CIA had ‘low confidence’ in Iranian threat before Trump switched planes in Turkey  —  CIA had doubts about Israeli intelligence on a threat to Trump in Turkey that prompted an extraordinary secret flight.  —  Summary  —  U.S. intelligence officials were skeptical of an Iranian assassination threat …

Pollsters missed again in Wisconsin.  Here's why.  —  Pollsters appeared to blow another high-stakes Midwest election Tuesday, as center-left Democrat David Crowley stunned socialist Francesca Hong in Wisconsin's primary for governor.  — But on Wednesday, the reasons for the miss seemed clear …

Treasury Scales Back Scrutiny of U.S. Shell Companies  —  The Trump administration will not enforce reporting requirements of the 2021 Corporate Transparency Act, which was intended to crack down on money laundering.  —  The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to scale …

Republicans fear Hegseth's Democrat brushoff could backfire  —  The Pentagon is shutting congressional Democrats out of classified briefings — and even Republicans are shocked by the brazen partisanship.  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth trekked to Capitol Hill at least twice in recent weeks …

Stephen Miller's secret campaign against helpless kids  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  💥 Subscribe to PN 💥  —  Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, is making his dreams come true: accelerating the arrest and removal of thousands of unaccompanied immigrant kids.

Scoop: House GOP group launches $22 million campaign in 41 districts  —  American Action Network, a top outside group aligned with House GOP leaders, is launching a $22 million ad campaign on Thursday across 41 congressional districts, Axios has learned.

ICE Agent Who Pushed Activist to the Ground Pleads Guilty  —  The agent, Adam Saracco, was charged with misdemeanor after the altercation at a gas station near Chicago last year during the Trump administration's crackdown there.  —  An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent pleaded guilty …

Trump Says Hormuz Is Under U.S. Control.  Few Ships Are Listening.  —  With limited bursts of firepower, Iran is able to make the waterway too risky to cross  —  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.

CBP Workers Allegedly Used Government Databases to Spy on Exes, Crushes, and Colleagues  —  Records obtained by WIRED detail hundreds of allegations of Customs and Border Protection workers misusing internal tools to look up romantic interests and track colleagues' cell phones.

Homeland Security Paid $464 Million for Airplanes.  Then It Parked Them.  —  The agency used a no-bid contract to buy 10 used jets, saying they were urgently needed for deportation flights.  But the fleet has largely sat idle for months.  —  Starting last fall, the Department …

Capitol agenda: ‘No tax’ fever hits Congress  —  Special tax carve-outs for everyday Americans are suddenly all the rage in Congress.  What began with President Donald Trump's signature tax cuts has sprung copycats, with lawmakers from both sides of the aisle proposing breaks on virtually everything …

Haberman: 70% of Trump's brain on monuments  —  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.  — “He is spending a huge amount of energy …

Forbes Fired Top Editor After Discovering He Received Secret $6 Million Payment  —  Randall Lane, the magazine's chief content officer, received the money from the founder of Shook Research, which has worked with Forbes on content about wealth advisers.  —  The top editor of Forbes was fired …

Rep. John Larson, a Longtime Lawmaker, Loses a Primary in Connecticut  —  In an upset, Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, won the Democratic nomination, capitalizing on calls for generational change.  —  Luke Bronin, the former mayor of Hartford, defeated Representative John Larson …

Meet the attorneys Harmeet Dhillon installed to turn the Civil Rights Division against its mission  —  Introduction  —  On July 8, 2026, Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon tweeted that she had sworn in more than 100 new attorneys and staff members in the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division …

What's Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us All  —  On Feb. 25, Siobhan Kirchstein received an official letter from the Kansas Division of Vehicles instructing her to surrender her driver's license.  She was one of hundreds of Kansans who received such letters when Senate Bill 244 …

A Third Immigrant Detained at Delaney Hall Dies After Medical Emergency  —  A Guatemalan migrant was transferred to a hospital when he experienced what appeared to be a seizure, federal officials said.  —  A Guatemalan immigrant who had been taken to a troubled detention center in Newark …

Why Isn't the Price of Oil Even Higher?  —  Donald Trump is not a well man.  He is, unfortunately, also President, which means that we all pay a price for his inability to accept reality.  Notably, while he insists that he has “total control over the Strait of Hormuz,” …

Youth poll: Thumbs down on everything  —  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.

Older Democrats walloped by midterms anti-establishment revolt  —  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. … - Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) …

Rep. Max Miller's ex-wife sues after sensitive image of child was publicly shared  —  The Ohio Republican had released documents through a publicly accessible Dropbox account this month, seeking to fend off allegations of domestic abuse.  —  Summary  —  Rep. Max Miller's ex-wife filed …

Leavitt to depart the White House  —  White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is leaving her role at the end of August, President Donald Trump said Wednesday.  —  The president, in a post on Truth Social, said Leavitt is departing to spend more time with her family, but will remain one of his …

Buttigieg's plan to help Dems win again starts with the Indiana state legislature  —  Pete Buttigieg's efforts to help Democrats regain power are taking on a new focus: state legislatures.  —  The former Transportation secretary and South Bend, Indiana, mayor is starting by backing a crop …

Democrats demand Trump reveal stock managers, explain suspicious trades … Two top Democratic lawmakers are pushing President Donald Trump for answers on the mountain of stock trades made in his name since he returned to the White House.  —  In a 17-page letter sent Wednesday and seen by CNBC …

Iran looks to ramp up economic alliance with BRICS nations as war with U.S. drags on … Iran is set to join the BRICS New Development Bank, the country's central bank chief said Thursday, as Tehran seeks to shore up its economic alliances almost six months into its war with the U.S. and Israel.

I Was Dick Cheney's Cardiologist.  Trump Has Not Looked Well, and We Should Know Why.  —  Dick Cheney's heart problems were never a national secret.  —  I was Mr. Cheney's cardiologist for 27 years, including his two terms as vice president.  During his time in the White House …

Exclusive: Former employee at Southern Poverty Law Center arrested on fraud charges  —  A former employee of the Southern Poverty Law Center has been arrested in California on charges that she oversaw secret payments to informants inside of White supremacist groups, one of whom she was allegedly living …

Lauren Boebert's son could see jail time after pleading guilty in child abuse case  —  Lauren Boebert's troubled son Tyler Boebert accepted a plea deal in his child abuse case that could see him spend time behind bars, according to a report.  —  Tyler Boebert, 21, will plead guilty …

Lawmakers demand answers about USS Abraham Lincoln conditions as reports emerge of sailors attempting to jump overboard  —  EDITOR'S NOTE: This story contains discussion of suicide.  Help is available if you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters.

As Abdul El-Sayed breaks a barrier, anti-Muslim vitriol surges on multiple fronts  —  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.  But elation among many of his fellow Muslim Americans was tempered …

August 12, 2026  —  In Minnesota yesterday, close Trump ally Mike Lindell, the former chief executive officer of MyPillow, lost the Republican primary for governor to Republican state house speaker Lisa Demuth.  This loss comes after Trump ally Representative Andy Ogles lost his primary in Tennessee.

How money actually works in American elections  —  The midterms are flooded with cash, but donors don't always get what they want.  A political scientist explains where the money matters most. … The 2026 midterm cycle is projected to be the most expensive election cycle in US history …

The most dangerous socialists aren't in DC.  They're running for governor  —  Francesca Hong didn't win Wisconsin's Democratic primary for governor.  But her near-win should still worry Americans: Democratic Socialists of America candidates are now within striking distance of controlling …