In today's newsletter: Donald Trump brushes off his supporters' interest in the Jeffrey Epstein case, and House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks out. An ICE memo details how officials can deport immigrants to third countries. And Grok, the Elon Musk-owned AI chatbot, debuts two so-called "companions." 

Here's what to know today.

Donald Trump responded to mounting criticism of his administration’s handling of Jeffrey Epstein’s case, saying yesterday that he doesn’t understand the buzz. “He’s dead for a long time,” the president said when asked about frustration from his supporters. “He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don’t understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody.”

Earlier in the day, Trump said Attorney General Pam Bondi should release “whatever she thinks is credible” on Epstein, while Bondi herself declined to answer questions about the issue. Though some have called for her to resign, Bondi was defiant during a press conference. “I’m going to be here as long as the president wants me to be here,” she said.

Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson showed a rare break from Trump by joining other conservatives in calling for the release of documents. The administration “should put everything out there and let the people decide,” he told conservative commentator Benny Johnson yesterday. Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and John Kennedy are among those who have also called out the Trump administration.

The uproar about the Trump administration's handling of the Epstein case comes after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo last week saying they found no evidence that the late financier had kept an "incriminating 'client list'" or evidence that would lead to the prosecution of third parties. Conspiracy theories that "Epstein didn't kill himself" began to spread almost immediately after Epstein's 2019 death in a New York City jail as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

Trump also took to Truth Social last Saturday to urge people to move on. If he thought his words would put an end to things, he was wrong. Data from Google shows that searches for Epstein spiked after Trump posted. It was also notable that the post, on the president’s own social network, received many frustrated responses from supporters. 

Trump has used conspiracy theories for political gain since before he ran for president, like when he stoked false claims that Barack Obama's birth certificate was fake. During his most recent presidential campaign, Trump said he would have “no problem” looking into an Epstein client list. And once he took office, Trump appointed people who have also promoted conspiracy theories to senior positions in his administration. 

But now, Trump is bearing the brunt of those same conspiracies in an inescapable viral commotion.

Read the full story here.

More politics news:

ICE restarts third country deportations with little notice

The Department of Homeland Security resumed third country deportation flights on Tuesday by deporting five immigrant detainees, all from different countries, to the small nation of Eswatini in Southern Africa. The resumption of third country deportations comes as ICE put out new guidance that its employees are allowed in certain circumstances to deport migrants to countries that are not their own in as little as six hours — and without assurances from the third country that they “will not be persecuted or tortured.”

But "in all other cases" where the U.S. has not received those assurances, ICE must follow certain procedures, including that officials must give immigrants a removal notice in a language the person understands and which tells them where the government intends to deport them. Read the full story here.

More immigration news:

Adelita Grijalva wins Democratic primary for Arizona House seat

The daughter of the late Rep. Raúl Grijalva won the Democratic primary to fill his former House seat in Arizona, The Associated Press projects. Adelita Grijalva, a former member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, defeated activist Deja Foxx and former state Rep. Daniel Hernandez and is set to face Republican Daniel Butierez in a special election in September. Both Grijalva, 54, and Foxx described themselves as progressives, but fissures emerged during the campaign over the issue of generational change.

Raúl Grijalva won 12 terms representing Arizona's 7th House District before he died in March at the age of 77. The heavily Democratic district encompasses most of Tucson and the state's southern border. Read the full story here.

Grok's new chatbots seem designed to shock and entertain

Elon Musk's AI chatbot Grok turned heads last week for writing antisemitic social media posts on X. Now, Grok has introduced so-called "Companions" that interact with users. One is a flirty Japanese anime character named Ani who offers to make users' lives "sexier." The other is a red panda named Bad Rudi with a penchant for foul language.

Tech reporter David Ingram wrote that both bots criticized the Nazis and the action of xAI, the Musk-owned company behind Grok. But the graphic nature of the companions makes them outliers among other AI chatbots with a willingness to embrace hateful language and sexual content. Just look at snippets of Bad Rudi's conversation with NBC News, in which the character advocated for stealing a yacht, overthrowing the pope and spiking a town's water supply with hot sauce and glitter. 

— Elizabeth Robinson, newsletter editor

Curious about which food is best for your young pup? Veterinarians recommend the best puppy food with all the proper nutrients and tell us which ingredients to avoid. And should cats eat wet food, dry food or both? Vets break down what you should know when choosing what to feed your feline friend.

Thanks for reading the Morning Rundown. Today's newsletter was curated for you by Elizabeth Robinson and Josh Feldman. 

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