US authorities investigate huge ‘8647’ marking on grounds of National Mall in Washington  —  The U.S. Department of the Interior said on Thursday it is investigating what appeared to be a large tracing of “8647” into the grounds of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Trump says he has canceled plans to strike Iran  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday withdrew threats to take Iran's most critical oil terminal “in the not too distant future,” after fresh attacks on U.S. bases in the region.  —  Summary  —  President Donald Trump said that he had …

Trump Picks Jay Clayton for Director of National Intelligence After Backlash Over Bill Pulte  —  The president said he would nominate Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney in Manhattan and the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, for the permanent role.

Former ‘60 Minutes’ Staffers Unload on Bari Weiss: 'Everything She's Touched Has Turned to S—'  —  As Bari Weiss lays waste to “60 Minutes,” six former staffers sound off on the damage she's inflicted upon the crown jewel of CBS News.  —  Staffers have taken to calling it “Black Thursday.”

Postal Service Issues Proposal to Block Mail Ballots in States That Don't Turn Over Data  —  Democrats and voting-rights groups have challenged the proposed rule as a harmful federal intrusion that could affect millions of voters who cast their ballots by mail.

Kennedy Center board to fight order to remove Trump's name as deadline looms  —  The Kennedy Center's trustees voted Thursday to seek a last-minute stay of a federal judge's directive to take Trump's name off the center's exterior by Friday.  —  Summary  —  The Kennedy Center's board plans …

The Senate: The Race for the Majority is Not a Toss-up, But the Races That Will Decide It Are  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — We are making three Senate rating changes this week, all in favor of Democrats.  North Carolina moves to Leans Democratic, and Alaska and Ohio are now Toss-ups.

Democrats to call on Vance to testify to House committee over Epstein files  —  Plan comes after major New York Times report alleges files became source of crisis within Trump administration  —  Democrats on the House oversight committee, led by Representative Robert Garcia …

Women Who Fled Iran Are to Be Deported to Central African Republic, Lawyers Say  —  The women are among nearly two dozen people slated to be sent to a country where the U.S. government has advised “Do not travel for any reason.”  —  The Trump administration is preparing to deport nearly …

Visa plugs its payment network into ChatGPT, letting AI agents shop and pay for users  —  Betting that people will soon grow more comfortable having artificial intelligence agents shop for groceries, plane tickets or diapers on their behalf, payments giant Visa said Wednesday that it has embedded …

Inside America's Ugly Birthday Battle  —  This article was featured in the One Story to Read Today newsletter.  Sign up for it here.  —  Years before Poison's Bret Michaels, Young MC, and the Commodores dropped out of this summer's concert series on the National Mall celebrating America's 250th birthday …

Judge finds Lander not guilty in 26 Federal Plaza obstruction case … “No offense to Mr. Lander,” the judge said.  —  Lander — who entered the courtroom in good spirits and holding a Knicks hat — told reporters after the verdict: “I didn't feel tired.”  —  “I felt an urgency to show …

Trump Isn't Giving Up on His Slush Fund  —  Sign up for Inside the Trump Presidency, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump term.  —  When Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appeared before Congress last Tuesday, senior administration officials hoped that his testimony …

Few Americans back Trump's White House cage match plan, Reuters/Ipsos poll finds  —  Few Americans, including only a third of Republicans, approve of President Donald Trump's plan to hold mixed martial arts cage matches at the White House on Sunday to celebrate U.S. history, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The U.S. welcomed this child of the Vietnam War.  Why did he die in ICE custody?  —  Tuan Van Bui's bad luck arguably started the day he was born in 1970 in the city then known as Saigon — the child of a Vietnamese woman and one of the thousands of U.S. soldiers who fought in Southeast Asia for nearly two decades.

Trump and Allies Are Working on Plan to ‘Expunge’ Impeachments  —  Republican-backed symbolic resolution would put lawmakers on record regarding the two impeachments during Trump's first term  —  WASHINGTON—President Trump and his allies have discussed pushing lawmakers to pass a resolution aimed …

How to Price A Liar  —  For the 50th time this year, we're on the cusp of peace.  Apparently.  —  Here we go again.  —  President Trump just announced that he has cancelled the strikes on Iran that he had scheduled for tonight.  If you're keeping count at home, this is the fifth …

Mike Johnson Just Made a Grave Political Error  —  Social Security is popular.  Cutting it is not.  —  ∙ Paid  —  I scream social  —  Mike Johnson did something very out of character Monday.  Normally coy in public, the speaker of the House openly admitted to a radio interviewer …

Man who killed Minnesota lawmaker and her husband pleads guilty to murder in federal case  —  The man who killed a former Minnesota House Speaker and her husband, and who seriously injured another lawmaker and his wife, agreed to a deal with federal prosecutors Thursday, ensuring he will not be put to death.

Oil executives warn White House that gas prices will get worse  —  Grim predictions add to the problems of a president already facing a sharp rise in inflation.  —  Summary  —  Oil and gas executives have warned the White House that gasoline prices could surge in coming months …

What Ever Happened to DOGE?  The “OMBification” of the Trump-Musk Payments Crisis  —  Dear readers: My deepest apologies for my absence.  I got the so-called “Super-Flu” that hit New York in December, then I followed that up with a very debilitating bout of food poisoning in January.

Meth Scandal Rocks Nascent Greg Bovino 2028 Campaign  —  The Meth-Tied GOP Operative Behind Bovino 2028  —  Just five months after being fired from his leadership role in Donald Trump's mass-deportation campaign, former U.S. Border Patrol Commander-at-Large Greg Bovino is eyeing a run for president.

Can't Pay Medical Bills?  Trump Officials Suggest Getting a Loan. … Kathleen Capetta's family of five is paying an additional $750 a month this year for its Obamacare plan premium.  She was already paying off debt from cancer treatment.Cig Harvey for The New York Times