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 …

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 …

Blame Biden?  Voters not buying it.  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook: Remaking Government, your guide to Donald Trump's unprecedented overhaul of the federal government — the key decisions, the critical characters and the power dynamics that are upending Washington and beyond.

US clears way for $24.3 billion fighter jet sale to Saudi Arabia  —  The US Department of State said on Thursday it has approved the potential sale of Lockheed Martin's (LMT.N) F-35 Lightning II fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, as the kingdom is drawn deeper into war in the Middle East.

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 …

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 …

White House pulls stalled ICE director nominee  —  The White House on Thursday withdrew the nomination of Oklahoma state trooper Lance Schroyer to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a Republican blocked his confirmation hearing.  —  Schroyer's nomination stalled …

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.

Trump tells Axios he's approaching major crossroads in Iran war  —  President Trump told Axios Thursday that he's approaching a critical juncture in the Iran war over whether to restart massive attacks in an effort to bring the conflict to a close.  — “I have a big decision coming up.

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.

Photos Spur Speculation About Possible Demolition of Kennedy Center  —  Images captured through the windows of Air Force One show President Trump reviewing a poster with the title “Kennedy Center DEMOLISHED.”  —  It is the picture that has Washington in its latest uproar.

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 …

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.

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.

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

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 …

‘Godfather of AI’ warns Congress has ‘maybe a year’ left to regulate AI  —  There appeared to be a lot of talk about artificial intelligence and little progress on Capitol Hill this week.  But members remain hopeful that Congress can act.  —  WASHINGTON — Geoffrey Hinton …

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 …

Many of the “Michigan Jewish Dems” Backing Mike Rogers Are Actually Already Republican Supporters, Analysis Finds  —  Over 400 alleged Michigan Jewish Democratic and independent voters signed a pledge in late August to vote for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Rogers …

Wanna Influence Sean Duffy?  Try His Son-in-Law's Campaign.  —  Transportation interests have poured money into Michael Alfonso's congressional bid while seeking decisions from Duffy's department.  —  DAVID PARKER, THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO of the trucking company Covenant Logistics, has been a reliable Republican donor for decades.

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.

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.

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

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

Roy Cooper's lead grows to 15 points in NC Senate race  —  RALEIGH — With just a month and a half left until Election Day, Democratic former Gov. Roy Cooper has grown his lead in the US Senate race to 15.1 points over former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley.

Blanche warned of contempt risk in Epstein files case  —  A federal judge warned Attorney General Todd Blanche Wednesday that he could face contempt proceedings if the Department of Justice fails to comply with an order involving the release or review of Epstein files.

We Asked 28 GOP Officials If They'd Denounce the GOP Nominee Who Marched With Nazis in Charlottesville  —  Marshall Rawson, poised to join the Florida legislature, has condoned slavery and called for the execution of LGBTQ+ people.  Does the Republican Party even care?

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.

Postal Service chief says work stopped on computer system key to Trump effort to limit mail voting  —  Trump's efforts to largely eradicate mail voting have turned the Postal Service into an unlikely arbiter of who is eligible to vote, just months before this year's critical midterm elections.