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.

Hill investigates after F-35 parts diverted to Hong Kong  —  Sensitive F-35 fighter jet technology was unexpectedly diverted to Hong Kong this summer, sparking an inquiry on Capitol Hill and raising the possibility that China could have access to key components of the highly classified weapon system.

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 …

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

Pritzker presses Congress on AI  —  TGIF, Illinois.  The Bears are at Soldier Field on Sunday and we're feeling dangerously optimistic.  —  TOP TALKER  —  AI ALARM BELLS: Gov. JB Pritzker is out with a video today in which he criticizes President Donald Trump for rejecting AI guardrails …

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 …

‘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 …

String of daring Russian plots is testing Washington's restraint  —  A strike on a train that imperiled former European leaders and CIA officers is among a spate of attacks that risked a dangerous escalation with the West, experts say.  —  Summary  —  An airstrike on a train line …

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

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” …

F.B.I. Temporarily Halted Cooperation With Canada Over References to 9/11  —  The abrupt move by Kash Patel, the bureau's director, came as President Trump was ramping up his attacks on the country.  —  Kash Patel, the F.B.I. director, temporarily halted some cooperation with the agency's counterpart …

A Central African Hotel Has Become a Nightmare Prison for U.S. Deportations  —  Witnesses say men were hooded and beaten in Equatorial Guinea.  The autocratic government there is a partner in President Trump's deportation program.  —  Two men deported to Equatorial Guinea by the Trump administration …

Pentagon releases more UFO files, including documents on secretive military program  —  Washington — The Pentagon on Friday released its sixth batch of files on unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP or UFOs, including dozens of documents detailing a military program that commissioned studies …

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 …

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.

Build columns, not Trump's arch, D.C. official tells administration  —  The administration has defended the president's plan by citing a 1924 plan to build columns at the site.  —  Summary  —  View with 1920s columns  —  View with  —  proposed arch  —  President Donald Trump …

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.

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!

A.I. Risk And The End Of The Neoliberal Style In Politics  —  You can't make pragmatic compromises with predatory counterparties.  —  Artificial intelligence is unpopular.  Artificial intelligence is scaring people—because it's scaring its own engineers; because its executives tell the world …