July 1, 2026
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Michael's Daily Notes
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Welcome back, Congressman Kean.
This week, Representative Tom Kean Jr. returned to the House floor after months away. He told his colleagues the truth. He had been hospitalized. The diagnosis was depression.
It was a brave speech, and not a cheap one. Kean is, by his own account, a private man. Talking about himself does not come naturally. He could have come back quietly and let the absence fade. Instead he stood in the chamber and described an illness that 48 million Americans are fighting, many of them alone. Asking for help is not weakness, he said. It is strength. He's right, and he earned the right to say it.
I wish him nothing but good health.
One thought stays with me, and it isn't about him. It's about us.
We still don't treat brain health the way we treat the rest of the body. Had Kean broken a leg, or beaten back an infection, or come through surgery, we'd have known from the start. We'd have sent cards. We'd have prayed for his speedy recovery.
When he first stepped away, he said he was dealing with a medical issue. By his own account, he was still trying to understand it himself. So the vagueness wasn't a dodge. It was the honest report of a man who didn't yet have the words.
But notice how comfortable that vagueness made the rest of us. That's the part worth sitting with.
Welcome back.
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DAILY POLL
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Should a candidate's mental illness be judged the same as a physical illness?
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TOP STORY
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A federal disclosure shows President Donald Trump earned nearly $1.2 billion from crypto ventures last year, as his digital assets business rapidly expanded alongside broader growth in his personal fortune.
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TODAY'S YOUTUBE
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SPONSORED BY PARX CASINO
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IN OTHER NEWS
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A prolonged heat wave will scorch the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. through the July Fourth holiday, with more than 100 record highs expected, heat index values up to 115 degrees, and extreme fire weather threatening the Four Corners region after three firefighters died Saturday.
A 29-year-old democratic socialist, Melat Kiros, defeated longtime Democratic Rep. Diana DeGette in Colorado, signaling growing voter support for younger progressive challengers focused on breaking from the party establishment.
While the Supreme Court has broadly empowered President Donald Trump to fire agency heads and downsize the federal government, it has repeatedly rebuffed his most personal priorities — including tariffs, birthright citizenship, military deployment claims, mail-in ballot challenges and his appeal of the E. Jean Carroll verdict.
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A MESSAGE FROM INCOGNI
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Congressman Tom Kean Jr. returned to the House floor and disclosed that his months-long absence was due to hospitalization and treatment for depression, urging others struggling with mental illness to seek help.
Mexico ended a 40-year knockout drought with a 2-0 win over Ecuador, France routed Sweden 3-0 behind two Kylian Mbappé goals, and Erling Haaland's late strike lifted Norway past the Ivory Coast 2-1 on a dramatic Tuesday at the 2026 World Cup.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce will hold a roughly 100-person rehearsal dinner Thursday at Madison Square Garden's Infosys Theater and a 1,000-person wedding celebration Friday into early Saturday that could run until 4 a.m.
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CARTOONS
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by Rob Rogers
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MORE NEWS
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The University of Tennessee at Knoxville agreed to a $1.9 million settlement with former anthropology professor Tamar Shirinian, who was fired after a private Facebook post celebrating the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk and sued on First Amendment grounds.
LeBron James has informed the Lakers he will play for a different team in the 2026-27 season, his agent Rich Paul said, ending an eight-year run in Los Angeles as the 41-year-old enters his record 24th NBA season.
New research suggests gossip may be more than just a guilty pleasure, with scientists finding that sharing rumors can strengthen social bonds, relieve stress, and even offer evolutionary benefits.
For the Left
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is ending COVID-19 emergency declarations for vaccines, treatments, and medical devices on a phased timeline, shifting manufacturers toward traditional FDA approval pathways while concluding emergency authorities first established during the pandemic.
For the Right
The White House has appointed former Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb to lead a new scientific advisory council on unidentified anomalous phenomena, tasking the group with reviewing dozens of Pentagon records as it examines UAP reports through a national security and scientific lens.
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