Lorenzo Salgado Araujo killed.....

Men who witnessed deadly Houston shooting say ICE statement is false, attorney says

By Julianna Bragg, Priscilla Alvarez

Federal officials’ version of what led to the fatal shooting of a man in Houston during an immigration operation this week doesn’t match that of three men detained during the incident, an attorney who spoke with them says.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials have said an agent opened fire Tuesday after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national, rammed a law enforcement vehicle and refused to follow verbal commands during a traffic stop that was part of a “targeted operation.”

But the three men who were detained told attorney Hugo Balderas-Ibarra the version of events presented by ICE is false: “At no point did they use the van to ram into the ICE agents and at no point were these ICE agents’ lives ever in any danger,” the lawyer said in a video posted to his Instagram.

Salgado Araujo was shot after agents in two black SUVs without apparent law enforcement markings pursued his white work van, surveillance videos obtained by CNN and the League of United Latin American Citizens show.

Police lights flashed on in one unmarked ICE vehicle, and the work van slowed before ICE vehicles rammed into it, Balderas-Ibarra told The Washington Post, citing the detained men. An ICE agent then exited his vehicle and opened fire almost immediately, striking Salgado Araujo, the lawyer said. CNN has reached out to him and ICE for comment.

Salgado Araujo was not the target of the operation, a source familiar with preliminary details about the incident told CNN.

Complete details of the deadly encounter remain unclear as questions about how it escalated, calls for an independent investigation and community outcry mount. The FBI, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office are now investigating.

The case marks the first fatal shooting involving federal immigration agents since US citizens Renée Good and Alex Pretti were killed in ICE operations in Minneapolis. It again raises questions about who is targeted by a nationwide immigration enforcement push the Trump administration says aims to remove dangerous criminals from the US.

Before Tuesday’s encounter, Texas authorities had notified ICE about two people – neither of them Salgado Araujo – believed to be in the United States without legal status and traveling in a white van, according to the source.

On Tuesday, “officers were almost at the target’s address when they observed a white van with an individual who resembled the target. Officers then initiated the vehicle stop,” a Homeland Security official told CNN.

The van was registered to Salgado Araujo, whom agents determined to be in the country illegally, the source said.

When ICE agents tried to stop Salgado Araujo, he rammed their vehicle, resulting in an officer firing his weapon in self-defense, the agency said.

Salgado Araujo’s family disputes the federal government’s account and says the hardworking father of three would have stopped if he had known the car following him belonged to ICE.

The Department of Homeland Security has not released footage of the shooting. None of the agents involved had been issued body-worn cameras, a spokesperson said.

Video circulating online of a black SUV following the white van and of a man on the ground as a federal agent kneels over him have fueled anger in Houston and beyond.

Father had sought legal status

Like most days, Salgado Araujo left his home Tuesday to head to Houston’s predominately Hispanic East End to pick up the rest of his construction crew – his brother and two others – before driving north to work on some homes, the family said.

Shortly before 7 a.m., ICE agents tried to stop him, the agency said.

CNN has asked DHS whether immigration enforcement agents identified themselves to Salgado Araujo.

After the shooting, a federal agent on a phone kneels over a wounded man lying face down and moaning in pain beside a white SUV parked near a barbershop, video shows. The right side of the wounded man’s stomach was bleeding, said Juliet Martinez, a Houston resident who recorded the video and shared it with CNN.

“He was screaming for help and screaming that he was in pain,” Martinez recalled. “He yelled, ‘Help me! They shot me!’”

Emergency services were contacted immediately after Salgado Araujo was shot, ICE said in an updated statement Wednesday.

His cause of death was a gunshot wound to the torso and, the manner of death was ruled a homicide, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences told CNN Thursday. As of Thursday evening, Salgado Araujo’s body had not been returned to the family, his son told CNN.

Salgado Araujo’s son believes his father would have complied with federal agents had he known the unmarked vehicle following him belonged to ICE or another law enforcement agency, Ronaldo Salgado, told CNN.

Salgado Araujo had prepared for the possibility of an encounter with federal immigration authorities, his son said. The father had consulted attorneys and planned to decline signing any documents before calling his wife or son to help secure his release, if ever detained.

He was also “close to obtaining his legal status,” Ronaldo Salgado said. “We dotted every ‘i’, crossed every ‘t,’ filled every document, attended every appointment.”

Salgado Araujo had spent three decades living and working in the US while providing for his family and progressing toward a work permit, his son said, describing him as a private, hardworking family man.

Salgado Araujo did not appear to have a criminal record, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Investigations are underway

The DHS Office of the Inspector General is now leading an investigation into the shooting, according to ICE. The FBI’s Houston field office is also investigating the alleged assault on a federal law enforcement officer.

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing its own investigation and independently collecting information on the shooting, though “access to key evidence remains under federal control,” spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre said.

Cases in which a community member dies during an encounter with law enforcement are “the most critical cases to handle properly,” District Attorney Sean Teare told Houston Public Media on Thursday.

“We have got to be able to explain to the community in these cases more than any other that we are above board, that we are transparent, that we are going to get to the bottom of it, whether we like the outcome or not.”

Protecting the investigation’s integrity is his top priority, Teare added.

“We’re going to look at every avenue, and if a state crime was committed, be it a murder, be it a manslaughter, be it tampering with evidence, we are going to investigate it,” Teare said. “And if someone committed that crime, you don’t get to hide behind a badge.”

Texas Democratic lawmakers, activists and Salgado Araujo’s family are demanding a more in-depth investigation, with the civil rights group LULAC offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.

LULAC’s Chief Executive Officer Juan Proaño is also asking for the return of Salgado Araujo’s body to his family and the retention of all possible evidence.

Democratic Rep. Sylvia Garcia of Texas suggested escalating the case beyond an independent investigation, if necessary.

“If they can’t do it, we need to go to the commission on civil rights. We need to ask the US Government Accountability Office,” Garcia told CNN. “We should even go to the UN Council on Human Rights.”

The life behind the headlines

Ronaldo Salgado wants the world to remember his father not for how he died but for the life he built as a husband, father and business owner who believed in the American dream.

“He did not deserve to be reduced to a headline of ‘Mexican man shot and killed by ICE,’” the son told CNN.

Salgado Araujo met his wife as a teenager in Mexico, his son said. Together, they raised three sons, emphasizing the idea of “education taking us so far in life,” Ronaldo Salgado said. The eldest son became a teacher, while his brothers went into engineering.

His father also built a successful construction business, working on hundreds of homes across the Houston area over three decades, his son said. Salgado Araujo was “known for his work ethic, his fairness, and his willingness to help anyone who needed it,” a GoFundMe organized for the family said.

“I am deeply heartbroken to see that the man who taught me the value of hard work, family values and education will no longer spend an evening on that porch,” Ronaldo Salgado said.

Is he dead?????

McConnell was loaded into ambulance on a stretcher, according to eyewitness and new video

By Annie Grayer

Emergency responders took Sen. Mitch McConnell to an ambulance on a stretcher after being called to his home last month for a report of an unconscious person, according to new video of the incident and an eyewitness account.

A neighbor of McConnell told CNN that they opened their door to find commotion outside their home at around 8:30 a.m. on June 14, with two ambulances a fire truck and Capitol Police officers blocking the entire street.

Videos taken by the neighbor show emergency responders wheeling a person on a stretcher toward an ambulance. The videos are shot from some distance, and the face of the person is not visible. Once in the ambulance, the person’s lower legs appear to be covered by an orange blanket, but feet are visible.

The neighbor said they asked officers what was going on, and the officers responded that there had been a “medical emergency.” But when the neighbor inquired if McConnell was having a medical emergency, officers said they would block the street for anybody. The neighbor said they learned from another eyewitness who saw the individual’s face that the person on the stretcher was McConnell and he was not wearing an oxygen mask.

The video and the neighbor’s account have not been previously reported. They offer new details about the circumstances of McConnell’s hospitalization, which has been shrouded in mystery. When the incident first occurred, his spokesperson only said that McConnell was “admitted to the hospital this morning” and was “receiving excellent care.”

Weeks later, McConnell’s team has still not disclosed what prompted the senator to be taken to the hospital, nor have they disclosed specific details of his condition. And while friends and former colleagues have told reporters they have talked to McConnell in recent days, they too, have not offered any details about his health.

A spokesperson for McConnell declined to comment.

The neighbor who spoke to CNN said they saw emergency responders bring the person on the stretcher out from McConnell’s residence about 30 minutes after first noticing emergency vehicles blocking the street. The neighbor said they were taken aback by the person’s feet being uncovered in the video. McConnell’s residence, the address of which CNN corroborated with public records, is visible in the video, which was shot the day his team has said he was hospitalized.

“He’s in a stretcher, and he’s in some sort like orange foam looking blanket type thing,” the neighbor said. The neighbor said they looked at McConnell’s feet, which were uncovered and — in a brief glimpse — were “not moving.”

The neighbor said while they did not see McConnell’s face, others on the block did.

“One of my neighbors is like, ‘Oh yeah, it’s Mitch, I saw his face,’” the neighbor recounted to CNN.

An EMS audio recording published by an independent journalist indicated that the emergency responders were called to McConnell’s Washington, DC, home for an “unconscious” person for a “cardiac arrest,” and someone is heard saying, “CPR in progress.”

The neighbor said emergency responders worked quickly – but they did not seem panicked.

“In a situation where perhaps time is of the essence, there seems to be a little bit more urgency, but there was no urgency here,” the neighbor told CNN.

When the emergency vehicles left the street, the neighbor said their sirens were not on.

McConnell’s lengthy hospitalization has sparked significant speculation online about his condition. Some high-profile Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, put out statements saying they have recently spoken with McConnell. CNN senior political commentator Scott Jennings told CNN’s Kasie Hunt on “The Arena” that he talked with McConnell on the phone Tuesday and his “voice sounded strong,” and McConnell was feeling OK — obviously well enough to call me on the phone.”

Not Funny

 

Calls for an investigation....

Brussels wants action over Trump-Infantino red card controversy

The fight over Folarin Balogun’s suspended one-match ban has sparked new calls for an investigation by a multiparty faction of European lawmakers.

Jonas Loesel

Seventy-two members of the European Parliament on Wednesday demanded an investigation into FIFA President Gianni Infantino after FIFA lifted the red card suspension of star U.S. striker Folarin Balogun following a call from President Donald Trump.

Last Thursday, Trump called Infantino to lobby for the automatic ban given to Balogun after receiving a red card against Bosnia and Herzegovina to be overturned. Four days later, FIFA’s disciplinary committee cleared Balogun to play in a crunch match against Belgium.

In a letter sent to the national football federations of the EU’s 27 member countries and obtained by POLITICO, the lawmakers asked them to “add your voice to recent calls in support of an investigation” into Infantino.

“Let us be clear: FIFA’s decision to change the rule on red card suspension mid-tournament is a disgrace and perversion of justice,” said Renew MEP Barry Andrews, who wrote the letter. “Once again, we’ve seen Infantino and FIFA surrender to the demands of the Trump administration.”

Despite Balogun taking part, the U.S. lost to a fired-up Belgium team, whose players mocked Trump’s dancing after scoring their fourth goal in a 4-1 demolition of the host nation.

The lawmakers argue that since FIFA imposes its ethics rules on the 27 member associations, they are similarly “bound by FIFA’s code of ethics to demand that senior FIFA officials be held accountable.”

FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter, but Infantino has previously denied influencing the committee’s decision.

Wednesday’s letter is the third missive in two weeks from European lawmakers to the world football governing body. Andrews wrote a letter last week urging FIFA to investigate Infantino over alleged violations of the organization’s own political neutrality rules, telling POLITICO that FIFA was “profoundly corrupt.” Two days later, fellow Renew MEP Petras Auštrevičius rebuked FIFA over its decision to allow Russians to participate in the U-15 World Cup in October.

The previous letters drew signatures from 50 and 44 MEPs, respectively, making the newest letter the most broadly supported push yet. The letter was signed by MEPs from six parliamentary groups.

“Not many issues can garner that level of bipartisan support,” Andrews added.

Tight spot....

Trump's renewed Iran strikes put Republicans in a bind

“He’s screwing us into political oblivion,” said one House member.

By Mark Satter, Meredith Lee Hill, Connor O'Brien and Leo Shane III

President Donald Trump’s declaration that the ceasefire with Iran has ended is forcing Republicans to choose between crossing their president or backing a conflict that could sink their party ahead of the midterms.

The president’s on-and-off attempts to secure a peace deal have divided GOP lawmakers as they fight to hang onto control of Congress. Party leaders firmly backed Trump’s bid to end Iran’s nuclear ambitions, though they cautiously praised a memorandum of understanding signed with Tehran last month that largely punted on the nuclear question.

But the latest resumption of fighting poses economic risks some GOP incumbents fear could cost them in November, including higher gas prices during the year’s busiest travel season. And they worry — as the cycle of war and fragile peace plays out — that the president cares little about their political fate.

“He and the Iranian leadership share many common traits; survival and control and self enhancement drive both,” said a House Republican lawmaker, who noted members had been concerned all along that the memorandum would fail. “Midterms are still beyond Trump’s focus zone. Not screwing us might be his goal, but he’s screwing us into political oblivion.”

This place of uncertain progress is where many Republicans, including Vice President JD Vance, feared they would end up. The problem is they are now back where they were months ago — with four months left to go before the election.

“It seems as if we are right back to this very sticky and tricky, either war of escalation or drawn-out painful negotiations,” said Matthew Bartlett, Republican strategist and former appointee to the State Department in Trump’s first administration. “We have absolutely no economic message, and now we have a muddled, messy international message.”

Trump threw the curveball on Wednesday, announcing that the ceasefire between the countries was “over” because of Iran’s continued attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. military responded by hitting dozens of targets in Iran, and Tehran followed with fresh attacks in the region.

The cracks in the Republican wall of support for Trump have become more apparent, although the president still maintains significant sway over the party. Both the House and Senate approved a resolution last month to halt military operations against Iran with the support of a handful of Republicans, a symbolic but still politically damaging rebuke.

Even some GOP lawmakers who’ve opposed efforts to rein in Trump’s war powers have argued the White House should obtain congressional approval before resuming a full-fledged military campaign against Tehran.

“A lot of people thought the [memorandum of understanding] would quiet this down until the election,” said Elliott Abrams, Trump’s former special representative for Iran. “But the Iranians overplayed their hand. They seem to be saying we want it all, and we want it all now, and he’s not prepared to do that.”

The White House said Trump was fulfilling his promise not to allow Iran to possess a nuclear weapon and ensuring Republicans maintained their majorities in Congress. “As the Iranian terror threat is fully neutralized, Americans will again see cooling inflation, gas prices at multi-year lows, and accelerated economic growth,” said White House spokesperson Olivia Wales.

The breach of the ceasefire has seen a torrid pace of strikes by the U.S. Officials from Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the region, said they have hit at least 170 military targets inside Iran over the last 48 hours “to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners.” Iran responded by launching strikes across the Middle East, including at targets in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan.

A former Trump official said the broken ceasefire was inevitable because the memorandum of understanding “papered over” two key disagreements: the linkage of Lebanon to the Hormuz ceasefire, as well as control over the strait.

“It was highly likely because the deal was politically very unstable,” said the former official, who like some others, was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “This is the most stable form of a deal.”

A bitter fight over war funding is also brewing. Republicans and Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee took Pentagon officials to task last week over a lack of details on how officials plan to spend $67 billion in supplemental funds the administration requested for the war.

But the wider GOP on Capitol Hill is still divided about the way forward. Some more hawkish Republicans are urging the president to continue with a wide-ranging military campaign to destroy Tehran’s military capability and reopen the strait by force.

“Iran keeps hitting ships and its neighbors,” said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.), who said responding to Tehran usurped gas price concerns. “The U.S. should hit them with a clenched fist until they show they want peace.”

House Intelligence Chair Rick Crawford (R-Ark.) on Thursday told Fox Business that Trump is “right to say let’s just finish the job. I think the rest of our allies and partners in the region would appreciate that as well.”

Others worry American voters who watch their energy prices continue to spiral will feel differently.

“All of this makes it tougher for Republicans on the ballot to talk about what voters are saying is most important to them — lowering prices,” said Doug Heye,a former communications director for the Republican National Committee. “It’s why having a strategy would have been helpful, instead of making it up as you go along.”

Ousts members of bipartisan election commission

Trump ousts members of bipartisan election commission ahead of midterms

The Election Assistance Commission serves as a clearinghouse of election information and distributes grant money to states.

By Aaron Pellish and Zach Montellaro

President Donald Trump has ousted the remaining commissioners from a bipartisan federal agency charged with helping state and local officials conduct elections in an apparent move to assert control over voting ahead of the midterms.

The president removed the two Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission on Thursday while a Republican was allowed to resign, according to a White House official and three other people familiar with the dismissals.

The White House’s move leaves the commission, which was created by Congress in 2002, without any leaders heading into the midterms.

The EAC, which is headquartered in Washington, does not handle ballots or voter rolls, generally does not communicate with voters and has no authority over election officials in the states. But it has worked to improve balloting across the country.

It serves as a clearinghouse for election officials, helping to train them and provide information about the latest voting technology. It also manages the national mail voter registration form — which Trump sought to change via executive order last year — and oversees a voluntary testing and certification program for various voting machines. The EAC also distributes election security grants.

The two Democratic commissioners — Chair Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — were fired from their roles, according to the three of the people familiar with the dismissals, who were granted anonymity to discuss the news. Republican commissioner Christy McCormick was allowed to resign.

VoteBeat first reported the dismissals. Hicks declined to comment, and McCormick and Hovland did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The White House official defended the move when asked about it.

“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted,” said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss what the White House sees as an internal matter.

The EAC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump issued an executive order in March of 2025 demanding the EAC change the national voter registration form to require proof of citizenship, which was blocked by a federal judge. He also sought to block the EAC from distributing funds to states that did not adjust voter forms to have a citizenship check, which was similarly blocked in court.

The removals came days after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have broad discretion over leadership in the federal bureaucracy, expanding the president’s ability to fire the heads at nearly every agency except the Federal Reserve. One person familiar with the shakeup said they anticipated imminent changes at the EAC once the court made its decision.

The White House official explicitly referenced that recent decision in explaining the firings, saying it “gives the President precedence to do so.”

Election officials across the country expressed various degrees of confusion and alarm at the EAC commissioners’ removals.

The EAC has existed without a quorum of commissioners at several points since it was created. But several Democratic election officials expressed concern about the removals, saying they were part of a pattern of the Trump administration trying to dictate the terms of elections and bully election officials into compliance.

“It is irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on causing chaos for our election officials across this country,” Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said in a statement. “This move undermines the integrity of nonpartisan election administration.”

And the top Democrats on the congressional committees that have jurisdiction over the EAC also condemned the firings. “Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference,” Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, and Rep. Joe Morelle (D-N.Y), ranking member of the House Administration Committee, said in the statement.

One person familiar with the removals said the commissioners had been briefing state and local election officials on how to defend against cyberattacks on elections systems from foreign actors. It’s unclear if those briefings will continue, the person said.

Replacements for the four empty commissioner seats must be confirmed by the Senate. By law, no more than two commissioners can come from the same political party.

“Election officials will still be able to administer secure, accessible, and trustworthy elections this November. But they will do so without the full level of support that the EAC normally provides,” Matt Weil, the vice president for governance at Bipartisan Policy Center, said in a statement.

Rapidly-evolving 18-day primary

‘No one planned for this’: The rapidly-evolving 18-day primary to replace Platner

The rocket primary for Democrats' Maine Senate pick is on – and the candidates are shaping their strategies in real time.

By Alec Hernandez, Andrew Howard, Jessica Piper and Erin Doherty

Nirav Shah’s first event back on the campaign trail was coming together quickly. Staffers shepherded supporters into a nearly-empty office space, and an intrepid group of volunteers, armed with masking tape and markers, put the finishing touches on familiar campaign signs that suddenly needed an update.

Forming in a makeshift assembly line, they methodically taped over the word “governor” and wrote “Senate” in its place. Erin Evans, 56, of Portland, arrived with her own handmade poster: she had used colored duct tape to mask what once was her “Graham Platner for Senate” yard sign, covering the oysterman’s name with an all-caps “NIRAV.”

The DIY-campaigning is a symptom of the moment in which Maine Democrats now find themselves. Platner, who ended his campaign Wednesday night, had energized voters who were hungry for a fighter to unseat GOP Sen. Susan Collins. But support for Platner’s campaign crumbled after POLITICO reported a woman he used to date accused him of sexual assault — an allegation which he denies.

His old supporters are now trying to find a new political home in the two-and-a-half short weeks during which Maine Democrats must name a replacement for their former Senate hopeful. And voters’ options, for the most part, are a flurry of familiar faces who unsuccessfully mounted campaigns for office already this year and are now scrambling for a second chance.“Campaigns are always like building the plane while you’re flying it, but this is like building it while falling out of a helicopter,” said a staffer working on one of the campaigns who was granted anonymity to candidly discuss the situation.

The homemade signs at Shah’s event were just one example of how fast things are moving in Maine: the WiFi network available at his kickoff event was still labeled “ShahForGovernor.”

Several of the Democrats vying to replace Platner have already run against each other in a nearly-identical field in this year’s June primaries. Whoever emerges will face Collins, a battle-tested five-term incumbent with more than $10 million cash in the bank who won her last race by eight points even as President Donald Trump lost the state by nine. The race’s result will play a pivotal role in Senate control.

Three of the unsuccessful candidates for governor are vying for the open spot on the ballot, including former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, and Shah, who was the former top Pine Tree State public health official. All three won at least 20 percent of the primary vote just one month ago. Two other candidates, Jordan Wood and Paige Loud, fell short in the Democratic primary to succeed retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) in his battleground seat. And then there’s Maine Beer Company founder Dan Kleban — who initially ran for the Senate but bowed out of the race to back Gov. Janet Mills before she, too, dropped out as Platner asserted a massive polling and fundraising lead.

These hopefuls have already aired their political differences with each other over the course of the last year, but the pseudo-primary for the Senate will come with a far harsher — and nationalized — spotlight in a majorly truncated period of time.

The race to replace Platner on the ballot began in earnest on Thursday, with several candidates actively jumping into the race and their advisers scrambling to figure out how to pay for staff, run ads, and identify who they are even competing against — with scant details from a state party that is also piecing things together on the fly.

Said an adviser on another campaign: “No one planned for this. Even anyone that thought, ‘okay, Graham might be in trouble’ … the idea that anyone actually put a ton of planning into this scenario seems unlikely.”

By July 27, 600 delegates must be selected and then decide on a candidate to replace Platner via an unprecedented nominating convention. Five hundred of them will be chosen by the state’s 16 county parties later this month at individual county meetings, with the number of delegates allocated to each county based on population. Delegates will be officially unpledged to any candidate at the convention, leading to what could be a raucous and unpredictable free-for-all.

The process for choosing delegates has not been formally announced, although a meeting announcement obtained by POLITICO for the Oxford County Democrats said it was planning a county caucus on July 19 with all Democrats invited.

It’s all taking place in the most important state for Senate Democrats this cycle. The party’s road to a Senate majority runs directly through Maine, where Collins is the only Republican running for reelection in a state carried by former Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

“It’s gonna be crazy,” said Adam Cote, a longtime Maine Democrat who lost to Mills in the 2018 primary for governor, before referencing an ugly contested convention that haunts Democrats more than a half-century later: “Geez, I hope it doesn’t turn into the ’68 convention in Chicago.”

The candidates previously all faced off in ranked-choice voting primaries, an election system that limited some of the negative campaigning and deep factional divides that have played out in other primary contests across the country this year as candidates sought to at least place second with voters. In the gubernatorial primary, Jackson and Bellows had a loose alliance with eventual winner Hannah Pingree, and were backed by Platner as his first and second picks — though they both finished behind Shah.

All the newly minted Senate candidates shunned Platner as his campaign imploded, and Democrats both nationally and in Maine turned their backs on him. But now they have to thread the needle of keeping their disgraced former ticket-topper at arms-length while winning over the supporters who rocketed the progressive oysterman to a resounding primary win — in spite of a series of scandals.

Many of Platner’s former supporters accepted that he needed to step down — but in interviews Thursday, they weren’t exactly excited about their new options in the fast-shaping field.

“I’m not particularly thrilled about any of the candidates right now,” said Andrew Estey, 42, of Brunswick, who worked as a volunteer photographer for Platner’s campaign. He also criticized the renominating process that the Maine Democratic Party proposed to its members on Wednesday.

That plan is ultimately contingent on Platner not only stepping aside, but actively withdrawing his candidacy with the secretary of state’s office before the July 13 deadline. Platner told campaign staff in an all-hands meeting on Wednesday evening that he plans to submit the paperwork on Monday, according to a person on the call who was granted anonymity to share internal campaign conversations. Morris Katz, one of Platner’s top political advisers, confirmed in a Thursday social media post that the campaign would, in fact, submit the paperwork to officially withdraw in time.

Shah, flanked by several dozen supporters flashing handmade signs, launched his campaign on Thursday with introductory remarks from two former Platner volunteers who emphasized their newly-placed trust in the former public health official — a near-explicit acknowledgement that Shah is seeking to tie himself to Platner’s populist platform.

The candidate ticked through his progressive policy alignments with Platner: his support for Medicare for All, his pledge to not accept money from AIPAC, and his goal to change the federal corporate tax structure.

The politics, though, have to come without their former standard-bearer: “I would not accept an endorsement from Graham, nor have I sought one,” Shah told reporters following his remarks at the event.

Persuading Platner’s base will be a core strategy for all of the new Senate hopefuls who are building out their strategies in real time. But each campaign also has its own spate of challenges to navigate in order to advance to the general election to face Collins.

Jackson, who was a close Platner ally during the primary and shared a political benefactor in Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), will have to distance himself from the oysterman. On Wednesday, he deleted several old posts praising Platner from his X account, and a spokesperson told POLITICO that Jackson “wanted to make [it] clear” he no longer supported him.

On Thursday, Jackson tried to turn attention back to the grassroots by unveiling a slate of over 50 endorsements — mostly from state lawmakers. He’s also secured backing from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Our Revolution, the Sanders-aligned progressive organization. .

Bellows, the state’s secretary of state, will have to contend with the fact that she ran against Collins for Senate in 2014 and lost badly. A person close to Bellows, granted anonymity to speak candidly about her campaign, said that she would not have entered the race if she did not think she was the best candidate to take on Collins this time around, citing her statewide experience.

Unlike the other former statewide candidates, Kleban is not as well-known to the Democratic base. He has more work to do to build a campaign infrastructure from scratch (though he maintained a handful of advisers from his Senate bid), while several of his opponents can reactivate lists of supporters and staff that were operating through Maine’s June 9 primary. A person close to him granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy said Kleban hopes to build a base quickly by mirroring Platner’s fast-paced campaign and frequent town halls.

“Obviously, this is a very truncated period. But to the extent that he can do those sorts of things, he plans to,” the person said. “It’s going to be pretty aggressive.”

New airstrikes on Iran

US launches new airstrikes on Iran, with Tehran firing back at 3 Gulf Arab states

The attacks appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least three times in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters, and missiles targeting Kuwait and Qatar.

By Associated Press

The United States launched new airstrikes against Iran Thursday, and Tehran responded by hitting Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar in crossfire that again threatened an interim deal intended to help end the war in the Persian Gulf.

The strikes came hours after U.S. President Donald Trump said recent Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz signaled the end of the fragile ceasefire. The U.S. struck a variety of military sites and port facilities early Wednesday following Iran’s targeting of several merchant vessels off the coast of Oman, sparking Iranian fire then as well.

But Thursday’s attacks appeared bigger all around, with sirens sounding at least twice in Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet headquarters. There was no immediate word of damage in the three Gulf Arab countries. Kuwait’s military said it was actively intercepting incoming drones and missiles. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait.

Military officials said in a social media post that the latest strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and the southern port cities of Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Abbas and Sirik. In Iranshahr, authorities said a strike killed a firefighter at an airport.

For the first time since April, it also appeared the U.S. strikes targeted Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province. The Guard said two bridges had been attacked on the way to Mashhad, where officials plan to bury the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday. It wasn’t clear if the Golestan attack was the same one mentioned by the Guard.

US strikes hit more targets

The U.S. military’s Central Command said it hit 90 targets across Iran, releasing black-and-white footage of what appeared to be strikes on an airport runway and missile launchers.

The U.S. said the strikes were intended to “further degrade” Iran’s ability “to threaten freedom of navigation” in the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Feb. 28.

Traffic has picked up somewhat since a tentative deal last month included opening the waterway. Maritime data company Lloyd’s List Intelligence said Thursday that preliminary data showed at least 576 ships passed through the strait in June, compared with 233 in May. More than 3,100 transited the strait in June 2025.

Iranian state media reported explosions in several locations, including Bushehr, home to Iran’s nuclear power plant complex, and southern port cities. The state-run IRNA news agency quoted Ehsan Jahanian, a local official in Bushehr, as accusing the U.S. of striking near the plant around noon, hours after Central Command said it had ended its latest round of strikes. Asked for comment on Bushehr, Central Command referred to a press release that detailed targets but made no mention of the nuclear power plant.

Streets are jammed for Khamenei’s final funeral procession

For the first time since April, U.S. strikes also appeared to target Iranian bridges. State media reported a strike on a railway bridge in Iran’s northeastern Golestan province, and the Revolutionary Guard said two bridges were attacked on the route to Mashhad, where tens of thousands of mourners thronged wide boulevards during the final funeral procession for Khamenei on Thursday.

People pressed forward to touch a vehicle carrying Khamenei’s body. Many carried Iranian flags and images of the late leader or banners evoking Shiite Islam’s long history of martyrs. Some signs called for the death of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Khamenei ruled Iran for nearly 37 years before being killed in the U.S. and Israeli airstrikes that started the war. The funeral processions began last Saturday, with authorities shutting down streets, airspace and daily life in Tehran and other cities as throngs commemorated the man who led Iran for decades with an iron fist while confronting the West.

Trump issues another warning

After leaving a NATO summit in Turkey, Trump posted several videos on his social media site of what he said were explosions in Iran and issued another warning to the Islamic Republic.

“This is in retribution for yesterday’s bombing of ships by Iran. If it happens again, it will get much worse!” Trump wrote Wednesday, a day after three tankers were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump also renewed his past threats to hit Iran’s civilian infrastructure, including electric and desalination plants, and to seize Kharg Island, through which some 90% of Iranian oil exports pass.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, a key negotiator in talks seeking a permanent end to the war, was defiant in a post on X on Thursday morning: “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: If you strike, you’ll get hit.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in a post on Telegram that he spoke by phone with his Saudi, Turkish and Omani counterparts and with Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been one of the main mediators in the war. The outreach suggested efforts may be underway to reduce tensions.

Talks on reaching a final deal were to begin after Khamenei’s funeral

Trump said Wednesday that the interim ceasefire agreement was “over.” He said he would allow negotiations to continue but thought negotiators were “wasting their time.”

Negotiations to reach a final deal were due to start after the funeral for Khamenei.

The talks are meant to focus on the toughest matters, including fully reopening the strait and rolling back Tehran’s disputed nuclear program.

Collins’ abortion rights record is bad.....

Dem ad blitz goes after Collins’ abortion rights record

The first TV spot will highlight the Maine senator’s vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

By Alice Miranda Ollstein and Lisa Kashinsky

A group linked to a top Senate Democratic super PAC is launching a $2.5 million ad campaign that aims to undermine Sen. Susan Collins’ reputation as one of Congress’ last Republicans devoted to protecting abortion rights.

The TV and digital ad campaign from Affordable Maine, a C4 advocacy group closely aligned with the Democratic Party leadership group Senate Majority Forward, starts this weekend with a 30-second spot. The ad highlights the Maine senator’s vote to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, his subsequent role in overturning Roe v. Wade, and Collins’ recent statement that she does not regret that vote.

The ad campaign is among the first to air after Democrat Graham Platner’s ignominious exit from the race, a shakeup prompted by POLITICO’s interview with a woman he dated who said Platner forced her to have sex with him nearly five years ago despite her repeated objections. Platner denied the allegations.

Affordable Maine’s campaign will also highlight Collins’ confirmation votes for dozens of other federal judges nominated by President Donald Trump, several of whom have ruled to uphold state laws restricting or eliminating the right to terminate a pregnancy.

“Because of Susan Collins, states are banning abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest, and women are dying,” the ad says. “And she’s still standing by it.”

The investment suggests Democrats remain bullish on flipping the Maine Senate seat despite the recent implosion of Platner’s campaign and the chaotic scramble to choose a replacement, and see Collins as uniquely vulnerable in her first reelection race since the fall of Roe.

Other top Democratic groups that signaled they would pull spending if Platner stayed on the ballot now say they’re ready to play again in one of the most critical Senate races on the map.

Swing Left, a national Democratic grassroots group that’s pledged $25 million in the midterms, is restarting its voter-outreach operations and launching a fund for the new nominee that the group expects will exceed $500,000, according to plans shared first with POLITICO.

“We removed Maine from our target map when the race was no longer a viable investment for grassroots resources,” Swing Left Executive Director Yasmin Radjy said in a statement. With a “credible path to defeating Susan Collins restored, we’re putting it back.”

Refuses to sign

Trump refuses to sign landmark housing bill, taking aim at GOP

The bill is still expected to become law despite the president’s protest of congressional inaction over an unrelated elections bill.

By Katherine Hapgood and Cassandra Dumay

President Donald Trump said Friday he would not sign Congress’ much-awaited bipartisan housing affordability legislation — protesting lawmakers’ inaction on his preferred elections bill, the SAVE America Act.

The House formally transmitted the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act to Trump last week, setting in motion a 10-day period after which the bill would be enacted into law absent any action from the president. Trump did not indicate plans to veto the legislation, which is expected to become law at midnight between Friday and Saturday.

“I will not sign the Housing Bill, which has been fully approved by Congress and sent to the White House, in PROTEST over the fact that the United States Senate is not capable of passing THE SAVE AMERICA ACT,” Trump posted Friday morning on his social media platform, Truth Social.

Trump last month abruptly called off signing the landmark housing legislation in part over his dissatisfaction with Congress’ progress on the unrelated voter registration bill. On Friday, the president reiterated that he blamed lawmakers from his own party for holding up the SAVE America Act.

“I will no longer be able to call [the Democrats] Dumocrats again!” Trump’s post reads. “The title of DUMB will revert to the Republicans who allowed this horrible calamity to happen to our Party, and our Nation, itself!”

A White House spokesperson declined to provide additional comment. Speaker Mike Johnson and House GOP leadership, along with White House officials, all worked over the last 10 days to try to persuade Trump not to veto the bill, according to three people with direct knowledge of the conversations who were granted anonymity to speak openly.

Johnson said in an interview shortly before he officially transmitted the bill to the White House that he was still trying to persuade Trump to sign the legislation. But, he added that Trump would not veto it.

House GOP leadership had also conveyed to the White House that they had the votes to override him if he chose to veto it, and that congressional Republicans would do it, as POLITICO has reported.

Despite Trump’s apparent disinterest in the bill, the legislation marks one of the most significant bipartisan achievements during a session of Congress marked by gridlock and chaos.

The legislation passed by overwhelming margins in both the Senate and House following monthslong negotiations among the two chambers, White House and industry. Lawmakers on both sides are touting the legislation as a direct response to voters’ affordability concerns ahead of the midterm elections.

The law contains almost 60 provisions, including the first-ever restrictions on the ability of large Wall Street investors to buy up single-family homes. Trump made the provision a condition for his support of the bill. The measure would prohibit large, institutional investors from owning more than 350 single-family homes.

The housing law includes a wide range of other measures, including language that aims to eliminate red tape for community lenders, leverage federal funding to incentivize communities to build additional housing and make it easier to build manufactured homes in an effort to boost supply and cut some costs.