Blue 812 News Issue 77 - July 12

follow blue812news: facebook | instagram | bluesky | blue812.news

If you’re anything like me, as soon as those eyes crack open each morning, I am scrolling through notifications for The One. And this morning we got one - not the one I was anticipating… but it’s only a matter of time.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) died late Saturday night following a “brief and sudden illness,” according to a statement released by his office. He was 71. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (R) can immediately appoint a temporary replacement to fill Graham’s seat until Jan. 3 of next year.

Graham was up for reelection in November, having won the SC Republican primary just over a month ago. He was set to face Democrat Annie Andrews, a doctor who fairly comfortably won the Democratic primary. A special candidate filing period will open up on July 21 for Republicans interested in running for Graham’s seat, and will remain open for a week. A primary would be held on August 11, with a runoff if no candidate reaches 50 percent of the vote on Aug. 25. Possible replacements already floating around are former congresswoman and current transphobe Nancy Mace, former governor/current UN ambassador Nikki Haley, and current Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, among others. Trump says he “has someone in mind” but won’t say who. It’s a secret!

Graham’s death weakens the GOP majority in the Senate at least temporarily, and comes as Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell (KY) is in the hospital. Speaking of him… what’s going on? McConnell had been gone for over three weeks following a mysterious hospitalization, which means KY constituents are without representation. Kentucky Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear demanded more answers on McConnell’s status, a stunning development. McConnell did release a proof-of-life photo today with his wife, former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Because these things come in threes, we also saw the death of a political career. The Maine Senate race took a massive turn on Monday after Politico and CNN reported that Democratic nominee Graham Platner had allegedly sexually assaulted a woman he was dating in 2021. Platner denied the allegations, but quickly began to hemorrhage support, and eventually dropped out several days later. Platner withdrew before the state’s official deadline, so the Maine Democratic Party gets to pick his replacement. They’ve voted to hold a nominating convention instead of a primary, and a number of Mainers have declared their candidacies. A reported 600 delegates will then vote on the nominee.

Hippos can’t swim. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

Trump went to Turkey this week for the NATO summit. Our friends in Europe were so, so, so hopeful that this might be the time when we would all get along. In fact, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte spent the run-up to the summit telling Politico that “Trump was right” about everything from defense spending to bombing Iran, gushing that he just likes the man. So gross. The flattery bought them nothing. At the summit, POTUS bashed NATO for its unwillingness to help the U.S. and Israel in their war with Iran, demanded control of Greenland (“We took Greenland and then, stupidly, we gave it back,” referencing America’s brief control of the territory during World War II after Denmark fell to the Nazis), cut off trade with Spain, and invented the Islamic Republic of Japan. But at least Trump was nice to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has spent the past year dismantling what remains of Turkish democracy. Birds of a feather.

Unfortunately during the summit, the US claimed that Iran struck three commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting retaliatory strikes and a decision to pull Iran’s license to sell oil, causing oil prices to spike and stocks to slump. Trump declared the ceasefire “over,” and Iran’s leaders “scum.” Iran then launched strikes against Kuwait and Bahrain. By the end of the day, he was back to downplaying a return to the full-scale war, and insisting Iran wants “to make a deal very badly.” In short, Trump played his usual role as an agent of chaos, while insisting every zigzag was a crucial piece of his master plan. Trump vowed (again) that any new fighting with Iran would be short-lived. But the reality is that he has struggled to keep the peace — a pitfall many critics feared. He’s scrambling for a way to put this war behind him, and get inflation back under control before the midterms.

Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith stays in my inbox. In late June, he appeared on another right-wing Conservative Review podcast (it’s always a podcast with these guys. Does the Lt. Governor not have things to do?) where he slammed formal calls to prayer, claimed that the religion is “actually worse” than Nazism, equated Islamic prayers with “death and destruction,” and said that Muslims shouldn’t be allowed to publicly worship because “Judeo-Christian principles [are] our heritage.” During the interview, Beckwith said he has discussed concerns about Islam with Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and suggested the state should use its legislative authority to limit Islam, repeatedly claiming Islam is not entitled to the same constitutional protections as other religions because, he said, it is fundamentally a political ideology rather than a religion. However, he erroneously claims the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision in Kennedy v. Bremerton School District established that America’s “Christian heritage” means “Christianity takes precedence over all other faiths.”

Speaking of heritage, Micah is also a guest speaker at something called “Heritage Rally” alongside Greg Bovino, the former commander of US Border Control who oversaw the ICE occupation in LA, Chicago, and Minnesota. Bovino was advertising it on X as “the first Mass Deportation Rally in US History.” Gross. If you’re still feeling flush after the $50 ticket to the rally, you could pay $500 to be in “a select group of patriots [who] will gather for [dinner]… and an off-the-record strategy session with Commander Bovino. No press. No cameras. No performance.” Even grosser.

The whole thing is set up by Save Heritage Indiana, a nationalist group that claims “our home is being invaded” by immigrants. As of July 2026, two Statehouse legislators have been endorsed by Save Heritage Indiana for re-election in 2026: Rep. Zach Payne and Rep. Chris Jeter. Here’s what they had to say about the Save Heritage Indiana and its goals:

The Terre Haute City Council unanimously approved an amended new wheel tax at Thursday’s meeting, which essentially shifts how the same money will be apportioned. The move was made necessary by a state law decreeing that cities had to have their own wheel tax rather than receiving funds collected by the county from state wheel taxes taken in via the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. That money helps the city pay for paving and road repairs. Mayor Sakbun explained that if the city didn’t opt in, it would lose $400,000 in state funding, while emphasizing that adding a city wheel tax did not mean its residents would be paying two wheel taxes at the BMV, because they will no longer be charged the county’s wheel tax. People will still pay the city wheel tax at the BMV, and the rate will remain $15 in 2027 and 2028, with a $2 increase planned for 2029.

The Council made short work of its agenda, voting on all the measures within 15 minutes, but not until after sitting through more than two hours of city presentations and public comment. Earlier this year, some residents raised concerns about an overpopulation of cats in Terre Haute. Many of those same residents, like Erika Cantin and Vicki Curtz, spoke on Thursday, stating that problems continue. “The shelter isn’t taking any cats, all of the cat rescues are full, so what are citizens supposed to do with these cats that show up at their house?” Cantin said. Terre Haute City Attorney Michael Wright responded, saying that the city has looked at a number of changes, but hasn’t found an answer. The next TH City Council meeting is August 6th.

On Tuesday, ICE agents involved in a targeted enforcement operation in Houston shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national. They claim Araujo “weaponized his vehicle,” attempting to run over an officer and ramming other cars. Given that they made exactly this claim to to justify their murder of Renee Good and shootings of Marimar Martinez and Luis Niño-Moncada and Yorlenys Zambrano-Contreras before they were proven to be lying, skepticism seems more than warranted.

Lorenzo’s son has said he’d been in this country nearly 35 years and was in the process of obtaining legal status. His job was in construction, and he was picking up his employees when ICE shot him. He added: “my father did not deserve this.”

The FBI says they’re investigating the “potential assault on a federal law enforcement agent” and DHS’s Inspector General is looking into the shooting. We have zero reason to trust that they’ll be transparent or honest, and we need a real, independent inquiry. The League of United Latin American Citizens has called for an investigation by the city, and so should we. Let’s reach out to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare (contact information here) and urge his office to probe what really happened and prosecute any agents who committed crimes under color of law. We can find sample language to work from here from Rogan’s List.

Voter guide website guides.vote is doing a series called Ask an Expert: Civics Edition.

Their next webinar will be on Wednesday, July 22nd, at 4:30 pm EST. The topic will be Media Literacy 101: Spotting Misinformation and Disinformation and What Are Credible Sources?

They will have a panel of experts to share their knowledge and answer your questions. They will be joined by Marcie Young - Cancio, former journalist and journalism and media literacy professor, Lendsey Achudi, Executive Director of guides.vote, and another panelist to be announced.

Wednesday, July 22nd @ 4:30 pm EST. RSVP here.

**visit the Blue812News Local Events calendar to see all upcoming events**

Monday, July 13th at 6pm: Vigo County School Board meeting in the West Terre Haute administration office board room, 501 W. Olive St. Agenda available here.

Tuesday, July 14th at 3pm: Mingle with the Mayor at Grand Traverse Pie Co. At this informal and relaxed gathering, various topics will be covered each month with opportunities to ask questions and voice concerns. Free pie and coffee will be served courtesy of Clinton Gardens.

Tuesday, July 14th at 5pm: Vigo County Council Meeting in the Council Chambers in the Vigo County Government Center, 127 Oak Street

Wednesday, July 15th at 5:30pm: Summer Showcase feat. 4th district candidate Mark Minnick at the Vigo County Fairgrounds. Join in at the Democrat pavilion next to the grandstands RSVP & more info here.

Tuesday, July 21st at 6pm: Indivisible CommUnity meeting. Every big change starts with a local conversation. Whether you want to share a new concept, listen in, or find ways to get involved locally, there is a place at the table for you! Vigo County Public Library (Rooms AB&C) 6-7:30PM

Wednesday, July 22nd at 5pm: EMBARK 2026: Moving Forward with Public Transportation, an ongoing effort to update the region’s Coordinated Public Transit-Human Services Transportation Plan (CPTHSTP). As part of the planning process, a Public Outreach Meeting will be held on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Vigo County Public Library. Community members are encouraged to attend and share feedback regarding transportation needs, service gaps, accessibility and opportunities to improve public transit and mobility services throughout Vigo County and the Terre Haute Urbanized Area. The public meeting will provide residents, transit riders, nonprofit organizations and social service agencies the opportunity to directly engage with the planning team and help guide future transportation priorities.

The U.S. will allow Ukraine to build Patriot missile defense systems to protect against Russian strikes. It’s a major win for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been pleading for a license to build them.

The Wisconsin judge who was convicted after trying to block federal agents from detaining an immigrant in her courtroom will not serve any jail time, a federal judge ruled, and only face a $5,000 fine.

Meta discontinued a new AI feature that allowed users to generate images using public Instagram accounts following days of criticism over the feature’s opt-out policy. It was only up for about four days, folks! Public pressure works!

Oregon has recorded five straight years without a single known pesticide-related bee death, according to the first statewide bee health report from researchers at Oregon State University.

bell hooks is back on the best-seller list, rivaling J.D. Vance’s latest book by the same name.

The Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Canada and Detroit is now expected to open on July 27 after Trump dropped his objections to the project.

Indianapolis International Airport is installing solar-covered parking lot canopies to power terminal operations, further expanding the airport’s solar capacity.

Horses usually have 24 horsepower. Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.