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.
Discussion:
The Lever, NBC News and The Washington Sun
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
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 …
Discussion:
The Guardian, CNBC, United States Department …, KTVZ-TV, KRDO, Joe.My.God., The Aviationist, TWZ, Semafor, Bloomberg and Breaking Defense
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
Trump tells Axios he's approaching major crossroads in Iran war
Discussion:
Reuters, New York Post, Breitbart, RedState, Al Jazeera, Jewish Insider, The Independent, The Hill, NewsMax.com, The American Conservative, Joe.My.God., CNBC, CoinDesk, NewsNation and CBS News
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:
Ashley Ahn / Politico:
Urgent motion filed to stop carving of Trump's name into US Institute of Peace building
Urgent motion filed to stop carving of Trump's name into US Institute of Peace building
Discussion:
Forbes, KRDO and The Independent
Camille Mumford / Emerson Polling:
Kansas 2026: Hamilton and Marshall in Tight Senate Race; Masterson Leads for Governor — Home Polls Kansas 2026: Hamilton and Marshall in Tight Senate Race; Masterson Leads for Governor — A new Emerson College Polling/Nexstar Media poll finds 45% of Kansas voters support Democrat Adam Hamilton …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com
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:
Talking Points Memo, 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
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
Discussion:
The Washington Sun and Washington Examiner
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.
Blame Biden? Voters not buying it.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, HuffPost, Bloomberg and CBS News
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 …
Discussion:
NewsMax.com, Democracy Docket and The Hill
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.
Discussion:
Quartz, Roll Call, CNBC, The Washington Sun, New York Times and The Daily Caller
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
Discussion:
Ohio Capital Journal and NewsMax.com
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.
Discussion:
New York Times, NewsMax.com, Esquire, The Contrarian, CNBC and The Daily Wire
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:
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
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.
Discussion:
The A.V. Club, more at Mediagazer »
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.
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.
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
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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, New Republic and Daily Mail
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 …
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
