-Lake Superior, absolutely drowning Republican hack Tom Fitton

In a surprising twist in the proceedings that will not stop producing surprising twists, a former White House junior aide became something of a star witness today in the ongoing January 6 Hearings. 

• Cassidy Hutchinson, who was a top aide to former White House Chief of Staff and all-around duplicitous jackal Mark Meadows, took the stand to present her recollection of the high-level meetings at which she was silently present on the day of the insurrection. Despite her age and unassuming title, Cassidy’s testimony revealed several bombshells: 

• Both Meadows and Rudy Giuliani knew the insurrection would be violent. For his part, former president Trump reportedly knew not only about the likelihood of violence, but that his supporters were heavily armed, and wanted to remove the metal detectors so his armed loyalists could convene on the Ellipse where he was giving a speech, and planned to direct them all to the Capitol. Trump dismissed dissenting concerns by allegedly saying, “They're not here to hurt me." (Emphasis on "me," presumably.)

• Hutchinson also testified to having overheard references to the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys, two prominent groups of neckbeards white nationalists, in conversations involving planning for January 6 when Rudy Giuliani was present. Giuliani and Meadows, Hutchinson claims, were also among a cohort of high-ranking Republicans who sought presidential pardons for their involvement in the insurrection.

It was also a banner day for uncovering more details of Trump’s unhinged behavior. 

• White House Counsel Pat Cipollone repeatedly warned Trump that he could be charged with crimes if he marched with protestors and advised him heavily not to include certain language in his speech that would point to his having incited a riot. After his speech, Trump reportedly tried to choke his Secret Service driver and attempted to grab the steering wheel, while screaming “I’m the fucking president!” when staff would not take him to the Capitol. Back to the White House, still irate at the Secret Service’s refusal to take him to the Capitol, the president reportedly threw his lunch across the room, leaving, per Hutchinson, left “ketchup dripping down the wall.” Very “The Madness of King George”-meets-mall-food-court.

• Then there’s Meadows himself! On January 5, Meadows joined a conference call with disgraced Trump die-hards Roger Stone and Mike Flynn at the Willard Hotel, a sort of sedition “war room” set up by Giuliani, John Eastman, and O.G. coup plotters. The next day, Hutchinson recalled upon seeing the violence unfolding on January 6, that her former boss had a total “lack of reaction.”

• On a treasonous roll, Meadows allegedly then responded to Cipollone’s urgent calls to “do something” after insurrectionists began chanting “Hang Mike Pence!” by relaying the message that Trump didn’t want to stop them. "You heard [Trump], Pat. He thinks Mike deserves it. He doesn't think they're doing anything wrong." Did Liz Cheney mention she thinks Cipollone needs to get his ass in a chair and testify? Yes she did. Speaking of Cheney, in her final remarks, she revealed that the committee has voluminous evidence of witness tampering, and provided two examples, noting that the panel was “carefully considering our next steps.”

News analysts are already comparing Cassidy’s testimony to Nixon’s former White House Counsel and star Watergate witness John Dean. We’ll see how accurate that turns out to be, but Trump is, of course, claiming to not know who Hutchinson is, just like every other time he’s been caught. He’s playing the hits.

This week on What A Day, Tre’vell interviews Peppermint of Drag Race—And finds out if she’d ever compete on all-stars! Plus, Joan Jet Blakk and Taylor Alxndr stop by to talk about drag as political action 

Listen to new episodes of What A Day weekday mornings wherever you get your podcasts.

As millions of Americans scramble for answers in the rubble of a post-Roe United States, it’s clear that (stay with me) corporations won’t save us. Posts explaining how women could legally obtain abortion pills by mail and others in which individuals offered to mail the prescriptions to women living in states that now ban abortion necessarily exploded in the days following the Dobbs decision. Almost immediately, Facebook and Instagram, both owned by the parent company Meta, began removing many of these posts. Even more damning, an AP reporter tested this phenomenon by writing a Facebook post that read, “If you send me your address, I will mail you abortion pills,” which was taken down in seconds and the account flagged with a warning. A Meta spokesperson tried to explain this away by pointing to company policies which prohibit the sale of certain items such as guns, alcohol, drugs, and pharmaceuticals. But when the reporter swapped out the words “abortion pills” with “guns” the post remained up. Not great, folks!

Did you know poor sleep can cause weight gain, mood issues, lowered productivity, and a reduced immune system, and an overall decreased sense of wellbeing? Having a solid night-time routine is crucial, because a better tomorrow always starts tonight.

Introducing Beam: for a limited time, get up to 35% off Beam's best-selling Dream Powder, containing 5 natural sleep-promoting ingredients for your best sleep ever.

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And Beam has just launched a brand new delicious new summer flavor of Dream Powder– Sea Salt Caramel. Sea Salt Caramel Dream Powder tastes just like the caramel drizzle on your summer ice cream cone—but with only 15 calories! Better sleep has NEVER tasted better. If you want to try Beam’s new Sea Salt Caramel Dream Powder, it’s only available for a limited time, so be sure to grab some before it runs out at the end of the summer!

For a limited time, get up to 35% off when you go to beamorganics.com/crooked and use code CROOKED at checkout.

• A 2022 recipient of Kentucky’s Teacher of the Year Award announced that he is leaving the profession entirely, citing numerous incidents of anti-LGBT prejudice by his school's administration. 
   
• Turkey has agreed to support the induction of Finland and Sweden into NATO, dropping their initial objections and paving the way for their admittance. 
   
• Fifty migrants traveling from Mexico to the United States died after being abandoned in a tractor-trailer in the sweltering Texas heat. 
   
• The American Academy of Pediatrics denounced the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade and detailed what they believe will be “grave consequences” for teenagers.
   
• A bipartisan group of Senators agreed to dismantle a committee that would have carried out closures of Veterans Affairs facilities.
   
• Federal agents seized the cell phone of John Eastman, one of Trump’s lawyers who advised him, illegally, on how to overturn the 2020 election results. 
   
• Ghislaine Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison for trafficking underage girls as young as 14 for her partner Jeffrey Epstein.
   
• Scotland’s head of state, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, announced a referendum on Scottish independence next year, the first time since 2014, pre-Brexit.
   
• The Michigan State Supreme Court cleared former Gov. Rick Snyder (R-MI), his Health Director, and seven other associates, for their involvement in the Flint water crisis.
   
• Abortion providers across the U.S. are filing lawsuits in state courts to halt trigger laws from going into effect in the wake of the Dobbs ruling. 

U.S. and western sanctions have forced Russia into default on its sovereign debt for the first time in over a century (depending how you count). The default doesn't stem from the economic damage the sanctions have done to the Russian government's finances—observers believe that high global oil prices have left Russia flush enough to finance its debt obligations, but that they are legally unable to thanks to sanctions that prohibiting processing debt service in rubles. The immediate impact on Russia's day-to-day economic life is unclear—its invasion of Ukraine had already crippled its economy—but suggests there will be a long-term price for the country to pay for the war. It may also help coincidental Russian escalation: Russian missiles struck a shopping mall in central Ukraine, far, far from the war's front lines on Monday, and over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced he would transfer a tactical missile system capable of launching nuclear warheads to Belarus. Leaders of the G7 nations condemned the announcement and warned Russia to "behave responsibly."

Did you know that since 1872, the laws that govern mining operations on public lands have remained unchanged? The Biden administration recently announced plans to update our country’s mining laws and regulations.  Submit your signature today to help clean up dirty mining. 

Here’s the problem: 

• To avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis, we need to transition to clean energy quickly.  But building out the technology needed for this transition like solar panels, electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and wind turbines is going to require more critical minerals like lithium and cobalt. 

• US law doesn’t require mining companies to clean up the toxic byproducts of mining.

• US law offers no protections against mining that would destroy Indigenous sacred sites or critical wildlife habitats. 

• Critical minerals come from mining, though in many cases they can be reused once obtained. Like the oil and gas industry, mining operations have destroyed precious environmental and sacred spaces while leaving behind toxic pollution that poisons our air, water, and land.

We cannot justly move to a clean energy future at the cost of harming people or the environment. That’s why we need to find sustainable solutions to meet the demands for these critical minerals. The current policies in place do not guarantee a sustainable supply chain that protects communities from the impacts of mining and extraction of critical minerals. 

There is a comment period open now and the Department of the Interior is looking for your input. Join Earthjustice today in advocating for solutions that together can ensure a sustainable supply chain for critical minerals.

A Detroit-area prosecutor has joined a growing number of others across the country in declaring that her office will not prosecute abortion providers. 

Democrats introduced legislation to raise wages and provide benefits protections for airport workers amid a nationwide staffing shortage.

Florida’s largest annual Pride parade returned to St. Petersburg for the first time since 2019, and three months after Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) signed what has come to be known as the heinous “Don’t Say Gay” bill into law. The event drew 300,000 Floridians who absolutely say gay. 

In a new poll, over half of Americans say they have some degree of choice over where they perform their job, with 35 percent saying they are allowed to work in a fully-remote capacity.

Workers at Medieval Times in New Jersey will vote on July 15 in the hopes of forming the company’s first union. What ho! Fare thee well!