9m ago / 8:09 AM EDTU.S. committed to helping end Ukraine war but no quick deal, Rubio says after meeting with Russia’s LavrovSecretary of State Marco Rubio said today the Trump administration is poised to help end the “senseless war” in Ukraine but acknowledged there is no quick path to a deal, saying diplomacy will require sustained effort and new ideas.Rubio, who earlier held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, said Moscow and Kyiv should have the incentive to end a “very blood war” that devastated both sides.Read the full story here.51m ago / 7:27 AM EDTRep. Jim Jordan formally asks DOJ to prosecute Jack Smith over congressional testimonyThe top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to the Justice Department yesterday requesting a criminal investigation of former special counsel Jack Smith, alleging he made false statements during a congressional deposition last year.Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, wrote in a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche that Smith “seemingly made willfully and intentionally false statements of material fact that contradict new documents” the Senate Judiciary Committee obtained this month.In a letter to Jordan and Blanche, attorneys for Smith denied that he made any false statements during his deposition, writing that he “provided truthful, responsive answers and candidly discussed his work as Special Counsel.”Read the full story here.51m ago / 7:27 AM EDT‘Off the charts’: Secret Service describes rising threats to protecteesThe Secret Service has opened more than 10,000 investigations this year into threats against people it protects, a 40% rise over the same period last year, officials said yesterday.Director Sean Curran told reporters at a briefing that the volatile political climate has reached a new level that he has not seen in his 24-year career.He said the threat numbers are “off the charts.”Read the full story here.51m ago / 7:26 AM EDTOil tankers attacked as Iran threatens to turn new trade route into a ‘Gate of Tears’Far from easing the crisis over a key global trade route, Iran has now moved to create another critical chokepoint. The Iran-backed Houthi militants said Thursday that they had struck two tankers in the Red Sea, risking another bottleneck that could further disrupt global energy supplies, spike prices and heap domestic political pressure on President Donald Trump.Read the full story here.51m ago / 7:26 AM EDTSen. Tina Smith endorses Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan Senate raceMichigan progressive Abdul El-Sayed is picking up another endorsement for Senate, with Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., announcing that she is backing him. Smith, whose endorsement was shared first with NBC News, is part of a group of Democratic senators who have been weighing in key primaries and have been critical of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s approach to intraparty contests. “I’ve been in Washington for nearly nine years, and I’ve seen two kinds of senators. There are those that go along to get along, hoard their power, and pacify big money. And then there are the fighters willing to challenge the status quo to make this country better for working people,” Smith said in a statement. “Abdul is a fighter, and that’s why I’m endorsing him to be the next United States Senator for Michigan.”Smith, who is retiring, went on to say that the nation’s capital needs leaders “with bold ideas for how to help Americans afford their lives and fix an economic system that’s rigged to benefit the wealthiest and biggest corporations while regular people struggle to pay for rent and groceries, let alone save a little for a vacation or their retirement.”Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., has endorsed progressive Abdul El-Sayed for Senate in Michigan. Getty ImagesSmith joins fellow Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and fellow Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland in backing El-Sayed, who is facing Rep. Haley Stevens in the Aug. 4 primary.Stevens has been endorsed by Schumer, retiring Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and former Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow.