Michael Whatley, the Republican Senate Candidate in North Carolina, Sticks By Trump  —  Republicans in Senate battlegrounds have started to break with the president.  Not Michael Whatley of North Carolina, even as his race seems at risk.  —  If any Republican Senate nominee is sticking …

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.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson criticizes Supreme Court's use of emergency docket  —  In a public appearance, Jackson said the high court's use of the emergency docket was “problematic” and called for more restraint from her colleagues when using it.  —  SummaryLoading...

Trump ad airing with government funding despite law against ‘propaganda’  —  The agency responsible for the commercial was not immediately clear.  —  SummaryLoading...  A television ad promoting President Donald Trump began airing on cable Wednesday saying it was paid for by the U.S. government …

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 …

Dale Caldwell, New Jersey's Lt. Governor, Violated Workplace Policies, Report Finds  —  Investigators found that New Jersey's lieutenant governor, Dale Caldwell, sought a promotion for his girlfriend and made a sexually charged comment to a staff member.  —  New Jersey's lieutenant governor …

Why Generation Z is less likely to view China as a threat  —  Recent research on American attitudes toward China reveal stark generational divides.  —  When asked if China's growing presence on the world stage is a “critical threat,” 34 percent of Gen Z respondents agreed …

Why a U.S. Diesel Export Ban May Not Lower Prices  —  President Trump has said he is considering restricting overseas sales of the fuel to bring down domestic prices, but experts say the policy will have many unintended effects.  —  Weeks away from the midterm elections …

Tesla Argues in Court That the N-Word Is Acceptable Under Certain Circumstances  —  Witnesses also report being deceived by Tesla lawyers.  —  Whatever special kind of brain worms have established themselves in Elon Musk's noggin appear to be spreading throughout his companies.

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 …

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 …

Unused Tents and Uneaten Food: Watchdog Finds ‘Waste’ in Immigration Crackdown  —  In a report Thursday, the Government Accountability Office said the Trump administration squandered millions of dollars to expand detention.  —  The Trump administration wasted millions of dollars in its swift effort …

Alaskans Dismayed, But Not Moved, by Peltola's Treatment of Her Staff  —  Voters interviewed in Anchorage and Fairbanks on Thursday said news that Mary Peltola, the Democratic nominee for Senate, had used offensive slurs would not change their vote.  —  Many Alaskans on Thursday largely brushed off …

Inside NBC News' polling averages: Democrats enjoy biggest lead yet in the race for Congress  —  Meanwhile, President Donald Trump's approval rating is at a low point for his second term.  —  Democrats are heading into the final stretch of the 2026 midterms with their largest lead yet …

Pentagon turns on the jets in $1.5 trillion defense budget push  —  Pentagon officials have ramped up their efforts in recent weeks to help Congress carve a path toward President Trump's record $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget request.  —  But some GOP senators are worried the Defense Department deployed …

With Republicans under pressure, Trump's White House starts bending  —  The White House is in triage mode.  —  Six weeks until the midterm elections, administration officials are pulling policy levers they otherwise might not to help vulnerable Republicans in key congressional races.

Finland and Sweden scramble Quick Reaction Alert jets to intercept Russian aircraft  —  European countries have been on high alert for any Russian interference, with fears that Moscow could target Kyiv's Western backers as the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine drags on into its fifth year.

Debate-shy: Candidates aren't sharing the stage like they used to  —  Debates in political campaigns used to be a given.  Today, candidates increasingly view them as optional — or a political liability to be avoided. … - It's a sign of how campaigns have evolved, and an erosion of norms …

‘Shove it with your culture wars’: Hinojosa urges Democrats to focus on economy ahead of November and 2028  —  Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Gina Hinojosa chided her party for having “taken the bait” in the debate over culture war issues, leaving voters unsure of “what else we stood for.”

AOC, 9 other House Dems sign on to AI superintelligence ban  —  A group of 10 Democrats has signed on to Rep. Greg Casar's (D-Texas) bill that would ban superintelligence and pause advanced AI development until a vetting regime could be stood up.  Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) …

Senate Dems' main super PAC ‘actively thinking’ about spending in Kansas  —  The leaders of Senate Democrats' flagship super PAC are “actively thinking” about whether to wade into Kansas and other even redder states as the party looks to leverage an increasingly favorable environment ahead of November.

AI Chatbots Are Quietly Spewing Partisan Talking Points … It's no secret that AI has become an explosive factor in American politics.  Even before the latest concerns that AI poses existential risks to humanity, many people had soured on the rapid growth of data centers used to support the technology.

Iranian president claims out-of-sight Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is ‘completely’ healthy — last saw him a month ago  —  Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian claimed Thursday that he last met with invisible Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei a month or so ago and that the ruling cleric was “completely” healthy.

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.

Trump administration urges Supreme Court to revive third-country deportation policy  —  In an emergency request Thursday, the Trump administration urged the Supreme Court to revive its policy of deporting some migrants to places other than their country of origin, a practice that was struck …

Tucker Carlson has reconsidered Trump.  And quite a bit else  —  Tucker Carlson is talking about his break with President Trump over the war in Iran.  —  Carlson, who supported Trump so strongly that he spoke on his behalf at the 2024 Republican convention, tells NPR that Trump should be removed from office.

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 …

Full Guest List for Trump's State Dinner With Xi  —  Tech titans including Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman and Tim Cook were among those invited to the event, hosted by President Trump and Melania Trump.  —  American tech executives and Chinese officials were among …

Mamdani Accuses Netanyahu of Spreading ‘Baseless Lies’ After U.N. Speech  —  The Israeli prime minister accused Mayor Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, of antisemitism.  The mayor has become a political foil for the prime minister.  —  Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu …

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 …

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 …

Texas woman triumphs as court upholds acquittal in voting error case  —  Crystal Mason has spent nearly a decade fighting conviction for casting provisional ballot that ultimately wasn't counted  —  The nearly decade-long case of a Black Texas woman who was sentenced to five years in prison …

There's a global plan to save humans from AI.  Can it actually work?  —  When the AI apocalypse becomes regular dinner-table conversation, you know we've reached the freakout stage.  Rogue AI agents are hacking into competitors.  Former Big Tech employees are posting Skynet-style warnings on social media.