‘The vibes are very bad’ in Texas  —  With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco and Irie Sentner  —  Good Wednesday morning.  We're here in Dallas for the convention — and we're already getting a pulse check around the extravaganza before the speeches kick off.  Get in touch.  —  In today's Playbook ...

Trump gave $45,000 cash gifts to Natalie Harp, two other close aides  —  Financial disclosures released by the administration show the sums were equivalent to nearly one-third of each of their salaries.  —  Summary  —  President Donald Trump gave $45,000 cash gifts to his executive assistant Natalie Harp …

Iran attacks US base in Jordan, ships near Hormuz after tankers sunk  —  Iran said on Wednesday it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the six-month-old war.

Treasury Department to buy back up to $6 billion in longer-term debt, triple the normal level … The Treasury Department on Wednesday said it will buy back up to $6 billion of government debt in an operation aimed at keeping bond markets functioning.  —  The much-anticipated announcement triples …

Lawmakers urge Congress to act after AI researcher's dire warning  —  Lawmakers in both parties are escalating pleas for legislative action after an artificial intelligence researcher claimed late Tuesday that unchecked AI models could feasibly destroy the world by the decade's end — and AI developers know it.

Missouri court opens contempt probe into Republican official over redistricting fight  —  The Missouri Supreme Court has asked Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to respond to claims that he is defying a ruling that bars the state from using a new, GOP-friendly congressional map.

Trump Tells Weird Lie About Where He Was on 9/11  —  President Trump took part in the Tunnel to Towers Foundation's Steel Across America tour Tuesday, delivering remarks from the Ellipse in Washington, D.C., in honor of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.

Trump's Super PAC Starts to Unload Its War Chest, With New Group Booking $47 Million  —  A recently created Republican group tied to the president's super PAC is pumping cash into half a dozen key midterm races, with the largest amounts going toward Senate contests in Michigan and Ohio.

Louisiana's abortion pill case could wipe out access in blue states  —  The next phase in the abortion wars may come down to one question: Do the rights of red states to enforce bans override the rights of blue states to protect access?  —  Louisiana will argue before a federal appeals court …

Ectopic Pregnancy Deaths Have Nearly Doubled.  It's Worse in States With Abortion Bans.  —  The number of women who died after an ectopic pregnancy has spiked in recent years, a ProPublica analysis found.  The mounting deaths in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data have drawn little scrutiny or response.

Navarro: White House told Fox News Bartiromo ouster was ‘totally unacceptable’  —  Top Trump trade adviser Peter Navarro said the White House complained to Fox News leadership about the network's decision to oust host Maria Bartiromo last week.  —  “But suffice it to say that Suzanne Scott got a call …

‘Shoot Him!’:  Police Threaten Third-Country Nationals Imprisoned in African Hotel  —  A police officer aimed a loaded assault rifle at unarmed immigrants expelled to Equatorial Guinea by the Trump administration in a chaotic incident on September 3 in which the officer's supervisor ordered him to shoot, multiple cellphone videos show.

Musk's PAC goes big on trans attack ads  —  Elon Musk's super PAC has entered the midterm campaign fray with a heavy dose of anti-trans messaging.  —  Why it matters: America PAC isn't running a traditional persuasion campaign.  It's undertaking a massive get-out-the-vote operation …

As He Backs ICE Crackdown, Nebraska Governor Employs Undocumented Workers  —  Gov. Jim Pillen and his family own about 100 hog farms in Nebraska.  As Pillen aids ICE's sweep on undocumented immigrants, his business has drawn little scrutiny for its own migrant work force.  —  Yanqi Xu

‘Fat b*tches’: Videos reveal the extent of GOP candidate's crude sexual remarks  —  Editor's Note: This story contains offensive language.  —  Brandon Herrera, the Republican nominee for a key Texas congressional district, has repeatedly made vulgar sexual statements and derogatory comments …

Proof from the states: the right wing attempt to repeal the 20th century  —  We read the legislation introduced across all 50 states this session and pulled out the worst of it.  1,182 bills, 48 states, everything from abortion bounties to studying chemtrails to a proposal to legalize cockfighting against robots.

Anthropic Researcher Quits Over ‘Out-of-Control’ AI Fears  —  Concerns are rising inside AI labs that competition is pushing tech companies to race toward self-improving models that risk spiraling out of human control  —  An Anthropic researcher is quitting the artificial-intelligence industry …

Ballot seizures seemed impossible.  But judges and officials are prepping for them now  —  The idea of federal law enforcement seizing ballots in the middle of an active election would have once been considered impossible.  —  Now, as President Trump continues his unprecedented hunt for voter fraud …

Mistrust of US government information is rising across major issues, new poll shows  —  Americans are more skeptical of government information than they were a few years ago, with majorities now saying they have little or no trust in federal government information about elections and politics …

Ilhan Omar Cleared of Wrongdoing After Overstating Assets by Millions  —  Democratic lawmaker incorrectly reported assets of between $6 million and $30 million  —  A nonpartisan entity charged with reviewing misconduct allegations has cleared Rep. Ilhan Omar (D., Minn.) …

Maine and Michigan Senate races are neck and neck, CNN polls find  —  Election polls Congressional news Senate election US elections  —  The critical Senate contests in both Maine and Michigan feature tight races with no clear leader, according to new CNN polls conducted by SSRS.

Exclusive: 3 Lindsay Clancy jurors speak out on holdout, prosecution, defense and more  —  “He admitted he had reasonable doubt and I started filling out the forms, I was so excited,” the foreperson of Lindsay Clancy's jury said. … Three jurors from the Lindsay Clancy murder trial …