“Abdul El-Sayed made history this month in Michigan by becoming the first Muslim nominated by the Democratic Party to run for the U.S. Senate,” the Associated Press reports. ”But elation among many of his fellow Muslim Americans was tempered by awareness of persisting and widespread anti-Muslim sentiment across much of the nation.” “Some Republicans, including […]

“Lauren Boebert’s troubled son Tyler Boebert accepted a plea deal in his child abuse case that could see him spend time behind bars,” the New York Post reports.

“Tehran said Thursday the Strait of Hormuz is ‘under Iran’s control and management’ after President Trump said the U.S. has ‘total control’ over the waterway,” CBS News reports.

Mike Allen: “The New York Times‘ Maggie Haberman tells me 70% of President Trump’s mindshare (‘maybe plus or minus 5%’) goes to his gilding, construction, renovation, renaming and tribute projects.” Said Habermn: “He is spending a huge amount of energy, mental and otherwise, on these renovation projects, beautification projects around Washington, and then monuments to […]

Wall Street Journal: “What’s remarkable about this election is how spending cuts initially were such a centerpiece of Trump’s agenda (see, RIP DOGE) and now…crickets.” “Total government debt is barreling toward $40 trillion. The deficit—or gap between revenue and spending—is projected to be $1.887 trillion this year, and then breach $2 trillion next year, according […]

Punchbowl News: “Republicans and Democrats have the same new bogeyman.” ”Data centers have emerged as a fixation in races across the country, and both parties are struggling to answer voter angst over the nearly $600 billion artificial intelligence buildout.” ”That’s given populists of all stripes a huge opening. Candidates are running on fears of rising […]

“The Pentagon is shutting congressional Democrats out of classified briefings — and even Republicans are shocked by the brazen partisanship,” Politico reports. ”Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth trekked to Capitol Hill at least twice in recent weeks to make closed-door pitches for his record $1.5 trillion defense budget. But lawmakers in both parties say he followed […]

“Pete Buttigieg’s efforts to help Democrats regain power are taking on a new focus: state legislatures,” Politico reports. The former Transportation secretary and South Bend, Indiana, mayor is starting by backing a crop of mostly long-shot, down-ballot Democrats in his former backyard. The slate of endorsements in the Indiana state House and Senate is the […]

A new Emerson College survey of Texas likely voters finds the U.S. Senate race in a dead heat: 47% support Republican Ken Paxton, while 46% support Democrat James Talarico. Five percent are undecided, and 2% support someone else.

Washington Post: “Across the Capitol, lawmakers and staffers are using artificial intelligence to write speeches and news releases, sort constituent mail, prepare questions for congressional hearings and draft amendments.” ”Even as politicians are debating how to govern AI for the rest of America, Congress has already settled how it will use the technology: quickly, broadly […]

“Democrats are gathering to finalize their 2028 presidential primary calendar this week, setting the stage for a wide open contest to succeed President Donald Trump and chart a path ahead as the party’s voters oscillate between progressive and more moderate candidates,” the Associated Press reports. “The Democratic National Committee is expected to vote at its […]

“The Justice Department declined to appeal a court ruling that effectively dismantled longstanding restrictions on owning short-barreled guns and suppressors, bowing to pressure from Republicans and gun advocates,” the New York Times reports.

“Rep. Cory Mills, under investigation by the House and shunned by some of his GOP colleagues in Congress, heads into a primary next week hoping a months-old endorsement from President Donald Trump will outweigh negative headlines and weak fundraising,” Politico reports. ”Mills has remained adamant that he has done nothing wrong amid a long line […]

“More than a quarter of younger Americans (27%) believe they or someone they know has lost a job because their employer replaced them with AI, according to a new Axios-Generation Lab poll of 18- to 34-year-olds,” Axios reports. “Research suggests the actual share of job losses from AI is smaller. But the survey reflects the […]

“President Donald Trump could stand to profit from his administration’s unprecedented investments into the nuclear energy industry,” NOTUS reports. “Trump has invested between $6.4 million and $19.45 million in U.S. nuclear technology companies or utility companies that operate nuclear reactors… Trump’s holdings could reap significant gains as his administration seeks to rapidly expand the nuclear […]

“Bernie Sanders got his guy in Michigan, but he’s going to have to do more if he wants to successfully shepherd Abdul El-Sayed through the general election due to the huge spending disadvantage Democrats face,” Semafor reports. “Sanders has more than $22 million in his campaign account, and he didn’t rule out using some of […]

“Several Democratic lawmakers are calling for answers after concerns were raised by families of sailors aboard USS Abraham Lincoln about the deteriorating living conditions and worsening mental health during the ship’s record-breaking deployment amid the war with Iran,” CNN reports. “Since the Lincoln left its home port of San Diego last November, the aircraft carrier […]

“House Democrats who have comfortably held their seats for decades are suddenly finding the ground shifting beneath their feet as primary voters revolt against the party’s old guard,” Axios reports. “The anti-establishment revolution that has swept Democratic primaries this year is poised to drastically alter the makeup of the party caucus and Congress as a […]

“The White House misrepresented and exaggerated a recent crime report to overstate the impact of last summer’s federal intervention in four cities,” NOTUS reports.

“Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth called on military leaders in Latin America on Wednesday to ramp up their fight against drug traffickers and join the U.S. military in operations against cartels,” the New York Times reports. “With his typical bravado, Mr. Hegseth said the cartel-busting coalition’s motto would be, ‘We do bad things to bad people.'”

“President Trump said Wednesday that the U.S. has total control of the Strait of Hormuz. The reality on the water tells a different story,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Ship-tracking data shows that just 14 vessels on Tuesday crossed a waterway that routinely handled more than 130 a day before the war. Eleven of those […]

“Thousands of North Korean operatives are using fake and stolen identities to land remote jobs at U.S. companies—funneling hundreds of millions of dollars back to the regime,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Rep. Mike Lawler’s (R-NY) fight to hold on to a key battleground seat is getting a behind-the-scenes assist — for now, at least — from an unlikely group: House Democrats,” Axios reports. “Kamala Harris carried Lawler’s district in 2024, but some Democrats are privately wary of spending the small fortune it would take to oust […]

Wall Street Journal: “The ascendant far-left is hitting turbulence in the Midwest, where voters are showing that the big victories they have had in deep blue pockets of the country are much tougher to secure in purple areas. While progressives have been gaining ground in races across the country, the mixed results show that there […]

“President Trump’s Air Force One subterfuge was a stunning episode of official deception,” the New York Times reports. “But it pales in comparison to the secrecy surrounding President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, whose activity is shrouded in so much mystery that journalists have tried to track it by assessing the wilting of his office […]

Wall Street Journal: “North Carolina, Wyoming, Florida and Oklahoma all have some kind of property-tax limit or rollback on the ballot this November. This follows bills passed in more than 10 states since early last year, including Iowa and Georgia recently, aimed at hemming in a growing source of frustration for many homeowners. Lawmakers in […]

“U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump that was relayed by Israel and prompted an extraordinary clandestine maneuver that saw him secretly fly out of Turkey in an alternate military aircraft,” the Washington Post reports. “The assassination threat was relayed by the Israeli government to the CIA, where […]

A new Fox News poll in Maine finds Troy Jackson (D) tops Sen. Susan Collins (R) by 2 percentage points in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 46%, well within the poll’s margin of error.

“Rep. Max Miller’s ex-wife filed a federal civil rights lawsuit Wednesday against the Ohio Republican and his attorney, alleging that they ‘recklessly published’ a nude image of Miller’s 2-year-old daughter online,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to scale back scrutiny of the shadowy shell companies that criminals use to launder money and traffic drugs,” the New York Times reports.