How a Planned Steel Mill in Iowa Reveals Trump's Midterm Strategy  —  As President Trump travels the country, he is expected to focus on his economic accomplishments at a time when Americans have expressed deep frustration with his policies.  —  President Trump, staring down a rough midterm season …

Trump personally helped orchestrate taxpayer-funded ads promoting himself and his policies, source says  —  President Donald Trump has personally driven the controversial, taxpayer-funded video ads promoting himself and his administration's policies, including helping select the imagery and videos used …

Rubio says foreign actor was ‘clearly’ behind suspected RAF Fairford plot  —  US secretary of state, who offered no evidence for claims, also says many people ‘disturbed’ that five suspects released on bail  —  A counter-terrorism operation near RAF Fairford in the UK was mired in confusion …

The Beclowning of Scott Bessent  —  One iron law of current politics is that nobody who associates themselves with Donald Trump emerges with a shred of credibility.  For some, that's not a big loss — it's not as if anyone respected Pete Hegseth even before he decided that the key …

DOJ probe into Trump foes sees another prominent departure  —  Kurt Olsen, who previously worked as Trump's election security czar, left the so-called “grand conspiracy” investigation Monday.  —  SummaryLoading...  Another prominent Trump loyalist working on a wide-ranging conspiracy investigation …

A Pentagon Influencer Called Liberal Women a ‘Pestilence’ Who Will End Western Civilization  —  Kurt Schlichter was part of a task force rooting out so-called woke ideologies at the military's war colleges.  He has called to bar childless adults from voting.

Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees  —  In an internal memo, the F.B.I. said it believed the hackers may have stolen sensitive information on all of its employees.  —  The theft by a criminal hacking group of reams of sensitive personal data involving potentially tens …

NFL to DHS: Take down video featuring Eagles star Brian Dawkins  —  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is refusing a request from the NFL and former Philadelphia Eagles player Brian Dawkins to take down a video it posted using the Hall of Fame safety to promote President Trump's immigration agenda.

Top Democrats, Long Hesitant to Spend Money in Texas, Start to Back Talarico  —  The main super PAC for Senate Democrats will begin to run digital ads in the state's Senate race, in a sign of the party's growing confidence.  —  Top national Democrats are preparing to make an initial investment …

GOP senator blocks bill to stop Trump from demolishing Kennedy Center  —  The bipartisan effort to ban the demolition of presidential memorials was thwarted in the Senate by an objection from Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).  —  Loading...  A bipartisan effort to ban the demolition of presidential memorials …

Top FBI official Andrew Bailey, who was once widely seen as Patel successor, resigns  —  Andrew Bailey, FBI co-deputy director who was once widely viewed as a potential successor to FBI Director Kash Patel, is resigning, he announced Monday.  —  His resignation takes effect Oct. 2, multiple sources said.

ICE agent who shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston identified  —  The federal government has withheld his identification, even as major state and local law enforcement agencies across the country typically identify officers involved in shootings on the job soon after the incident.

U.S. Department of Education Formally Rescinds the Biden Administration's Illegal Title IX Rewrite, Reinstating the 2020 Regulation  —  Today, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) formally rescinded the Biden Administration's illegal regulation implementing Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX).

OpenAI Scraps Release of New AI Model Over Safety Concerns  —  Model dubbed GPT-6.1 Astra was due to make its debut inside ChatGPT and Codex in October  —  OpenAI says it is scrapping the release of its next-generation AI model over safety concerns that researchers raised during internal testing …

Inside Thune and Barrasso's midterm campaigning plans  —  Senate Majority Leader John Thune and GOP Whip John Barrasso are preparing to hit the campaign trail in October.  Thune is planning to swing through a number of states starting with North Carolina this week, he told POLITICO.

Will Democrats offer Americans a New New Deal?  —  Ahead of PN's 5th anniversary next week, we're offering paid subscriptions at the special yearly rate of $40 (or about 16¢ per edition).  This newsletter is only possible thanks to the support of paid subscribers.

“A Massive Power Grab”: White House Proposal Threatens Funding That Helps Disabled Americans Vote  —  A new rule from the Office of Management and Budget would prohibit anyone from using federal grant money for voter registration drives.  It's part of the Trump administration's broader efforts to restrict voting access.

Unsurprisingly, Meta's new Muse AI agent blatantly ignores users permissions  —  In a completely unsurprising turn of events, Meta's Muse AI is stealing Apple Messages, past and present, and uploading the contents to its cloud, even if explicitly told not to.

Republicans scheme to block Trump's funding cancellations  —  Lawmakers are fuming over President Donald Trump's latest challenge to Congress' funding power and already plotting to stop him in the future — a move that would require Republicans to buck their own party's standard-bearer.

Pope rejects AI “fake news” claims after Trump calls fears a “hoax”  —  Pope Leo XIV told reporters that warnings from AI researchers should be “taken seriously” and are not “fake news.” … - As the first American pope, Leo is also positioned to counter President Trump …

Trump to host summit with top AI leaders in Washington  —  The president has been skeptical of guardrails on artificial intelligence, wanting to stay ahead of China.  He'll also launch an AI-powered website, America.gov, on Tuesday. … WASHINGTON — As he brushes aside artificial intelligence …

Capitol agenda: Dems face tricky votes before midterm sprint  —  Senate Democrats may be feeling pretty positive going into their final campaign sprint, but first they must deal with a handful of political headaches on the Hill.  Democrats at their weekly caucus lunch Tuesday will talk strategy …

Senate Resoundingly Approves Sweeping College Sports Measure  —  The outlook for the legislation, which seeks to stabilize the unsettled collegiate sports landscape, is uncertain in the House.  It was one of the last congressional actions before the midterms.

Bizarro White House Vid Has QAnon Buzzing  —  While Republicans cringed at the champagne-soaked spectacle, conspiracy theorists scoured it for a message.  —  TRUMP ADVISER DAN SCAVINO got in a heap of trouble on Saturday for posting a video about how much partying he's doing as White House deputy chief of staff.