Zelenskyy rejects formally ceding Ukrainian territory, says Kyiv must be part of any negotiations  —  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy dismissed Saturday the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, warning that any peace deal excluding Kyiv would lead to “dead solutions.”

Trump Is Removing I.R.S. Chief 2 Months After He Was Confirmed  —  Billy Long, a former Republican congressman, will no longer serve as the tax agency's head.  Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will oversee the agency as acting commissioner.  —  Billy Long, the former auctioneer …

Trump Administration Threatens to Take Over Harvard's Patents  —  Move is latest escalation in White House's battle with Ivy League school  —  The Trump administration is warning Harvard University that it could take over its patents, worth hundreds of millions of dollars …

Judge blocks Beto O'Rourke from financially supporting Texas Democrats who left the state  —  The order came at the request of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who O'Rourke accused in a separate lawsuit of going on a “fishing expedition, constitutional rights be damned.”

Suspect and Officer Are Dead After Shooting Outside C.D.C. in Atlanta  —  The gunman fired at the headquarters of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention because he blamed the Covid vaccine for his maladies, an official said.  —  A gunman who believed the coronavirus vaccine was to blame …

Trump administration seeking $1 billion settlement from UCLA  —  The Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion settlement from the University of California, Los Angeles, CNN has exclusively learned, marking the latest effort by the White House to shape higher education and extract significant concessions from universities.

Supreme Court approval rating sinks to a new low, poll finds.  What caused shift?  —  The U.S. Supreme Court's approval rating has sunk to an all-time low, dropping below 40% for the first time ever, according to a new Gallup poll.  —  The decline was driven by record-low shares of Democrats …

Foreign governments bet big to lobby Trump on tariffs.  Most came up empty. … At least 30 nations hired new lobbyists with connections to Trump since the election.  They include major trading partners like South Korea and Japan as well as smaller countries like Bosnia and Ecuador.

William H. Webster, Who Ran Both the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., Dies at 101  —  A former federal judge, he first came to the F.B.I. just as two of the worst spies in American history were running rampant.  —  William H. Webster, the only person ever to lead both the Federal Bureau of Investigation …

Kelly Ayotte rules out redistricting for New Hampshire … The White House has been urging Republican governors around the country to take up redistricting to increase the party's chances of retaining the House majority.  Texas called a special legislative session to redraw district lines …

Cartels may be able to target witnesses after major court hack … At least a dozen district courts across several U.S. states are believed to have been directly impacted by the ongoing compromise of the digital case filing system, known as CM/ECF, according to the first two people.

DHS is delaying millions in already approved North Carolina recovery funds, documents show  —  Communities across the region still need to be reimbursed for about a hundred projects including debris removal, waste water treatment repairs, roads and bridges, damaged buildings and parks, as well as for emergency protective measures.

Acting NASA Administrator Reflects on Legacy of Astronaut Jim Lovell  —  The following is a statement from acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy on the passing of famed Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell.  He passed away Aug. 7, in Lake Forest, Illinois.  He was 97 years old.

Justice Dept. Abruptly Escalates Pressure Campaign on a Trump Adversary  —  Letitia James, New York's attorney general and a longtime nemesis of the president, is being investigated in two separate inquiries, in a remarkable use of executive power to pursue a foe.  —  Glenn Thrush and Santul Nerkar

Flattery, Lobbyists and a Business Deal: Crypto's Richest Man Campaigns for a Pardon  —  A sophisticated operation is pushing President Trump to forgive Changpeng Zhao, which would boost the chances for his company, Binance, to break into the U.S. market.  —  In 2023, as Changpeng Zhao …

Man caught on video attacking pro-life protesters gets slap on wrist by judge  —  Patrick Brice gets home detention after assault left 73-year-old victim with permanent eye damage, report says  —  A 28-year-old man who was caught on video attacking two pro-life activists outside …

Trump Weighs Reclassifying Marijuana as Less Dangerous Drug  —  The president told donors earlier this month he was interested in reclassifying the drug  —  President Trump is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug, according to people familiar with the matter …

Gerrymandering by Both Parties Is Deepening America's Political Divide  —  Less than 20% of Americans live in a state where the minority party has a meaningful voice in governance.  —  America's identity as a unified nation is eroding, with Republican- and Democratic-led states dividing …

Appeals court denies Trump bid to make federal government defendant in E. Jean Carroll case  —  A federal appeals court on Friday rejected President Donald Trump's attempt to make the United States government the defendant in writer E. Jean Carroll's successful defamation lawsuit against him …

Trump Burger owner faces deportation after ICE arrest in Houston  —  Roland Mehrez Beainy, owner of the recently opened Trump Burger restaurant in Houston, is currently facing deportation after failing to leave the U.S. on time and being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.