Trump Defends Crypto Income, Says He's Profiting 'Because The Stock Market's Going Up'President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his nearly $1.4 billion dollar profit in crypto earnings during his first year back in office, telling reporters that "everybody's profiting" from his presidency."You know why I'm profiting, because the stock market's going up, everybody's profiting," Trump told reporters ahead of his flight on the new Air Force One donated by the government of Qatar, adding that Americans' investments in their 401K retirement savings plans have increased in his second term. According to a new financial disclosure forms released by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics Tuesday, the president's income surged to over $2 billion in 2025, with a significant amount of income coming from meme coins as well as crypto "token sales" and his family's controversial crypto venture World Liberty Financial.Pressed by a reporter about the message it signals to Americans amid inflation and economic challenges, Trump touted his career as a businessman."I don't get involved in my personal [finances], we have funds that run my money. I've made a lot of money before I became president, and they invest my money, and I don't talk to them," Trump said, brushing aside criticism who say he is profiting off of the presidency. "I don't know if I've had a better career in politics or business, but I had a great career in business," he said.Reporter: "Critics say you're profiting off the presidency."Trump: "You know why I'm profiting? Because the stock market's going up. Everybody's profiting." pic.twitter.com/fpOgIBTY5f— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) July 1, 2026Latest Live UpdatesRussia’s Total Military Casualties Hit 1.4 Million, More Than Double Ukraine’s, Disturbing War Study FindsRussia’s military has suffered approximately 1.4 million battlefield casualties, including as many as 450,000 deaths, since the start of its 2022 invasion of Ukraine, according to a study published Wednesday.The total number of deaths is approximately three times the number experienced by Ukraine’s military, which has suffered between 525,000 and 625,000 casualties and between 125,000 and 150,000 fatalities, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington."Russian fatalities in Ukraine are more than four times greater than all U.S. fatalities in all wars combined since World War II, and more than nine times greater than all Soviet and Russian fatalities in all wars combined since World War II,” the report states.Russia’s monthly casualty rates, of more than 30,000 per month so far this year, also likely exceeds the military’s recruitment rates of roughly 27,000 new recruits per months, the study adds.“The number of Russian casualties and fatalities are astonishing,” it concludes. “Since World War II, no major power has suffered anywhere near these numbers of casualties or fatalities in any war, leaving Russia with a grim and unparalleled recent historical record.”Trump Says He Won't Lose Country To 'This Group Of Losers'President Donald Trump attacked Democrats in a rambling speech Wednesday during the Theodore Roosevelt Museum dedication in North Dakota."And we’re not gonna lose it to this group of losers. Can you imagine?" Trump said of the U.S. and of Democrats. "Have you seen these people? The press is just building them up. They’re losers, OK? They’re nasty people, but they’re losers."Trump then promised to "teach them.""We’ll teach them," he continued. "We’re gonna teach them. They’re not gonna hurt our country."McConnell's Office Declines To Elaborate On His Health Scare Amid New ReportsSen. Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) office declined to elaborate when asked about a Wednesday report from Punchbowl News that he was found unconscious in his home last month when first responders arrived to take him to the hospital, according to audio from a 911 call.When reached for comment, McConnell's office did not offer any additional details but shared a statement from last week: "Senator McConnell is still working closely with staff on Senate business and Kentucky matters as he continues his recovery. However, he will not be voting this week," his office said.Independent journalist Desirée Townsend also posted a clip of the 911 call from June 14, the day McConnell was admitted to the hospital, in which the dispatcher said someone was unconscious. Neither McConnell nor his office have stated the cause for his hospitalization.Peggy Flanagan Says Outside Groups Have Spent $11 Million Trying To Sink Her Senate BidMinnesota Democratic Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan says super PACs and dark money groups have spent nearly $11 million trying to sink her Senate bid against Democratic Rep. Angie Craig.Outside groups are spending more than $1 million a week on TV and digital streaming ads to support Craig, she said on a Wednesday press call. Eight of these ads have been airing since April, and the campaign’s “best guess” is that most of this money is flowing from the cryptocurrency industry and the powerful pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.“Minnesota has never seen this kind of outside spending,” said the lieutenant governor. “Unprecedented. Historic. Unlike anything Minnesotans have experienced in our politics before.”Flanagan, who is running to the left of Craig, has made it central to her campaign that she doesn’t take any corporate PAC money, unlike the moderate congresswoman. On her call, she said the “most important question to ask” is why special interest groups are flooding this race: “They know Angie Craig will do their bidding.”In a statement, Craig's campaign accused Flanagan of "gladly accepting the support of a dark money group." They took issue with Flanagan raising corporate money when she previously led the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, and with the DLGA now spending nearly $1 million to support her campaign. The Craig campaign cited a tweet indicating the DLGA has taken money from a dark money group, Forward Movement Foundation."Hypocrisy has become synonymous with Peggy Flanagan," the congresswoman said in a statement. "The Lt. Governor’s only concern in this race is her own political ambition. But that’s the difference in this race: honesty vs hypocrisy."Both candidates are running to replace Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who is retiring and creating a competitive Senate here for the first time in 20 years. Their campaigns have gotten surprisingly testy, in large part over their records on immigration, and will carry on until the Democratic primary in mid-August. Flanagan has consistently led in polling, while Craig’s campaign is bringing in a lot more money.WATCH: Empire State Intruders Seemingly Get EngagedHelicopter cameras captured the moment that the two people who scaled the Empire State Building appeared to get engaged.But any celebration of a betrothal was short lived: New York authorities have confirmed that the maybe-fiancés are now in custody. Vance Insists To Troops That Trump Gave Them A 'Defined Mission' In IranVice President JD Vance told U.S. troops Wednesday that President Donald Trump gave them a "defined mission" in his disastrous war against Iran.Speaking at a naval air base in Virginia, Vance said as a Marine he encountered leaders "who would not give you a clear mission.""And one of the reasons why I'm proudest of what the President of the United States has done over these last 18 months is because when he has asked you to go to war, he has given you a defined mission, he's asked you to go and accomplish it, and more importantly, he's given you the tools to kick the hell out of the enemy and come home safely."Hostilities in the region have continued even as the U.S. and Iran have attempted to reach a peace deal. Earlier this week, both countries agreed to renew their talks on opening up the Strait of Hormuz.Protesters Climb To The Top Of The Empire State Building To Seemingly Get EngagedTwo masked protesters climbed to the very top of the Empire State Building, with one appearing to propose to the other after they made it to the top.Before that, they had unfurled a flag that reads "When the power of love beats the love of power, the world knows peace."Top CNN Correspondent Set To Leave Amid Warner Bros. AcquisitionPaula Reid, CNN's chief legal affairs correspondent, will reportedly leave the network and head to MS NOW, according to Status and Variety.The move comes as CNN's parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery, is being acquired by Paramount Skydance. The acquisition has reportedly made Reid nervous about the future of CNN, considering the fate of CBS, which is also under the Paramount umbrella. David Ellison, CEO of Paramount, has a close relationship with President Donald Trump. Since Paramount has taken over CBS and enlisted conservative Bari Weiss as editor-in-chief of CBS News, things have been chaotic at the network, with several top journalists either being fired or resigning.Former veteran "60 Minutes" journalist Scott Pelley ripped into Weiss at a staff meeting, telling his colleagues she was "murdering" the TV news magazine. He was subsequently fired. Pete Buttigieg Calls For Human Decency After Bogus Child Abuse Call Takes Children From HimFormer Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is urging Americans to put human decency over politics after an anonymous caller falsely accused him last week of harming his 4-year-old twins, leading to them being temporarily taken away from him in "one of the most awful moments of my life.""They're four years old. They have no idea what any of this means. They didn't know why they were meeting a police officer; they didn't know why they were brought to a room to have a conversation with someone that they've never met. And no one could tell me exactly what was going on until after that interview with the children had happened," he told "Good Morning America" co-anchor George Stephanopoulos on Wednesday."I don’t know how much of this they’re going to remember," he said of his children. "I know I will. It’s one of the most awful moments of my life, and something I wouldn’t wish on anybody."Buttigieg said his family is working to put what happened behind them, while also hoping that whoever made the false police report is found and prosecuted, "because this caused a huge amount of pain on our family.""We just cannot allow our politics to keep moving in this direction," he said. "Who would go into public service if things keep going the way that they are?"He urged the public, at a minimum, not to go after other people's families."We don’t have to agree on politics, we don’t have to agree on policy, we have to agree that we want some fairness, decency, and integrity in public life in this country," he said.As for why the false call escalated to the level that it did, he said he has a lot of questions.Professor Fired After Criticizing Charlie Kirk Reaches $1.9 Million Settlement With SchoolA professor who was fired by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville after criticizing the late right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk in a private social media post has reached a $1.9 million settlement with the school, it was reported this week.A university committee and Board of Trustees approved the settlement earlier this week to Tamar Shirinian, who sued the university’s chancellor, the state university system president and the faculty senate president in October, alleging her constitutional rights were violated in an act of retaliation, local station WBIR reported.State officials must approve the settlement before it’s final.See All Updates