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.

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 …

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia - F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft  —  FOREIGN MILITARY SALES: CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION  —  The U.S. Department of State has made a determination approving a possible foreign military sale to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their purchase …

Former Institute of Peace board members ask court to stop addition of Trump name to headquarters  —  Former board members for the U.S. Institute of Peace asked a federal court on Thursday to block the Trump administration from etching President Trump's name into the facade of the institute's headquarters in Washington, D.C.

A Brief History of Sam Alito's Delusional Obsession With Voter Fraud  —  His conduct in several recent cases suggests that Alito is deep in the right-wing conspiracy theory weeds.  —  Against Justice Samuel Alito's most fervent wishes, a federal district court order that prohibits …

A Republican ‘Minivan-Driving Mom’ Swerves Away From the Trump Brand … Representative Ashley Hinson of Iowa is locked in a tight race against Josh Turek, a Democratic state representative, that could be crucial for Senate control.  KC McGinnis for The 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 …

Fear Strikes Out  —  But the hatred remains  —  On Wednesday Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, gave a speech affirming the EU's willingness to move toward making Canada an “associate member.”  Nobody quite knows what that would mean, and it might be mostly symbolic.

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

The Story of America, Told in 15 Million First Drafts of History  —  Above my desk hangs an engraving of an island.  It depicts a still-young city in a still-young nation.  Its cobblestone streets are lined with squat buildings, none taller than a church spire.

For now, Pentagon plan for testosterone testing will apply to male troops only  —  Newly updated guidelines would test male service members aged 30 and over for low testosterone.  Rules for females will be released later, officials said.  —  Summary  —  The Pentagon has republished clinical guidance …

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 …

Democrats vow to pursue ‘Trump crime family’ after midterm elections  —  Lawmaker on oversight committee says he will probe Donald Trump's sons and Elon Musk if his party takes control of the House  —  Unlock the White House Watch newsletter for free  —  Democrats will be “aggressive” …

Republican ‘cavalry’ arrives with a Trump-backed $150 million ad blitz in key races  —  For months, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Paxton was outspent on the air in Texas, first in a bruising primary, then as Democratic nominee James Talarico spent millions of dollars to introduce himself to voters.

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.

‘My Money:’ Trump's Claim That He Controls MAGA Super PAC Draws Watchdog Complaint  —  Federal law bars those holding federal office from directing spending decisions for a political organization with no contribution limits.  —  President Trump has called the $400 million super PAC run …

The race raters are lowballing the Democrats  —  Based on my analysis of their historical ratings, Cook, Inside Elections and Sabato's Crystal Ball are probably underestimating Democrats' House win probability by about 30 percentage points  —  Soooo, wazzup with the race raters?

Noncitizens Don't Sway Elections, Even in a Pro-Trump Tally  —  Last month, the Census Bureau published a strange little document claiming that “over 24,000” votes were cast by noncitizens in the 2020 US general election.  The anonymous report has come under fire for its provenance and methods …

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

Haven't we seen this before?  The AI apocalypse has a century of reruns  —  Mid-September brought the convergence of three big issues for investors: oil prices over $100/barrel (keeping headline inflation sticky), surging bond yields (with the 10-year Treasury over 5%) …

Sweden's Social Democrats Get First Stab to Form New Government  —  Sweden's Social Democrat leader Magdalena Andersson was given the first try at forming a new government after the opposition bloc she leads won Sunday's election.  —  Parliament Speaker Andreas Norlen gave Andersson the task …

Why Do We Even Have a Constitution Day?  —  The White House's posture toward Russia is getting more bizarre all the time.  On the one hand, Trump has promised to sign a sweeping package which—as Andrew wrote yesterday—would hit Russia's elite with new sanctions and give Trump the ability to hit Russia's energy customers with tariffs.

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!

Macron to call emergency G7 meeting as energy prices spike and Russian hybrid attacks mount  —  PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday he would call a Group of Seven meeting to address skyrocketing global energy prices and look at releasing strategic oil stocks.

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