“But despite this reprieve, the U.S. inflation problem is far from fixed. Measures of underlying inflation were already showing little progress before the war began several months ago. The trend has only worsened as the fighting and other forces, like the boom in artificial intelligence, have stoked prices.”

“The most recent example came Tuesday in Maryland, when billionaire and former congressman David Trone’s record-breaking $25 million comeback bid ended in defeat in the Democratic primary. Trone, who amassed his fortune by co-founding a national alcohol retailer, has been one of the most prolific self-funders of congressional campaigns. He spent $134 million across six races over the course of a decade, winning three terms in the House but spending $101 million on contests he lost.”

“Some of Epstein’s accusers have signed confidential prelitigation settlements with friends of the sex offender whom they have also accused of misconduct.”

“Leftist candidates swept a trio of deep-blue House seats in New York City, a seismic victory that toppled two incumbents, including the powerful chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. And after a string of progressive battleground wins in earlier primaries, moderates are making it very clear that the left’s winning streak is potentially just starting.”

“The far left is eyeing even bigger targets in key battleground primaries that will determine control of Congress as well as governorships in crucial swing states. Most immediately, moderates fear that a progressive primary sweep could imperil the party’s hopes of beating Republicans this fall.”

CNN: House Democrats’ anxiety rises after wins by Mamdani-backed candidates: “Are we going to let them take over the party?”

Said Haberman: “He’s not behaving like somebody who cares. Maybe he will start to at some point, but he is not right now. And I’m not sure whether he particularly believes he will suffer consequences, again, this is something else we talk about in the book if the House and even possibly the Senate flip.”

“President Donald Trump kicked off celebrations for America’s semi-quincentennial on Wednesday night in a speech which implied that the nation’s greatness at this landmark moment was largely thanks to him.”

“He’ll need landowners whose property runs along the US-Mexico border to hand over their land to finish it.”

“He could be seen from the street on Wednesday evening, standing in a brightly lit front room of his Westfield home just before 8:45 p.m.”

“Their initiative, which resembles a long-running program in the House of Representatives, aims to recruit Senate staff to serve as independent observers who can be sent to polling places on behalf of Congress to monitor voting procedures and ballot counting in states with Senate races.”

“The big picture: The juxtaposition is the result of not just the elevated prices reflected in macroeconomic data, but higher and more volatile prices for the specific items that dominate Americans’ day-to-day living expenses.”

“That’s the early conclusion of top Democratic economic policy minds who have embarked on a new effort to quantify — and develop policy responses to — the economic forces that ail American households.”

“Blanche has been meeting with senators — including the Republicans most skeptical of his nomination — as he works to secure the votes to become President Donald Trump’s confirmed attorney general. The sit-downs have been going relatively well for Blanche. But his GOP critics are watching carefully for progress on key concerns, including the anti-weaponization fund.”

“Trump is holding pretty much everything hostage over a bill that has almost no chance of passing unless the Senate changes its own rules — the SAVE America Act.”

Politico: “The president’s insistence that Congress pass the controversial election security legislation has ground both chambers to a halt.”

“The deadlock threatens to derail a host of other legislative efforts Republicans and the White House hoped to complete in the coming weeks, including a sweeping reconciliation bill filled with potentially hundreds of billions of dollars in Iran war military funding, billions of dollars in relief for farmers, fiscal 2027 funding bills and the annual defense policy bill.”

“The resolution failed 50-47 on a late-night procedural vote. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who voted with Democrats for Tuesday’s resolution, flipped and voted against advancing this one. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has voted for every previous resolution since the war started, voted present rather than directly opposing Trump.”

“It wasn’t all that easy to integrate the four-member ‘Squad’ into the Democratic fold. Now party leadership is going to have to contend with a much larger cohort of rabble rousers.”

“The question now is how widely that build-out might ripple through the economy, and how long it could keep inflation elevated. The answers will have big consequences for the economy.”

“Progressives were cheering their victories in New York on Wednesday. The only faction that appeared even happier may have been Republicans fighting to cling to power in the midterms, who are eager to attempt to define the Democratic brand by its most boisterous and socialist voices.”

Politico: Hakeem Jeffries has met his nightmare scenario: The Squad 2.0 is coming to Capitol Hill.

“The news comes as Lackland Air Force Base in Texas — home to the Air Force’s Basic Military Training program — grapples with a flu outbreak that has infected 275 people in recent weeks.”