Politics

With just 10 days to go until Illinois enters its third year without a budget, resulting in the state's imminent downgrade to junk status and potentially culminating in a default for the state whose unpaid bills now surpass $15 billion, Democratic Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza issued a warning to Illinois Gov. Rauner and other elected officials on Tuesday, saying in a letter that her office has "very serious concerns" it may no longer be able to guarantee "timely and predictable payments" for some core services.

Authored by Mike Krieger via Liberty Blitzkrieg blog,

If there was ever any doubt that most members of Congress work for themselves and not the people, Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia wants to dispel you of such hallucinations. Here’s a disturbing excerpt from a section of a recent post on his official website, Manchin Pledges to Return to Era of Bipartisan Cooperation and Agreement:

In what appears to be a rather ominous tweet posted moments ago by Donald Trump, the President said that "while I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!"

While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi & China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 20, 2017

US-led coalition forces said they have killed Turki al-Bin’ali, the Islamic State' self-proclaimed “Grand Mufti” or chief cleric, in an air strike in Syria on May 31. Bin’ali was one of Islamic State's most visible preachers and appeared regularly in its propaganda videos. He was placed under U.S. sanctions for helping Islamic State recruit foreign fighters, according to the U.S. Treasury according to Reuters.

Amid rumors that The White House is "weighing" the replacement of Press Secretary Sean Spicer, and the collapse in bookies' odds of him making to the end of the year, today's press briefing could well be his last...

According to Bloomberg, the White House is weighing "whether to move Press Secretary Sean Spicer into a more senior role focused on strategy" and bring in a new spokesman for the president, two people familiar with the discussions said.