Andy Beshear Requests Health Update From Mitch McConnell's OfficeKentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D) wrote a letter to Sen. Mitch McConnell's office requesting a health update to constituents as speculation mounts over his prolonged absence after the Kentucky Republican was hospitalized last month."Dear Senator McConnell: Over the last several weeks, Kentuckians have grown increasingly concerned about the current state of your health and wellbeing, and ability to hold office in the United States Senate," the letter reads.McConnell, 84, has been hospitalized since June 14. A recent statement from his staff said the senator is continuing to recover, but speculation about his condition has increased, as few details have been released.Meanwhile several Republicans have made public statements claiming they have spoken with the senator by phone in the past few days. "As Governor, I request that you fully update Kentuckians regarding the current status of your health," Beshear continued. "As public officeholders, we have made a commitment to our constituents to do our best to represent them and to always be transparent. I believe this requires clear communication about one's ability to serve. We wish you a safe and speedy recovery." Latest Live UpdatesTrump Gifts Zelenskyy Patriot Missile License: 'You Can't Complain'President Donald Trump said the U.S. will give the Patriot missile license to Ukraine."We're going to give a license to you to make Patriots," Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the NATO summit in Ankara. "That's pretty cool. This way, you can't complain that we're not giving 'em enough."Trump said the companies behind the Patriot system, Lockheed Martin and RTX Corporation (Raytheon), have not yet been informed of his decision.The gift comes after Russia fired missiles at Ukraine on Monday, killing 22 people. The Patriot missiles given to the Ukraine by the U.S. are the only weapon Ukraine has that can shoot down ballistic projectiles from Russia. Nigel Farage's Only Rival Is Man Dressed As Trashcan As U.K. Special Election Turns To FarceNigel Farage, the leader of Britain’s hard-right Reform UK party, made an earnest televised statement Tuesday detailing a political gamble designed to fend off questions about his finances.Less than 24 hours later, his supposedly noble gambit has descended into farce thanks, in no small part, to a man with a trashcan on his head.Farage, the most prominent supporter of Brexit, recently declared war on the media after a series of reports about millions of pounds of gifts he's received from wealthy backers.While railing against press intrusion — fiercely denied by newspapers and broadcasters — Farage announced Tuesday he is quitting as a member of parliament, but would also stand in the special election triggered by his resignation.Farage, a former political outsider whose anti-immigration party has led opinion polls for more than a year, billed the upcoming vote as a chance to bloody the nose of “the establishment,” which he claims cooked up the controversy about the donations.But, as things stand, none of the country's main political parties — including the governing Labor Party — have indicated they will field a candidate in the Clacton constituency in southeast England, calling Farage's move a "desperate stunt" to distract attention from a parliamentary investigation into his finances.In fact, Farage's only challenger is a man dressed as a trashcan who goes by the name of Count Binface.Binface, the silver cape-clad creation of comedian Jonathan Harvey, is part of the great British political tradition of joke candidates. Representatives of the Monster Raving Loony Party have been a staple of late-night election counts in provincial sports centers since the 1980s.Count Binface, whose tongue-in-cheek policies include punishment for anyone using a speakerphone on public transport, may be familiar to British politics watchers after running unsuccessfully against former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak. But the Clacton by-election, as its known, may finally be his time. “Labour, Tories, Lib Dems and Greens: I demand you stand down in Clacton,” Binface wrote on X in a plea for unity. “Leave [Farage] to me,” he added.WSJ: How Canada’s Mark Carney Steered World Leaders Away From The U.S.A new report from the Wall Street Journal details Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s efforts to reduce global leaders’ longtime reliance on the United States amid ongoing threats by President Donald Trump to take over Canada and Greenland.The report published Tuesday reveals Carney’s rapid efforts to meet with and sway European leaders into abandoning their special relationship with the U.S., and the enthusiasm and challenges he's faced while doing so.It follows the WSJ reporting Sunday on nearly 30 world leaders coming together in late January to discuss whether the U.S. had become a threat to the rest of the world and whether separate paths should be explored.While Carney reportedly did not attend that meeting, he was repeatedly mentioned by people in the room, including by Spain’s prime minister, who reportedly told the group that Canada “is openly saying what we should do.”Read more from the WSJ here:Trump Refers To 'Islamic Republic Of Japan,' Calls Zelenskyy 'President Putin'President Donald Trump at times appeared confused as he spoke to reporters at a NATO summit on Wednesday.While sitting alongside Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president bragged about the U.S. military's ability to resist attacks from Iran, saying: “We had 111 missiles shot by the Islamic Republic of Japan.”Also during the briefing, he gestured to Zelenskyy and asked reporters: “Do you have a question for President Putin?”As the journalists corrected him, Trump went into clear-up mode.“Do you have a question for President Putin? Not Zelenskyy, Putin,” he said. “Because I'm going to ask him that question.”The 80-year-old president has repeatedly faced questions about his mental and physical well-being during his second term.DOJ Threatens Criminal Action Against States Over Noncitizen VotingThe Department of Justice warned top election officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia that they could be criminally prosecuted if they allow noncitizen voting, according to letters reviewed by several news outlets.“Any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state's [state voter registration list] or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” read the letters, signed by Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon.The letters also state election officers “could be criminally prosecuted for aiding and abetting” noncitizen voting — a phenomenon that is extremely rare but has been vastly exaggerated as a crisis by the Trump administration.Trump Threatens To Bomb Iran Again Wednesday Night: 'A Little Warning'President Donald Trump doubled down on his threats to Iran, warning the U.S. would bomb the country again Wednesday night, as a peace deal between the two countries appeared dead.Speaking to reporters at a NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, the president said: “We hit them very hard last night. Very, very hard. Probably hit them hard again tonight. I'll give 'em a little warning, we're going to hit them hard tonight. But we'll see how it all works out.”Earlier at the summit, Trump said the U.S.-Iran deal was “over” as he called Iran's leaders “scum” and “cuckoo.”WATCH: Trump Says Iran Ceasefire 'Over'Speaking at the NATO summit in Turkey, President Donald Trump said that, as far as he is concerned, the memorandum of understanding with Iran is over, raising the specter of renewed U.S. military action in the region. Jay Clayton's National Intelligence Hearing Is Now Scheduled For Next WeekJay Clayton’s nomination hearing to serve as director of national intelligence has been scheduled for July 15, the Senate Intelligence Committee announced Tuesday.The hearing would come nearly a month after President Donald Trump abruptly canceled the initial hearing planned for Clayton in an attempt to force Congress to pass a voter identification bill.As part of that political maneuver last month, Trump said the hearing wouldn’t go forward until former federal prosecutor James McDonald, who also served as one of his personal lawyers, was confirmed to replace Clayton as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.In the meantime, the delay kept Trump loyalist and Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte in the temporary role of national intelligence director.As of Wednesday, Trump’s Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE America) Act has not yet been passed by Congress and McDonald has not been confirmed as U.S. attorney. It wasn’t immediately clear whether Trump supports the new hearing date set for Clayton.Trump Files Plea To Block $5 Million Payout To E. Jean CarrollPresident Donald Trump filed a last-minute plea to a New York federal judge to prevent writer E. Jean Carroll from receiving $5 million awarded by a jury that found he had sexually abused and defamed her.Attorneys for president Trump argued that funds from the 2024 civil verdict can't be paid out to Carroll unless and until the Supreme Court rejects the president’s new, long-shot bid for reconsideration of his petition that the high court take his appeal of that verdict.The Supreme Court on June 29 denied Trump's earlier petition to block the payout, saying it would not hear Trump's appeal. However, attorneys for Trump petitioned the Supreme Court for a rehearing of its denial, according to the new filing. Trump Didn't Mention Spain Criticism Or Iran Deal During NATO Summit: ReutersU.S. President Donald Trump did not repeat his criticism of NATO ally Spain nor his announcement of the termination of an interim ceasefire deal with Iran during an alliance leaders' summit in Ankara on Wednesday, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters.Trump, who earlier ordered a halt to trade with Spain over defense spending and the war in Iran, also did not mention the issue of Greenland during the talks, the source said.See All Updates