“A lead U.S. negotiator for the release of hundreds of people captured by Hamas during the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks in Israel will have a book out this fall,” the Associated Press reports. “The Penguin Random House imprint Crown has scheduled Brett McGurk’s Brink: Inside the Race to Free the October 7 Hostages for Oct. […]

“In the weeks after President Trump named Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to lead the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the two men and their allies developed a frosty relationship. Just as Mr. Trump was inaugurated last January, Mr. Ramaswamy left the initiative, aimed at downsizing the federal work force, before it began, and Mr. […]

“By most key metrics, the U.S. labor market is in fine shape: the economy has added jobs for four straight months, much improved from late last year, and the unemployment rate has drifted down to 4.2%,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Yet nearly two million Americans have been locked out of the job market for […]

“Donald Trump has endorsed Mike Lindell’s bid for Minnesota governor, calling the MyPillow founder ‘one of America’s greatest and most hard working Patriots’ in a Truth Social post on Wednesday,” The Guardian reports.

“Chief of staff Susie Wiles, President Donald Trump’s closest aide, and FBI Director Kash Patel helped personally orchestrate a sprawling investigation last week at the White House aimed at determining who in the government leaked information about the security deficiencies of a Qatari-gifted airplane meant to be used as Air Force One – with some […]

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Wednesday announced a new effort to annually screen service members’ testosterone levels and offer testosterone replacement therapy, framing it as a way to keep troops on the ‘leading edge of lethality.'” NewsNation reports. “The screening, added as part of war fighters’ periodic health assessment, will affect troops age 30 and […]

Pew Research: “Democrats have a narrow advantage over Republicans in partisan affiliation among U.S. adults: 47% identify with or lean toward the Democratic Party, and 43% identify with or lean toward the Republican Party.” ”The Democratic Party’s modest edge is similar to where it was in 2020, the last year of President Donald Trump’s first […]

“Senators in both parties say the odds are rising of another government shutdown in September after President Trump demanded that GOP leaders abolish the filibuster or face a spending showdown and another shutdown,” The Hill reports. ”Trump blindsided GOP leaders on Monday when he warned there could be another shutdown if Senate Republicans don’t abolish […]

“Jay Clayton, President Donald Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, refused to say Joe Biden won the 2020 election, claimed not to know his predecessor Tulsi Gabbard took part in a raid of a Georgia election office earlier this year and defended subpoenaing New York Times journalists in a contentious Senate confirmation hearing on […]

“For chief executives and business owners around the world, the Iran war is hammering home an essential reality that they are operating in a world that is riskier and more unpredictable,” the New York Times reports. “And that also means more expensive. Even if the attacks end, the increased cost of doing business will linger. […]

War on the Rocks: “While the United States and Israel waged a war they believed would be defined by military force, Iran had a theory of victory its adversaries never understood: a regime built for survival, manipulating global perception and economic levers, and converting military inferiority into geopolitical leverage. The result was a fragile ceasefire […]

“Ukraine said it has hit more than 110 Russian vessels in nine days in the Sea of Azov, making it one of the most concentrated series of attacks on shipping ever to take place,” the Financial Times reports.

President Trump is reportedly planning a speech Thursday in which he will once again insist that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. The timing is not subtle. Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

“New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s first-in-the-nation data center moratorium could provide a playbook for other Democrats confronting one of the midterms’ most heated issues,” Axios reports. “Voters across the country are protesting data centers and looking for politicians to take decisive action to address concerns over the industry’s rapid expansion.” ”Until now, no governor had […]

“Ruby Rippey-Gibney — the former San Francisco City Hall aide whose affair with Gov. Gavin Newsom nearly upended his political career — will tell her side of the story for the first time in an upcoming Vanity Fair piece,” the New York Post reports.

“Todd Blanche, the acting attorney general nominated by President Trump to oversee the Justice Department, faced pointed questions during a confirmation hearing on Wednesday from Senator John Cornyn, a Republican on the committee whose support would be crucial,” the New York Times reports. “Mr. Cornyn, a lame-duck senator from Texas who lost to a Trump-backed […]

“Todd Blanche likely fueled the most potent criticism against him Wednesday with a gaffe that may haunt him beyond his ongoing confirmation hearing to become the next attorney general,” Politico reports. “Asked by Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) if Blanche and President Donald Trump are friends, Blanche replied, ‘I’m his lawyer’ — before quickly correcting himself […]

“House GOP leaders on Wednesday released a budget blueprint that would allow them to bypass Democratic opposition and provide $73 billion in additional military funding amid the war in Iran and $12 billion for farmers, as well as authorize severe voting restrictions championed by President Trump,” the New York Times reports. Politico: House GOP leaders […]

The Atlantic: “Today marked the fourth consecutive day of strikes across Iran. The cease-fire has disintegrated—Trump formally notified Congress that the war has resumed—and negotiations have collapsed. If American forces do try to reassert power in the strait, they’ll face a difficult path. Iran is still clamping down on ship traffic, and recent violent clashes […]

House Minority Whip Katherine Clark said she would vote to cut off aid to Israel, a big split in the Democratic leadership, Punchbowl News reports. Clark’s decision to publicly rebuff House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will muddy the waters for House Democrats, who were looking at their leadership for guidance on this matter.

Wired: “A government report claims DOGE didn’t access sensitive systems. It also says the agency deleted records that would show if they had.”

“A central issue in acting attorney general Todd Blanche’s confirmation hearing on Wednesday will be the extraordinary protection from Internal Revenue Service investigations he granted President Trump,” the New York Times reports. “That immunity was part of a deal orchestrated by the Justice Department to end the president’s lawsuit against the IRS…” “But the audit […]

“President Trump on Wednesday said Immigration and Customs Enforcement should continue utilizing traffic stops, calling the tactic one of the agency’s ‘most important and effective’ crime-fighting tools,” The Hill reports. Reuters: Trump says ICE won’t halt traffic stops after recent fatal shootings.

“Anthropic has warned that its own technology could bring the end of civilization. Check out its latest job listings to understand how,” Axios reports. “Anthropic has 32 very scary job openings for roles designed to prevent people from using AI to build everything from man-made explosives to nuclear weapons.”

Paul Krugman: “The U.S. position has been wildly erratic. First, Trump said he was going to impose a 20% toll on all shipping, basically turning the Strait of Hormuz into a U.S. toll booth, which would have been wildly illegal and irresponsible, aside from being impossible. Now he says, no, he’s going to demand that […]

“President Trump has added his name or likeness to federal buildings, airports, bridges and even some passports. Now, the U.S. Mint is set to begin striking a dollar coin featuring his face, a rare move to put a sitting president on American money,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled designs for the […]

“The latest Senate debate over a Trump health appointment kicks off Wednesday with a less polarizing nominee than some of the president’s previous picks — but that doesn’t mean controversies around vaccines and public health are over,” Axios reports. “Former deputy surgeon general Erica Schwartz will have to convince lawmakers she has a vision to […]

“Former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. has written a memoir that will be released two weeks after the midterm elections this fall,” the New York Times reports.

“I was just gifted a book that I’m about to crack open called Boss Lincoln. It’s about the lost years when Lincoln was building a political machine before he ran for the presidency.” — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), when asked by a reporter if she has any book recommendations.

“Congratulations to Speaker Mike Johnson and the House Republican leadership. They finally got the House floor open after a three-week Republican blockade,” Punchbowl News reports. ”But what’s coming next will make that look like child’s play.” ”Johnson, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Majority Whip Tom Emmer are entering a very perilous period. GOP leaders […]