CO-03: GOP incumbent Tipton is losing his primary to a batshit crazy opponent.

CO-SEN: Hickenlooper wins Senate Democratic Primary

Per Politico. Not even close.



https://www.politico.com/2020-election/results/colorado/

KY-06: Democrat Josh Hicks wins Kentucky primary to challenge Andy Barr

Marine veteran and former police officer Josh Hicks won the Democratic primary in Kentucky's 6th District on Tuesday and will face off against Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) in November.

Hicks, also an attorney, won with 72 percent of the vote, easily prevailing over rival Daniel Kemph in the June 23 primary, according to The Associated Press.

Results were revealed Tuesday after taking into account the flood of mailed-in ballots amid the coronavirus pandemic. Barr was declared the winner of the GOP primary last week.

Hicks switched parties from Republican to Democrat in 2016, citing his lack of faith in President Trump's Republican Party.



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/504198-democrat-josh-hicks-wins-kentucky-house-primary

The DLCC congratulates Dr. Karen Berg for flipping Ky, State Senate seat from Red to Blue

GA-06: Lucy McBath's GOP challenger: She should 'look at issues beyond' her murdered son

Karen Handel, the GOP nominee in the race for a competitive House seat in Georgia, was caught on video saying her opponent, Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath, needs to "look at issues beyond" her dead son.

Video of the Handel making the remarks was obtained by the American Independent Foundation.

Handel is running in a rematch against McBath, a freshman Democrat who was inspired to run for Congress after the Parkland, Florida, high school mass shooting in 2018 and after her Black son, Jordan Davis, was murdered at the age of 17 in 2012 by a white man angry that Davis and his friends were playing loud music in their car.

McBath defeated Handel for the seat in Georgia's 6th Congressional District in 2018. During the campaign, she ran ads highlighting her personal story and how it had sparked her interest in serving in Congress.



https://americanindependent.com/karen-handel-lucy-mcbath-gun-violence-jordan-davis-murder-georgia-house-congress/

Data on Financial Transfers Bolstered Suspicions That Russia Offered Bounties

American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, which was among the evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence.

Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before, analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations. Investigators also identified by name numerous Afghans in a network linked to the suspected Russian operation, the officials said — including, two of them added, a man believed to have served as an intermediary for distributing some of the funds and who is now thought to be in Russia.

The intercepts bolstered the findings gleaned from the interrogations, helping reduce an earlier disagreement among intelligence analysts and agencies over the reliability of the detainees. The disclosures further undercut White House officials’ claim that the intelligence was too uncertain to brief President Trump. In fact, the information was provided to him in his daily written brief in late February, two officials have said.

Afghan officials this week described a sequence of events that dovetails with the account of the intelligence. They said that several businessmen who transfer money through the informal “hawala” system were arrested in Afghanistan over the past six months and are suspected of being part of a ring of middlemen who operated between the Russian intelligence agency, known as the G.R.U., and Taliban-linked militants. The businessmen were arrested in what the officials described as sweeping raids in the north of Afghanistan, as well as in Kabul.



https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/30/us/politics/russian-bounties-afghanistan-intelligence.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

Trump campaign scraps rally ahead of Sessions-Tuberville primary amid pandemic

(CNN)President Donald Trump's campaign has scrapped plans to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend amid concerns about coronavirus infections rising in the US, CNN has learned.

Trump was slated to travel to the state ahead of the Senate race between his former attorney general Jeff Sessions and the former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, but plans were called off as state officials voiced concerns about a mass gathering and campaign officials ultimately decided against it. A person close to the campaign said there are currently no rallies on the horizon, but aides are scoping out possible venues for when they decide to host them again.

"We don't ever confirm where we're looking until a rally date and location are announced. There is always work underway to identify sites," said Tim Murtaugh, communications director for the Trump campaign.

On Tuesday, Alabama Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced an amended order, which will extend the current rules until the end of July. The order encourages minimizing travel outside the home and wearing face coverings when doing so. The order also states that "all non-work related gatherings of any size, including drive-in gatherings, that cannot maintain a consistent six-foot distance between persons from different households are prohibited."




https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/30/politics/trump-rally-alabama-jeff-sessions/index.html

Tom Steyer Turns Focus to Downballot Races

Tom Steyer is turning loose the fundraising network he built as a 2020 presidential candidate to boost down-ballot Democrats this year.

Besides continuing to fund NextGen America — a group he founded in 2013 that focuses primarily on engaging and turning out young voters — Steyer will deploy his extensive email list to raise money directly for candidates and engage volunteers, as well as personally host fundraisers and events that aides expect will consistently bring in six-figure hauls for congressional candidates.

Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, is expected to back three candidates in the coming days: Sara Gideon, the leading Democrat challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine); freshman Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.); and Sydney Batch, a North Carolina state lawmaker. Steyer has already announced his support for Kentucky’s Charles Booker and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).

Steyer, a billionaire former hedge fund manager, is expected to back three candidates in the coming days: Sara Gideon, the leading Democrat challenging Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine); freshman Rep. Katie Porter (D-Calif.); and Sydney Batch, a North Carolina state lawmaker. Steyer has already announced his support for Kentucky’s Charles Booker and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.).



https://www.politico.com/news/2020/06/30/tom-steyer-returns-to-the-fundraising-circuit-345058

Bonus Tweet of the Day

Flu virus with 'pandemic potential' found in China

A new strain of flu that has the potential to become a pandemic has been identified in China by scientists.

It emerged recently and is carried by pigs, but can infect humans, they say.

The researchers are concerned that it could mutate further so that it can spread easily from person to person, and trigger a global outbreak.

While it is not an immediate problem, they say, it has "all the hallmarks" of being highly adapted to infect humans and needs close monitoring.

As it's new, people could have little or no immunity to the virus.

The scientists write in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that measures to control the virus in pigs, and the close monitoring of swine industry workers, should be swiftly implemented.




https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53218704?xtor=AL-72-%5Bpartner%5D-%5Bbbc.news.twitter%5D-%5Bheadline%5D-%5Bnews%5D-%5Bbizdev%5D-%5Bisapi%5D&at_custom2=twitter&at_medium=custom7&at_custom1=%5Bpost+type%5D&at_custom3=%40BBCNews&at_custom4=956036C2-BA3D-11EA-97C6-67EF4744363C&at_campaign=64#