Kinzinger noted to Deadline he would “certainly” serve if Harris asked him. The remark came as he promoted a documentary at the Toronto Film Festival about his opposition to former President Donald Trump’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.

“There’s no greater honor than serving in an administration. And obviously, I’ve supported Kamala, I’m endorsing her,” Kinzinger said before Deadline added that he also spoke at the Democratic National Convention.

The former congressman at times supported cutting taxes during his congressional terms but claimed in the Deadline interview he doesn’t care what the rates or “other policies” are.

To me, it’s the preservation of democracy and good governance. That’s what I care about,” Kinzinger said.

Kinzinger often sided with Republicans on votes before opposing objections in 2021 to the electoral counts for Pennsylvania and Arizona, two states that President Joe Biden won in the 2020 election.

“To me, you know, one of the things that’s interesting is when I had the job of a congressman, obviously, you have to vote on these issues. And so, you have partisan viewpoints and stuff because you have to,” Kinzinger said. “Like now, my only thing that I’m concerned about is the preservation of democracy.”

Kinzinger has criticized Trump since the former president urged his supporters to protest the certification of the 2020 election results. The former congressman in his interview referred to Trump as a “cancer” in the Republican Party, adding that Harris’s supporters should be “careful” when analyzing her chances at winning.

“It’s literally a coin toss. I think, you know, if you asked me two months ago, unfortunately, I would have said 90% chance it’s Donald Trump,” he said. “I think it’s a coin toss. I would, if I had to bet all my money on one side, agonistically I would say it’s gonna be Kamala. And I think that would obviously be great for the country.”

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Libertarian activist Rebekah Massie during the Surprise City Council meeting claimed City Attorney Robert Wingo has violated the Arizona constitution, the state bar’s rules of professional conduct and the U.S. Bill of Rights. She pointed to Arizona laws concerning public employees, cities, elections, and electors.

Massie then told the city council she had made several public records requests for another issue. However, Mayor Skip Hall interrupted to read her the meeting rules he said she agreed to.

The guidelines state that “oral communications during the City Council meeting may not be used to lodge charges or complaints against any employee of the City or members of the body” and that “any such charges or complaints should be submitted during normal business hours to the City Manager for appropriate action.”

Massie claimed the rules violated her First Amendment rights. Hall then said she was personally attacking Wingo and issued her a warning.

“This is all factual information,” Massie said.

“It doesn’t matter,” Hall replied.

The two argued over the constitutionality of the rules, leading Massie to cite the Supreme Court’s history with First Amendment issues.

“The Supreme Court has upheld – I could get up here, and I could swear at you for three straight minutes, and it is protected speech by the Supreme Court,” she said.

After Hall rejected the claim, Massie suggested he should look at case law.

“Do you want to be escorted out of here, or are you gonna stop talking?” Hall asked her as she accused him of violating debate procedure.

Massie then urged the mayor to change the public meeting rules, and he ordered the police to escort her out after more arguing.

“In front of my 10-year-old daughter, you’re gonna escort me out for expressing my First Amendment rights?” Massie asked.

“She can go with you,” Hall responded.

An officer then asked Massie to exit the room, putting her hands behind her back after she refused. She continued resisting and screamed as she left the meeting.

Massie received a citation for criminal trespassing, according to court records.

Neither Massie, Hall nor Wingo immediately responded to The National Desk’s request for comment.

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The states urged the court to rule in U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland v. Jennifer VanDerStok that the ATF overstepped its authority when it redefined a gun’s “frame or receiver” to include disassembled and incomplete parts, as well as kits.

Garland signed the new rule in 2022, and VanDerStok sued him later that year, claiming the bureau exceeded its authority in creating gun regulations. A district court ruled in favor of VanDerStok, but the decision was stayed at the appellate level. The Supreme Court docketed the case in July 2023.

The states that submitted the amicus brief argued in favor of the district court’s decision, claiming the rule was an overreach.

“Some might suggest that ATF’s limits-testing approach is justified because of the stakes. And certainly, in the wrong hands, firearms can be dangerous,” the brief reads. “But short of constitutional constraints, Congress is the body that gets to decide how to address any risks that might arise from a particular product.”

The ATF can decide whether regulations need changes, but it must describe and respond to public comments when issuing the final rule, as required by the Administrative Procedure Act. The states claimed the bureau has not shown “great respect” for the law and urged the Supreme Court to consider its relevant history.

“ATF has done more than just ignore the statute’s text — it’s also played games with the notice-and-comment process, depriving commenters like the states from having the chance to speak up about the flaws in ATF’s thinking,” they wrote.

“If anything, the agency’s recent history suggests that the Court should approach this case with a skeptical eye,” the states added.

They pointed to the ATF’s efforts to clarify whether it can define guns as rifles when equipped with shoulder-stabilizing braces, as well as the bureau’s rule broadening the definition of when a person is considered a firearms dealer.

ATF has prioritized private interests ahead of its stated purpose, according to the states.

“Though some might try to excuse a bit of administrative corner-cutting because of the purported interests at stake, that kind of policy-first approach won’t work, either,” the brief reads. “The Court must remain firmly focused on what Congress commanded, not what certain political interest groups might prefer or what ATF might wish for.”

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The company said in its “Adversarial Threat Report,” which covers efforts to manipulate public debate, that Russia-based operations will promote supportive content about candidates opposing Ukraine aid, and criticize those who want to help the country defend itself.

“This could take the shape of blaming economic hardships in the U.S. on providing financial help to Ukraine, painting Ukraine’s government as unreliable, or amplifying voices expressing pro-Russia views on the war and its prospects,” the report said.

Meta noted that Russian operations have tried to undermine Ukraine in countries around the world since 2022, when Russia began a full-scale invasion. Some campaigns focused on nations like Moldova, which borders Ukraine, and Georgia, situated south of Russia.

“No matter who the operators are, the narrative across different networks is shared: supporting Ukraine’s government in its defense against Russia is detrimental for both Ukraine and its allies,” the report said.

A February report from NBC News said that Russia was spreading disinformation, which is false information intended to mislead, to damage President Joe Biden and other Democrats nine months away from the general election.

Biden has supported sending aid to Ukraine throughout its war with Russia, and Democrats have backed legislation to do so. The president ended his reelection campaign last month after skepticism grew over his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump again.

A Senate committee found in 2020 that the Russian government engaged in an “aggressive, multi-faceted effort” to influence the 2016 presidential election, when Trump defeated Hillary Clinton. At one point, operatives carried out phishing attacks that targeted emails associated with Clinton’s personal office, according to the committee.

Shortly before, WikiLeaks published stolen documents, which led to then-President Trump declaring, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you’re able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing,” the committee noted.

Trump has pledged to cut aid to Ukraine, telling his supporters in June that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is the “greatest salesman” of any politician in history.

“He just left four days ago with $60 billion, and he gets home, and he announces that he needs another $60 billion. It never ends. It never ends,” Trump said. “I will have that settled prior to taking the White House as president-elect.”

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The retailer’s reported sales for the second quarter of this fiscal year declined 3.3% compared to this time last fiscal year. Net earnings also shrank by $100 million, according to the company.

“During the quarter, higher interest rates and greater macroeconomic uncertainty pressured consumer demand more broadly, resulting in weaker spend across home improvement projects,” CEO Ted Decker said during an earnings call.

The federal funds rate, which is the target interest rate set by the Federal Reserve, is 5.3%. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell projected two weeks ago that he could lower the rate if inflation continues to fall, but added that “We’re not quite at that point.”

Home Depot’s operating income, which is its profit after subtracting operating expenses, also decreased by $100 million from the last fiscal year. In April, a Gallup poll found that economic confidence dropped for the first time since October, with 44% of Americans saying the economy is in poor condition.

Fewer respondents to the poll thought the economy was improving despite a slight decrease in inflation. The consumer price index, which measures inflation, decreased by 0.1% from March. Since the start of this year, the index has declined from 3.1% to 2.9%.

13% of Americans think the economy is the most important issue facing the country, according to a separate Gallup poll. The issue ranked behind “the government/poor leadership” and “immigration.”

The Biden administration has praised its efforts to grow the economy, with President Joe Biden asserting earlier this month that while “prices are still too high,” he and Vice President Kamala Harris will “keep fighting for the future.”

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Jordan Parlour, a 28-year-old from outside the English city of Leeds, posted on Facebook over the weekend that “every man and his dog should smash [the] f— out of Britannia hotel,” according to the BBC.

Guy Kearl, the judge who sentenced Parlour, said there were 210 people staying at the hotel, with many of them having asylum-seeking and refugee statuses. The 28-year-old’s post came between attacks on the hotel, when rioters broke windows, Kearl noted.

“I want to be absolutely clear, anyone involved in inciting this thuggish behavior will face severe consequences,” Nick Price, director of legal services at the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said in a statement.

Parlour pled guilty to publishing threatening, insulting or abusive material to stir up racial hatred, according to Kearl. The proposed sentence was five years in prison, which Kearl reduced in exchange for Parlour’s plea.

“As is recognized on your behalf, this offense is so serious that an immediate custodial sentence is unavoidable,” the judge said.

The riots at the Brittania hotel came as claims spread online that the suspect who killed three people in northwest England last month was an immigrant. Demonstrations have taken place around the U.K., with some protesters setting cars on fire and confronting police.

Following Parlour’s sentencing, Tyler Kay, a 26-year-old from Northhampton, was booked on more than three years in prison for sharing an explcit post on X.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer ordered courts to expedite cases to deter other people from engaging in “far-right thuggery.”

“Kay wrote about setting fire to hotels and amplified posts advocating action against immigrations solicitors – this online behavior will not be tolerated,” Rosemary Ainslie, acting head of the CPS Special Crime and Counter Terrorism Division, said.

“He was convicted only a day after he made the social media post, which displays just how quickly offenders such as Kay will be brought to justice,” Ainslie added.

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The Nassau County Legislature voted to approve the Mask Transparency Act, which bans anyone from wearing face coverings unless they are for health, safety, religious or celebratory reasons.

Anyone wearing a mask on public property and trying to abuse, threaten, harass or intimidate other people would face a misdemeanor if the bill is signed by County Executive Bruce Blakeman.

The charges, which carry up to a year’s worth of prison time and a maximum fine of $1,000, also apply to anyone trying to avoid being identified when acting in a way that could lead to time in court.

Supporters of the bill argue that people wearing masks for reasons other than those exempt from the ban do so before harassing or menacing. Blakeman is one of those supporters.

“Unless someone has a medical condition or a religious imperative, people should not be allowed to cover their face in a manner that hides their identity while in public,” Blakeman said in a statement obtained by Fox 5 New York.

Some of the act’s opponents claim it is a tactic used to crack down on protests.

“Concerns that masks disguise criminal activity must not be answered by banning anonymous protest. Police should respond to a person’s actions, not their attire,” Susan Gottehrer, Nassau County Regional Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement.

Police would also be able to require anyone using face coverings to remove them if an officer suspects they will break the law. Gottehrer opposed the discretion afforded to police who would be enforcing the act.

“So-called health and religious exceptions are entirely inadequate: Nassau County police officers are not health professionals or religious experts capable of deciding who needs a mask and who doesn’t,” she said.

Nassau County is one of several juristictions that have banned face coverings. In December, Philadelphia approved a law that bars people from wearing ski-masks in parks, mass transit, schools, recreation centers, day cares and city-owned buildings.

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Executives with X have accused companies in the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a unit of the World Federation of Advertisers, of carrying out an illegal boycott. X CEO Linda Yaccarino posted an open letter announcing a lawsuit against GARM members, to which Musk replied, “we tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.”

Yaccarino accused companies like CVS, Mars, Orsted and Unilever of costing X billions of dollars by trying to demonetize content creators and news organizations they don’t like. She cited a report by the House Judiciary Committee suggesting GARM illegally harmed consumers by limiting their feeds on X.

“To those who broke the law, we say enough is enough,” Yaccarino wrote in the letter. “We are compelled to seek justice for the harm that has been done by these and potentially additional defendants, depending what the legal process reveals.”

Some GARM members stopped advertising on the platform after Musk backed a user that claimed Jewish people had pushed “dialectical hatred” against White people. Musk at the time called it the “actual truth.”

Walmart, which is part of the alliance, said it pulled advertisements after finding other platforms better for reaching its customers. However, Yaccarino claims companies like the retailer were instead trying to hurt X users.

“The consequence – perhaps the intent – of this boycott was to seek to deprive X’s users, be they sports fans, gamers, journalists, activists, parents or political and corporate leaders, of the Global Town Square,” she wrote. “To put it simply, people are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is undermined and some viewpoints are not funded over others as part of an illegal boycott.”

GARM’s stated purpose is to help the advertising industry address harmful content on digital media platforms. Alliance members use its resources to avoid placing ads next to content that could damage their brands’ reputation, GARM says.

Yaccarino called the practice a “stain on a great industry.”

“This case is about more than damages – we have to fix a broken ecosystem that allows this illegal activity to occur,” she wrote. “We will continue to innovate and ensure X has a vibrant future while the courts will hold accountable those who engaged in illegal behavior.”

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After Harris announced she chose Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz to join her in her White House bid, Cuban, in a social media post, associated Walz’s unpopularity with some people to initial negative attitudes toward Harris.

The current vice president now has the support of enough delegates to win the Democratic nomination.

“On the @tim_walz choice, I think people who don’t like it are missing the lesson of the switch to Harris,” Cuban posted on X. “She went from worst to first as people got to know her. It’s not a reach to think the same thing will happen with Walz.”

Some speculated that Harris would pick Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, whose battleground state carries 19 electoral votes. He is nine years younger than Gov. Walz and has received praise for his handling of problems like last year’s Interstate 95 overpass collapse.

However, Gov. Shapiro has also received criticism for his condemnatory stance on protests against Israel’s actions in its war with Hamas.

Gov. Walz’s personality allows him to relate to the average voter, according to Cuban.

“People are tired of the ideologues and hate from both parties. They want to vote for normal people they can relate to,” he wrote. “Walz can sit at the kitchen table and make you feel like you have know him forever. That’s an incredible skill these days.”

Gov. Walz has received support across the Democratic Party since Harris’s announcement. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., praised his “authentic” values in an X post.

“I served with @Tim_Walz in the House for years before he became Gov. of MN. Great guy. Real deal authentic midwestern values. Gets big things done,” Pocan wrote.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called the Minnesota governor a “great asset” for Harris.

Republicans, however, have slammed the pick. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign team called Gov. Walz an extremist who wants to spread liberal policies across the U.S.

“If Walz won’t tell voters the truth, we will: just like Kamala Harris, Tim Walz is a dangerously liberal extremist, and the Harris-Walz California dream is every American’s nightmare,” Karoline Leavitt, the Trump campaign’s national press secretary, said in a statement.

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The students, who filed the suit anonymously, accused Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., of helping create an unsafe environment on campus.

Rep. Omar visited Columbia in April, when hundreds of protesters set up an encampment to demand the university divest from companies they said were helping Israel in its war with Hamas terrorists.

She later posted on social media that the students were “joyfully” demonstrating, in contrast to what some Jewish community members described as intimidating.

“Contrary to right-wing attacks, these students are joyfully protesting for peace and an end to the genocide taking place in Gaza. I’m in awe of their bravery and courage,” Omar wrote on X.

After New York City Mayor Eric Adams advised protesters to leave Hamilton Hall, an academic building protesters broke into and barricaded themselves inside days after Omar’s visit, Ocasio-Cortez warned him against using police to clear the academic building.

“If any kid is hurt tonight, responsibility will fall on the mayor and univ presidents. Other leaders and schools have found a safe, de-escalatory path. This is the opposite of leadership and endangers public safety,” she posted on X. “A nightmare in the making.”

The New York City Police Department later carried out arrests of protesters in and around Hamilton Hall. Rep. Bowman said the following day the officers were brutalizing the demonstrators.

“Now I see that brutality being inflicted on peaceful students at Columbia and across the country. We must stand with our students to demand liberation for Palestinians and everyone in this world,” Bowman wrote.

Columbia President Minouche Shafik moved classes online and restricted campus access during the protests before canceling commencement. The students who sued the “Squad” members accused outside “activists” of contributing to the loss of campus resources.

“Those were real damages sustained by the 36,000 students at Columbia who chose to obey university rules, go to class, and pursue their education, only to be frustrated at the finish line by the tortious acts of their classmates and professors, with the assistance and encouragement of outside activists,” they said in the lawsuit.

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