G. Elliot Morris: “A new poll shared exclusively with Strength In Numbers shows likely voters in Montana would vote for independent candidate for U.S. Senate Seth Bodnar (50%) over Republican Kurt Alme (44%) if a head-to-head election were held today. Democratic candidate Alani Bankhead would lose 44-52 in a two-way against the Republican.” “But Bodnar […]

“The White House is pushing Congress to break a decades-long impasse around the handling of nuclear waste and entice states to get on board,” Politico reports. “The Trump administration is seeking changes to federal law to allow the Department of Energy to partner with states willing to store waste generated at the nation’s nuclear reactors.”

“I actually suggested at one point that they — his team come up and sit down and visit with some of my colleagues. So they came up, about twenty Republican senators, and fifteen were a no, on getting rid of the filibuster. The votes aren’t there to do it. I know he thinks he can […]

“Donald Trump did not expect Lindsey Graham to die first. At 71, Graham was nearly a decade younger than the president and had remained an energetic presence in Washington and around the world until the end. His sudden death this month rattled the president,” the Washington Post reports. “In the days that followed, Trump returned […]

“Senators say they are making headway in talks on a bipartisan bill funding the government through the election, even as rank-and-file Republicans doubt that Democratic leaders will go for it,” Semafor reports.

Punchbowl News: “First of all, Thune doesn’t want to cancel the recess for a bill that has nowhere close to 60 votes. And he’s not alone.” ”There are two potential paths to get the bill moving — blowing up the filibuster or bringing the House-passed budget resolution to the floor.” ”Nuking the filibuster isn’t happening. […]

“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during his last in-person meeting at the White House, reportedly sold President Donald Trump on starting a war with Iran,” Politico reports. ”Now, the GOP’s America First wing fears he’s about to pitch the president on ramping up attacks.” Associated Press: Netanyahu to meet Trump in first White House visit […]

“The business of explosives is booming as Western governments unleash spending to bring production home,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “At least 24 new projects are under way for propellants or explosives across NATO countries… Three new factories are set for just Arkansas, a center of U.S. weapons production.”

“For more than a year, President Trump insisted in private conversations with advisers that Ukraine was losing the war,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “But in recent weeks, the president has expressed fresh optimism about Ukraine and its leader, Volodymyr Zelensky… Trump has been impressed with Zelensky’s resilience as he takes the fight deep into […]

“The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced it is spending $40 million on organizing, research and voter contact across 10 states as the party looks to take back control of the upper chamber,” Politico reports. “The effort, branded as ‘Win The Senate’ includes seven states where Democrats are on offense — Maine, North Carolina, Ohio, Alaska, […]

“Michigan Democratic Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens clashed on issues of spending by outside groups, the tone of the race and electability in the last televised debate before a pivotal primary election next Tuesday,” CBS News reports. “The Democratic primary contest to fill the open seat of outgoing Democratic Sen. Gary Peters […]

“Discussions over the future of the Strait of Hormuz continued on Tuesday as Iran’s Foreign Ministry said it had held talks on the strategically vital maritime passage with Saudi and Omani counterparts,” CNBC reports. Bloomberg: Iran-Oman talks focused on restarting Hormuz shipping traffic.

Aaron Blake: “Early in Trump’s second term, the percentage of Americans who said the administration wasn’t focused enough on lowering prices was already high.” “Back then, it hovered in the mid-60s, when the president seemed more focused on tariffs than kitchen table issues and inflation.” “But the percentage of Americans who think the administration is […]

CNBC: “Just 33% of Americans approve of the job the Supreme Court is doing, Gallup found. That is a 6-percentage-point drop from the 39% who approved of its work in July 2025, which was the prior low-water mark for approval of the court.” “A record high of 61% of Americans disapprove of the court, according […]

“Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear has a message for Sen. Mitch McConnell: Either the state’s senior senator should explain his long absence from the Senate and give details about his health, or resign,” CNN reports. “Beshear sent a new, blunt letter on Monday to McConnell, the former Senate majority leader who hasn’t been seen in public […]

“Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche faces a key vote in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday in his quest to become the next U.S. attorney general,” ABC News reports. “However, two Republican senators — John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina — have said they still don’t have everything they need from […]

“At a May lunch at the president’s golf course in northern Virginia, President Trump asked Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. why he wasn’t doing more to probe the alleged connection between vaccines and autism,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Kennedy was taken aback. Even though he has long been known to […]

“Canadian travel to the U.S. fell 25% last year, according to a new Canadian government report, which says early 2026 data show the decline has persisted,” Axios reports. “The report provides some of the clearest measures yet of the economic cost to the U.S. tourism industry after trade tensions, tariffs and President Trump’s repeated ’51st […]

“Senate Republican leaders are used to headaches from Utah Sen. Mike Lee, but the battle is reaching an apex as Lee attempts to derail the August recess and force another vote on President Donald Trump’s priority voting bill,” NOTUS reports. Mediaite: John Cornyn accuses Mike Lee of “self-aggrandizement” in fiery feud.

Rolling Stone: “Republican lawmakers are maintaining a practiced silence in the face of new misconduct allegations against one of their own. Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) has been — not for the first time — in the crosshairs of domestic abuse allegations brought forth by a former partner.” “In June, police footage related to a child […]

“Federal agents seized the mobile phone and computer of Los Angeles Dodgers owner Mark Walter last September in a wide-ranging probe into the financial dealings of the billionaire’s businesses,” Bloomberg reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and his staff released a new statement and photo Monday. But they did little to resolve the central question: Will the longtime lawmaker be able to return to work?” “The 84-year-old senator has now been absent due to health reasons for more than 40 days, with no sign […]

“Audio recordings that former President Joe Biden fought for years to keep private have now been released,” CBS News reports. “The roughly 70 hours of audio recordings were cited in a 2024 special counsel’s report, which said Biden kept volumes of notes at his home that included classified information.” At one point, Biden is heard […]

The Economist: “Across America, millions of people… are finding life harder. One in nine Americans receives food stamps; around 70% of recipients are seniors, children or people with disabilities.” “But the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed last year without a single Democratic vote, is projected to cut federal spending on SNAP by about a […]

“A year and a half after leaving office, former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is embarking on a new political chapter with an initiative designed to elect independents to Congress,” NPR reports. Said Manchin: “The way the parties have weaponized the political process today, they make it impossible to have a ‘D’ or an ‘R’ […]

“I’ve done more for you than your parents, OK? Your parents are good, I’m not gonna knock your parents, but I have been better to you than your parents.” — President Trump, quoted by NOTUS, speaking at a rally in Michigan.

“Donald Trump’s strained personal relationship with Senate Majority Leader John Thune has spilled out into the open as the president’s surprise missives and unattainable demands threaten to torch Republican legislative priorities with less than 100 days until the November midterm elections,” Bloomberg reports. “The president’s top priority before the Senate leaves for a month-long break […]

New York Times: “Soon after the war began on Feb. 28, President Trump declared that Iran was ‘totally defeated and wants a deal.'” “Then in March, Mr. Trump said the U.S. military would wrap up its campaign against Iran in two to three weeks.” “Now the conflict is entering its sixth month and a period […]

“President Donald Trump on Monday renewed his push to end the nation’s twice-yearly clock changes, urging the Senate to pass Daylight Saving Time legislation,” CNN reports.

“The Trump administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to let federal officials move ahead with the president’s overhaul of mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, after lower courts blocked officials from implementing his directives in nearly half the country,” Bloomberg reports.