The most-watched race in this round of primaries, between progressive former public health official Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Rep. Haley Stevens in the Democratic primary for a Michigan Senate seat, is too close to call as of 6:30 a.m., according to The New York Times.

Other key races

Republican voters for Michigan governor went with President Trump’s endorsed candidate, Rep. John James, over businessman Perry Johnson, who had lent his campaign more than $30 million.

In Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, progressive Sunrise Movement co-founder William Lawrence has won the Democratic primary, as two more-moderate Democrats split the vote, and will face GOP Rep. Tom Barrett.

Missouri Rep. Wesley Bell has won his Democratic primary rematch against progressive former Rep. Cori Bush in the 1st Congressional District.

Virginia Democrats have chosen establishment nominees for two House seats they hope to flip in November. Shannon Taylor, the elected top prosecutor in a suburban Richmond county, will take on longtime Republican incumbent Rob Wittman in the 1st Congressional District. The coastal 2nd Congressional District, a swing district with a heavy military presence, will see a rematch between two veterans — former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria and GOP Rep. Jen Kiggans, who ousted her in 2022.

Here are articles on races in Kansas, from NPR in Kansas City.

Here is more on key races and issues in Missouri, from KOMU-TV in Columbia, Mo.

Here are results from Washington state, from The Seattle Times.

Here are the complete results from all five states, from AP.

Note to readers
I’m going to take the rest of this week and next week off. I’ll be back on Monday, Aug. 17.

Also in the news

Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru arrest hundreds in major crackdown on environmental crimes in Amazon Basin

White House AI vetting policy would exempt lower-cost ‘open’ models

Inside the Oval Office showdown between Trump, Jeanine Pirro

Trump arch could disrupt historical significance of many of Washington’s sites, report says

Trump orders changes to new White House helipad after weeks of around-the-clock work

Senate Judiciary Committee advances Todd Blanche nomination for attorney general on 12-10 party-line vote

Senate Finance Committee Democrats release report ‘Looking the other way: How Wall Street banks enabled Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking’

House Ethics Committee launches investigation of Ohio GOP Rep. Max Miller

Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate funding for clean energy projects

Judge 'reluctantly' grants DOJ motion to dismiss final prosecution in Jan. 6 attack, against 8 members of Oath Keepers

Some Haiti immigrants in Ohio told to report to ICE, are given ankle monitors

Missouri top election official rejects citizens’ petition for statewide referendum on new congressional districts backed by Trump

Trump’s National Guard deployment in D.C. to cost additional $1.4 billion from October 1 to the end of his term

Heather Cox Richardson on Capital One closure of Trump bank accounts in 2021 ‘for anti-money laundering reasons,’ more

Medicaid work rule is leaving homeless people in the cold

KFF: How pediatricians and health departments are sidestepping Trump CDC on vaccine guidance

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Raskin, a lawyer who taught constitutional law for more than 25 years and now is the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, on Monday discussed the problems with the Blanche documents on MSNOW, starting at minute 8:45 in this video.

(Here are the two documents from Blanche. One says Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” is “rescinded” and “is not operative.” The other document narrows the tax immunity deal shielding Trump, his family and businesses from audits. The deal now applies only to Trump, two of his sons and the Trump organization, and it is limited to past tax returns.)

In the video, Raskin asks citizens contact their Republican representatives.

“If just six patriotic House Republicans join with all House Democrats who have already signed my discharge petition, we can pass the NO CARTE BLANCHE Act, which would permanently end taxpayer-funded slush funds for political cronies, block future Judgment Fund abuses, and eliminate the Trump family’s extraordinary and unconscionable immunity deal,” he says in a Judiciary Committee press release.

The loopholes

The two documents Blanche issued that narrow or dissolve aspects of the deal to resolve Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS “are a political solution to a political problem, rather than a legally binding document,” says The New York Times.

“This case was flagrantly illegal from the start and they’re clearly trying to find a political way out of it that gets the attorney general confirmed without giving up their legal rights to actually enforce this illegal settlement,” says Matthew Platkin, a Democratic former New Jersey attorney general. He now is in private practice, representing people suing over the fund.

Two Senate holdouts on Blanche’s nomination, GOP Sens. Thom Tillis, N.C., and John Cornyn, Texas, said in a statement on Monday that the documents assuaged their concerns, ending an intraparty stalemate that had stalled Blanche’s confirmation process.

But the original terms of the documents creating the fund said it “may be modified only with the written agreement of the parties” — a reference to Trump, his sons Eric and Donald Trump Jr., the Trump Organization and specific government agencies.

And Blanche’s order is a government document signed only by him. “So absent any new executed agreement that they enter into, all of this is meaningless as a matter of law,” Platkin says.

Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., says in a statement that the new documents don’t prevent the Trump administration “from bringing the slush fund back from the dead next week.” And he notes that it “still leaves vague who and what is covered” by the tax provisions.

Tillis acknowledged on Monday the potential limitations of the written assurances. “Now, could the president completely reverse this and create a new fund? He could, and then he can answer to the American people.”

Also in the news

Denmark extends military conscription to include women and increases standard service time, in response to Russia, Trump

Why the U.S. stepped in after decades to help Japan prop up its yen

In Japan, the value of the yen has made old houses cheap, and some Americans are buying Japanese folk houses to rebuild here

Supreme Court won’t halt $656 million judgment against PLO and Palestinian Authority

Army Reserve lawyer’s insights into the closed-door hearings deciding the fate of trans troops

Education Department asks universities to commit to changes seen by many educators as an improvement over proposal last fall

Ethics panel recommends that House censure North Carolina GOP Rep. Chuck Edwards over conduct with 2 aides

Key races in Tuesday primaries in Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Virginia, Washington state

Twenty-five states sue Trump administration over the latest global tariffs

More than 20 states sue to block Trump administration from sharing personal data of those on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program

Judge blocks New York ban on face coverings for ICE agents

WSJ: ICE has deployed digital surveillance program to scour social media for threats, paying millions to private contractor

Legal analyst Jesse Wegman: Supreme Court justices deserve increased protection, but what about the rest of us?

MAGA media machine is fracturing, with right-wing influencers embroiled in feuds and creating a problem for GOP in midterms

Former ’60 Minutes’ correspondents Pelley, Alfonsi are going from newsroom to classroom

FAA certifies Boeing 737 MAX 7 after more stringent certification process in wake of 2 fatal MAX 8 crashes

Rising seas are inundating U.S. coastal wetlands, putting some on track to become open water while others are able to ‘migrate’

Transgender federal employees sue government over health care cuts

KFF: AI being used to boost Medicaid enrollment, but not without concerns

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Also in the news

U.S. general tells Pentagon he lacks sufficient forces to protect Israel

Trump backtracks on promise to let Ukraine build Patriot missiles

Trump fixation on Arctic ships led to billions in no-bid contracts

Faster pace in immigration courts is driving up deportation orders

Trump administration is planning to upend Head Start by deregulating it

Hackers targeted municipal water systems in 7 states last week, FBI says

Interior secretary doubles down on claims vandals damaged reflecting pool, after DOJ moves to dismiss charges against Olympian

Trump Media’s new paid data service goes live, giving clients faster access to Trump’s Truth Social posts

Todd Blanche posts written documents formally rescinding ‘anti-weaponization fund’ and limiting Trump IRS protections

Senate leaders reach spending deal to avoid government shutdown before midterms; it would temporarily block controversial grant policy

Amid talk of switching parties, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman says ‘never’

Ohio GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno says former son-in-law Rep. Max Miller shouldn't be serving in House

California Democratic Party endorses November ballot measure to tax billionaires’ wealth

Maine moving to strengthen mobile home park oversight amid purchases by out-of-state investors

Heather Cox Richardson: Week 10 in 250 to 250 videos to honor the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence

Inside the 'risky, debt-fueled scramble' of 81-year-old billionaire Larry Ellison to transform his data empire into an AI juggernaut

Buying a condo with a mortgage may become more complicated

Millions of people tap to pay every day; here is what scammers hope you'll miss

KFF: Trump administration credits its fraud controls for disappearance of millions of people from Obamacare rolls, not rise in premiums

KFF: People with disabilities are fearing service cuts as Trump DOJ questions legal protections

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

— “Fifty years of childhood vaccination has been one of the best investments in human history,” Fix the News says. From 1974 to 2024, the World Health Organization’s Expanded Program on Immunization averted 154 million deaths globally from 14 diseases. The total program cost was $937 billion, which was offset by $15 trillion in averted productivity losses, researchers report in The Lancet Global Health.

— Solar power is on track to overtake coal as the leading generator of global electricity by 2032, says BloombergNEF.

“Solar is the cheapest source of power in many countries, and is proving the easiest and fastest to deploy,” says Jenny Chase, BNEF’s clean power specialist. “Its role in the global energy mix will be substantial, ushering in a new age where power is cheap whenever the sun shines.”

— The nonprofit Undue Medical Debt (formerly RIP Medical Debt), which buys medical debts for pennies on the dollar and cancels them, now has erased more than $40 billion in medical debt nationwide, including $6.5 billion in North Carolina, reports Carolina Public Press.

Also in the news

Takeaways from AP report on child soldiers trained by Colombian mercenaries in Sudan

Saudi Arabia invites 50 countries to join military coalition to protect shipping in Red Sea

Reuters: As Trump says deal reached for Hamas to disarm in Gaza, Hamas official calls it a ‘draft’ and Israel support is uncertain

U.S. government map of Africa mislabels every country during State Department presentation at AIDS 2026 conference in Rio

New round of tariff carve-outs raises familiar questions about who should receive the exceptions — and why

Long-dormant court holds its first public hearing as U.S. seeks to deport Afghan woman

Thousands of immigrant children are on the verge of losing legal representation, could be forced to face a judge alone

Witness to fatal ICE shooting in Houston is released from immigration detention after court order

Trump floats pulling Todd Blanche nomination for attorney general to avoid conceding to GOP demands

Trump-branded commemorative passports to become available across the U.S. in August

After claiming ‘bias’ at Smithsonian, Trump administration stages its own exhibition at the nearby Art Museum of the Americas

WSJ analysis: Trump fundraising operation has raised more than $800 million for his projects in second term

Senate panel approves bipartisan bill to block Trump effort to gut Education Department

Senate Finance Committee approves bipartisan tax modernization bill on 26-1 vote

Senate health panel approves CDC nominee Erica Schwartz and controversial HHS pick Sean Kaufman

Anthropic AI models broke free and independently hacked 3 organizations during testing

Amid calls in D.C. to boycott DoorDash, it says supporting home rule and backing congressional oversight bill are ‘not mutually exclusive’

Democrat Mandela Barnes drops out of primary race for Wisconsin governor

Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina last year became the 575th tribe to get federal recognition as a sovereign nation; now it seeks better health care

Heather Cox Richardson on the 60th anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid — and the current funding cuts

KFF: Some of the former public health officials who are running for top state offices across the country

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

One source I appreciate is Consumers Checkbook, a nonprofit that provides quality and price ratings of service and healthcare professionals in the Boston, Chicago, Delaware Valley, Puget Sound, San Francisco, Twin Cities, and D.C. areas.

Consumers Checkbook also provides general articles on scams, hidden fees, travel difficulties, debt collection and more.

I want to share with you an email I received from Consumers Checkbook yesterday, about the latest “phishing” scams.

These scams, where cybercriminals impersonate banks, government agencies, delivery services and other organizations, are the top cyber threat faced by most Americans, Consumer Checkbook says.

And they’re increasingly sophisticated.

So here is Consumer Checkbook’s latest update of what we all need to know.

Also in the news

U.S. says it struck dozens of Islamic Revolutionary Guard targets in Iran as war widens with attack on Egypt port

Trump administration is repurposing federal land to host data centers and power plants needed to run them

Trump announces $22.5 billion renovation of Washington Dulles International Airport

Trump and Justice Department ask Supreme Court to toss $83 million defamation verdict in E. Jean Carroll case

Senate committee delays Todd Blanche nomination vote as Cornyn, Tillis hold out over Trump IRS deal

With Blanche nomination at stake, payouts to Trump allies are continuing

Anthony Fauci repeatedly invokes Fifth Amendment in Senate hearing about his handling of COVID pandemic

Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, but 3 officials vote for an increase

Humana to exit more Medicare Advantage plans in 2027 in the face of rising costs

American Cancer Society is working to increase awareness that fallopian tube removal can help prevent most ovarian cancers

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“In letting the president remove the leaders of government agencies for no reason and in the face of statutes that required him to have a good one, the court’s six Republican appointees embraced a turbocharged vision of the presidency, one with vast powers and few checks,” the longtime New York Times reporter on the court writes.

The Trump v. Slaughter ruling last month “was an echo of the 2024 majority opinion in Trump v. United States, which granted President Trump, then running for a second term, substantial immunity from prosecution,” Liptak says.

Both opinions were written by Chief Justice John Roberts, and he was joined by all the Republican appointees and none of the Democratic appointees.

As in the Slaughter decision, Roberts “called for a vigorous and energetic president whose core responsibilities cannot be constrained by Congress or the courts,” Liptak says.

Both decisions reflect the unitary executive theory, which says the president should have complete control of the executive branch, he says.

“It follows, proponents of the theory say, that Congress is powerless to shield the leaders of independent agencies from being removed by the president,” he says.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote in her dissent in the Slaughter case that “dozens of independent commissions are now likely to become purely executive agencies, shifting tremendous power over broad swaths of American life into the president’s hands.”

Also in the news

Canadian travel to U.S. fell 25 percent in 2025 after trade and '51st state' tensions, costing U.S. tourism $2.3 billion

Trump administration bans foreign-made robots and power gear used in solar projects, in latest concern about security threats from China

Ukraine strike on Iranian ship could bring 2 wars closer

U.S. thwarts Iran missile attack and launches strikes with Saudi Arabia against militias in Iraq

Loss of TPS work authorization sows confusion for thousands of Haitian immigrants and their U.S. employers

ICE arresting people with expired U.S. visas at airports, including those awaiting visa extensions and spouses of citizens

Senate confirms Jay Clayton to be director of national intelligence, on party-line 51-47 vote

ProPublica: Federal judges chastise Trump's Justice Department for ‘unlawful,' ‘unethical,' ‘unseemly’ conduct

Audio tapes appear to show Joe Biden discussing sensitive information with memoir ghostwriter

Minnesota first-in-the-nation law banning prediction markets is halted in federal court

South Dakota GOP Gov. Larry Rhoden fends off challenger in primary runoff

In first of 2 days of tributes, Lindsey Graham is remembered as a tireless Washington mainstay

CBS’ ‘60 minutes’ announces new correspondents for upcoming 59th season

KFF: Trump administration has shut down most of an agency devoted to the safety of American healthcare

Trump administration to end Medicare drug plan subsidy

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

He knows something about that, having won 64 of the 65 cases he worked on in response to President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results and consequently living as a named target for retribution in Trump’s second term.

Elias has removed the paywall for this article on what he and other lawyers are doing and what we citizens can do in the run up to November.

Here are some highlights:

“The GOP is not acting like a party trying to persuade voters to support its candidates — because it isn’t. Instead, the Republican Party’s entire strategy boils down to this:

— Change the rules and misuse government resources to make it harder for Democratic voters to cast ballots.

— Control and manipulate voter registration databases to disqualify enough Democrats from voting.

— If all else fails, make false claims of fraud as an excuse to subvert the results.

“There are no heroes in the GOP. No one is going to stop them but us.

“That is not a reason for despair — it is a reason to act.”

What citizens can do:

“Check your registration status. Vote early if you can, and make a plan for how, when and where you’ll cast your ballot.

“If you can, volunteer as a poll worker or poll watcher. And if you see something that looks like intimidation, an illegal purge, or a refusal to certify, report it immediately to a voter protection hotline or your state’s election officials.

“The fight ahead will be hard, and none of this guarantees the outcome we desire.

“But the last decade shows that when lawyers litigate aggressively, and citizens stay engaged and informed, we can protect voting rights and the ballot box. The GOP is counting on exhaustion and resignation to do what persuasion cannot. We cannot give them either one.”

Also in the news

UNESCO adds Amazonia theaters in Brazil to World Heritage List

It’s the 75th anniversary of the Refugee Convention (treaty) to help displaced people

UN human rights chief says Israel must end its occupation and house demolitions in Lebanon

Netanyahu to meet with Trump at White House Tuesday for first time since Iran war began

DHS removes interview requirement for asylum seekers, expediting deportations

Before he was picked to lead the Navy, Adm. Daryl Caudle found ways to signal his support for Hegseth’s anti-diversity goals

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow order targeting mail-in voting before midterms

Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul releases Anthony Fauci pandemic-era diary notes ahead of Wednesday hearing

Clinton Foundation launches institute to help state governments find nonpartisan solutions

What to expect in South Dakota GOP primary runoff for governor on Tuesday

See NYC sites that existed at America’s founding, including an elm tree that ‘has, in its body, the breaths of the centuries of people who’ve visited Washington Square’

Heather Cox Richardson on Trump administration attempt to rewrite U.S. history

Robert Reich: ‘I’m absolutely convinced we will get through these dark times, stronger than we were before.’

KFF: Cyclospora increases concerns about other foodborne outbreaks after Trump administration stopped tracking it and other pathogens

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

As British singer-songwriter Maisie Peters would say, “This is on you.”

I’m guessing no one’s mind was changed about the wisdom of the White House Correspondents Association dinner after last Friday. Numerous journalists have long questioned the advisability of the event in its current form. A group of more than 500 journalists had written an open letter to the WHCA urging the group to, in essence, speak truth to power:

We believe the White House Correspondents Association should take stronger action by issuing — from the podium — a forceful defense of freedom of the press and condemnation of those who threaten that freedom, followed by a standing toast to the First Amendment and a pledge to continue upholding such a critical cornerstone of our democracy. Speak forcefully, in front of the man who seeks to undermine our country’s long tradition of an independent, strong, and free press.

Whether journalists spoke truth to power Friday evening was in the eyes and ears of the beholder. But indisputably Trump endured more truth — much of it not to his liking — than he likely encounters day to day in the White House.

Several civics lessons were administered during the evening on the meaning and importance of the First Amendment and freedom of the press — including one by AI-animated founders of the country and authors of the Bill of Rights.

Weijia Jiang, the outgoing president of the WHCA, offered this:

President Trump, I’ve covered you for a long time, and so have many reporters in this room. When we ask questions, you push back, you give us answers, and we push back. You have always been a deal guy. Well, that’s the deal, and the First Amendment is a done deal, and that’s what we toast tonight — the freedoms that brought us back together, even after they were threatened. So let’s raise a glass to what makes ours a beautiful country.

Jiang also shared her own journey to that moment: part of an immigrant family, growing up as the only Chinese residents in a West Virginia town of 5,500:

America the beautiful was never only about her landscapes or landmarks. It has always been about the promise that no matter where you come from, you get a shot at chasing your dreams.

If the virtues of free speech and of immigration weren’t enough, Trump had to endure an awards ceremony highlighting journalism that did little to portray him or his administration in a positive light.

As Brian Stelter described:

One of the most intriguing parts of the evening involved the correspondents’ association’s annual journalism awards presentation. Trump sat through multiple prizes, including one for “courage and accountability” in reporting that went to a team of Wall Street Journal reporters for their investigative work on a lewd birthday letter to Jeffrey Epstein bearing Trump’s name.

“Trump quickly filed a $20 billion lawsuit against the Journal, revealing reporter Khadeeja Safdar’s home address,” CNN’s Wolf Blitzer said while presenting the award.

Trump laughed and threw up his hands in an “aw shucks”-like gesture.

“Her family had to be relocated,” Blitzer continued. “The Journal was kicked off of Air Force One, but the reporters continued to file revelatory stories.”

Then it was Trump’s turn, speaking for about an hour, presumably entertaining his staff and his most ardent supporters. For the journalists in the room, it was an Hour of Cringe.

On her MS NOW show that ran while Trump was speaking, Jen Psaki laid out the long-established and honored template for presidential speeches at the correspondents’ dinner: a lot of self-deprecating humor, a few good-spirited pokes at some of the high-profile attendees, then a heartfelt pivot to the importance of the First Amendment and the vital role of journalists in a democracy.

Not the Trump way.

He began with brief, generic praise of the press and the First Amendment before meandering into familiar Trump territory: his planned White House ballroom, the recent U.F.C. fight on the White House lawn.

He then turned to insulting, among others, Sen. Adam Schiff, Rosie O’Donnell, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Rep. Jerry Nadler. He also mocked journalists Kaitlan Collins and Josh Dawsey, two of the evening’s honorees. Collins, of course, does not smile enough, in Trump’s view.

According to the New York Times:

Mr. Trump seemed to realize he was losing the room. After a joke he told about the gerontocracy on Capitol Hill bombed, he said: “That was actually the only thing I thought was good in this whole fricking stupid speech. It was the only good one, and that went down with not exactly great laughter.”

He threw his arms up in exasperation and people started to laugh again.

As his speech reached its conclusion, he pulled out a hat and with a theatrical flourish plopped it on his head. It said, “Trump 2028.” Some clapped. Others laughed. Most of the reporters just stared straight ahead.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s teaser for Trump’s remarks might be seen as a microcosm for the evening, when she said the speech would be “a combination of unifying yet vicious, and serious yet hilarious, all at the same time, if you can imagine that. One thing I can assure you, it will be entertaining.”

No, I cannot imagine that, Karoline. You cannot make those words go together and make any sense. Much like the dinner itself, where two incompatible views of the nation — one aspirational, one crude and demeaning — sat side-by-side for an evening.

Also in the news

UN human rights chief wins second term despite opposition from U.S., Israel, Russia

UNESCO adds France D-Day landing beaches, Greece Mount Olympus to World Heritage List

Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp among new additions to UNESCO World Heritage List

India ‘Cockroach' youth movement calls off protests, saying the government accepted all its demands after education minister resigned

Iran-backed Houthis fire missiles, drones at Saudi Arabia in response to strikes on a Yemen city

Brazil denies visas to Trump administration officials over election-interference concerns

U.S. colleges promise ‘business as usual’ on their Middle East campuses despite war

Iran says it will halt its strikes as long as U.S. bombing pause holds

Analysis: Trump seems trapped by Iran war, even as he wields world’s biggest hammer

How the Pentagon is changing the way it reports casualties in Iran war

As Trump moves to quadruple nuclear energy production, regulators seek to eliminate longstanding radiation safety practice

Trump orders signs outside Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to warn visitors about 'inaccurate information’

Inside the rush to retrofit Trump’s new Air Force One

Appeals court rules that Trump can't implement mail-in voting order

Small businesses file lawsuits against Trump’s new tariffs

Maine Democratic delegates choose Troy Jackson as new nominee to face Sen. Susan Collins

National Guard awards $292 million contract to provide long-term ‘apartment-style’ housing for troops in D.C.

Heather Cox Richardson: Week 9 of 250 to 250

Robert Reich: ‘Charitable giving' allows the super-wealthy to effectively substitute their priorities for public priorities

Paramount delays closing Warner buyout while judge considers challenge from 12 states

The $600 million world of 15,000 perks enjoyed by executives, directors of America’s 1,500 biggest public companies

The dubious rags to riches promise of Trump accounts for children

Good news for nervous fliers: More planes get emergency auto-land technology

Four-time world champion adaptive surfer Llywelyn Williams: 'Disability for me has elevated my life’

The 7 states that are hot spots for measles in 2026

KFF: Trump administration is demanding that hospitals share emergency room records

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

— “The regrowth of forest in the Northeast U.S., particularly New England, is the greatest forest recovery in the history of the world,” Bill Moomaw, a Tufts University emeritus professor and distinguished visiting scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, tells Inside Climate News.

Massachusetts probably was more than 90 percent wooded when Europeans arrived, but 80 to 90 percent of the forest was removed. Now the state is 60 percent wooded. Moomaw credits “benign neglect”: when farmers abandoned rocky New England fields for the fertile Ohio territories after 1850, trees reclaimed the land.

“Northeast temperature rise with global warming is significantly less because we are so heavily forested,” Moomaw says. “Boston, for example, is probably three or four degrees cooler than it has any right to be.”

— Even after last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill rescinded or restricted the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean-energy policies, the U.S. power sector still is on track for 74 percent of the new clean capacity and 67 percent of the emissions cuts the IRA would have delivered through 2035, says a new MIT and Columbia University analysis.

— A landmark international clinical trial has identified the optimal antibiotics for staph blood infection, a breakthrough that’s expected to reshape treatment for the life-threatening condition, reports University College London.

Also in the news

India youth-led movement angry over education system and lack of jobs is posing rare challenge to government

UNESCO adds West Bank site and Lebanese castles to its World Heritage List despite Israel objections

What an AP reporter learned covering the impact of USAID cuts on aid workers-turned-sex workers in Nepal

How Haitians, Hondurans, Salvadorans are coping with end of Temporary Protected Status

Trump imposing new tariffs on countries accounting for 99 percent of U.S. imports, as his current levies expire Friday

Saudi Arabia nuclear deal in doubt after Trump adds new condition: It must establish diplomatic relations with Israel

House again passes resolution seeking to halt military action in Iran as the conflict escalates, Senate narrowly rejects similar resolution

Education Department scraps decades-old rules that allowed statistical disparities to be used as proof of racial discrimination

Trump administration drops demands for list of Jewish employees at University of Pennsylvania

Government withdraws subpoenas of NYTimes reporters after admitting legal errors

Trump expands voluntary pledge to protect consumers from high utility bills from AI data centers

Democratic candidates seizing on AI data center backlash that’s dividing rural Republicans in places like Texas

Comparison of Trump’s revenue from his businesses in 2017 and 2025

More than 24 states sue Trump administration for requiring them to comply with election, immigration conditions to get disaster funding

Nearly 150,000 mail ballots were rejected in California primary, possibly because of Postal Service changes

Black members of Oklahoma Native American tribe file federal lawsuit to gain tribal citizenship rights

Supreme Court isn’t a rubber stamp for Trump, Justice Kagan says

Heather Cox Richardson on taxes, war and what the government should do for its people

Robert Reich: At Friday press corps dinner, NYTimes reporter Tyler Pager, subpoenaed over Qatar jet, will receive award for most objective reporting

Could AI do an office job?

FDA advisory panel narrowly backs unapproved peptide drugs favored by RFK Jr. and wellness influencers

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

The so-called “nerd prom” every year brings together in glittering, cattle-call fashion the famous and decidedly less so to celebrate the 1st amendment, this year with the amendment’s current chief antagonist, Donald Trump.

What will Trump say tomorrow night to a (smaller) roomful of journalists whom he has branded at various times “enemies of the people” — and how will the WHCA respond?

What are the prediction markets saying? (And who is on White House teleprompter duty?)

Before the start of April’s event, which was derailed by a gunman attempting to charge the venue, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt impishly addressed speculation over Trump’s pending remarks by saying there would be “shots fired” (yikes).

“It will be funny. It will be entertaining. There will be some shots fired tonight in the room,” Leavitt told Fox News before heading into the event.

Speaking from the White House hours after the shooting incident and resulting postponement of the dinner, Trump said: “I was all set to really rip it. And I said to my people, ‘This would be the most inappropriate speech ever made if I said so.’ I have to save it. I don’t know if I could ever be as rough as I was going to be tonight. I think I’m going to be probably very nice.”

Of course, “nice” is one option.

Trump also could do a reading of the subpoenas issued July 10 to several New York Times reporters and their families for reporting on the security shortcomings of the new Air Force One. Or the search warrant executed at the home of Washington Post reporter Sarah Natanson.

Hundreds of journalists in advance of the originally planned dinner wrote to urge the WHCA to condemn Trump’s routine disparagement of the press and individual reporters. They reiterated that statement this week.

The group wrote:

The dinner has long served as a symbol of the vital and irreplaceable role of a free press in American democracy and a celebration of the First Amendment and the journalists who uphold it. President Trump’s systematic, sustained, and unprecedented attacks on the free press (detailed below) render his presence at such an event a profound contradiction of its purpose.

The journalists called on the WHCA to speak truth to power:

We understand that some journalists plan to wear pocket handkerchiefs or lapel pins with the words of the First Amendment. And continuing in that spirit, we believe the White House Correspondents Association should take stronger action by issuing – from the podium – a forceful defense of freedom of the press and condemnation of those who threaten that freedom, followed by a standing toast to the First Amendment and a pledge to continue upholding such a critical cornerstone of our democracy. Speak forcefully, in front of the man who seeks to undermine our country’s long tradition of an independent, strong, and free press.

There is another school of thought: Why invite an enemy of the 1st amendment to a celebration of said amendment?

Margaret Sullivan, writing in April, barely resisted a verbal eye-roll over the pocket square protest. More broadly, she’s not a fan of the dinner — particularly now:

On Saturday, Donald Trump – with all his vicious antipathy toward the profession he has called the “enemy of the people” – will attend. He’ll no doubt be applauded; surely many in the crowd will stand to recognize him.

Some media companies or executives are going further, inviting blatantly anti-press officials, including the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, and the White House deputy chief of staff, Stephen Miller, to be guests at their tables, or (in the case of David Ellison, CEO of CBS News’s parent company) even holding a separate dinner to “honor” Trump. Paramount, the parent of CBS News, is said to have invited Brendan Carr to their table; he is the FCC chair who has made a mockery of what should be his independent and non-partisan role; appointed by Trump, he has come down clearly on the side of the president’s allies in consequential decisions – including those involving Paramount’s mergers with other media corporations.

The juxtaposition is bizarre.

“It’s akin to a fire department inviting arsonists to a gathering aimed at celebrating firefighting,” wrote Oliver Darcy in his media newsletter, Status.

Sullivan and Darcy were commenting on the April guest list. This Friday’s event has been moved to a smaller venue; it’s unclear which attendees will have to miss out on the sequel.

Setting aside the question of Trump’s attendance, a good number of journalists question the conflict of interest inherent in the glitzy event, with its attendant before- and after-parties, reporters and sources — and celebrities! — enjoying a night out on the town together. The New York Times hasn’t attended in years.

As Sullivan wrote:

Shouldn’t reporters maintain some critical distance? What about the “optics” of this much-publicized event (and the week of gala festivities surrounding it) that made journalists appear frivolous about holding the government accountable to the public? Given the American public’s rock-bottom trust in traditional media, hasn’t this annual, televised display worsened that problem?

The columnist Finley Peter Dunne, writing in 1902 in the voice of the fictional “Mr. Dooley,” offered that the newspaper “comforts the afflicted, afflicts the comfortable.” No one will be quoting Mr. Dooley at Friday’s dinner.

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Trump administration is pressuring undocumented immigrants to self-deport by issuing civil fines of as much as $1.8 million

House Republicans adopt $95 billion package for Iran war, farmers, voting law changes, on 216-214 vote

House passes annual defense authorization bill that includes renaming Department of Defense as Department of War, on 216-212 vote

House votes to limit stock trading by members of Congress, elevating a campaign issue, on 232-198 vote

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan recommends criminal charges against former special counsel Jack Smith

House Oversight Committee approves bill to require all tax changes, fees in D.C. to be subject to approval by Congress

Michigan Gov. Whitmer makes the ‘science of reading’ training mandatory for state's teachers

Amish Shah wins Democratic primary in battleground Arizona House race, defeating establishment pick

ICE drops plan to convert 2 Pennsylvania warehouses into detention centers; Mullin has paused purchases of new warehouses

Heather Cox Richardson: 'Fascism has always been a vehicle for frustration with a system that was failing the people. But it has never been a solution for fixing that system.’

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Donald Trump Jr. investment firm posts returns of 200 percent

Vigils planned for Saturday in more than 135 communities to demand justice for Lorenzo, Johan, all lives taken by ICE

AP: OpenAI blamed a hacking event on its AI models going rogue; here are some things to know

Stocks and the economy increasingly are relying on the AI boom

Gig workers join Walmart, Amazon employees as top recipients of SNAP and Medicaid, Government Accountability Office finds

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“If we have a free and fair election this year, Trump and his policies are going to get demolished at the polls,” Warner says in the video with Vance. “Not just from Democrats. Democrats, Independents, Republicans have said they didn’t sign up for this.”

Warner, a member of the Senate intelligence committee, had said that the president’s claims in his Thursday night speech about China meddling in the 2020 election were “completely false.”

“This guy will not win a free and fair election, so he will do anything to intervene, to corrupt our elections,” Warner had said.

In the video with Vance, Warner expresses concerns about Trump saying there’s a reason to send troops to the polls. “Even more nefarious” would be for Trump to say some voting machines aren’t valid anymore.

Warner says there are 65 to 75 civil rights groups and voting rights groups, most of which are nonpartisan, that meet every day to prepare the lawsuits and the legal process “if Trump tries to screw with the election” or not certify votes. The record in the courts so far has been amazing, he says.

He says he could use help recruiting more former members of the intelligence, military, and law enforcement communities so if Trump makes outrageous claims, they can say that’s not the case.

Vance says it’s her assessment that pro-voting forces have never been more prepared than they are this election cycle. Warner says he agrees.

Warner urges voters to reach out to family and friends — not just to those with whom we agree — and to vote in record numbers.

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France becomes first EU country to ban children’s access to social media

Ukraine gets new top commander as protests lead to war's biggest military shakeup

Reuters: Pakistan seeking $10 billion fund from U.S. after mediating Iran talks

What to know about Iran Pickaxe Mountain underground nuclear site threatened by Trump

Trump approves nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that potentially could provide it with uranium enrichment capability

Judge temporarily blocks Trump administration from stripping immigrants from El Salvador, Sudan, Ukraine of work permits

House votes 220-205 to extend government funding at current levels through Dec. 4, aiming to avoid an election year shutdown

Hegseth estimates Iran war has cost $37.5 billion as he defends funding request at hearing

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission moves to end demographic data collection after 60 years

White House admits it used keywords related to diversity, gender, vaccine hesitancy to kill billions in California research grants

Eighteen state attorneys general sue over EPA decision to weaken rules to phase out hydrofluorocarbons, powerful greenhouse gases

Appeals court upholds contempt conviction of longtime Trump aide Peter Navarro

Appeals court rejects Joe Biden bid to block release of recordings of ghostwriter interviews

New Jersey governor says 6,600 noncitizens were registered to vote after error in state's motor vehicle system

Arizona primary results: Trump ally Andy Biggs wins GOP nomination for governor,

Politico: The three top GOP candidates in Arizona were 2020 election deniers

Louisiana Democratic Rep. Cleo Fields says he won’t seek reelection after his district was redrawn to favor Republicans

Heather Cox Richardson on people who’ve lost SNAP benefits, federal withholding of Medicaid funding from California and Minnesota, more

OpenAI says its AI models went rogue, attacked a digital library

Judge approves a $1.5 billion Anthropic settlement over pirated books used to train Claude chatbot

Some startup insiders have stashed huge sums in tax-subsidized retirement accounts

Former whistleblower Wendell Potter: UnitedHealth helped write the law it now blames for rising premiums

Center for Therapeutic Genetics, a new nonprofit, seeks to create ways to treat rare diseases that can be tailored to specific mutations

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“We designed these to emphasize the agency of Americans — mostly everyday Americans — to change the country. Each falls into a category that defines what it means to be an American, including community, democracy, innovation, mobility, civil rights, education, conservation, and creativity,” she says.

About a dozen videos come out each week. Week eight includes “Great Crash of 1929 Narrated by Paul Krugman”; “Barney Ford [a Black entrepreneur in Colorado who fought for the 15th Amendment] Narrated by Representative Joe Neguse”; “Advent of Bebop, Narrated by Rick Perlstein”; and “Presidential Election of 1980, Narrated by Ben Rhodes.”

You can follow the videos at a variety of sites that Richardson lists here.

Also in the news

Reuters: Nicaragua President Daniel Ortega says the country won’t hold any more elections; he and his wife control 'virtually every aspect’ of government

Israel building earthen barrier separating the more than 50 percent of Gaza Strip it controls from rest of the territory

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis say they'll impose naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening potential new front against U.S. in Iran war

U.S., Iran dig in over Strait of Hormuz, showing the limits of intensifying airstrikes

Iran official meets with mediators in Pakistan as Iran, U.S. launch attacks for 10th day

New State Department report claims Cuba influenced “George Floyd riots to the rise of Antifa,” accuses Democratic Socialists of America of Cuba ties

Trump imposes 50 percent tariffs on most Canada goods, saying it's discriminated against U.S. autos, alcohol, dairy products

Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s human resources office, has shrunk its workforce by a third since Trump return to office

Trump lashes out at National Academies of Sciences over its climate guide for judges

Trump officials sought phone records of NYTimes journalists and their relatives in effort to unmask sources

White House says Trump will use old Air Force One for about a month as Qatar-gifted jet gets ‘upgrades’

WSJ: Frank Bisignano, head of IRS and Social Security Administration, allegedly spied on fellow executives while co-COO of JPMorgan

Judge tosses Trump administration suit over Minnesota ‘sanctuary city’ policies

Darline Graham says she'll run for full term to replace her late brother Lindsay Graham in Senate

Heather Cox Richardson on deaths of three more service members in Iran war, lack of information from Pentagon, more

Margaret Sullivan: 'A 'D' and a bunch of 'B's — my report card for the media covering Trump's awful speech’

Judge freezes Paramount-Warner Bros. merger for now

As Google incorporates more AI into search, people are spending more time on Google, and some website operators are crying foul

FDA remains focused on lettuce supplier Taylor Farms as source of parasite, despite faulty test result

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Agency officials met earlier this month with the Essential Worker Immigration Coalition, which represents the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and major trade associations that depend on immigrant labor, the Post says.

Industries including agriculture, manufacturing, construction, health care and elder care say they’re suffering from shortages in jobs that are critical to the economy.

“It’s important to note that Mullin comes from the business community,” says Jennie Murray, president and CEO of the National Immigration Forum, which represents Fortune 500 companies on Capitol Hill. “Under his leadership the agency does seem much more open to working with businesses and industry to focus on how their enforcement priorities and worksite compliance efforts can be better aligned [and] not negatively impact American businesses and the economy.”

In recent weeks, DHS has sought to appease business groups even as it’s dramatically ramped up arrests, the Post says.

The agency agreed to partially walk back a plan to force green-card applicants to return to their countries of origin, which tech leaders said would severely impact their workforce. And it has agreed to open a guest-worker visa program to the dairy industry. Both actions came after intense lobbying by industry groups, the Post says.

This month, the Trump administration also extended the timeline to July 24 for canceling work permits for immigrants from Haiti who are losing long-standing humanitarian protections after a Supreme Court ruling.

President Trump “hasn’t been immune to business backlash since immigration arrests exploded in 2025,” says the Post.

A year ago, after operations targeting worksites, the Trump administration announced that farms, restaurants and hotels would be spared further raids, and that policy appears to still be in place, the Post says.

But in construction, raids on sites in South Texas have surged since Mullin replaced Noem, builders say.

On Friday, Mullin met with reporters about Trump’s campaign to force states to purge alleged noncitizens from their voting rolls before this fall’s midterm elections. He continued to walk a fine line between reassuring a skeptical public and satisfying Trump’s desire for maximum impact, the Post says.

While “I turn down the temperature with you guys,” Mullin told the reporters, “we’re turning up the heat on the streets.”

Also in the news

The challenges Andy Burnham will face as Britain’s new prime minister

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U.S. oil firms sign deals with Iraq to develop alternate shipping routes

NYTimes: Not clear Trump’s election speech on Thursday resonated beyond far right of GOP

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WPost: After nearly 6 years of promises to reveal proof of election tampering in 2020, Trump stops short again

Politico: Inside the White House debate over Trump’s election speech, and Bill Pulte's ‘retreat’

Factcheck.org on Trump’s election speech

The only Democratic FCC commissioner says Trump call to revoke licenses of ABC, NBC is unconstitutional

Justice Department activating untested court for ‘alien terrorist’ deportations

Federal judge rules Trump administration can’t use obscure clause on agency priorities to make huge funding cuts

Trump administration plans to auction off sections of water around American Samoa in push for deep-sea mining

Paying for early access to Trump’s Truth Social could raise big money, major ethical issues

Federal appeals court rules New Jersey assault weapons ban is unconstitutional

The ‘dire’ conditions at the immigrant detention center at Fort Bliss in Texas

AI chatbots are at risk of spreading government restrictions on online speech, a new study finds

As defaults on student loans surge, millions of people are trying to get their lives back on track

KFF: Insurers hedge on implementing Trump-backed pledge to reduce barriers to doctor-recommended care

FDA now says Taylor Farms cyclospora finding was a false positive

FDA approves pill that can lower ‘bad’ LDL cholesterol, replacing a shot

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Good news on respiratory health, protection of the Amazon, honeybees

Fix the News has responded to a reader survey by offering its publication in audio.

It also will be creating a searchable archive. The newsletter is staying the same.

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Rubio convenes leaders from 60 countries on Trump administration’s latest effort to stop what it calls ‘left wing' political terrorism

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Trump administration reviving rule that could deny green cards to immigrants who use public benefits

Detainees at ICE facility in Texas were beaten and abused, says report by Human Rights Watch and ACLU

AP: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, according to family, records

Todd Blanche meets with several Epstein survivors after Sen. Tillis makes it a condition for his confirmation vote

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David Cummins, Trump pick to lead TSA, calls private airport screening program ‘pro-worker,’ vows to help workers

Budget resolution facing dicey House vote after committee approval

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says Trump’s Consumer Financial Protection Bureau overhaul has cost Americans $26.5 billion

Trump’s teleprompter operator is on unpaid leave for alleged prediction market bets on Trump speeches

ProPublica: The Wild West of private schools that receive taxpayer funds

Heather Cox Richardson on Trump nominees Jay Clayton and Todd Blanche, Trump coin, more

Ghost gun company ordered to pay $100 million in death of Kentucky teen

CDC, FDA link Taco Bell lettuce supplier to cyclosporiasis outbreak in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

That’s the starting point, the fundamental question all journalists are trying to answer when they sit down to write. And how they answer that question tonight has never been more consequential.

Donald Trump has announced plans for a 9 p.m. speech that is widely expected to amplify his call for restrictions on voting in this November’s election. In support of that goal, he reportedly will unveil “new intelligence” exposing foreign interference in the 2020 election — which he continues to claim he won, all facts to the contrary.

First things first: Which networks will air the speech live? They’re not obligated to do so, and they have rejected presidential requests in the past when they deemed the topic too political. I think we can safely assume Fox News will, and perhaps the newly supine CBS News will as well.

For the other networks, this is an integrity check. Because the story Trump will tell is not the real story, given how fantastical it’s likely to be. The real story is the speech’s role in Trump’s strategy to bend to his will the outcome of November’s election.

Many journalists are already telling that story:

• Tom Jones (Poynter): Should networks air Trump’s national address live?

• Victor Nava (New York Post): AOC argues networks have ‘ethical obligation’ to not air Trump’s upcoming speech about elections

• Parker Molloy (The Present Age): The Predicate

• John Knefel (Media Matters): The plot to subvert the midterms is getting stranger and more dangerous

• Margaret Sullivan (American Crisis): What we need right now is a big, juicy ‘truth sandwich’

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Hegseth announces new policy to screen troops for low testosterone

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White House lobbies skeptical Republicans on $95 billion reconciliation package to fund Iran war, farm aid, voter ID measures

More than half of House Democrats vote to cut aid to Israel in growing split

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CDC nominee Erica Schwartz says she won’t betray science, while declining to challenge RFK Jr.’s actions

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Drained Reflecting Pool reveals Trump’s ‘American flag blue’ liner now is closer to gray

U.S. Mint producing $1 commemorative coin with Trump’s face to help celebrate America’s 250th birthday

D.C. Council members push back on plan to keep National Guard troops in the city into 2029

Heather Cox Richardson on how Democrats, GOP see the purpose of government, more

Robert Reich suggests you call your lawmakers and tell them to vote no on pro-crypto CLARITY Act

Linda Greenhouse: This was the Supreme Court term when the court’s obsession with ‘originalism’ descended into parody

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KFF: Facing funding losses, states calling out big businesses with employees on Medicaid

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Hundreds of thousands of people followed her 2,400-mile, 43-day journey on social media, where she shared her mental and physical challenges in videos.

Pfendler reflected on the meaning of her accomplishment and what she hoped others would take from it in a video as she neared Oahu:

“If any part of this made at least one person feel a little bit more powerful in their own skin, I couldn’t ask for anything else and I’m happy,” she said. “Think about trying to find your own big, hard, scary thing. You might not think that you are strong enough to finish it right now, but you’re definitely strong enough to start it, and you’ll find everything else along the way. I’m going to go finish my big, hard scary thing.”

Here is a video of her post-row interview on ESPN.

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Trump reimposes blockade on Iran ports after Tehran’s attacks on ships in Strait of Hormuz but backtracks on plan to charge fees

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E. Jean Carroll is paid $5.6 million in Trump sex abuse, defamation case

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Civil rights leaders announce ‘March on Washington 2026: Defend the ​Vote’ on Aug. 28 anniversary of 1963 MLK march

Federal appeals court ends decades-old school desegregation order in Louisiana

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New York governor signs executive order temporarily barring large data centers as state considers environment, energy rules

Mahmoud Khalil files suit alleging a ‘public-private’ conspiracy to target Israel critics

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Warren Buffett omits annual gift to Bill Gates’ foundation after Microsoft cofounder’s Epstein ties disclosed

MIT engineers design robot that swims and flies like a diving bird

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For 9th year in a row, Arlington, Va., ranks as America’s fittest city; D.C. repeats as No. 2

Public health groups sue FDA over new flavored e-cigarette policy

Reuters special report: Insider accounts reveal scale of RFK Jr.’s ambitions to curb vaccines, link vaccines and autism

KFF: Americans who undergo arthroscopic knee surgery for degenerative cartilage tears may be making their problems worse

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

Trump’s suit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose,” she said as she referred one of his lawyers for potential disciplinary action and characterized the $10 billion complaint as an exercise in self-dealing, reports The Associated Press.

Williams accused Trump and his lawyers of having manipulated the court system when he sued a federal agency under his control, bypassing a requirement that parties in a lawsuit must have adverse interests. The suit ended in a settlement that granted the president immunity from tax audits and established a $1.776 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they’ve been persecuted.

The judge stopped short of explicitly voiding the deal shielding Trump from tax scrutiny but said the government can’t claim in official proceedings that the agreement was the result of a legitimate legal process.

“Whether Executive Branch actors can privately agree to give themselves and their former clients blanket immunities and billions of dollars in tax monies for legally undefined grievances was never an issue advanced to this Court,” said Williams, an appointee of President Obama. “The question is whether the Parties could do so by claiming to be adverse and engaging the legitimacy of a court proceeding. The answer is a resounding ‘no.’”

Though the practical impacts of the ruling may be limited since the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed months ago and the administration already has abandoned the $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” that came out of it, “the order nonetheless amounts to a scathing rebuke and tees up a politically uncomfortable line of questioning for Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as he faces the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing on Wednesday,” AP says.

Williams accused Blanche of giving, “at best, misleading, and, at worst, disingenuous” testimony before Congress.

In defending the deal in prior statements to Congress, Blanche portrayed the fund as comparable to previous settlements reached by the federal government, citing in particular a $760 million fund created through an Obama administration-era settlement to resolve claims of discrimination by Native American farmers and ranchers, says The Washington Post.

Since he told lawmakers that the Justice Department was abandoning the payout fund, Blanche has refused to put that pledge in writing, even resisting a call for him to do so from a federal judge examining the fund’s legality in a separate case in Virginia, the Post says.

Williams ordered the court’s clerk to send copies of her ruling to the attorney disciplinary bodies in New York and Washington, D.C., which have launched inquiries into Blanche and Stanley Woodward, the Justice Department’s No. 3 official, in response to unrelated complaints about their conduct at the agency.

Woodward signed off on many of the documents on the agreement between the Trumps and the IRS, the Post says.

In addition to Blanche, Williams referred one of Trump’s attorneys, Alejandro Brito, to the Florida Bar for potential disciplinary action. And she restricted the ability of a second lawyer, Daniel Epstein, to practice in the Southern District of Florida.

The “extraordinary order” from Williams came in response to concerns raised by 35 former federal judges, who had petitioned her to reexamine the deal the Justice Department struck with Trump in May to resolve the suit, notes the Post.

Here is the text of Williams’ ruling.

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Trump administration announces new attack on International Criminal Court

U.S. to take over Strait of Hormuz, charge 20 percent fee on cargo shipped through it, Trump says

Trump formally notifies lawmakers U.S. is again at war with Iran, resetting 60-day clock to act without congressional approval

ICE officer who fatally shot driver in Maine was ‘fearing for public safety,’ the agency says

Congressional Democrats visit Cuba, compare U.S. energy embargo to ‘silent Gaza’

Trump administration has made deals to acquire equity stakes in more than 2 dozen firms over the past year; could AI be next?

Trump’s proposed research rule gets widespread pushback

Trump reduces size of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments in Utah as GOP reshapes land management

WPost analysis: Trump sons invest heavily in defense tech as their father’s administration pours money in

South Carolina governor names Lindsay Graham’s sister, Darline Graham Nordone, to serve remaining months of his Senate term

California, 11 other states sue to block Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros.

Federal prosecutors turn over evidence in Renee Good and Alex Pretti killings to Minnesota after months of delay

Statement from more than 200 economists, tech leaders on steering AI to benefit society

‘Colorblind Constitution’ concept underlies key recent Supreme Court rulings, legal scholars say

First ‘true sugar’ molecule detected in space, offering hints to life’s origins

Latest updated map tracking cyclosporiasis outbreak cases in the U.S.

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

“To me, compared to the SAVE America Act, just about everything is a big yawn,” Trump told reporters last month.

Since Trump didn’t veto the bill, it became law automatically 10 days after it was sent to his desk.

“I’m so excited to talk about actual policy,” said congressional reporter Lisa Dejardins on the PBS NewsHour.

“A lot of what you’re seeing in the bill is catch-up on 30 years of policy that has been stalled because Congress hasn’t had the bandwidth to do any housing legislation,” says Ben Metcalf, managing director of the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at the University of California, Berkeley. “It is the kind of thoughtful legislating that Congress used to do all the time but now never does.”

The final bill incorporates provisions from more than 60 pieces of legislation introduced in the House, Senate, or both chambers — 36 of which were introduced with bipartisan sponsors, says the Bipartisan Policy Center.

The bill passed the Senate 85-5 and the House 358–32.

“Despite Trump downplaying the law, it includes an idea he promoted: capping how many single-family homes big investors can buy,” says NPR. “The law says corporate landlords that own at least 350 houses won’t be able to buy more. The goal is to make the housing market more competitive for individual buyers, who are often outbid by investors who can make all-cash offers.”

Trump had signed an executive order in January “to restrict private equity firms’ ability to purchase single-family homes,” said the Independent Community Bankers of America.

“It is exciting to see lawmakers across the political spectrum act with such urgency to address our country’s ongoing housing crisis and the role that private equity and other corporate landlords are playing in it. The ROAD to Housing Act is an important first step to putting housing back in the hands of the people, not corporations. But this legislation cannot be the only step Congress takes to hold Wall Street landlords accountable,” says Jim Baker, executive director of the Private Equity Stakeholder Project.

“While the ROAD to Housing Act restricts corporate ownership of single-family homes, this legislation doesn’t address the many other forms of housing owned by private equity landlords. Private equity firms own 13 percent of all U.S. apartments and hundreds of thousands of manufactured housing sites across the country. Right now, tenants of private equity-owned rentals – whether single-family, multi-family, or manufactured housing – are experiencing exorbitant rent hikes, junk fees, neglected maintenance, and worse. Tenants sorely need legislation to meaningfully address the many harms caused by private equity landlords,” Baker says.

The law also “will help expand the nation’s housing supply by reducing regulatory barriers and encouraging local governments to reform zoning and land-use policies that have limited home building,” according to Bill Owens, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders.

Another provision is intended to reduce barriers to manufactured housing and encourage broader use of factory-built homes, which often are among the least expensive paths to home ownership, says CNBC.

Specifically, the bill expands the federal definition of “manufactured home” to include those that are built without a permanent steel chassis, the metal frame under manufactured and mobile homes that enable easy transportation with a tow truck. However, few of the homes are moved, according to the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy.

Among other benefits, the chassis requirement could cut the cost of a manufactured home by $5,000 to $10,000, which could put home ownership within reach for more families, according to the Niskanen Center, a nonpartisan think tank.

The law also creates a four-year pilot program to expand the availability of small mortgages under $100,000, which some lenders avoid because of compliance costs. Supporters say improving access to smaller loans could help buyers in lower-cost markets and people buying less expensive homes.

The pilot program includes paying lenders a subsidy to originate the smaller mortgages and providing borrower grants for down payments and closing costs.

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Lindsay Graham’s death likely will set off a struggle for his seat among Republicans in reliably red South Carolina

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Lindsay Graham, opponent-turned-ally of Trump who forcefully advocated for an interventionist foreign policy, dies at 71

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

— China, the United States, Indonesia and India have reported record-low infant mortality rates.

— Carbon Brief has announced Project Cosmos, a collaboration to build the world’s largest and most complete database of climate change research. The database contains 1.8 million individual publications.

The oldest publication in the database was published in 1483.

— Canadian doctors say 18-year-old Kaitlin Jeffrey is the world’s first burn patient treated using exosomes, tiny particles released by cells that help coordinate healing.

Traditional skin grafts can save lives and restore damaged tissue, but they often leave significant scarring and can’t return skin to its original appearance, says CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster.

But wait till you see the beautiful photo of Kaitlin after the exosome treatment.

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Might we eventually cure almost anything that ails us by tweaking our microbiomes — the microorganisms that live in our bodies?

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune

So he’s “trying to use the levers of the federal government, along with personal influence over state and local lawmakers, to reshape the rules governing the 2026 midterms and future elections in extraordinary ways,” says The New York Times.

While many of these efforts have been blocked by courts, by the Constitution or Congress, “the relentless assault by the president on the electoral process — both administratively and rhetorically — is likely to sow doubt and lay groundwork for extensive challenges to election results,” the Times says.

There are six main categories of federal agencies’ and officials’ efforts at Trump’s direction, the article says:

— Nationalize the elections

— Tighten voting restrictions

— Redistrict

— Reduce election security

— Undermine trust by questioning previous results

— Punish people who’ve worked against election denialism

I’m trying to gift the article to you; let me know if it doesn’t work.

The latest Trump administration efforts include threats to withhold some federal funding to states that don’t make changes to voting practices, says The Associated Press.

A Federal Emergency Management Agency antiterrorism grant announcement in June includes a list of election-related requirements and says that 20 percent of grants for states and urban areas will be withheld until they comply.

Election rights lawyer Mark Elias says:

“I think if we have free and fair elections, Democrats are going to take control of the House and the Senate [and restore Congress’ constitutional check on the executive branch], and they’ll do quite well downballot. But if Donald Trump is able to, in the darkness of the night, rig the elections through unfair districts, or suppress the vote through executive orders that go unchallenged, or make it impossible for people who have hourly jobs to be able to vote because there are long lines or because the streets are closed off, then he will have won. All of us can call that out. All of us can become ambassadors for access to voting by posting on social media, calling their friends, or texting their text chain with their college roommates. That’s the thing that I ask everyone to do.”

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Medicaid funding resumes for Planned Parenthood after being cut off for most of a year

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How you can protect yourself from the cyclospora stomach-bug outbreak

You can call the Capitol switchboard, (202) 224-3121, and be connected to the offices of your representative and senators. To email your House member and your two senators, you can connect to their websites at Congress.gov. Most lawmakers seem to only accept emails from their constituents, but these leaders accept emails from Americans nationwide, at:

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer

Senate Majority Leader John Thune