trump Faces Another Loss In Court As Judge Strikes Down $100K H-1B Visa FeeA federal judge ruled Monday that President Donald Trump's $100,000 fee for new H-1B visas is an illegal tax not authorized by Congress, a win for Democrats challenging the administration's immigration crackdown.H-1B visas are issued for up to six years to people from abroad whom the U.S. considers highly skilled workers. Employers typically paid between $2,000 and $5,000 in fees to obtain the temporary visa for a foreign worker in a "specialty occupation" before Trump announced the massive cost increase in September.The administration argued the fee is a monetary penalty, claiming the H-1B program "has been deliberately exploited to replace … American workers with lower-paid, lower-skilled labor." The nearly two dozen attorneys general who sued the administration over the issue said Trump did not have the authority to impose the fee, which would actually hurt the country's workforce.The judge's ruling shuts down the $100,000 fee, deeming it a tax Trump does not have the authority to issue because Congress did not give him that power under federal immigration law. The White House has not yet commented on the ruling.After Court Order, Kennedy Center Starts De-Trumpifying ItselfThe Kennedy Center has started scrubbing President Donald Trump’s name from its branding ahead of a June 12 court-ordered deadline that it fully revert to its actual, Congressionally-approved, name.Most visibly, that includes the cultural institution’s website, which no longer reads “The Trump Kennedy Center.”The edifice’s actual physical signage, complete with Trump's towering name, still remains however. The Kennedy Center’s vice president of public relations, Roma Daravi, told the Associated Press they may appeal the ruling and “are complying with the court’s order while evaluating all legal options.”U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper ruled last month that Trump’s handpicked board of trustees had no legal standing to add Trump’s name to the venue. Congress authorized the name in 1964 in honor of the recently assassinated President John F. Kennedy.“The Kennedy Center’s organic statute makes crystal clear that the Center is to be named for President Kennedy, and it cannot bear any other formal name or public memorial based on the Board’s unilateral say-so,” Cooper wrote. “Congress gave the Kennedy Center its name, and only Congress can change it.”Mamdani Acknowledges Extra Procedures For Trump’s Security At NBA Finals, With Anti-Trump Protesters Expected OutsideNYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani told reporters Monday there will indeed be some extra procedures for fans attending Game 3 of the NBA Finals at Madison Square Garden tonight. President Donald Trump plans to also attend, which means it won’t be business as usual.That includes having to install a buffer outside the venue for anti-Trump protesters.“The procedures that are being taken today are ones that honor that right [to protest], and they also look to ensure that we are providing safety and security for this evening,” he said.The Secret Service's protocols "necessitate a different set of preparation than we would otherwise be taking," the mayor continued.Street closures will also play a prominent role, the New York City Police Department said. Beginning at 4 p.m. today, no traffic, including pedestrians, will be allowed from West 30th Street to West 35th Street between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue.NYPD said no one will be allowed inside the area unless they “have a ticket to the game, a train ticket, are going to a business inside the area, have credentials, or have some other authorized reason to be there.”Republicans Who Cut Screwworm Monitoring Program Now Blame Biden For ScrewwormRepublicans are rushing to blame former President Joe Biden for the return of a brutal flesh-eating parasite called New World screwworm, despite having killed the screwworm monitoring program in March 2025.Appearing on CNBC Monday, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins zeroed in on a familiar, and imaginary, foe: immigrants. The screwworm, claimed Rollins, has returned decades after it was eradicated because Biden had an “open borders policy.”Biden did not have an open borders policy.“Under the last administration with the massive movement under the open borders policy, the cartels, etc., border security, that’s when [screwworm] began to make its way back up toward America, hitting Mexico in early 2023, moving its way up through Mexico in 2024,” Rollins said.“And when we walked in the door last year — I was sworn in on Feb. 13 of 2025 — they laid this all out for me and I said, well, where are the sterile flies, right? I mean, we’ve beaten it before, we’ve got to beat it again, and obviously not much had been done to, uh, push back.”Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, echoed Rollins’ talking points in an interview with Newsmax.“This is another thing we can thank Joe Biden for,” Marshall claimed. “Millions of people came out of Central America. They brought this screwworm with them, it was on their pets and maybe on their flesh as well."Screwworm infestations primarily affect livestock.The screwworm monitoring program was abruptly terminated in March 2025, after Rollins took over. So, too, were 5,300 other grants and programs killed by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, when the Elon Musk-led bureau gutted the United States Agency for International Development.At the time, Musk called USAID a “crazy waste of money” and “a radical-left political psy op.”Peyton Schuman, senior director of government relations for the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association, told KXAN Austin a screwworm outbreak could cost Texas $1.8 billion a year, with cattle producers bearing the brunt of more than $700 million in annual losses.Defying Trump With Brief Iran Fight, Israel Seeks Sway Over Peace TalksIn launching renewed strikes on Iran on Monday in apparent open defiance of Donald Trump, Israel has tried to make its case to have a say at the peace negotiating table, where it has so far been kept at arm’s length by the U.S. president.Despite Trump publicly calling for Israel to hold fire, it struck targets in Iran for the first time since a ceasefire in April, after Iran fired missiles at Israel in what Tehran said was retaliation for Israeli strikes on Lebanon’s capital.Read more from Reuters:WATCH: HuffPost Wraps Up The Tony AwardsFrom Pink doing her thing to history being made, the 2026 Tony Awards had everything that Broadway fans could've wanted.RFK Jr. Is 'Checked Out,' Keeping Focus On Pet Projects Over Wider Public Health Concerns: ReportHealth Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is single-mindedly focusing on his pet projects — like fighting vaccines, pesticides and promoting food recommendations — rather than broader public health concerns and policy issues, The New York Times reported, citing multiple colleagues who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Kennedy surrounds himself with a close circle of handpicked advisers, receives few briefings about the deadly Ebola outbreak, which has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization, and has shown little interest in managing the details of his department work, fellow health department employees told the outlet.Several described him as "checked out" and often scrolling on his phone when he does attend a weekly department meeting, which is typically once a month.Read more at The New York Times:See All Updates