“Troy Jackson is taking the positive route as Republicans sink money into negative ads in Maine,” Semafor reports. “In a new ad running statewide and shared first with Semafor, the Democratic Senate nominee appears alongside his mom, who talks about his upbringing by teenage parents.”

“The U.S will unveil ‘the single greatest financial offensive ever’ against Iran on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, while Tehran threatened to seize vessels that violate transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz,” CNBC reports. “The looming escalation comes as both sides missed a 60-day ceasefire window to reach a deal, closing off the […]

Semafor: “Seventeen percent of American adults say they smoke marijuana, tied with the high notched in 2023. That’s a big shift from 2013, the year Gallup started polling the question, when just 7% said they used pot. A record 15% of U.S. adults also say they use edibles.”

“As a tumultuous primary season draws to a close, Democrats have opened up more than one path to winning control of the Senate, according to strategists in both parties and independent analysts, reshaping the battle on a map where Republicans still hold significant advantages,” the New York Times reports. “Voters are uneasy about President Trump’s […]

“Speaker Mike Johnson is in the middle of a 30-day campaign stretch stumping for vulnerable Republican members and top challengers who will decide the majority come November. But Johnson’s political fate is likely tied to theirs,” NOTUS reports. “The midterms will effectively decide if President Donald Trump’s lame-duck era starts in 2027 or if he […]

Washington Post: “The DSA’s national platform, which includes universal rent control and abolishing the Senate and the Supreme Court, is meant to offer bold alternatives to the status quo — a posture that its leaders say has powered the group’s rapid rise.” ”The ensuing response, though, epitomizes how the organization’s dual goals — to reimagine […]

“A rise in presidential pardons for white-collar criminals has given hope to fraudsters of a different flavor,” NOTUS reports. “Three convicted political scammers — Richard Zeitlin, William Tierney and Matt Tunstall — have formally sought pardons from President Donald Trump, seeking the same leniency the president has shown a number of felonious cryptocurrency, finance and […]

“Dr. Mehmet Oz, the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said Sunday that the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, known as MMR, is ‘not a lethal vaccine,’ despite President Trump’s claims in recent days,” CBS News reports.

“Pete Buttigieg has been to this small but historic city in South Carolina’s Midlands at least twice before, as an underdog presidential candidate in 2020 and then as the better-known transportation secretary under President Joe Biden in 2023,” CNN reports. ”Now a private citizen eying a second White House bid, Buttigieg returned this weekend with […]

“Over the past 17 months, as President Trump has freighted Canada’s economy with several rounds of punishing tariffs, Prime Minister Mark Carney has often repeated the guiding maxim for his negotiations with the U.S.: No deal is better than a bad one,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Now he is putting that rule to the […]

“California Attorney General Rob Bonta is expected to ask Paramount to divest some cable channels and commit to keeping its movie studio separate from Warner Bros. before he signs off on the $81 billion merger,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Democrats and Republicans are pressing the House Ethics Committee to move more quickly on investigations involving allegations of sexual misconduct or domestic abuse, as a string of high-profile cases and the looming midterms have renewed scrutiny of the secretive panel’s process,” NewsNation reports. “Investigations into Reps. Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Cory Mills (R-FL) and Max Miller […]

“Ten weeks from Election Day, the Senate battlefield is sprawling, scattered — and stretching deep into Trump country,” Axios reports. “In a normal year, Republicans wouldn’t think twice about Alaska, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska or Texas. This isn’t a normal year.” “Republicans expect all six states to revert to their MAGA mean. But they’re not […]

“President Donald Trump has claimed that the White House needs a massive new ballroom because it would provide him and future presidents with a secure, hardened facility. But former officials say the argument fails to acknowledge that the presidential complex already has one,” the Washington Post reports. “More than a decade ago, federal officials built […]

“Sen. Dan S. Sullivan (R-AK) was endorsed by former Anchorage Mayor Dan A. Sullivan (R-AK) as he prepares to face off against Dan J. Sullivan in November and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK),” NewsNation reports. Said the former Anchorage mayor: “As the OG Dan Sullivan, I urge Alaskans to vote for Sen. Daniel S. Sullivan. He’s […]

“President Trump defended the expansion of data centers in an interview with his former fixer, Michael Cohen, that aired in full on Sunday,” Axios reports. Said Trump: “They’re making their own power plants. They’re building the most beautiful, you’ve never seen power plants like this.” He added: “Communities that don’t take a data center, they’re […]

The Economist: “Mark Carney is governing through paradox. Canada’s largest trading partner, the United States, is led by an unreliable man who uses trade barriers as a weapon. For Canada, diversification of trade partners is wise, but takes time. Building infrastructure needed to serve new markets requires significant investment. And yet little would do more […]

David Frum: “The Trump administration has one big idea about Canada: The U.S. is larger, stronger, and richer than Canada, so Canada must sooner or later surrender to Trump’s demands. That one big idea is wrong.” “Yes, Trump can hurt Canada more than Canada can hurt Trump. That part of Trump’s thinking is true. But […]

“President Donald Trump went viral on Sunday for what can best be described as his energetic waving of the green flag at the IndyCar Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C,” Mediaite reports.

“President Trump’s economic policies drew a fresh round of concern from some Republicans this weekend who criticized his trade policies, as others in the party sidestepped questions about his broader approach amid a midterm election that has put consumer prices front and center,” the New York Times reports. Financial Times: Trump accused of risking more […]

“With Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney pulling his country’s negotiators from trade talks with the United States, several border states could face significant economic consequences,” NewsNation reports. “Trump’s escalating trade dispute with Canada is creating political headaches in several of the country’s most competitive Senate contests.” “Michigan, Ohio and Alaska could also face disproportionate economic […]

“Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will hold a press conference Monday to announce sanctions against Iran that he has described as the greatest campaign of ‘coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world,'” CNBC reports. Said Bessent: “We are going to have the toughest sanctions in history, and I will tell you, this will work. […]

“With under nine weeks to go until early voting begins in Texas’ U.S. Senate race, both Ken Paxton and James Talarico have been campaigning around the state, meeting voters everywhere from restaurants to music halls as they’ve pitched their political visions,” the Texas Tribune reports. “But on television, Texans have only seen one of them.” […]

“Michigan Republicans presented a unified strategy and talking points for the November election at an Aug. 22 nominating convention, attacking Democrats as extremists who have failed to improve state education and roads and as responsible for costly and unreliable electricity and unaffordable auto insurance,” the Detroit Free Press reports. “But one name was barely mentioned […]

“Instead of adding new roses, President Trump’s White House Rose Garden is growing statues,” the Boston Globe reports. “Trump put statues of some of America’s founders in the garden just off the Oval Office after he replaced its plush lawn with a white stone patio, turning the historic outdoor space into a look-alike of the […]

Renee Graham: “Harp’s official title is special assistant to the president and executive assistant to the president. But Harp, who reportedly works seven days a week, is really Trump’s main cheerleader. She filters out news about his cratering poll numbers, stays up late to craft his often inflammatory social media posts, and, more than anything, […]

“Every time J.D. Vance opens his mouth, the first two things I can think are, man, that guy is boring. And second, Peter Thiel had to spend a ton of money to get that man elected, barely in the state of Ohio.” — Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (D), on MS NOW.

“A prominent Michigan lawmaker who is Jewish says people have been sharing a fake audio clip claiming he said the entire purpose of his campaign for the U.S. House is to ensure America continues to support Israel,” the Detroit News reports. Said Jeremy Moss (D): “I would never say these things. This has been going […]

Los Angeles Times: “Across California and the nation, civic organizations, voting rights advocates and Democratic leaders are preparing for a raft of potential actions by the Trump administration to interfere in, subvert or deny November’s midterm vote.” “President Trump, an election denier for years, has without evidence described the U.S. election system as badly corrupted […]

Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) was interviewed on Meet the Press by Kristen Welker: WELKER: Susan Collins says Trump’s Canada tariffs will increase costs on American families. Is she right? SCOTT: Let’s look back at Joe Biden… WELKER: Wait. President Trump has been in office for two years. Inflation was at 3% when Biden left office. […]