“With Moscow firing drone after drone into Kyiv, including many powered with jet engines that help them fly so fast they are difficult to intercept, many in the capital have begun to accept that they may be facing a new phase of the war.”

“Fifty-five percent of Americans think politicians are just trying to win votes when they say they will help the working class, according to new results from The Politico Poll. It’s a view held by majorities of people who voted for President Donald Trump, who voted for Kamala Harris and who self-identify as working class.”

“Only one in four Americans who self-identify as working-class say politicians genuinely want to help them.”

“Trump, 80, did not clarify that the 10-second clip on his Truth Social account was AI-generated and there was no evidence Monday morning that the island off Iran’s coast had been hit.”

“The bid for investment comes as the Taliban has stepped up diplomatic efforts five years after its return to power and the withdrawal of U.S.-led NATO forces, which President Donald Trump called ‘the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.'”

“In declarations filed in a lawsuit seeking to halt the ballot rule, the officials detail how the rule comes late in the process, squeezes deadlines for sending out ballots and clashes with long-standing state election laws and carefully timed procedures.”

“Now, the forces pushing up food prices are starting to pile up: expensive grain, soaring fertilizer and fuel, plus unpredictable weather and raging wars.”

”The next grocery price shock could hit much harder — and much wider.”

“Two more advisers, each of whom holds the president’s trust, are also leaving the White House within weeks. The trend is familiar to many presidents heading into their final two years in office, but the stakes of a shrinking inner circle may be higher for Trump because of the ecosystem that’s defined his second term: Only a handful of advisers have direct, frequent access to him.”

”Trump has told aides he wants ads paid for by his super PAC, MAGA Inc. to tout his second-term record, according to two people familiar with the conversations. Advisers already prepared some ads for the Texas Senate race and showed them to Trump, who provided detailed feedback, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss internal strategy.”

”Some donors, skeptical of the strategy, have become resistant to giving more money to Trump’s super PAC while it sits on hundreds of millions of dollars without sharing any plans about how it will use the money.”

Financial Times: Trump has put himself on the midterm ballot — should Republicans be worried?

“A New York Times review of advertising data, campaign-finance filings and tax records revealed that about $1 billion in anonymous money is sloshing through the political landscape in 2026, a staggering sum and yet almost certainly a low-end estimate, given how difficult this money is to trace.”

“The proposal, set for a vote Tuesday, would reduce the number of polling locations across booming Tarrant County, which borders Dallas and includes Fort Worth.”

”Yet Trump’s approval ratings are well under 40%, especially on his handling of the economy. He’s conducting an endless campaign against Iran that even top military leaders warn is unsustainable. Trump also launched a costly new trade fight with Canada, including focusing on renaming Lake Ontario as ‘Lake America.’ Inflation remains stubbornly high, and gas is more than $4 per gallon nationally.”

”Dallas will be a fascinating interlude. The Trump White House seems to think it’s wise to put the president at the center of the fall campaign and spend lots of super PAC money touting his accomplishments.”

“Speaker Mike Johnson is looking to tick off the lone essential item on the chamber’s to-do list in lawmakers’ first days back: a Senate-passed, shutdown-averting spending bill.”

“A handful of other priorities are caught up in partisan battles and Senate limbo. Rebel factions in a thin House GOP majority continue to threaten Republicans’ plans of opening the floor for debate. And many Republicans are simply eager to get back home to campaign ahead of the November midterms rather than endure more headaches in Washington.”

“Together, those dynamics have fueled open speculation among members and aides that House leaders will call it quits until mid-November much sooner than the currently scheduled Oct. 1 exit date.”

“The phone, while expensive, is still much faster and cheaper than high-incentive mail surveys. And the phone still seems to reach a more representative population — based on measures like educational attainment and record of voting in recent elections — than supplementing the phone with text-message links to surveys or online panels.”

”The panel with vast jurisdiction over health care, artificial intelligence, energy and telecommunications will have at least eight empty slots in the next Congress — four on each side of the aisle — thanks to a combination of planned retirements, attempts to climb to higher office and primary election defeats.”

“The socialism movement’s leaders are increasingly at odds over who should speak for them, what policies they stand for — and whether to support AOC, whom some dismiss as more establishment than insurgent.”