“Iran’s economy was already under strain before the U.S. and Israel launched their war on the Islamic Republic, grappling with negative growth, soaring inflation and a currency crisis. Those problems were compounded by strikes on the nation’s civilian and industrial infrastructure and the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports,” Bloomberg reports. “Even so, Iran has […]

“The Chinese leader Xi Jinping arrived in Central Asia this week with a message for a world increasingly unsettled by President Trump: China has friends and influence, and is prepared to help shape what comes next,” the New York Times reports. “The scene unfolded at a security summit in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where […]

“Two key reasons led to Army Secretary Dan Driscoll’s resignation, announced Monday: the feeling that his modernization initiatives were being blocked, and the chaos created by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s firing of senior generals,” Axios reports. “Driscoll’s wartime resignation, on top of Hegseth’s firing of Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George this spring, leaves […]

“President Donald Trump threatens in one moment to slowly asphyxiate Iran’s economy and, in the next, to quickly bomb them into submission,” Politico reports. “Republicans who disagree which option is correct are still united on one thing: They’re over Trump’s seeming indecision.” “The latest whiplash came this weekend, when the U.S. carried out its first […]

“The Trump administration’s decision to bring Russia back into the fold at a gathering of the world’s leading economic officials is stirring fresh tensions with European allies who want to continue isolating Moscow over its war in Ukraine,” Politico reports.

“Ukraine’s growing ability to strike deep inside Russia is thanks to long-range drones such as the Mammoth, which can fly 1,500 miles,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “By next year, their range will double to 3,000 miles.” “Ukrainian defense-technology companies are rapidly improving the range, speed and payload of long-distance drones, bringing more of Russia […]

“The global bond selloff is rolling on into September, raising borrowing costs for governments such as Japan and Germany and putting pressure on U.S. stocks today,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Money is starting to trickle out of President Donald Trump’s super PAC. But as September begins, GOP donors and other Republicans say it should be gushing,” Politico reports. “The concern comes even as Republicans maintain a large financial advantage over Democrats. But with the president’s poll numbers near record lows and Democratic voters appearing more […]

“Six years before becoming Texas Democrats’ U.S. Senate nominee, James Talarico described capitalism as an ‘oppressive system’ during a Sierra Club event, grouping it with White supremacy and climate change and saying ending the ways all three worked together was necessary to begin the process of ‘dismantling them,'” CNN reports.

“Senator Ed Markey has seen his lead steadily increase in recent polls of the Democratic primary for Senate in Massachusetts, with a large number of undecided voters appearing to swing toward him in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election,” the New York Times reports. “In his attempt to secure a third full term in the Senate, […]

“Republicans are counting on President Donald Trump’s cavalry to carry Ken Paxton to victory — but it hasn’t come yet,” Semafor reports. “Ultimately, the GOP expects MAGA Inc. to help its Texas Senate nominee win with a significant spend this fall, according to multiple Republican sources, although even presidential super PAC donors aren’t clued in […]

“Kalshi is conducting ongoing investigations into other political figures who may have conducted insider trading after suspending four yesterday,” Semafor reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Nationally, Republicans face familiar midterm headwinds, from inflation to the war with Iran. Georgia’s GOP is contending with a problem notable to the Peach State: a $140-million Ponzi-scheme scandal that has ruptured the party’s ultraconservative wing.”

Jacob Weinberg: “He lovingly paints immigrants, praises free trade and diplomacy, and rues the coarsening of American politics. Why won’t he talk about Donald Trump?”

“A U.S. Postal Service official has alleged that the agency is moving forward with a ‘secretive, rushed’ effort to implement President Trump’s order exerting federal control over mail voting, despite a court order blocking those plans,” the New York Times reports. CBS News: Whistleblower warns Postal Service’s mail ballot portal is “rushed,” “untested.”

“The U.S. and Iran have resumed military strikes — trapping America’s partners in the Middle East in volatility that could hurt their economies for years to come,” NOTUS reports. “U.S. Central Command on Sunday launched the first American strikes on Iranian forces in more than a month, saying the targets posed ‘an imminent threat’ to […]

“President Trump’s historic Venezuelan oil deal revolves around a colorful and controversial man from Caracas with a long history of supporting U.S. interests — including the operation to remove former strongman Nicolas Maduro,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: Alejandro Betancourt, 46, runs the oil company that’s entering into an unprecedented partnership with the Pentagon. It […]

“As the U.S. government faced shortcomings in the country’s weapons manufacturing, the Pentagon set up a new office that would make investments to help boost defense industrial production,” the New York Times reports. “That effort, which began in 2022 during the Biden administration, is now taking a sharp turn with the Pentagon’s involvement in an […]

“Trump administration officials are escalating an immigration crackdown on commercial truck drivers, setting off a new clash with Democratic-led states,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Both the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Department are demanding licensing data across the U.S. about immigrants driving trucks, in a hunt for what they say is a […]

“A tanker was struck by three unknown projectiles while transiting the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, stoking worries that the Middle East conflict could once again escalate,” CNBC reports.

“President Trump on Monday declared his support for federal tax credits to support film and television production in the U.S. which entertainment industry veterans say could boost a struggling industry that has lost huge amounts of business to foreign countries,” the Wall Street Journal reports. Deadline: Trump backs federal film & TV tax incentive: “Hollywood […]

“Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) praised President Donald Trump for having ‘cast iron balls’ in a preview released Monday of his appearance on Fox News host Sean Hannity’s podcast,” Mediaite reports. Said Cruz: “My favorite attribute about Donald Trump is the guy has cast iron balls. He just does, at a level that there’s no parallel […]

“President Donald Trump on Monday told reporters it was too soon to discuss his ​potential successor, sidestepping talk of a 2028 campaign by ‌Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth,” Reuters reports. Said Trump: “We ​have to get through the midterms first.”

“Less than a month ago, a huge bipartisan Senate majority voted to honor the late Sen. Lindsey Graham and pass legislation he pushed aimed at sanctioning Russia’s trading partners,” Politico reports. “Now the bill is at serious risk of languishing in the House, where it is suffering from significant Democratic opposition, lack of Republican enthusiasm […]

“The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is excluding two deaths reported by Pennsylvania from its weekly updates of a national measles death tally, a decision that came from new CDC director Erica Schwartz,” the Washington Post reports. “The highly unusual decision departs from the agency’s practice of including such data from state health departments, […]

Punchbowl News: “House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD) told us today he’d vote against a key procedural motion on the floor this week over a provision in the funding bill to delay a ban on hemp products by a month.” “Harris has been public about his opposition to delaying the ban, which is part […]

“President Donald Trump’s White House is planning more than $250,000 in work on its private bowling alley, reviving a renovation target that previously sparked Republican outrage over taxpayer spending during the Obama administration,” Mediaite reports.

“President Trump and his senior aides have been considering waging limited strikes in the Strait of Hormuz to prevent Iran from reconstituting its radar and missile capabilities to attack ships,” Axios reports.

“As the leaders of China, Russia, India, Iran and other nations converged on Central Asia for a two-day summit beginning on Monday, one thing was clear from the outset. Even as President Trump tries to bend the world to revolve around Washington, Xi Jinping of China has his own powerful orbit,” the New York Times […]

“Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) on Monday called Rep. Max Miller (R-OH) a ‘great member of Congress’ and endorsed Miller’s bid for a third term, despite allegations of domestic violence by his ex-wife,” the Washington Post reports. Said Johnson: “Yes. He has been a great member of Congress. He has some issues in his personal life […]