Thursday, July 2nd, 2026 - McConnell’s Secret Heart Attack, DSA Beats Dems in CO, Trump's Qatari Plane Takes Flight

Today's Headlines: Mitch McConnell has apparently been on death's door for three weeks and nobody thought to mention it — Punchbowl News reported yesterday that he was found unconscious after likely suffering a heart attack, with EMS dispatch audio referencing CPR in progress for a cardiac arrest, while his office has been telling us he's "working closely with staff," which is one way to describe being in a hospital after cardiac arrest. Harvey Weinstein is also in Bellevue Hospital with heart failure as a complication of pneumonia after being rushed from Rikers, awaiting his September sentencing for sexual assault. America's 250th birthday celebration is upon us, with Trump promising the world's longest fireworks show starting at 10:30pm, plus a speech he's calling a rally that he promised to deliver even if it's 107 degrees, so happy birthday to us. Trump also took his Qatari hand-me-down plane on its inaugural flight to North Dakota for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library opening, where he compared himself to Teddy Roosevelt without quoting him once, interacted with an AI version of Roosevelt, floated giving himself the Medal of Honor for "taking on Russia Russia Russia," and bragged about winning the Iran war. Meanwhile, Former CIA Director John Brennan is suing the DOJ to prevent them from destroying evidence related to Trump's revenge investigations into him, which is the correct move and the only language Trump can read. Democratic panic is setting in after DSA candidate Melat Kiros, 29, beat 29-year incumbent Diana DeGette in Colorado's congressional primary — with Colorado's attorney general Phil Weiser also beating establishment favorite Michael Bennet in the governor's primary. And the Trump administration lifted its restrictions on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos, which it banned weeks ago for cybersecurity concerns, while simultaneously asking OpenAI to restrict its new GPT-5.6 Sol model for national security vetting, because the administration's relationship with AI safety is whatever is most convenient at any given moment. Resources/Articles mentioned:  NY Post: Mitch McConnell was found 'unconscious' in DC home last month, may have suffered heart attack TMZ: Harvey Weinstein Suffers Heart Failure at Rikers Island, Sources Say WaPo: Trump’s July 4 fireworks to start much later and last much longer AP News: Retrofitted Qatari jet takes flight as Air Force One for Trump's trip to North Dakota NYT: Ex-C.I.A. Chief Asks for Order Forcing Trump Administration to Preserve Records NBC News: Colorado Senate Primary Election 2026 Live Results: Hickenlooper, Gonzales and More CNBC: Anthropic says Trump admin has lifted export controls on Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 Subscribe to the Betches News Room and join the Morning Announcements group chat. Go to: betchesnews.substack.com Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices