US military hits 3 Iranian oil tankers after saying Navy warships were targeted with missiles  —  The U.S. military on Saturday said it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Navy warships were targeted with missiles, warning that it would “if necessary, destroy Iran's limited and exposed oil fleet.”

“We're stuck:” GOP accepts Trump's all-about-me midterms  —  President Trump is hitting the campaign trail and doing the last thing many Republicans want: making the 59 days to the Nov. 3 midterms a referendum on him.  — At the same time, they know it's inevitable.

US only country to oppose UN resolution correcting Africa's size on world maps  —  The U.S. was the only country to not support a United Nations resolution adjusting the appearance of Africa and other regions on world maps.  —  The body passed the “Correct the Map” initiative by a margin of 164 to one …

Musk has started spending money to help Ken Paxton.  Will it help change the course of the Texas Senate race?  —  PACs Congressional news Senate election US elections  —  For months, Texas Republicans have anxiously awaited the arrival of national resources to help boost Ken Paxton, one of the GOP's most vulnerable Senate candidates.

Putin's envoy Dmitriev to meet Witkoff, Kushner upon their arrival in Moscow, sources say  —  Russian presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev will meet U.S. special representatives Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner upon their arrival in Moscow on Saturday, two people familiar with the upcoming visit told Reuters.

Gallup Polls Show Democrats Outnumber Republicans Ahead of 2026 Midterm Elections  —  Data from Gallup shows that Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have their largest advantage over Republicans since 2008.  —  The share of Americans who associate themselves with the Democratic Party …

Missouri asks US Supreme Court to allow use of new Trump-backed congressional districts in midterms  —  Missouri appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to allow the use of new congressional districts backed by President Donald Trump in the fast-approaching midterm election.

In Major Leak Hunt, Pentagon Gives Polygraph Tests to Joint Staff Members  —  About 50 people were tested, an unparalleled inquiry that comes in the wake of news reports about the war with Iran and the U.S. military's diminished stocks of munitions.  —  U.S. government investigators have taken …

Inside the D.O.J.'s Investigation of Fauci and Other Virus Scientists  —  As Dr. Anthony Fauci has faced public scrutiny from congressional Republicans, the D.O.J. has pursued a quieter and more expansive effort against a wider circle of researchers.  —  TIMES EXCLUSIVE

Trump Confirms Tariff-Free Beef Is Coming From Brazil And Argentina Amid Quality Controversies  —  Topline  —  President Donald Trump confirmed that Brazil and Argentina, meatpacking nations embroiled in quality scandals in recent months, are among the countries that will be allowed to import …

Maria Bartiromo's Downfall at an Increasingly Cautious Fox News  —  The network this week took Maria Bartiromo off the air, pulling one of the last hosts whose coverage of Dominion Voting Systems drew an expensive defamation lawsuit.  —  In July, as President Trump was preparing a prime …

Republicans sour on the economy  —  Republicans' confidence in the economy has plummeted over the last six months at a pace unseen since Covid — reminiscent of the declines during the global financial crisis nearly two decades ago. … What's striking now is that Republicans …

Trump Officials Draft Plan to Pay At-Home Parents, Using Funds for Working Ones  —  The proposed benefit, a top policy priority for Vice President JD Vance, would apply only to married couples and tap a fund intended to provide federal child care subsidies to working parents.

Kennedy Center closes after ceiling piece falls: ‘President Trump has been right’  —  A portion of the ceiling inside the Kennedy Center's Grand Foyer collapsed Friday evening as heavy rain swept through the Washington, D.C. area, prompting officials to temporarily close the main building.

The mystery behind an audio clip that helped upend a Senate race  —  Artificial intelligence tools increasingly allow political actors to fool voters — and help candidates cast doubt on reality.  —  Summary  —  Late last month, left-wing firebrand Hasan Piker showed his Twitch viewers …

ChatGPT bans campaigns from using AI to make ads.  They're doing it anyway.  —  A Post review found 39 campaigns that disclosed payments to AI companies, but consultants say many more do it and don't disclose it.  —  Summary  —  Artificial intelligence has subtly entered the machinery …

The Rush-Job Presidency  —  Trump wants his ballroom and arch done while he's in office.  There's a risk.  —  Construction is notoriously slow-going work.  But in Donald Trump's Washington, cranes and bulldozers appear like DoorDash deliveries: fast, frictionless, and on demand.

Ossoff and Talarico to Share Fund-Raising Event in Hollywood  —  The event with the Georgia and Texas Democrats will be hosted by Shonda Rhimes.  —  Two of the top Democratic fund-raisers this cycle are teaming up for a finance event with some big Hollywood names.

Trump's Embrace of AI Data Centers Adds to GOP's Midterm Peril  —  President Donald Trump's fervent support for artificial intelligence data centers has put him at odds with voters who increasingly oppose them and comes despite direct warnings that his stance threatens to deepen Republicans' peril in the November midterm elections.

In latest win for voters, appeals court rejects bid to revive DHS voter purge database, for now  —  A federal appeals court Friday rejected the Trump administration's effort to immediately revive the use of a sweeping immigration database to check voter rolls, leaving in place a ruling that shut …