Trump puts his ‘anti-weaponization fund’ back on the table  —  President Donald Trump said early Saturday he would push to get the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” codified into law if the Senate does not confirm his attorney general pick, Todd Blanche.

Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation  —  The Justice Department said “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Kuwait Says It Downed Iranian Drones as Mideast Braces for Possible Escalation  —  The wave of strikes came as President Trump threatened to intensify the American campaign against Iran.  U.S. embassies in the region warned of the “potential for unforeseen escalation.”

GOP Staffers Say the Party Has a Groyper Problem … The grownups are worried.  In group chats and at happy hours, some GOP veterans fret about the rising generation of young staffers in their party.  The recurring complaint: The pipeline that feeds young conservative talent into government jobs is defective — if not broken.

Scope of Hacks on U.S. Water Supply Widens as Evidence Points to Iran  —  Michigan and Minnesota are among at least seven states coping with cyberattacks aimed at disrupting water systems nationwide.  —  The scope of cyberattacks on U.S. water systems has grown to include at least seven states …

The Fake ‘Invasion’ of Spain: What You Need to Know  —  9 things you should know about the so-called ‘crisis’ of Moroccan migrants forcing their way into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta - and the hysterical response from the right in the U.S., UK, and EU.  —  Team Zeteo  —  ∙ Paid

‘Platner on steroids’: Max Miller abuse claims have Republicans silently sweating  —  Public scrutiny of domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller is quickly mounting.  His Republican colleagues have been slow to respond.  —  New reporting on government documents claiming …

U.S. general warns Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel  —  A shortage of Navy destroyers, used to defend against Iranian ballistic missile attacks, will force the head of U.S. European Command to prioritize the U.S. homeland instead, officials said.  —  Summary

Trump Media's new paid data service goes live, giving clients faster access to Trump's posts … Trump Media and Technology Group's new paid data service launched on Aug. 1, providing faster access to Truth Social posts from President Donald Trump and other top accounts on the platform.

Visuals Suggest U.S. Dropped 2,000-Pound Bomb on Home in Iran, Killing 3  —  The weapon, one of the largest in the U.S.'s arsenal, struck a house in a heavily populated area, according to a Times analysis.  —  The United States struck a family home on Iran's Qeshm Island overnight on Thursday …

Justice Dept. Subpoenas Times Freelancer in Effort to Identify Sources  —  A previously undisclosed subpoena, involving reporting on a failed SEAL Team 6 mission in North Korea, reflects the government's expanding campaign to investigate leaks of secrets.  —  A freelance reporter has been fighting …

Trump's Fixation on Arctic Ships Led to Billions in No-Bid Contracts  —  The president decided to buy 11 polar icebreakers after a game of golf with Finland's president.  Experts say it's far from clear the United States needs so many.  —  Late one night last August, Alexander Stubb …

How Ukraine Is Making Inroads Into Once-Hostile Territory: MAGA  —  Ukraine and its supporters have invested years in trying to undo the skepticism of the country's war effort harbored by President Trump's MAGA movement and the president himself.  —  Ken Bensinger and Constant Méheut

She Voted for a Justice Who Overturned Roe.  Now it Haunts Her on the Trail.  —  Senator Susan Collins, who supports abortion rights, endorsed Brett Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court.  It has emerged as a major issue in her campaign for re-election.  —  Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

SEC and Big Ten agree to support college sports bill after weeks of negotiations  —  The Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten — the country's two most powerful college athletics conferences — agreed Friday night to support a sweeping Senate bill that would impose new federal rules on college sports.

Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It  —  The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children.  Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth.  —  The Trump administration is preparing …