“South Carolina would be the first state to hold a Democratic primary for president in 2028 under a preliminary recommendation passed with 26 out of 49 votes Friday by a Democratic National Committee panel, capping an internal debate riven with racial overtones,” the Washington Post reports. ”Party officials also recommended New Hampshire, Nevada and Michigan […]

“Bahrain and Kuwait secretly sent jets to attack sites inside Iran, their first such direct retaliation against Tehran and an indication of the difficult position Arab states find themselves in as the war grinds on, people familiar with the matter said,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The airstrikes early this month targeted drone- and missile-storage […]

Wall Street Journal: “When the Supreme Court struck down Trump’s main tariff weapon in February, the president’s trade war seemed destined to enter a less capricious and more constrained phase.” “To Trump, though, court rulings are road maps, not roadblocks. February’s court ruling simply rerouted him to tools the court hadn’t explicitly prohibited. And fortunately […]

“President Trump met on Friday with top advisers and senior members of his cabinet to decide whether to intensify the military assault against Iran, according to four people briefed on the planned discussion,” the New York Times reports. “The meeting comes as Mr. Trump faces a potential inflection point in his approach to Iran, after […]

“As the U.S. and Iran return to a daily drumbeat of attacks across the Middle East, hundreds of American diplomats and their families sit in limbo, uncertain when — or whether — they will return to their homes and schools,” NBC News reports. “Ordered by the Trump administration to evacuate in February ahead of Iran’s […]

“Billionaire GOP donor Ken Griffin is contributing $10 million to Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Byron Donalds, who is the overwhelming favorite to get his party’s nomination,” NBC News reports. “Donalds, a member of Congress, has raised roughly $90 million to date; he has a commanding money lead and polling advantage over a handful of other […]

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Paul Krugman: “Yesterday Donald Trump declared that the Iran war is going ‘better than anybody expected could be done.’ He’s delusional, of course. And his delusions are the reason the price of oil is back at around $100 a barrel, and — as I’ll explain shortly — the effective price is much higher than that.” […]

Politico: “The collapse of the center and the rise of extremes is a global trend… Even in that bilious context, France stands out as a land of political desolation — a country where voters are so despairing and the center and left so depleted that Marine Le Pen, criminal conviction and all, may well be […]

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“Far-right activist Laura Loomer went from criticizing Ukraine to meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a rapid transformation that came as a pleasant surprise to Europe and Ukraine’s backers,” Semafor reports. “The roots of Loomer’s pivot, which she began a month ago by acknowledging on her show that she ‘fell for Russian propaganda,’ can be […]

“Former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is launching the Independent Leadership Council, a new effort to elect independent candidates to Congress that will focus first on competitive seats this election cycle,” Semafor reports. Said Manchin: “We’re trying to build a true independent network. Not a third party, but a movement of people that will bring […]

“President Donald Trump is escalating his war of words against Senate Majority Leader John Thune. He’s still not likely to get what he wants,” Politico reports. ”Trump on Wednesday told rally-goers in Georgia to ‘call John Thune’ over the Senate GOP’s inability to pass a partisan election bill, known as the SAVE America Act, and […]

“President Donald Trump said he will soon make a decision on whether to launch a ‘massive attack’ on Iran after the conflict in the Middle East extended to a new battleground in the Red Sea,” CNBC reports. “‘I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We […]

“Some House Democrats want the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to rethink its primary strategy after its third high-profile loss this season,” NOTUS reports. “The 2026 election is far from over, but Democrats are already making specific demands for the DCCC to consider in future cycles: The committee needs to improve how it communicates with members, […]

“Gas prices are high. Americans think they’re even higher,” Politico reports. ”Three in five Americans believe gas prices in their area have risen by more than they actually have, according to an analysis of new results from The Politico Poll. It’s those perceptions that candidates will be running against this fall.”

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“Maine Democrats are on track to select a new Senate candidate later this week. Their likely pick? A former state lawmaker who lost the party’s recent gubernatorial primary, has no federal political experience and has only three months to assemble a campaign against a 30-year Republican incumbent,” NOTUS reports. “Most party leaders — including Democratic […]

“American drivers face fresh sticker shock after disruptions from the Iran war intensified in recent days, sending oil over $100 a barrel and national gasoline prices above $4 a gallon,” the Washington Post reports. ”But prices could be poised to go significantly higher, energy analysts and executives warn, as oil markets are forced to recognize […]

“The Trump administration announced a new round of tariffs up to 12.5% on 60 trading partners on Thursday, preventing a lapse in import taxes as a temporary tariff program nears expiration,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: It shows the White House’s determination to preserve its tariff agenda by turning to new trade laws as earlier […]

“She has President Trump’s endorsement and is a sympathetic figure after the death of her brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham. As Graham’s temporary replacement, she’s a symbol of the political brand he built over more than two decades in the Senate,” Axios reports. “Driving the news: Even so, Darline Graham faces an uphill battle to win […]

“The Iran war’s increasing unpopularity, including inside the MAGA base, is weighing on House Republicans as they head back to their districts for a five-week recess to face voters ahead of the looming midterms,” Politico reports. ”They know they need to ease Americans’ worries about what many of them fear is beginning to look like […]

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“As JD Vance prepares to make a decision about his 2028 plans, the vice president is facing a barrage of online attacks from within his party, criticism his allies say appears to be part of a coordinated attempt to poison the well for him politically,” the Washington Post reports. ”His detractors have adopted the ‘Never […]

“President Trump was fed up,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “During a recent meeting in the Oval Office, he launched into a tirade against Iranian leaders, calling them scumbags and lunatics, and unleashing a series of expletives, according to a person who heard the comments.” “As the war in Iran enters its fifth month, Trump […]

“Global oil prices hovered around $100 a barrel Friday after Iran rejected a U.S. cease-fire offer, fueling investor concerns that the widening conflict could throttle energy shipments from the region indefinitely,” the New York Times reports. “Claims of strikes on tankers in the Red Sea by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia group on Thursday added to […]

“Democratic state officials are ramping up their preparations to protect against what they view as a new threat to election security: the federal government,” the New York Times reports. “At a meeting in Milwaukee in May, staff members from the offices of every Democratic attorney general and about a dozen Democratic secretaries of state held […]

Politico: “Donald Trump’s patience with Senate Majority Leader John Thune is wearing thin. But other Senate Republicans say the president’s still not likely to get what he wants.” “Trump is again pressing Thune to muscle his top legislative priority — the SAVE America Act — through the Senate, and his frustration has grown heated in […]

Punchbowl News: “Sunday is 100 days ahead of the midterm elections. The House is gone for five weeks. And things are looking bleak for the House Republican majority.” ”Two congressional generic ballots from July showed Democrats up by seven and 11 points. Gas prices have soared to more than $4 per gallon again — and […]

“The relentless run-up in Treasury yields reflects the globe’s new economic reality: It takes a much richer reward to persuade investors to lend their money, especially for the longer run,” Axios reports. “Unlike previous bond sell-offs driven by inflation fears, this one reflects a world in which governments and companies are scrambling for enormous amounts […]