POLITICO barred from White House after court ruling restoring access  —  A POLITICO reporter was denied access to the White House Thursday and his press credentials confiscated after a judge ordered the Trump administration overnight to immediately restore access for news organizations …

How every senator voted on the Iran war powers resolution  —  Opposes 50  —  Supports 49 Did not vote 1  —  In a 49-50 vote, the Senate failed to block President Donald Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran less than six weeks before the midterm elections.

Trump administration launches pro-Trump TV ad ahead of midterms  —  The Trump administration launched a new television advertisement featuring President Donald Trump calling out socialism, communism and marxism, appearing to use government resources to go on air in the weeks before the midterm election.

Trump, 80, Mocked for Telling Choice of Clothing at Xi Jinping Meet  —  HIDING SOMETHING?  —  A photographer revealed what the president was hiding.  —  President Donald Trump has been mocked after pulling out his winter wardrobe to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in pleasant fall weather.

From 16,000 to 185 to Zero: Trump's Claims of Illegal Voting in Nevada Fizzle.  —  It was the Trump administration's latest stumble in its effort to find proof of widespread noncitizen voting, despite decades of evidence that it is extremely rare.  —  When the Department of Homeland Security sent Nevada …

Republican Sheriff Illegally Seized California Ballots, Court Rules  —  The California Supreme Court ordered Sheriff Chad Bianco of Riverside County to return ballots to election officials after he confiscated them for an investigation.  —  The California Supreme Court on Thursday ordered …

Beyer says Trump is prepping construction of his arch  —  A prominent Democrat said Thursday that President Trump appears to be laying the groundwork for construction of his controversial arch just outside Washington.  —  Rep. Don Beyer (D), who represents the Northern Virginia district …

Man wounded during 2024 Trump rally shooting in Butler County dies  —  One of the men who was wounded in the attempted assassination of President Trump in Butler in 2024 has died.  —  According to the House Republicans' social media feeds, Jim Copenhaver has died.

OpenAI's agents went rogue — its human response caused the real damage  —  If you've been forwarded this newsletter, you can sign up free here.  —  Confide in me: Send your tips to this generic inbox, canberraplaybook@poltico.com.  —  ESSENTIALS  — It's time to sort out human responsibility for AI agents

The blue wave is mostly in red states.  That's a little weird.  —  Still Counting Episode 3 is out.  Video version above, audio below.  We'll be publishing these each week here at the newsletter.  But for faster access, please subscribe on YouTube or follow us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Judges Reject ICE's Underhanded Attempt to Maintain Third-Country Removals  —  An appeals court made clear deportation flights to third countries must stop immediately, but flight data showed ICE may be violating the order.  —  A Peruvian man threatened with removal to the Central African Republic …

Mary Peltola's Campaign in Alaska Senate Race Is Rocked by Tumult, With Angry Outbursts and Slurs  —  Democrats hope that Mary Peltola can flip a Republican Senate seat in Alaska.  Former aides describe a campaign and congressional office marked by chaos.  —  National Democrats cheered …

Mark Carney Says He Has Prepared for the Possibility of a U.S. Invasion  —  Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said during a lengthy interview this week that he has prepared for the possibility, however unlikely, of a U.S. incursion onto Canadian soil.  —  The stunning remarks come …

ChatGPT Helped Tumbler Ridge Shooter Focus on Guns, Tactics, and Terror  —  Editor's note: This story discusses suicide and extreme violence.  Also read part 1, part 2, and part 3 of our investigation into AI chatbots and violence.  —  In June 2025, Jesse Van Rootselaar received an email notification from OpenAI.

Massachusetts Is Investigating Gambling Companies' Use of A.I.  —  In response to a New York Times report on DraftKings, the state's gaming commission said it would evaluate how each company deployed the technology.  —  Massachusetts's gambling regulator said on Thursday that it would examine …

Poll: Voters grow more concerned about capitalism, but they're still wary of socialism and the DSA  —  More young voters have positive views of socialism than of capitalism for the first time in NBC News polling.  —  Voter concerns about capitalism are rising amid the populist streak gripping …

United States Files Request to Intervene in Case Brought by X Corp. and Elon Musk Seeking to Annul Decision by European Commission  —  For Immediate Release  —  The United States filed an application to intervene in the captioned cases, X Internet and X Holdings v. Commission …

Deaths of students at the University of Mississippi cast spotlight on kratom  —  A drug task force in Mississippi is urging people to avoid kratom after authorities found packages of the substance while investigating the deaths of two University of Mississippi students.

Trump eyes an October campaign rally — in Alabama  —  President Donald Trump is tentatively set to visit Alabama for a political rally next week, a curious move in a deep-red state as his party fights for control of Congress in several battlegrounds.  —  The event is penciled in for Oct. 2 in Mobile …

In Texas, Talarico pitches a Fox News debate as Paxton stays silent  —  The state's Democratic and Republican Senate candidates have not squared off yet.  —  Loading...  Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico challenged Republican state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Thursday …

Donald the Deadbeat Does Diesel  —  Trump gets ready to stiff more contractors  —  There's a strong whiff of desperation coming off the Republican Party these days, and it smells a lot like diesel fumes.  All indications are that the G.O.P. is headed for a huge defeat in the midterms …

The ‘Monster’ Behind Russia's Global Effort to Evade Western Sanctions  —  A Moscow firm uses shell companies and cryptocurrency to launder money, and a custom app to forge trade records, to help Russia bypass sweeping financial restrictions.  —  The cover story was simple.

Ohio Democrats' trans panic, explained  —  Or why Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur won't be taking down her transphobic ads anytime soon.  —  ∙ Paid  —  The liquidation of newspapers alongside the rise of a billionaire-funded, right-wing propaganda network has disconnected Americans from state and local politics.

‘They Picked the Wrong Candidate’: 12 Texas Swing Voters on the Paxton-Talarico Race  —  For years, Democrats have hoped to win a Senate seat in Texas, which has not elected a Democrat statewide since the 1990s.  According to polling, that hope appears to be closer in reach this year than any other time in recent memory.

Our Politicians Suck.  But Our Voters Do, Too.  —  1. Springfield  —  I'm heading to Ohio in a couple hours because we're doing a live show tomorrow to raise money for the Haitian community in Springfield.  —  You guys always step up.  If you can contribute, the donation page is here:

No president has gone into a midterm election this unpopular.  Not even George W. Bush in 2006.  —  Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump stood in front of a crowd of supporters at a first-of-its-kind midterms convention and beseeched the American people to “pretend I'm on the ballot.”

Court reinstates Ohio law requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration  —  An appeals court on Wednesday reinstated an Ohio law requiring people to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote at motor vehicles offices, a win for Republicans seeking to tighten voter requirements nationwide.