President Donald Trump celebrated one of America’s most iconic presidents Wednesday as he traveled to North Dakota for the grand opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, touring exhibits, chatting with an artificial intelligence recreation of the 26th president, and delivering remarks honoring his legacy.  The event, held in Medora on the edge of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, marked one of the signature celebrations surrounding America’s 250th birthday and brought together administration officials, Roosevelt enthusiasts, and thousands of supporters in the North Dakota Badlands. One of the day’s most memorable moments came inside the new library, where Trump held a brief conversation with an AI-generated version of Theodore Roosevelt. “Every day a president faces storms most people never see, but if you keep your nerve and remember the nation comes first, you get through,” the virtual Roosevelt told Trump. “I know you know that feeling yourself.” Trump responded warmly. “Well, I appreciate those words,” the president replied. “Those words are fantastic, and I just want to say it’s an honor to be with you today.” The exchange continued as Trump asked Roosevelt whether building the Panama Canal was his greatest achievement—a project the current president has repeatedly praised as one of the greatest feats in American history. The AI Roosevelt responded that he measured success “by the lives improved,” while Trump later told the crowd he still considers the canal one of Roosevelt’s most remarkable accomplishments. “He built the Panama Canal,” Trump said. “It was one of the most amazing things ever done.” President Trump asks AI President Roosevelt…“Do you consider the Panama Canal your greatest achievement?” pic.twitter.com/zvfDCL2sKS — Margo Martin (@MargoMartin47) July 1, 2026 Following the tour, Trump addressed supporters gathered at the Burning Hills Amphitheater overlooking the Badlands, where Rough Rider reenactors flanked the stage in tribute to Roosevelt’s legendary volunteer cavalry regiment. “I’m honoring Theodore Roosevelt, and that’s the man who I have long admired,” Trump said. “He’s one of the few. I don’t admire too many people.” Trump spent much of his remarks recounting Roosevelt’s adventurous life, from his days ranching in the Dakota Territory to leading the Rough Riders during the Spanish-American War before eventually ascending to the presidency. “He had a freakin’ wild life,” Trump joked. “He didn’t want to be quiet. He wanted to be great.” Calling Roosevelt “an American man through and through,” Trump praised the former president’s confidence, patriotism, and belief in America’s destiny. “His chest swelled with American optimism, confidence, enthusiasm, pride,” Trump added. “His heart beat with an unyielding sense of America’s destiny and pride.” Trump also announced that the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library will receive $750,000 through the National Endowment for the Humanities to support exhibits during its inaugural year. “So they’re getting a nice check,” the president told the crowd. Earlier in the day, Trump rode aboard the specially decorated Freedom 250 train through the Badlands before touring the library’s exhibits, which include Roosevelt’s journals, interactive displays, and a gallery dedicated to his famous “Man in the Arena” excerpt from the 1910 “Citizenship in a Republic” speech. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who championed construction of the library while serving as North Dakota’s governor, has repeatedly cited Roosevelt as one of America’s transformational presidents and described the new museum as an important part of the nation’s semiquincentennial celebration. For Trump, Roosevelt has long occupied a special place among American presidents. During Wednesday’s remarks, he again pointed to Roosevelt’s energy, strength, and willingness to pursue bold national projects. The president even noted with amusement that while Roosevelt was immensely popular in North Dakota, “I got more votes” in the state than his predecessor. The library itself sits on land deeply connected to Roosevelt’s life. After losing both his wife and mother on the same day in 1884, Roosevelt came west to the Dakota Badlands, where ranch life helped shape the rugged outlook that would later define his presidency. He would later famously remark that he never would have become president had it not been for his experiences in North Dakota.  

Former CIA Director John Brennan, who helped oversee the intelligence community’s investigation into alleged ties between Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia, sued the Justice Department on Wednesday before prosecutors have even charged him with a crime. Brennan filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking an order requiring the Trump administration to preserve records related to two ongoing Justice Department investigations examining his conduct. The move comes as federal investigators continue probing Brennan’s role in the intelligence community’s 2017 assessment concluding that Russia sought to help Trump win the 2016 election, as well as whether Brennan gave misleading testimony to Congress about that assessment during testimony in 2023. No criminal charges have been filed against Brennan. Nevertheless, Brennan’s legal team argues that any future prosecution would amount to political retaliation by the Trump administration and says preserving government records now is necessary to support what they describe as an eventual defense against “vindictive and selective prosecution.” “This Administration has adopted a policy of using criminal process and prosecution to punish the President’s perceived adversaries,” Brennan’s attorneys wrote in the 46-page complaint. The filing names President Donald Trump, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and several Justice Department officials involved in the investigations.  According to Brennan’s attorneys, they fear government officials may fail to preserve internal communications that could be relevant if prosecutors ultimately seek an indictment. The Justice Department declined to confirm whether Brennan is under criminal investigation. “While we cannot comment on the existence, or lack thereof, of an investigation, it is certainly rich that John Brennan is accusing anyone of a ‘retribution campaign,'” a DOJ spokesman said to Fox News Digital. The investigations into Brennan have steadily expanded over the past year. One inquiry centers on whether Brennan misled Congress regarding the intelligence community’s conclusions about Russian interference in the 2016 election. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan previously referred Brennan to the Justice Department for possible prosecution after questioning his congressional testimony. Investigators have also reportedly interviewed current and former intelligence officials involved in drafting the January 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment that concluded Moscow sought to boost Trump’s candidacy. That review has focused in part on whether the controversial Steele dossier — a collection of unverified allegations about Trump funded by his political opponents — inappropriately influenced the intelligence assessment’s conclusions. Brennan has consistently denied any wrongdoing and has maintained that the intelligence community’s assessment accurately reflected Russia’s efforts to interfere in the election. A separate Justice Department investigation reportedly examines what prosecutors have described as a broader conspiracy involving Obama-era and Biden-era officials, looking into whether multiple investigations targeting Trump—including the Russia probe and later criminal investigations—were part of a coordinated effort to undermine him politically. Brennan’s attorneys argue that those investigations themselves demonstrate political bias. The complaint points to personnel changes inside the Justice Department, including the replacement of a career national security prosecutor with Joseph diGenova, a former Trump attorney who has publicly called Brennan “evil” and a “traitor.” The filing also alleges prosecutors attempted to move aspects of the investigation between different U.S. Attorney’s offices and sought venues that Brennan’s lawyers believe would be more favorable to the government’s case. Rather than waiting to challenge an indictment, Brennan is asking the court to preserve emails, memoranda, witness statements, status reports, and other internal communications that could later become evidence supporting claims that prosecutors acted with improper political motives. The filing comes as the Trump administration continues investigating several high-profile officials connected to previous investigations into Trump, including former intelligence and FBI personnel involved in the Russia inquiry.  Whether Brennan is ultimately charged remains unknown. His lawsuit seeks to preserve records he argues could become relevant if prosecutors later bring charges. 

Seven additional members of an Antifa cell were sentenced Wednesday for their roles in last year’s attack on a federal immigration detention facility. The trial marked the federal government’s first domestic terrorism case against Antifa. During the July 4, 2025, ambush, the anarchists lured Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers out of the Prairieland Detention Center by setting off fireworks outside the north Texas facility before opening fire on them. Prosecutors said the group possessed flyers reading “FIGHT ICE TERROR WITH CLASS WAR!” and “FREE ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS,” as well as a flag stating, “RESIST FASCISM — FIGHT OLIGARCHY.” They also spray-painted the words “ICE Pig” on a nearby vehicle and “F*ck you pigs” on a guard shack outside the facility. On Wednesday, Ines Soto was sentenced to 50 years in prison for rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using and carrying explosives during a riot, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Joy “Rowan” Gibson and Rebecca Morgan each received 15-year sentences. Four others connected to the attack, who each pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support to terrorists and later cooperated with prosecutors as witnesses in the case, received sentences ranging from 22 months to six years, the local news outlet reported. Eight other members of the Antifa group received sentences in late June. Among them was former Marine Corps Reservist Benjamin Hanil Song, who received the maximum sentence of 100 years after shooting Alvarado police Lt. Thomas Gross and evading authorities for 11 days after the ambush. Roughly 20 to 30 rounds were fired at law enforcement during the attack, according to court documents. Gross, who was shot in the neck, has since made a full recovery, Alvarado Police Chief Teddy May said. Prosecutors said that Song led the attack, during which he fired two AR-15-style rifles at three ICE officers. He also recruited his co-conspirators and distributed firearms. They also said that Song yelled for the group to “get to the rifles” and opened fire before shooting the police officer, KXAN reported. A sentencing hearing for one additional defendant is scheduled for July 6. Attorneys representing the defendants in the case have indicated their plans to file appeals, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. During the trial, the defense argued that the defendants planned to hold a peaceful protest and a noise demonstration using fireworks to show solidarity with the detainees being held by ICE.

“Lethal Weapon” star Danny Glover announced that he’s been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. The 79-year-old actor discussed his diagnosis alongside family members in interviews with multiple outlets. “I’m sure as it advances, things are going to be different and changing,” Glover said in an interview with Today that aired on Wednesday.  The “Field of Dreams” star revealed that he was diagnosed in 2023. He’s now working with the Alzheimer’s Association to spread awareness about the progressive, fatal neurodegenerative disease.  “I’m still not accepting in my mind all parts of it,” the actor told People in a separate interview. “There are the moments that you keep remembering that validate the fact that you can remember stuff. And there are moments I’ll never forget.” Glover rose to prominence with roles in “Places in the Heart” (1984), “The Color Purple” (1985), and the Lethal Weapon franchise. He’s been involved in most genres, from family-friendly films to action to drama.  “I think it’s really important for him to have control of his own narrative, of his own life story,” Glover’s daughter, Mandisa, told NBC News journalist Lester Holt during the interview. “That’s really important. And the time is now. What better time but now for him to speak for himself?” “It’s important because people ask questions sometimes, and I don’t want to be a dishonest person and say, ‘Oh, yeah, everything is all right. It’s all great,’” she said. Mandisa said she believes the disease is likely “depressing” to live with. “It’s a change in the core of who you think you are or don’t think you are,” she told the outlet, saying it’s “very hard” for the family to deal with. Glover’s younger brother Marty said, “We just want him to live his best life like he made us live ours.” Despite the diagnosis, Glover expressed optimism about the future.  “I don’t feel like it’s the end of my life,” Glover told People. “…I still have my daughter, I have friends,” he added. “I want to just say, your life continues.” Outside of acting, Glover has long been active in left-wing political causes, endorsing presidential campaigns of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in both 2016 and 2020 and participating in numerous protests. 

The Department of Homeland Security is condemning Minnesota leaders after the state’s Board of Pardons granted clemency to a man convicted of repeatedly sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl, a move the Trump administration says could complicate his removal from the United States. The board, which includes Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz, Democratic Attorney General Keith Ellison, and state Supreme Court Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, voted on June 10 to pardon Tou Lue Vang, a Laotian national who lost his legal immigration status after his 2006 conviction of first-degree criminal sexual conduct. According to DHS, Vang lost his legal immigration status following his conviction and was issued a final order of removal by an immigration judge in 2006. For years, Laos refused to accept many deportees, a policy that changed after President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025. Federal officials say he was on the verge of being deported before the pardon was granted. “Governor Tim Walz’s decision to pardon an illegal alien convicted child rapist so he can remain in our country is disgusting,” Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said in a statement released by DHS. “These are the criminal illegal aliens he and his Minnesota sanctuary politicians are protecting,” Bis added. “Following the conviction, he was placed in removal proceedings and issued a final order of removal by a judge. This pardon will take away this child rapist’s qualifying convictions that made him removable from the United States.” According to court documents cited by DHS, Vang repeatedly sexually assaulted a girl between 2002 and 2004. Investigators said he attempted to pay the victim $10 to remain silent about the abuse. Court records also state that during a police interview, Vang attempted to justify his actions by claiming it was “a cultural thing” to marry and have sex with girls as young as 12, and argued the victim should also be arrested. According to the New York Times, the Minnesota Board of Pardons granted the pardon after a review process that included letters submitted on Vang’s behalf. One of those letters came from the victim herself, who told the board she had forgiven Vang and supported his request for clemency. Minnesota officials have said the victim’s statement weighed heavily in their decision. The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office, which prosecuted the original case, opposed the pardon. Prosecutors argued the offense was exceptionally serious and noted Vang had originally received a lenient sentence in part because the victim, who was 12 when the case was prosecuted, faced pressure from family members not to cooperate with authorities. DHS also pointed to the decision as part of what it says is a broader pattern. The department noted that Minnesota’s Clemency Review Commission previously approved a pardon for another Laotian immigrant whose criminal history included armed robbery and drunk driving. The controversy comes as the Trump administration continues to prioritize the deportation of criminal non-citizens and has repeatedly criticized Democratic-led states over immigration enforcement and so-called sanctuary policies. Whether the pardon ultimately prevents Vang’s deportation remains to be determined through the immigration court system. However, federal officials argue that removing the conviction underlying his removal order could significantly complicate those efforts.