D.C. U.S. attorney targets Ukraine whistleblower Rep. Vindman
Martin demanded that Rep. Eugene Vindman (D-Virginia) provide information about a business founded by Vindman and his brother to help arm Ukraine to fight Russia. Martin asked for detailed ownership and government funding records of the business, called Trident Support LLC, where Eugene Vindman served as president and his twin brother, Alexander Vindman, was chief executive. Martin also asked about $150,000 that Vindman disclosed receiving from Georgetown University.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Newsweek
an hour ago
- Newsweek
Donald Trump Gets Polling Boost From Hispanics
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. President Donald Trump is gaining unexpected ground with Hispanic voters ahead of the 2026 midterms, according to new polling that shows his support ticking up among a group that has traditionally leaned Democratic. The latest YouGov/Yahoo poll, conducted between June 26 and 30 among 1,597 adults, shows that Trump's net approval rating among Hispanic voters stands at -30 points, with 32 percent approving and 62 percent disapproving. That is up from a net approval of -37 points in May, when 26 percent approved and 63 percent disapproved. President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on July 4. President Donald Trump at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on July 4. Alex Brandon/AP Why It Matters Since at least the 1960s, Hispanic voters in the U.S. have generally supported Democratic candidates. According to Pew Research Center, about 66 percent of Hispanic voters supported Barack Obama in 2012, and 65 percent supported Hillary Clinton in 2016. In 2020, 63 percent of Hispanic voters supported Joe Biden, according to AP VoteCast. In 2024, Democrats saw their lead among the group cut substantially, with 55 percent supporting Kamala Harris and 43 percent supporting Trump—an 8-point increase from 2020 and the highest percentage for a Republican presidential candidate since such data has been tracked. The recent YouGov/Yahoo poll shows that Trump maintains his support among Hispanic voters. What To Know Trump's gains with Hispanic voters stand in sharp contrast to his slipping support among other key demographic groups. Across most other segments, the president's approval ratings fell in June. The most striking drop was among Black voters, where his net approval plunged from -49 points to -70. Among Gen Z voters, his net rating also deteriorated sharply, falling from -23 points in May to -41 points in June. These trends reflect national polling that shows Trump's overall approval rating hitting an all-time low for his second term. The latest ActiVote survey, conducted June 1 to 30 among 523 adults, found Trump's national approval at 45 percent and disapproval at 52 percent—putting his net approval at -7 points, his worst showing since returning to office. Despite this record low for his second term, Trump's current approval still outpaces his own first-term average, which ActiVote tracked at 41 percent. It also remains slightly higher than former President Joe Biden's full-term average of 41 percent and Biden's final-year average of 40 percent. A separate survey by Targoz Market Research and Overton Insights, conducted June 23 to 26 among 1,200 registered voters, put Trump's net approval even deeper underwater at -11 points—with 43 percent approving and 54 percent disapproving. That's a noticeable drop from a -5 net approval rating in March. Meanwhile, in the YouGov/Yahoo poll, Trump's net approval dropped from -13 points in May—when 41 percent approved and 54 percent disapproved—to -16 points, with 40 percent approving and 56 percent disapproving. A few outliers offer Trump a silver lining. An RMG Research poll from June 18 to 26 showed the president still slightly above water, with a net approval of +4 points (51 percent approve, 47 percent disapprove)—though that, too, was down from +7 previously. Some polls also suggest Trump's approval rating has ticked up slightly after a period of steady decline, underscoring how divided—and volatile—voter sentiment is in his second term. Newsweek's tracker puts Trump's approval at 45 percent, with 51 percent disapproving, giving him a net approval of -6 points. That marks an improvement from the end of last week, when his net approval rating sank to an all-time low of -10 points. The latest Navigator Research poll, conducted June 26 to 30, found Trump at 45 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval—a slight recovery from early June, when he hit a record low for this term at 43 percent approval and 55 percent disapproval. A YouGov/Economist survey from June 27 to 30 showed a modest uptick to 42 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval, up from a low of 40 percent earlier in the month. Poll Date Approve Disapprove Quantus June 30-July 2 47 49 YouGov/Yahoo June 26-30 40 56 ActiVote June 1-30 45 52 Navigator Research June 26-30 45 53 YouGov/Economist June 27-30 42 53 Morning Consult June 27-29 47 50 TIPP Jun 25-27 44 45 RMG Research June 18-26 51 47 The Tyson Group June 25-26 45 51 Targoz June 23-26 43 54 Similarly, Morning Consult's June 27 to 29 poll found 47 percent of respondents approved of Trump's job performance, with 50 percent disapproving—a slight improvement from May's 45 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval. A Marist/NPR/PBS poll conducted June 23 to 25 put Trump's approval at 43 percent and disapproval at 52 percent, a tick up from April's low of 42 percent approval and 53 percent disapproval. Meanwhile, the latest Quantus Insights poll, conducted June 30 to July 2 among 1,000 registered voters, showed Trump's net approval at -2 points, with 47 percent approving and 49 percent disapproving—relatively unchanged from previous Quantus polls. What Happens Next Trump's approval ratings are likely to fluctuate in the coming weeks.
The Hill
an hour ago
- The Hill
We all have a role in stopping political violence
The shootings of two Minnesota lawmakers and their spouses last month have shaken the political world and sparked a response from leaders of both parties. Yet, even as State House Speaker Melissa Hortman (D) and her husband, Mark, were laid to rest in St. Paul this week, the news cycle had already moved on to a new tragedy. We mustn't let this story fade, and we can't wait until the next attack. Political violence is absolutely unacceptable, and we have to do more than just condemn it; we must address it head-on now. America has a problem, and the shootings in Minnesota are a stark reminder that divisive rhetoric framing our political opponents as enemies has real consequences. As Minnesotans grieve and State Sen. John Hoffman (D) and his wife, Yvette, recover post-surgery, political leaders and voters in both parties must come together, denounce this violence and offer tangible solutions to lower the temperature of our national political discourse. Our country has always had a political violence problem. However, there has been a noticeable spike in public acts of political violence over the last decade. In 2017, a gunman shot and nearly killed Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) at a congressional baseball practice. A year later, police arrested a man after he mailed pipe bombs to high-profile Democratic officials. Just weeks before the 2020 election, the FBI intercepted a plan to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) and arrested eight paramilitary extremists. On Jan. 6, 2021, a mob of rioters stormed the Capitol to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Dozens of Capitol police officers were viciously attacked. In October 2022, Paul Pelosi was hospitalized after an attacker broke into his home looking for then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). During the 2024 presidential campaign, there were two assassination attempts against President Trump and bomb threats in Ohio after he openly promoted false and hateful claims about Haitian immigrants. Just this year alone, a conspiracy theorist torched Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro's (D) home, two Israeli diplomats were assassinated in Washington and, now, the tragedy in Minneapolis. If that sounds like a lot, it is. This is not normal. These incidents provide an ominous picture of our current political landscape and underscore how misinformation, hyper-polarization and the televised crackdown on political dissent spark real-life harm — a pattern we've seen repeated in communities across the country. Amid a tumultuous political landscape, threats against local elected officials have been on the rise. There has also been an increased number of threats levied against marginalized communities, including Black, Indigenous, Latino, immigrant, gay, and particularly against transgender people. Political violence is not only perpetrated by individuals and extremist groups, but by elected officials as well. Just last week, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem allowed federal agents to forcibly remove Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) from her press conference and place him in handcuffs after the senator attempted to ask a question about the immigration raids and protests in Los Angeles. This sends a clear message: When you disagree with the administration publicly, you can expect to be manhandled by armed government agents. And President Trump's pardons of approximately 1,500 Jan. 6 defendants, including some who were convicted of violent actions, have created an atmosphere where certain types of violence are praised. Hate speech and violent rhetoric are also violence, as verbal threats significantly impact how someone can engage in the political process. While speaking about the ICE protests around the country, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said on the Rubin Report podcast that drivers could run over protestors, two days before thousands of Floridians were set to join the 'No Kings' protests. Robust disagreement is important. The U.S. is full of different values, views, backgrounds and preferences, and still, hundreds of millions agree on the shared value that democracy — and not political violence — is how we resolve our disputes. The good news is that Americans are not as far apart as we think we are, and we have more in common than what divides us. Recent surveys consistently find that the vast majority of Americans across the political spectrum reject political violence. This spans political ideologies, age groups and identities. Americans agree that violence should never be a tool of democracy. To turn the tide, we must hold our elected leaders accountable for their violent speech and actions. Throughout U.S. history, progress has been achieved non-violently: when people have organized together, exercised their rights of free speech and assembly, participated in elections, and ensured that abusive power holders are held accountable. The women's suffrage movement, the labor rights movement and the Civil Rights movement are a testament to this, despite the intimidation and violence these movements faced along the way. These moments in history remind us that democracy is strongest when people push back together, not just in one place but collectively across the country. In our everyday lives, the best way to counter violence is through getting to know our neighbors and getting involved in our communities. Making the effort to inoculate yourself against disinformation is essential to turning down the temperature. Standing up against bigotry and hate is another way to fight back. When people are targeted with threats, violence and the taking away of their rights because of who they are, we must all speak out. Fortunately, we aren't in this fight alone. Organizations such as mine, among many other groups, work around the clock to monitor possible threats, deeply analyze the issues, and provide responses to violence and attacks on our freedoms. During the 2024 election, local, state and national organizations came together with thousands of volunteers to support people in voting without fearing for their safety. These coordinated responses show the power in national solidarity, where communities band together to speak out, act and protect each other across regions and identities. Change starts locally and takes time, but there is so much that we can do both collectively and as individuals. Our democracy works best when all voices can be heard. It's up to every one of us to reject political violence and intimidation in all of its forms — our elected officials must be brave and follow the lead of the majority of Americans. Virginia Kase Solomón is CEO of Common Cause.
Newsweek
2 hours ago
- Newsweek
Elon Musk's Plan for New Party Scores Polling Win
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Elon Musk's surprise push to create a new political party is already shaking up the 2026 landscape, with fresh polling showing early momentum behind his outsider bid. A new survey conducted by Quantus Insights between June 30-July 2 among 1,000 registered voters found that 40 percent of voters—including many Republican voters—say they would consider backing the Tesla and SpaceX CEO's party over traditional GOP or Democratic candidates. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent. Elon Musk attends news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. Elon Musk attends news conference with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, May 30, 2025, in Washington. Evan Vucci/AP Why It Matters Musk, who left the Trump administration in May, touted forming a new political party, which he called the "America Party," after revealing he was fiercely opposed to President Donald Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which narrowly passed the House on Thursday. "If this insane spending bill passes, the America Party will be formed the next day," he wrote in a string of posts on Monday. "Our country needs an alternative to the Democrat-Republican uniparty so that the people actually have a VOICE." The poll suggests Musk's new party could split conservative coalitions and draw in independents. What To Know According to the survey, 14 percent of voters said they would be "very likely" to support or vote for Musk's proposed party if it were launched, while 26 percent said they would be "somewhat likely." Another 38 percent said they were not likely to support it, while 22 percent remained unsure. The survey also revealed clear divides across party lines and demographics. Among men who identify as Republicans, interest was especially strong: 23 percent said they are "very likely" and 34 percent say "somewhat likely" to back the America Party—a total of 57 percent expressing openness to Musk's political brand. Male independents were also a promising base, with nearly half (47 percent) saying they're likely to support it. In contrast, Democrats appeared far more skeptical. Just 7 percent of male Democrats said they would be "very likely" to support Musk's party, while 36 percent said they would not likely back it at all. Among female Democrats, only 5 percent are "very likely" supporters. The poll also revealed dissatisfaction with both main parties. When asked which party best reflects American values, nearly a third of voters said "neither." Among independents, that share was even higher, with 59 percent saying neither the Republican nor Democratic Party represents values of America. By comparison, 37 percent of voters said the Republican Party best reflects American values, while 31 percent chose the Democratic Party. In a blog post, Quantus pollster Jason Corley wrote that the results indicate an "erosion" of "institutional loyalty, of cultural cohesion, and of trust." He added: "The signal is clear: a large slice of the electorate is open to something new, something disruptive. This is not about Musk. It's about the growing sense that the existing order is failing to represent the country as it truly is, or wants to be." Musk's net favorability rating currently stands at -18 points, according to pollster Nate Silver's tracker. Musk, who left the Trump administration in May after leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) for four months, has said that around 80 percent of Americans lie outside the ideological extremes represented by Democrats and Republicans—a potentially appealing talking point for an alternative political movement. But experts that Newsweek has spoken to have expressed doubt that the party would be able to make an impact. What People Are Saying Quantus Insights said on X: "The poll's intent was to simply capture the idea of another option, specifically one backed my Musk. 40 percent support isn't surprising. There are many out there who are absolutely shocked by the level of support when, in fact, it shouldn't be much of a shock at all. This kind of question always polls well. In 2023, 63 percent of Americans supported a third party, the highest in Gallup's 20-year trend." Dafydd Townley, an American politics expert at the University of Portsmouth, previously told Newsweek that "third parties do not tend to have a long lifetime in American politics," adding that Musk's new party "would likely split the Republican vote, potentially resulting in a Democrat-dominated House of Representatives, at least in the short term, due to the winner-takes-all electoral system." Mark Shanahan, a political scientist at the University of Surrey, who focuses on the U.S., echoed that skepticism, telling Newsweek: "I wouldn't hold out too much hope for an 'America Party' for a number of reasons. First, history is against it. The USA is a strongly two-party political system," he noted, pointing out that "around 90 percent [of Americans] actively identify with either the Republicans or Democrats," even if formal party membership is relatively low. What Happens Next The One Big Beautiful Bill Act now heads to Trump's desk, where he is expected to sign it on Friday.
