“President Trump’s cease-fire with Iran in June envisioned a broader deal to end the war and rein in the country’s nuclear program, all negotiated within 60 days,” the New York Times reports. “But that deadline, set to pass on Monday, has been essentially abandoned, and the war has transformed into a contest of willpower and […]

“With less than 100 days left until the midterms, and with President Donald Trump and members of his administration working overtime to undermine trust in American democracy, Wired spoke to election officials across the country struggling to get their heads around how prediction markets could further complicate Election Day.” “Last week’s Wisconsin gubernatorial primary showcased […]

President Trump threatened to “bomb the shit out of” Oman if the country gets in the way of the U.S. blockade of Iranian ships in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reports. Financial Times: Trump threatens to bomb Oman if it “gets in the way” of U.S.-Iran negotiations.

“Greg Ballard, the former two-term Republican mayor of Indianapolis, is running for secretary of state in Indiana this year, hoping to create a new party that he says would increase competition in general elections and moderate growing extremism in the state,” NBC News reports. “Ballard, 71, gathered more than 37,000 signatures — an endeavor that […]

Peter Hamby: “As the next presidential race looms, Democratic operatives have begun studying how to reach less politically engaged swing voters on the platforms that may determine the next election—TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and even ChatGPT.” “And they’re already strategizing about how to leverage their search activity to create ads blaming Vance and Rubio for everything […]

Punchbowl News: “Jeffries leaning heavily into the ‘Democrats will fight Trump-GOP corruption’ line. Republicans are hammering the ‘Democrats are communists’ message (more on that below), which makes the Democratic response — alongside ‘Trump is failing on the economy’ — worth tracking.” Said Jeffries: “That means us, House Democrats, lowering the high cost of living in […]

“For years, Republicans have had a lock on those who base their vote on their religious preferences and values, but this year’s midterm elections have seen some Democratic candidates sharing their faith to try to connect with voters,” ABC News reports. “Starting in the 1980s, in what one expert called an ‘exodus,’ there was a shift of […]

NBC News: “For more than a year, Texas attorney general and GOP Senate nominee Ken Paxton has been probing what he says is the large number of noncitizens who illegally voted in his state. So far, three people have been prosecuted.” “And among 53 cases that were referred for investigation, at least five people were […]

“First lady Melania Trump did not attend Sen. Lindsey Graham’s funeral. She skipped the reimagined White House Correspondents’ Association dinner. And when the remains of four U.S. service members were received by their families on July 22, the wife of the commander-in-chief was not there,” NBC News reports. “While she continues to work behind the […]

“British Prime Minister Andy Burnham exchanged messages with someone impersonating White House chief of staff Susie Wiles,” CBS News reports.

“After President Trump signed a memorandum of understanding with Iran in mid-June, administration officials fanned out to build support for an agreement they hoped would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and start winding down the war,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Iran’s hard-line leaders huddled in Tehran and came up with a different plan, according […]

“Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be leaving Congress, but dozens of her longtime staffers are sticking around in the House’s top jobs,” Politico reports. ”The aides who worked for the California Democrat throughout her 39-year congressional career are now running leadership offices, directing committees and helming new teams as chiefs of staff.” “Their continued presence […]

“Activists and citizens across the political spectrum are pushing back against license plate readers made by Flock and similar companies, fueled by privacy concerns and suspected police misuse,” Axios reports. “Flock cameras are suddenly emerging as the next big target of populist anti-tech, pro-privacy sentiment, alongside the data centers fueling the AI boom.”

NOTUS: “James Talarico keeps raising too much money.” “The Texas Democrat has already raised more than $70 million in his bid to defeat state Attorney General Ken Paxton for U.S. Senate — more than any other non-incumbent candidate has raised this cycle nationwide and millions more than his Republican rival has amassed.” “But scores of […]

“America is experiencing its biggest prescription drug price deflation in generations,” Axios reports. “Why it matters: By one important measure, there is a striking reversal underway for one of health care’s most stubbornly expensive necessities amid a major Washington push to lower drug costs.”

“High prices, a persistent war and anxiety about corruption are quickly eroding President Trump’s support among Republicans, a warning sign for the White House with less than 80 days to the midterms,” Axios reports.

“While warning of the rise of socialism on the left, President Donald Trump is simultaneously conducting his own experiments in economic theory, putting his nationalist spin on American capitalism,” CNN reports. “The fear of socialism is built on the idea that government intervention stifles free private enterprise, which capitalists view as the bedrock of American […]

“Mark Kelly is no stranger to launches, and now the former astronaut is all but plotting one for a 2028 presidential bid,” Politico reports. “Kelly is showering the Democratic Party apparatus with money to the tune of $1 million raised or contributed, leveraging his status as an enemy of President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary […]

“The arrival of late-summer state fairs, like the one here that features a prizewinning boar weighing 1,246 pounds, signals to the political world that the midterm campaign’s final chapter is just ahead,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “As Iowa’s 11-day extravaganza started late last week, the state’s Republicans found themselves in an unfamiliar position: trailing […]

“Florida does not jump off the electoral map as fertile territory for democratic socialists. President Trump won the state, which has shifted right in recent years, by 13 percentage points in 2024. And in many Latin American communities in South Florida, socialism is a dirty word,” the New York Times reports. “Yet three underdog democratic […]

“After almost six months in hiding, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has offered the clearest window yet into his vision for ruling the country, appointing a string of hard-line, veteran military commanders to top security roles,” the New York Times reports. “The overhaul, which took place this month, signals that he plans to keep […]

“The White House is working to strengthen safeguards against biological attacks after staffing cuts early in the second Trump administration depleted expertise in a field where officials increasingly fear artificial intelligence could make it easier to create deadly pathogens,” the Washington Post reports.

“The centrist Democratic group Third Way recently declared ‘war’ on democratic socialists to head off what they fear could be a far-left hijacking of the party ahead of 2028,” Axios reports. “But establishment Democrats have made clear what they’re against without making much of a case for what they’re for.” ”Democratic socialism, whatever you think […]

“President Donald Trump is weighing in on the unusual Republican primary in Alaska, where a challenger with the same name as sitting senator Dan Sullivan is on the ballot, sparking confusion and accusations of ‘trickery’ by Democrats in the race for the crucial seat,” ABC News reports. Said Trump: “Because of the trickery in the […]

“Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is laughing off ‘Woke 1,'” Axios reports. “But she’s carrying baggage from the 2020 era of cultural progressivism that some Democrats say is an obstacle to a future presidential run.” “Why it matters: AOC’s pivot to the cultural center — which she began to roll out last week in a high-profile ABC […]

“President Donald Trump spent last week handing out coveted endorsements ahead of Florida’s Tuesday primaries. But amid the parade of thumbs-ups on Truth Social, one House Republican incumbent was conspicuously absent: Rep. Cory Mills,” Puck reports. “Trump endorsed Mills earlier in the cycle, but his recent omission offers the clearest evidence yet of the campaign […]

“President Donald Trump said Sunday he directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ‘substantially reduce’ joint military exercises with South Korea, citing his ‘very good relationship with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un,'” the Washington Post reports. Said Trump: “These exercises are not only costly, with much of these costs paid for by the United States […]

“While the sailors on the Lincoln fight his war, while he fruitlessly drains our munitions and oil reserves, the president sleeps through his meetings. He golfs and trades stocks. So he doesn’t want to do the job. He wants to build his ballroom and travel with Natalie on their apparently defenseless flying palace gifted by […]

Republicans hold a 53-to-47 Senate majority—and the vice president breaks ties in their favor. That means Democrats must flip at least four seats, not three, to take control of the upper chamber. The battleground has narrowed to seven states. Join now to continue reading. Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more. […]

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) “used her new YouTube talk show to debut spicy tattoos on both arms — as she went sleeveless in public for the first time in months,” the New York Post reports. “Mace broke out her inked-up gun show while promoting ‘Get Maced,’ a program where she will apparently address news of […]