Surprises and scandals scramble the battle for Congress  —  Unexpected primary results have complicated both parties' paths to control of the House and Senate.  —  The final stretch of primary season has scrambled the battle for Congress, as scandals, insurgent victories and voters' rejection …

Trump to Axios: “We are low keying it” with Iran  —  President Trump signaled on Sunday that he's prepared to allow economic pressure on Iran to mount — as opposed to ordering a new military offensive — even as the country continues to defy the U.S. … But in an interview with Axios, he did not make any new military threats.

Taylor Farms Voluntarily Recalls Fresh Jalapeños Over Salmonella Concerns  —  The company said it was unaware of any reported illnesses linked to its products containing jalapeños, which were distributed to major retailers across 26 states.  —  Taylor Farms, which has been linked …

Trump Names Will Scharf as White House Counsel  —  The president said Mr. Scharf, a deeply conservative lawyer and the current staff secretary, would replace David Warrington in early September.  —  President Trump announced on Sunday that Will Scharf, his staff secretary and a deeply conservative lawyer …

Hegseth can't persuade Republicans to back his big budget  —  In the year and a half since Pete Hegseth squeaked through his Senate confirmation, congressional Republicans have handed the Pentagon chief big wins — and defended some of his most controversial moves.

New in SpyWeek: Kremlin Hints FSB May Tempt Kash with Dem Dirt in Moscow, as Berlin Expels Russian Spies, CIA Targets Cuba  —  Moscow Mule?  FBI Director Kash Patel's scheduled Moscow sojourn only weeks before the U.S. midterm elections has generated lots of questions, but none so provocative …

Trump's Reflecting Pool Fiasco Is About to Get Even Worse for Him  —  You'd be forgiven for thinking the saga involving Donald Trump's vile prosecutions of innocent people over his Reflecting Pool fiasco has finally come to an ignominious end.  On Thursday, a judge officially threw …

A twist in the race for Lindsey Graham's seat: No clear Trump-aligned candidate  —  The president backs Graham's sister, but each contender in South Carolina's Senate primary has found themselves out of step with him in some way, and a runoff is likely.  —  Summary

Trump Turns National Parks into Piggybank  —  There are enormous canyons.  —  Geysers.  —  Majestic cliffs.  —  Waterfalls and wildlife.  —  Rainforests and reindeer.  —  But in America's national parks under President Trump, the most dramatic sight might be the rapid shifting of taxpayer and donor money.

The Great Delegalization  —  More than a million immigrants are seeing protections that granted them safe lives in the U.S. suddenly swept away.  —  In early 2010, an earthquake devastated Haiti—but, even as Haitians in the U.S. had far less to return to, they received a new opportunity to stay.

The Republican Party Is Losing Its Edge With Voters on the Economy  —  Cost-of-living worries are eroding GOP's image as economic managers, giving Democrats an advantage  —  Mitchell Brown, a Republican pollster, has noticed something new in the focus groups he runs with voters in battleground states …

'We're not going to let them do it in the shadows': Hundreds rally at site where Haitians required to check-in, get monitors after end of TPS  —  Hundreds of people gathered outside a federal immigration office Sunday morning to show support for Haitian immigrants from Springfield who were called to report for immigration check-ins.

The Moronic Bullshit of the “Third Way”  —  There's no “middle” between neofascist corporatism and democracy  —  The statements seem as belligerent as Pete Hegseth on a bad hair day.  —  “We are preparing for the next war that is coming,” says Jonathan Cowan.

Southern Iran Bears Brunt of U.S. Bombing  —  While fighting has abated in much of Iran, near-constant U.S. airstrikes in Qeshm island and other southern spots have upended lives and livelihoods.  —  The turquoise blue waters, white sandy beaches and dramatic cliffs on the island …

Pelosi wages war over her succession  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Nancy Pelosi is unleashing her political machine to block one of California's most prominent state lawmakers from replacing her in Congress, bringing an increasingly bitter feud to a head inside San Francisco's Democratic establishment.

The left is winning the argument on aid to Israel.  The next step will be harder.  —  In recent months, two ideas that were once on the fringes of Democratic policy thinking — cutting off financial support and stopping arms transfers to Israel — have gone mainstream.

Trump can't lie his way out of a missile shortage  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  💥 Subscribe to PN 💥  —  Last week, the Washington Post published a devastating account of internal conflict within the administration.

One of Kyiv's deadliest single attacks kills 13 in central Russia while five are killed in Ukraine  —  Kyiv has delivered one of its deadliest attacks since the beginning of the war, killing 13 people and wounding 75 in a strike in Tatarstan, deep inside Russia.

Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay  —  With the anniversary of Japan's surrender in World War II approaching, Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine has introduced new rules banning visitors from wearing military uniforms or costumes on its grounds.

'We've never seen anything like this': ICE's detention crackdown swamps the courts … Months later, ICE agents whisked away Yair Vargas Torres, shuttling him across three states — and attempting to move him to a fourth — before a federal judge ruled that his detention without bond was illegal.