Said Trump: “It’s coming from Argentina. It’s coming from Brazil. It’s coming from a couple of other places. We have our inspectors down. It’s very clean. It’s very good.”

“The president faced criticism from Republicans for not spending enough money to support Paxton, whom he endorsed over incumbent Sen. John Cornyn this spring.”

“To build the president’s White House ballroom, roughly 250 workers have been pouring concrete and installing steel framework, keeping the site humming for 20 hours a day, seven days a week. The National Park Service has proposed a similarly intensive schedule for Trump’s planned triumphal arch… These are very different and ambitious projects, but they share the same presumed deadline: January 20, 2029.”

“They also share a risk: The compressed schedules could lead to shoddy work that will require more repairs later.”

“Days later in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis’s administration ordered the systems removed from state roads. Mr. DeSantis has described the surveillance technology as ‘out of control.'”

“Both governors are tough-on-crime Republicans with deep backing from law enforcement agencies. Yet their moves underscore how the political winds are shifting against Flock and other plate-reading systems that have been embraced by police departments.”

Financial Times: Republicans revolt against Flock AI surveillance as tech backlash intensifies.

“U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan’s order, signed Friday evening, applies to activity like excavation and construction, but exempts on-site information gathering to ensure compliance with the National Historic Preservation Act.”

New York Times: Is work starting for Trump’s arch? It depends who’s asking.

“The UN General Assembly voted 164 votes to 1 to adopt a resolution to encourage members to use the ‘Equal Earth’ projection rather than the commonly used Mercator map, which dates back to the 16th century.”

“The U.S. cast the sole vote against the initiative, while six countries abstained: Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine.”

“Piker displayed the post during a monologue on American Jews and Israel that has since roiled the Democratic Party and upended a U.S. Senate race in Michigan.”

“But even now, weeks later, it is still not publicly known whether the audio recording in question is even real.”

Earlier for members: The Democrats’ Red State Workaround

The Guardian: Excavation work on Trump’s towering, gilded arch to begin over next two weeks.

“Ocasio-Cortez told Emma Vigeland in a July interview for ‘The Majority Report’ that she’s been meeting with people in the Make America Healthy Again movement — an unexpected courtship for one of Democrats’ most prominent progressives.”

“In both of the battleground state’s marquee contests this fall, Republican power brokers have yet to fully rally around either of their nominees, Rep. Mike Collins for Senate and billionaire Rick Jackson for governor, months after they emerged from bruising primaries. It stands in stark contrast to the Democrats, who have coalesced quickly behind Sen. Jon Ossoff and gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms.”

“The dynamic has sparked concerns within the GOP, less than 60 days from Election Day, that its statewide candidates will struggle to build a winning coalition amid a broader political environment that is presenting headwinds for the party.”

“James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee from Texas, and Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia are headlining a fund-raiser on Thursday evening in Los Angeles.”

“Usually, the president’s party is upbeat about the economy, while the party out of power is far more downcast. What’s striking now is that Republicans have grown increasingly sour this year, even with a Republican president in office.”

Nearly every indicator suggests the midterm election environment is getting worse for Republicans.

“At the same time, they know it’s inevitable.”

“Most Republicans are too scared to bluntly tell Trump how unpopular he is. And Trump wants an unprecedented convention next week, ads and events to focus on him.”

New York Magazine: Trump’s GOP midterm convention has a crowd size problem.