Before the House of Representatives breaks for the Independence Day holiday, it will vote Thursday on two important bills.  One is the version of Kate's Law that Bill heavily promoted after Kate Steinle was killed by an illegal immigrant who had been deported as many as seven times.  The other vote will punish sanctuary cities by withholding federal funds if they do not cooperate with federal immigration authorities.

"I have called for a five-year mandatory sentence," Bill said, "on felons who are deported and come back to this country.  But some legislators don't like mandatory sentences so this version of Kate's Law calls for a maximum 10-year sentence with no mandatory.  I think it will pass fairly handily in the House and any 'no' vote will be used against legislators in 2018."  Bill predicted that the second law will have a tougher time getting through the House because "the Democrats pander to the immigrant lobby and this bill punishes sanctuary cities."

Shifting to the current media chaos, CNN has been forced to retract a story that accused Trump aide Anthony Scaramucci of being closely tied to Russia.  "CNN fired three people who were involved with the story," Bill reported, "and you all know the reputation that CNN and MSNBC now have as Trump-haters and fabricators.  The folks want fair play and accurate reporting and CNN's reputation has been damaged."

Meanwhile, former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is suing the New York Times for alleging that she was at least partly responsible for the shooting of Congresswoman Gabby Giffords.  "The New York Times has been merciless on her," Bill said, "and so she finally said she is suing for defamation.  The paper did correct the record, but this was a hit piece.  Boy, is it nasty!"

Bill then introduced his entertaining and informative back-and-forth with Dennis Miller, who phoned in from California and opined on Sarah Palin's lawsuit. "I think that after Hulk Hogan sued Gawker," he said, "there is now a template on how to win these lawsuits.  The New York Times has been run into the ground and it is no longer the 'paper of record.'  It's a building front in Manhattan that foreign acrobats like to climb."  Bill predicted that the suit will be settled out of court and that "Sarah Palin will get a nice check."

Turning from hard news to easy leisure, Miller talked about his summer reading list:  "Right now I'm reading a book about trans-Atlantic crossings in the late 1800s.  I also am reading a book called 'Hank and Jim' about the 50-year friendship between Henry Fonda and Jimmy Stewart, and the other book I'm reading is 'Pale Fire' by Vladimir Nabokov."  Bill promised to brighten and lighten Miller's summer by sending him a copy of "Legends and Lies: The Civil War."

Miller also revealed his physical goal for the summer:  "At my age of 63 you're supposed to be in good shape if you can run a 9-minute mile.  I'm at 9:40 now and I want to get down to 9 minutes."  Bill's rejoinder:  "I admire you for doing the exercise, but I really want to see the outfit you have on."

Before signing off, Miller delivered a very patriotic message:  "This is the best place in the world by light years, it is still the greatest country.  We only have this because of young people in the military who protect us, so I take any opportunity to thank the troops." 

(NOTE: This is an abridged version of the Miller interview; the entire conversation can be heard here on BillOReilly.com.)

After bidding Miller adios, Bill turned to health care and the delayed Senate vote.  He suggested that there is great pressure on the GOP:  "If it doesn't pass it will hurt the Republican Party.  The bill looks flawed, but at least it will get spending under control and there is a good chance it could bring down your premiums.  The whole health care deal is a mess."

Bill also reported that the National Endowment for the Arts has awarded New York City's Public Theater a $100,000 grant.  This is the very same theater company that staged the mock assassination of a Donald Trump lookalike in Central Park.  "We shouldn't have that," Bill complained.  "We owe $20-trillion, New York City is very wealthy and can raise the money without using tax dollars.  This isn't a political thing, but tax money should not be used."

In their daily opinions and questions, Premium Members focused on the new Kate's Law, health care, and Barack Obama's decision to keep quiet when he learned about Russia interference long before the November election.  "I think we will find out something about why President Obama didn't tell us," Bill replied to one PM, "but I'm not confident that we'll get the whole story or that the mainstream media will even seek the information."

Bill concluded by displaying a photo of him with Donald Trump at a game in Yankee Stadium three years ago.  Because both men eschew alcohol, they were downing milk shakes.  "I just found this photo three days ago," Bill revealed, "when I was unpacking boxes.  We're going to show you history items here on a regular basis."

Check out the No Spin News tomorrow for detailed analysis of the big House vote on Kate's Law and all the other news of the day.