Watch acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing and follow more live updates below:Eight Democrats Hoping To Replace Graham Platner Face Off In Debate TonightMaine voters will weigh who will replace former Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner as eight candidates vying for the nomination debate for the first time tonight. News Center Maine will host a 90-minute debate at 7 p.m. ET, giving voters a chance to hear candidates’ platforms after Platner formally withdrew from the race following bombshell accusations of sexual assault, which he has denied.On stage will be former state Sen. Troy Jackson, former Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Nirav Shah, Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and local brewing executive Dan Kleban, among others.CNN will host a similar debate in partnership with the Bangor Daily News on July 23 at 8 p.m. ET. Maine Democrats will then hold their convention on July 25, during which 601 delegates will vote to choose the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.Latest Live UpdatesWATCH: Leavitt Quizzed On Trump Teleprompter ScandalIf you were dreading the prospect of an entirely ad-libbed speech from President Donald Trump tonight, then fear not. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has confirmed that a replacement autocue operator will take the place of the staffer who normally prompts POTUS.Leavitt confirmed that he has been placed on administrative leave for allegedly using information from drafts of Trump’s speeches to place bets on prediction markets. W.H. Denies CDC Cuts Slowed Response To 'Explosive Diarrhea' ParasiteAsked Thursday if the Trump administration’s deep cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and the Food and Drug Administration slowed the agencies’ response to the cyclospora outbreak currently causing explosive diarrhea in Americans across the country, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt dismissed it entirely.“No, not at all,” Leavitt said in a brief response.Last year, as a result of cuts by the Trump administration, the CDC stopped regularly surveilling cyclospora on the federal level, along with a handful of other potentially deadly pathogens.White House Confirms ICE Vehicle Stops Are Still AllowedWhite House press secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed Thursday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are still permitted to perform vehicle stops after two such maneuvers ended in the deaths of two immigrant men in recent days.Multiple outlets reported earlier this week that the stops had been halted, then swiftly reinstated, following the killings in Texas and Maine.“Vehicle stops are continuing,” Leavitt confirmed. “The president and the Secretary of Homeland Security are on the same page that vehicle stops are a necessary tool that ICE agents need in order to continue their deportation campaign of the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from our country.”She noted that, after a delay, all ICE field agents are expected to have body cameras distributed within 60 days.Leavitt Pushes Networks To Carry Trump Prime Time Speech LiveWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt refused to give specifics about what President Donald Trump will say during a Thursday prime time address, encouraging reporters to watch and pushing networks to carry the speech live.CNN’s Reliable Sources newsletter reported Thursday that, as of 11:40 a.m. ET, none of the major networks had decided how much of his speech — if any — to carry live. Trump teased that he will speak about election security, among other things.Ex-Politico Reporter Begins White House Briefing With Fawning Quesiton For Karoline LeavittReturning to her practice of allowing a “new media” reporter a coveted front-row seat in the press briefing room, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt introduced Rachel Bade, a former Politico Playbook reporter who now works independently.With a resurgent war in Iran, an impending presidential primetime address and wildfire smoke blanketing large swaths of the country, Bade kicked things off with a head-scratcher of a question.“What is your one tip or secret to women who want to have it all?” Bade asked Leavitt, who just returned from maternity leave as a mother of two. The press secretary responded that she views her job “as public service.”Trump Teleprompter Operator Who Cashed In On Kalshi Bets Put On Unpaid LeaveThe teleprompter operator who made $100,000 by placing bets on the contents of Trump’s speeches has been placed on unpaid administrative leave, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday.Leavitt said President Donald Trump is aware of the insider betting and “called it deeply unfortunate” and “a disgrace.”There will be a teleprompter operator for Trump’s primetime address tonight, she said — but not that one.Karoline Leavitt To Hold First Press Briefing Since Maternity LeaveWhite House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is scheduled to hold a press briefing in 10 minutes, her first since going on maternity leave in late April.Likely topics include President Donald Trump’s wayward war with Iran and his primetime address tonight.Hopefully someone also asks about Trump’s teleprompter guy making $100,000 by betting on the content of his speeches.Criminals Are Not To Blame For Reflecting Pool Peeling: ReportThe problems with material peeling off the floor of the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., are likely due to application errors, according to a new Washington Post analysis.President Donald Trump has blamed the peeling at the bottom of the pool on vandals, and several people have been arrested. The Washington Post report suggests there were issues with how the paint was applied; the failures seem to have occurred at the seams. Derek Downey, a pool failure analysis expert, told the Washington Post that tile or grout should have been placed between the pool sections to act as a physical barrier between coating applications, which would have stopped adhesion errors.Read more at Washington Post:White House Teleprompter Operator Bet On Trump’s Speeches, Made Bank: ABC NewsSources familiar with investigators at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission told ABC News a teleprompter operator at the White House has made more than $100,000 by placing bets on President Donald Trump’s speeches.Technical assistant Gabriel Perez allegedly used his inside knowledge of Trump’s speeches, including this year’s State of the Union address, to place bets on the prediction market Kalshi. Other speeches Perez bet on reportedly included a primetime address in December, Trump’s January address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, and a Medal of Honor ceremony in March.The Trump administration has supported the surge of betting markets across the country. The president’s son Donald Trump Jr. is a high-level investor and strategic advisor to Polymarket, a Kalshi competitor, which once allowed bettors to place money on the fate of an American pilot shot down in Iran.Read more on ABC News:SpaceX Shares Drop Below IPO, With More Volatility To ComeThe dip in SpaceX’s shares below its blockbuster IPO price of $135 a share is an ominous sign for Elon Musk’s internet and rocket company as it faces more potential volatility in early August, when the number of shares available for trading on the Nasdaq stands to increase significantly.The company’s stock on Wednesday dipped as low as $132.15 before closing at $135.27. It has now tumbled 33% from its record close in the immediate days after the public sale raised a record $75 billion on June 11. Even after that steep decline, it remains one of Wall Street’s most valuable companies with a market capitalization of roughly $1.8 trillion.Read more, via Reuters:See All Updates