Trump aide Natalie Harp worked at the White House without security clearance for a year  —  The close aide to the president, known to filter much of the information reaching the commander-in-chief, ultimately relented in recent months after pressure from White House staff.

Florida Dems scramble to regroup after Nixon upset  —  MIAMI — Progressive Angie Nixon's stunning upset in Florida's Senate race has many Democrats in the state spiraling.  —  The Jacksonville lawmaker's primary victory on Tuesday night over retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman jolted a state few thought would hold any surprises.

Trump Considers a Press Secretary Shakeup: Picking a Man  —  After four female press secretaries during his two terms, President Donald Trump has told close advisers he would prefer a man to fill Karoline Leavitt's position, NOTUS has learned.  —  The pick would be meant to stave off comparisons …

Trump's snub of South Korea sends region scrambling  —  The Trump administration's snub of South Korea has America's allies in Asia rethinking how much they can depend on the U.S. for defense — and looking to each other to reduce their reliance on Washington.

'It's Bonkers': Jennifer Hegseth's Hands-On Role in Her Husband's Pentagon  —  After an 18-year career at Fox News, she is now her husband's most influential adviser and de facto producer, shaping the job like no Pentagon spouse has before.  —  There has never been a Pentagon spouse quite like Jennifer Hegseth.

U.S. Debt Hits $40 Trillion as America's Borrowing Binge Continues  —  President Trump's promises to restore fiscal order and reduce the amount of America's debt burden have been hampered by spending on the Iran war, tax cuts and tariff refunds.  —  America's gross national debt topped $40 trillion …

Treasury Announces Increased Sizes of Nominal Long-End Liquidity Support Buybacks Beginning September 9  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. —The U.S. Department of the Treasury is increasing, by at least double, the size of liquidity support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities …

After Six Months of War, Trump Is Still Losing to Iran  —  The conflict marks a “precipitous collapse of American power and American prestige.”  —  Spare a thought for the sailors of the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln.  As the United States' campaign against Iran drags on, their deployment aboard …

Elon Musk Is Expected to Point His Money Machine at Texas Politics  —  Sources tell WIRED that Elon Musk is expected to spend up to $200 million in the midterms.  It could be a big boost for GOP Senate candidate Ken Paxton, who's struggled to raise cash.  —  Elon Musk is expected to spend big …

New Drone Unit to Be Phased Out as Hegseth's Army Pick Makes His Mark  —  Gen. Christopher LaNeve takes aim at a cutting-edge drone unit, one of several moves he has made since taking over the Army  —  WASHINGTON—The Army took a major step to prepare for wars of the future in January …

Data center uproar scrambles the midterm election  —  A new populist fever is coursing through the midterms, forcing campaigns to retreat and recalibrate as they confront a groundswell of hostility toward AI data centers. … Candidates in both parties are now racing to distance themselves …

U.S. conducting stealth operation to transport oil through Hormuz  —  The U.S. military has quietly established a shipping corridor in and out of the Strait of Hormuz to transport millions of barrels of oil each day — a notable success even as the broader war remains at a stalemate, two U.S. officials told Axios.

Trump's Human Printer Is Cray-Cray  —  It would be much better if they *were* sleeping together.  —  1,147 … Join  —  1. Nataly.  Natali.  Nathalie.  —  We have to talk about the Trump-Natalie Harp thing.  I'm sorry.  I had a big piece about economics teed up for today.

Trump's pick to lead the FDA faces uphill Senate battle  —  Heidi Overton's years of loyalty to Donald Trump helped her become his pick to lead the Food and Drug Administration, one of the government's most powerful regulatory agencies.  But that devotion could ruin her chances at Senate confirmation.

Experts raise alarms over Census Bureau report Trump is touting on noncitizen voting  —  A highly unusual Census Bureau report that President Trump is using to reup dubious claims of widespread illegal voting by non-U.S. citizens has ties to a Trump-aligned think tank, NPR has learned.

A History of LGBT Officers & the Central Intelligence Agency  —  The CIA spent seven decades moving from purging LGBT officers to embracing them—until the second Trump administration began undoing that work.  —  @juliacurlee.bsky.social  —  Meet The Authors

Michael Cohen won't say if he'll use his Trump interview to seek a pardon  —  Michael Cohen and President Donald Trump have apparently patched up their differences in private.  Now, they can do it in public.  —  The president is scheduled to do a phone interview Thursday with Cohen …

The Freedom Caucus is having a brutal primary run  —  The hard-right Freedom Caucus is having a rough primary season.  —  Candidates with backing from the caucus and its allies flopped in primaries from Florida to Wyoming on Tuesday, adding to a string of recent losses for the group.

How Trump Is Trying to Crush California's Environmental Policies  —  At least a half-dozen federal agencies have taken action against the state that has long led the nation in environmental protections.  —  An oil platform seen from Sands Beach next to Coal Oil Point Natural Reserve in Santa Barbara …

North Korea fires off barrage of missiles hours after Trump says he plans to meet Kim  —  Pyongyang fired off a barrage of short-range ballistic missiles on Thursday, Seoul said, just hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un later this year.

Vance raises $5 million at big Hamptons event  —  Vice President Vance hosted a Wednesday evening fundraiser in Southampton, N.Y., for young Republican donors that raised more than $5 million, Axios has learned. … - Attendees included Donald Trump Jr., Polymarket founder Shayne Coplan and GRV Strategies founder Garrett Ventry.

As Local News Dies, White Nationalists See Opening  —  At an invitation-only gathering in Italy, far-right leaders mapped out strategies to target rural America while local press coverage vanishes.  —  You won't find reporting and analysis like this anywhere else—and it's only possible because of subscribers who support this effort.

Air Force major detained again for Capitol protest after Trump criticism  —  The U.S. service member who was arrested on the steps of the U.S. Capitol last month after he advocated for President Trump's impeachment was detained again, a U.S. Air Force spokesperson confirmed Wednesday evening.

More than 150 Polymarket wallets may have traded on military secrets, research finds  —  More than 150 wallets on Polymarket International may have traded on inside U.S. military information, attracting copycat bets and raising concerns that the market could broadcast signals exploitable …