Jeanine Pirro Blames Department Of Interior For Her Failed Reflecting Pool CaseDistrict of Columbia U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro blamed the Department of Interior (DOI) for her failed criminal case against a former Olympian she accused of damaging the Reflecting Pool. In a new filing on Friday, Pirro said she was dropping the charges because her office had received information “showing that the damage was the result of a botched installation and not vandalism as initially represented by DOI,” which is helmed by Secretary Doug Burgum.Pirro also placed some blame on President Donald Trump’s demand that renovations on the pool be completed by the country’s 250th birthday on July 4. “The rush to complete the project led to hasty and botched work that was not remediated before the project was finished and the fencing removed,” she argued. After the return of the indictment against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn, Pirro said the DOI presented new evidence proving vandalism likely had nothing to do with the damaged memorial.“A recent visual inspection showed damage throughout the Reflecting Pool, even in the middle of the pool, where a vandal would not likely attempt to peel the lining,” the filing reads. “Given all of this newly discovered information, it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism.”Pirro’s claims contradict her statements earlier this month, in which she confidently asserted that Hearn had intentionally caused more than $1,000 in damages to the pool by “forcefully and violently” pulling on the liner. “This is a case with tremendous evidence,” she said during a news conference announcing the felony charge against Hearn.Latest Live UpdatesGOP Vermont Gov. Defends Mail-In Voting, State-Run Elections In Defiance Of TrumpVermont Gov. Phil Scott (R) on Friday championed mail-in ballots and state-run elections, rebuffing President Donald Trump’s push for more restrictions on mail-in voting and his calls for Republicans to nationalize voting. Speaking at the National Governors Association meeting alongside North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D), Scott said mail-in ballots are popular among Republicans in Vermont. “We’re closer to our people and we know what’s right and what’s wrong, and we can control the elections,” Scott told NBC News’ Kristen Welker. When asked what he thinks of Trump’s suggestion that elections should be nationalized, Scott noted that the 10th Amendment is “clear on the role of the states in terms of elections. So I think that we should follow that and we’re closer to the people.”“I would hope that all, if not the majority, of Democrats would agree that this is ours, not the federal government’s,” he continued. “We were here before the federal government was, the states were, and so we formed the government. Now they’re getting bloated, and we need to protect our rights.”FIFA Has Scrapped $20 Billion World Cup Sell-off Plan, New York Post ReportsFIFA’s plan to sell a piece of its business empire to outside investors has collapsed following an open revolt by soccer officials worldwide and a major rift among top FIFA executives, the New York Post reported on Friday.The deal, in which FIFA had aimed to raise up to $4.2 billion by selling a roughly 20% stake in the group, valuing the new arm at $20 billion, is no longer active, the report said, citing four sources familiar with the matter.Read more:DOJ Moves To Drop Case Against Ex-Olympian Charged With Damaging Reflecting PoolThe Justice Department moved Friday to dismiss a criminal case charging a former Olympian with deliberately damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool.Government lawyers said in a 20-page court filing that information provided since the indictment of David Hearn, a former slalom canoeist, shows that the damage was the result of a “flawed installation by the contractor” as well as “the rush to complete the project prior to events associated with the America 250 celebration in the weeks surrounding Independence Day 2026.”Trump Admin Wants To Deregulate Child Care Program: ReportPresident Donald Trump’s administration is set to deregulate federal requirements for the childcare program Head Start, according to a new report.If enacted, Trump’s proposed changes would decimate Head Start’s requirements for literacy and math curriculums, along with class sizes, medical screenings, and home visits, The New York Times reported Friday.Of the many requirements at risk includes one that requires children to brush their teeth after meals.Out-Of-Control SpaceX Rocket To Slam Into MoonA drifting SpaceX rocket is on a collision course with the moon after launching a pair of lunar landers more than a year ago.The rocket’s upper stage will unintentionally slam into the moon on Wednesday, carving out a crater and sending up a plume of dust and rubble that scientists — and skygazers — are eager to observe.Read more, via AP:Authorities Release Ransom Notes In Nancy Guthrie CaseAuthorities released an early ransom note in the investigation into the disappearance of Nancy Guthrie in hopes that someone will recognize the writing style. A second note released Friday indicated Guthrie died.Both notes initially went to a Tucson television station days after the 84-year-old went missing from her home outside Tucson on Feb. 1. Authorities have not said whether Guthrie is still alive.Read more, via AP:Washington Post Opinion Editor Resigns After Just One Year On The JobWashington Post opinion editor Adam O’Neal told his colleagues Friday he’s resigning, effective Aug. 31.O’Neal gave no explanation for the decision in an email to staff, nor did a spokesperson for the paper when asked by a Washington Post reporter.He’s been in the role since June 2025, having been charged by owner Jeff Bezos to retool the section with an emphasis on “personal liberties and free markets.”Former Washington Post opinion editor David Shipley resigned rather than echo Bezos’ talking points.Bezos has gone out of his way to curry favor with the Trump administration.In 2024, the centibillionaire ordered the paper to walk back its planned presidential endorsement of Kamala Harris. Hundreds of thousands of subscribers canceled their subscriptions in protest.The resultant cash crunch undoubtedly played a role in mass layoffs at the paper earlier this year with more than 300 reporters laid off.GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Says He’ll Only Debate If There’s No ModeratorAfter his off-the-rails interview and subsequent primary debate performance went viral, Victor Marx, Colorado’s Republican nominee for governor, says he’ll only debate Democratic nominee Phil Weiser on one condition: There’s no moderator.Marx made the announcement on social media, where he also claimed that an undecided and non-religious voter approached him in public and said Marx earned his vote after Marx decided to pray onstage instead of making a closing statement during the primary debate.“Here in the general I’m only doing one debate. That is my strategy, it’s what it was in the primary. It’s what it’s gonna be in the general,” Marx said in the video statement.“And Phil, I hope your team is watching, because we reached out to you, I did personally. Didn’t hear back,” he continued. “But I’m challenging you to a debate with no moderator.”A spokesman for Weiser’s campaign told Colorado Politics they’re not interested.”We only consider serious offers for serious debates,” communications director Nate Jackson told the outlet.Marx first made national headlines after 9News’ Kyle Clark interviewed him in May. In the interview, Marx claimed to have been forced to kill a man at age 7; got upset at Clark for asking if he’s killed people as an adult; took credit for helping rescue 43 missing children in Florida, yet could offer no proof of that; and told Clark how he performs exorcisms over the phone.Rep. Haley Stevens’ Inexplicable Closing Message: Cool Kids Think I’m WeirdRep. Haley Stevens’ (D-Mich.) closing message ahead of a closely watched Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat in Michigan is a bit of a head-scratcher.In reductionist terms, it’s: People make fun of me, and I’m one of you, therefore people are making fun of you, so vote for me to show them wrong.“There’s those cool kids on the internet making fun of how I talk,” Stevens opens in her latest ad. In the background, “COOL KIDS” flashes in orange and white, cycling through a handful of different fonts. “But let’s be real, they’re making fun of Michigan.”“Their jokes make me fight harder, just like I did when I was working for President Obama,” she continues. “Like I’m doing standing up to Trump to stop ICE. They might not like how I sound but I am going to make damn sure they hear us in the halls of power.”Watch the ad below:Amid Reported Tension, Trump Confronts RFK Jr. About Status Of Autism ResearchPresident Donald Trump asked Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a pointed question on autism research during a Cabinet meeting Friday, days after The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has been frustrated that Kennedy has not done more to cut back childhood vaccines.Kennedy has long been a vaccine critic, suggesting that common childhood vaccinations may cause autism despite a complete lack of scientific evidence. Trump reportedly has been leaning on him to do more to try to prove the link.Kennedy addressed the Cabinet by stating it was his first time being at Camp David in 62 years, and then turning to praise Trump for efforts to lower prescription drug prices for Americans.“How are you doing on the autism research?” Trump interjected.“We will have an answer for you,” Kennedy said. “We just got—”“That’s so important, OK? We’ll be talking about that,” Trump said, interrupting. “We’ll be having something of interest. Such an important thing.”See All Updates