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8:25 AM ET, September 18, 2026

memeorandum

 Top Items: 
Washington Post:
Why Democrats are starting to feel bullish about a midterm wave  —  Democrats say the Iran war, high prices and President Donald Trump's sinking popularity give them a real chance of congressional majorities.  —  Summary  —  Democrats' wary optimism about the midterms gave way to growing confidence this week.
RELATED:
Politico:
Democratic advisers are warning their candidates not to go too hard at AI  —  Democratic consultants are privately encouraging their battleground candidates to avoid talking about artificial intelligence regulations out of fear that powerful tech groups will unleash a tidal wave of spending against them ahead of November.
Damian Paletta / Wall Street Journal:
Republicans Are in a Midterm Bind.  An Avalanche of Cash Could Move the Needle.  —  Plus, the House has packed and gone away for weeks, and why Trump is going easy on Kevin Warsh—for now  —  Good morning.  —  Each day Democrats believe they are expanding the number of House and Senate seats …
Discussion: The Hill
NPR:   Republican ‘cavalry’ arrives with a Trump-backed $150 million ad blitz in key races
Edward Wong / New York Times:
Trump Moves Ahead With F-35 Jet Sales to Saudi Arabia Despite Intelligence Concerns  —  U.S. intelligence agencies have warned in internal reports that China could acquire or steal U.S. warplane technology if F-35 jets are sent to Saudi Arabia.  —  The State Department said Thursday …
RELATED:
Frank Andrews / CBS News:
Iran War Updates: 2 ships attacked in Strait of Hormuz as Trump says next move could be to “annihilate” regime  —  What to know about the Iran war today:  — A U.K. navy agency said a tanker was hit by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz early Friday, hours after reporting another vessel coming under attack in the vital waterway.
Discussion: The Hill
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Trump tells Axios he's approaching major crossroads in Iran war
New York Times:
Kennedy Assures Vaccine Skeptics That They Have a ‘Friend at the White House’  —  The health secretary spoke at a conference featuring misinformation about vaccines, including a claim that the success of the polio vaccines was a “fraud.”  —  Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr …
Aishvarya Kavi / New York Times:
Former Institute of Peace Workers Warn Trump May Push to Engrave Name on Building  —  As part of a lawsuit, the workers have asked a federal court to stop any plans to engrave the building with President Trump's name.  —  Former staff members of the U.S. Institute of Peace asked a federal court …
Discussion: The Guardian and Joe.My.God.
RELATED:
Charlie Savage / New York Times:
Blanche's Political Campaigning Breaks an Ethical Norm Going Back to Watergate  —  The attorney general's campaign politicking for Republicans adds to the degradation of post-Watergate values at the Justice Department.  —  Attorney General Todd Blanche has repeatedly participated …
Discussion: WTOP News, NBC News and Joe.My.God.
Mia McCarthy / Politico:
Fears of election ‘bloodbath’ fuel small GOP revolts as House ditches DC  —  House Republicans have left Washington for a seven-week pre-midterms recess — but not before showing some nerves about the rising cost of living heading into Election Day.  —  Several last-ditch attempts …
RELATED:
Bayliss Wagner / New York Times:
A Republican ‘Minivan-Driving Mom’ Swerves Away From the Trump Brand
Discussion: Washington Post
Brett Meiselas / MeidasTouch:
Massie, Khanna Say They Have Secured 218 Signatures for New Epstein Files Vote  —  The announcement comes hours after MeidasTouch reported the discharge petition was just two signatures short of the threshold needed to force a House vote.  —  Co-Founder of MeidasTouch
Marc Caputo / Axios:
Fear and loathing in Trump's Miami backyard over immigration crackdown  —  Staring into the camera, Rep. Maria Salazar cut a new campaign ad that told President Trump what so many of her fellow Hispanic Republicans in Miami are saying: Immigration crackdown has gone too far.
RELATED:
Politico:
Blame Biden? Voters not buying it.
Rudi Keller / Missouri Independent:
Federal court weighs whether it's too late to revive Missouri's gerrymandered map  —  The last legal battle over Missouri's 2025 redistricting plan played out Thursday, with a panel of federal appeals court judges hearing from Republicans that they should reinstate the map designed to help …
RELATED:
Rachel Frazin / The Hill:
Senate Democrat blocks House-passed bill on data center electricity costs  —  Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) blocked Sen. Jon Husted's (R-Ohio) Thursday effort to unanimously pass a bill that seeks to force states to consider making tech companies cover their data centers' electricity price impacts.
RELATED:
Riley Beggin / Washington Post:
Most Michigan voters disapprove of Trump's tariffs on Canada, poll shows  —  Among the state's independents, who could determine the outcome of several key midterm races, 68 percent disapprove of the levies on Canadian products.  —  Summary  —  More than 60 percent of likely voters in Michigan …
Discussion: Blaze Media and Newsweek
Jason Sattler / THE FARCE:
Democrats better not confuse gas price fury with thinking they figured out how to defeat Trumpism  —  The simplest and most seductive political analysis is that voters would share all my policy preferences if Democrats just did what I say they should.  And it's a decent analysis because it's somewhat true!
Wall Street Journal:
Red and Blue America Have Found Something to Agree On: Flock Cameras Must Go  —  A national backlash against AI-enabled license-plate readers is uniting Trump country and progressive strongholds alike.  'Nobody wants to be surveilled...doesn't matter what your political leaning is.'  —  Kris Maher
Wall Street Journal:
How Warsh Raised Rates Without Drawing Trump's Ire  —  No name-calling, no insults.  New Fed chairman's close relationship with president gave him room to move without triggering White House backlash  —  President Trump spent months attacking the Federal Reserve for keeping interest rates too high.
Fox News:
Fox News Poll: 71% think Trump administration lacks plan to end Iran war  —  Nearly seven months into the war with Iran, a new Fox News national survey finds views souring as voters feel the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the war, a growing number think the conflict …
RELATED:
Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Majority says immigration enforcement has crossed the line
Discussion: Straight Arrow and NewsMax.com
Wall Street Journal:
Weeks Before the Midterms, Almost Everything Is Getting More Expensive  —  The price of eating out, filling a gas tank and buying a house keeps rising, while higher interest rates add to borrowing costs  —  Created with Highcharts 9.0.1Average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgageSource: Freddie Mac via St. Louis Fed
Lisa Needham / Public Notice:
Totalitarian art  —  PN is supported by paid subscribers.  Become one ⬇️  —  🎨 Subscribe to PN 🎨  —  We all know President Trump's aesthetics are terrible.  The man has the very worst taste, slathering everything in gold, designing every building to be comically oversized.
Jalen Beckford / Politico:
Senate Democrats press Hegseth for Iran war price tag  —  Forty-six members of the Senate Democratic caucus are demanding that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth provide a detailed accounting of the Iran war's costs, arguing that the Pentagon has failed to explain how it has spent, and plans to spend, tens of billions of taxpayer dollars.
Discussion: NewsMax.com and The Hill
Maggie Harrison Dupré / Futurism:
How Three Brothers Built an AI Slop Empire by Buying Legitimate News Sites and Turning Them Into Zombie Content Farms That They Say Get 50 Million Page Views per Month  —  In September 2024, an entrepreneur named Justin Brown uploaded a YouTube video in which he argued that writers should be “scared right now” about the rise of AI.
Neil Vigdor / New York Times:
Montana Ban Would Strike at Political Spending, and the Supreme Court  —  A measure aimed at stemming the tide of corporate money in politics will be on the November ballot.  Opponents say it violates a high court ruling.  —  Voter disgust over an avalanche of political spending by corporations …
Discussion: Montana Free Press
Shane Goldmacher / New York Times:
Ocasio-Cortez Donates to New York Democrats, Will Barnstorm State Ahead of Midterms  —  The news has reignited speculation about whether the progressive representative from the Bronx is considering a run for senator or president.  —  Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plans to campaign across …
Discussion: Wide World of News
The Washington Sun:
Trump Is Considering More Data Centers on Public Lands Than Previously Known  —  The Trump administration is considering proposals for at least 12 data centers and data center-related infrastructure projects to be built on federal public lands — far more than previously known.
Aruni Soni / New York Times:
Iran War Will Make Winter More Expensive for Some Americans  —  The cost of heating oil, which is similar to diesel and used extensively in Northeastern states, has climbed sharply because of the war in Iran.  —  Jonathan Robidoux, a Long Island resident, calls his heating oil supplier every fall …
Elena Schneider / The Washington Sun:
The DNC Gets a Fundraising Boost After Months of Struggle  —  The Democratic National Committee racked up two of its biggest grassroots fundraising months in a midterm cycle this summer, bringing in more than $14 million combined in July and August.  —  The grassroots totals surpassed …
The Washington Sun:
Inside House Democrats' Push to Kick Old People Out of Leadership  —  Insurgent House Democrats are opening a new front in the generational war roiling the party, pushing to put term limits on committee leadership roles.  —  When the lawmakers return to Washington after the midterms …
Discussion: The Hill
Aliss Higham / Newsweek:
Some Gas Stations ‘Out of Diesel’ as Prices Surge  —  Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.  —  Photos appearing to show gas stations running out of diesel have spread across social media as U.S. fuel prices climb to record highs …
Discussion: The Independent and Reuters
Filip Timotija / The Hill:
Pentagon issues new guidance for testosterone testing after rescinding previous one  —  The Pentagon issued new guidance late Thursday instructing mandatory testosterone deficiency screening for male active-duty and reserve service members over the age of 30 after temporarily rescinding previous guidance earlier this month.
Discussion: Mediaite and NewsMax.com
The White House:
Reinvigorating America's Hunting Heritage  —  By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered:  —  Section 1.  Purpose and Policy.  American hunters, anglers, and landowners are the greatest conservationists the world has ever known.
Discussion: RedState
 
 
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 More Items: 
Choe Sang-Hun / New York Times:
Rejecting Trump, South Korean Leader Says He Will Not Send Troops to Iran
Discussion: Reuters and Bloomberg
Rahm Emanuel / Wall Street Journal:
Democrats Can Win Back the Midwest
Brendan Hartnett / The Bulwark:
Wanna Influence Sean Duffy? Try His Son-in-Law's Campaign.
Discussion: Joe.My.God.
 Earlier Items: 
Tom Perkins / Drop Site News:
Many of the “Michigan Jewish Dems” Backing Mike Rogers Are Actually Already Republican Supporters, Analysis Finds
Will Bunch / The Philadelphia Inquirer:
Violence toward journalists is a symptom of a terminally ill U.S. democracy
Discussion: Fox News
New York Times:
China Stockpiled Oil, and Now It Could Dominate the Energy Landscape
Andrew Solender / Axios:
Inside House Democrats' behind-the-scenes food fight
Discussion: RedState and The Hill
NBC News:
Pentagon weighs pulling nearly a third of U.S. forces from Europe
Discussion: Stars & Stripes, Reuters and Politico
 

 
From Mediagazer:

Kelcee Griffis / Bloomberg:
The FCC approves Paramount's request for foreign ownership above 25% in its proposed WBD acquisition; foreign owners would hold 49.5% of its Class B shares

Financial Times:
NYT court filing: ChatGPT's head wrote that publishers face an “existential threat” from AI, and a Microsoft director called AI training “an astonishing theft”

Mark Keierleber / Straight Arrow:
After major cuts, McClatchy announces new hires, including several execs, two reporters, and three editors for the company's AI-powered Content Innovation Lab

 
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