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September 10, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning from London, where people are streaming into the British Museum to see the Bayeux Tapestry, over 220 feet of embroidery illustrating William the Conqueror’s invasion of England. It is on display to the public here for the first time since its creation nearly 1,000 years ago. Folks are stoked. In a speech last night at an unusual Republican midterm convention, President Trump told voters to “pretend that I am running.” He also promised to give every adult American $5,000 if Republicans win the House and Senate. (That would cost the government more than $1.3 trillion.) The convention continues today in Dallas. The midterms are looking like a mess. My colleague Evan Gorelick explains. John Tully for The New York Times What could go wrong? By Evan Gorelick The midterm elections are already uncommonly chaotic. Several states have redrawn their congressional maps. President Trump and his allies want to change how America handles mail-in ballots. Democrats accuse them of trying to cheat. And this week brought dueling legal opinions about which map Missouri can use on Election Day. Voters have already nominated candidates based on boundaries redrawn, at Trump’s insistence, to benefit Republicans. But the state’s Supreme Court later said those gerrymandered districts were invalid unless Missourians explicitly approved them, and a justice from the U.S. Supreme Court agreed. (No such vote has taken place.) Then a federal judge said Missouri could use Trump’s preferred map anyway. What is happening?? The answer lies partly in our increasingly polarized approach to elections. Trump claims elections are rigged against Republicans — both to rationalize his own defeat by Joe Biden in 2020 and now to impose new rules before midterm contests that may not go his way. And there are some reasons for suspicion. Russia and China have tried to influence our elections. Polls keep missing the mark. And screw-ups aren’t totally unheard-of: Many Americans remember 2000, when Florida’s voting machines failed to tabulate tens of thousands of ballots. Yet widespread cheating is a fiction. After multiple investigations, officials have found no evidence that fraud has affected any outcome. Trump’s false claims of cheating, however, are having an impact. Here’s how November 3 could be different this year. Voting by mail Nearly a third of voters cast mail-in ballots. Trump wants to control that process by patching together a huge list of U.S. citizens and then refusing to mail ballots to voters whose names aren’t on it. (The Constitution grants states and Congress the authority to administer elections, but the president controls the Postal Service, which would maintain the relevant screening system, my colleague Eileen Sullivan reports.) The U.S.P.S. has proposed not to deliver mail ballots in states that don’t turn over their voter rolls for the master list. That would make voting much more difficult, if not impossible, for tens of millions of Americans — especially Democrats, who vote by mail in higher numbers than Republicans. The Trump administration already said it would toss ballots that arrive after the deadline, and more ballots are coming in late this year. A whistle-blower alleged last week that the verification process could reject thousands of ballots that arrive in a batch if “even one bar code on one single ballot” fails to scan properly. The plan, including printing bespoke new ballot envelopes, would be virtually impossible for states to implement in time. A judge has blocked it, warning of chaos and “major disenfranchisement.” But the president has asked the Supreme Court to bless the idea for this cycle while challenges work their way through the legal system. Contested results Chase Castor for The New York Times Trump is the only president in U.S. history to try overturning an election. His ongoing assertion that elections are “rigged” creates a potential pretext for officials — a growing number of whom back the president’s election denialism, my colleagues Nick Corasaniti and Alexandra Berzon report — to question the outcome of this year’s midterms. If Democrats win enough seats to retake one or both chambers of Congress, then officials could: Claim they saw polling-site irregularities. The Justice Department has been deploying election monitors this primary season. It could do the same in November. (Trump has claimed that loads of undocumented immigrants vote, for instance, even though a database managed by the conservative Heritage Foundation identifies only about 100 cases of noncitizen voting over the last quarter century, or roughly two instances per U.S. state.) Claim voting machines lie. The president says they are “extremely exposed to attack” and has spread baseless allegations that they once “deleted” millions of votes. Trump told The Times he regretted not seizing voting machines after the 2020 election, and his administration has explored bringing criminal charges against election officials whom it believes did not sufficiently safeguard their computer systems. (Cyber experts have identified security flaws, but there’s no evidence they have ever been exploited to flip election results.) Claim there was foreign interference. Trump often complains, falsely, that China sabotaged him in 2020. This summer, he made a prime-time speech resurfacing that exaggerated narrative. There’s a grain of truth: Beijing collected American voter data. But such data is publicly available and often purchased by domestic political campaigns. On the other hand, Russian meddling might have helped Trump in 2016. Refuse to certify the results, or sue to challenge them. The Justice Department could unleash a torrent of post-election litigation. The agency has already demanded that states turn over voters’ confidential Social Security and drivers’ license data. Dozens of states have resisted, and the Justice Department sued them. It has lost every case so far. Still, election officials and Democrats worry the battle over voting records may be used to discredit or spread disinformation about midterm results. (Read The Times’s profile of the gladiatorial Trump official leading these efforts.) More on the midterms The fight over Missouri’s redrawn congressional map bounced back to the U.S. Supreme Court. The map has been in flux over the past few days, with conflicting orders from the state Supreme Court and a federal judge. Dan McKee, the governor of Rhode Island, lost his re-election bid. He’s the first sitting governor to lose a primary since 2018. Republican voters in Texas are turning against data centers pushed by their party leaders. Some have even joined with Democrats to fight the projects. THE LATEST NEWS Republican Convention Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times Trump’s plan to give $5,000 tells voters: We’ll pay you to keep my party in power. His departure for the convention was delayed after an aide accidentally deployed an inflatable emergency slide on the new Air Force One. Read takeaways from the convention. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a Democrat, addressed the convention crowd via video, adding to speculation that he might switch parties. Trump’s two-day extravaganza is more like a made-for-TV parade than a traditional convention. It’s full of expensive photo ops. More Politics Trump gave his executive assistant Natalie Harp and two other aides $45,000 each in cash last year as a “gift for the holidays,” financial disclosure forms show. Jimmy Kimmel said that his planned interview today with James Talarico, the Democratic Senate nominee from Texas, would be posted on YouTube rather than aired live because of what Kimmel described as threats from the F.C.C. Trump went on a social media barrage over the long weekend, posting images of himself intimidating Canada’s prime minister with a hockey stick, bombing enemy targets and patrolling dark streets with robots. His feed shows his vision of reality, Peter Baker writes. Tech A researcher at Anthropic quit the company and warned that the A.I. industry was rushing to create “superhuman systems” that could lead to doomsday scenarios. Apple revealed its first foldable iPhone, called the iPhone Duo, starting at $1,999. The technology has so far failed to catch on with Americans. See the phone. Other Big Stories Last month tied July 2023 as the planet’s hottest month on record, as climate change heats the Earth. Ukraine wants $27 billion more to fight Russia this year. Europe would like to know why. Ask The Morning: Do you have questions about the news? Let us know here, and we’ll go find answers. OPINIONS Trump is abusing the Patriot Act, additional authority granted after Sept. 11, 2001, to target political enemies and violently crack down on protesters, an investigative journalist writes. New York Fashion Week kicks off today. It’s time for governments to limit the industry’s enormous waste, one writer argues. The Anniversary Sale is on: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Celebrate 175 years of The Times with savings on unlimited news, puzzles, recipes, sports and more. $1/week for your first year. Save now. MORNING READS Zunaira Saieed/The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. You just need to log in. Cloud seeding: Wildfire smoke in Malaysia is so bad that firefighters are trying to make rain. Stoned Age: Humans were getting high on betel nuts at least 16,000 years ago, according to evidence found in ancient teeth. It’s the earliest known use of a mind-altering substance. Rebranding: So long, Eurail. The flexible train ticket changed its name. (Gen X is sad.) Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a giant sinkhole at Nicolas Cage’s home. TODAY’S NUMBER Camille McOuat for The New York Times 9,974 — That is the number of square feet in the Funnel Suite aboard the Four Seasons I, a luxury cruise ship. The suite has its own gym, spa, plunge pool and multiple bedrooms, all with unobstructed ocean views. While the price is available only upon request, the suite has sold for more than $300,000 on past journeys. Looks pretty nice. SPORTS N.F.L.: The 2026 season opened last night in Seattle, where the defending champion Seahawks beat the New England Patriots, in a rematch of this year’s Super Bowl. Tennis: Coco Gauff came from behind to beat the 19-year-old French Open champion, Mirra Andreeva. RECIPE OF THE DAY Julia Gartland for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Liza Jernow. Marian Burros’s recipe for plum torte, one of the most popular recipes The Times has ever published, turns 43 this year. You can make it with other stone fruits, with berries, with different flours, with spices and tinctures and herbs. I make mine, always, in a cast-iron skillet. But any oven-safe pan will do. READ TO ME Vincent Tullo for The New York Times The Times spent seven months following the production of a single audiobook — “Switzy,” the latest novel by Emma Cline. (Here’s our review.) Watch and listen as the casting comes together, the recording commences, the tongue-twisters are dealt with, and the quality is kept high. It’s pretty cool. More on culture I tried to get a ticket to see the Bayeux Tapestry, but it’s sold out through the end of the year. For those desperate to see it, though, there are several replicas around the world that are often free — and available — to view. We’ve rounded them up here. Have you seen the new uniforms that Trump proposed for the U.S. Space Force? Vanessa Friedman, our fashion critic, calls them telling: “Think sci-fi Hitler by way of Hollywood, and you will get the idea.” See for yourself. In the World Tango Championships, dancers glittered and dipped in Argentina. See these excellent photos in The Guardian. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Dana Davis/NYT Wirecutter; source photos by Justin Baltzer, AJ Maiorana, Wayne Rogers via Facebook, AdobeStock Tailgate like these football maniacs. Their tips for parking lot gastronomy are excellent. (I might get an electric hot dog roller for the office.) Prevent memory loss: Memorize your shopping list. Navigate without a G.P.S. Play games. The Well desk has even more tips. Eat eggs and soldiers for breakfast — that’s soft-boiled eggs served alongside crisp, buttered toast cut into thin strips for dipping. Do so at Bar Finch in London, if you can manage it. Very civilized. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was purloin. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 10 1897 First drunk driving arrest A London cab driver was arrested after driving into a building. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1846 The struggling Donner Party sends ahead to California for food 1813 The Battle of Lake Erie Arts & Entertainment 1981 Picasso’s “Guernica” is returned to Spain 1991 Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is released as a single Colonial America 1608 John Smith elected to lead Jamestown Crime 1921 Silent film star Fatty Arbuckle arrested for murder European History 1977 The guillotine falls silent Inventions & Science 2008 CERN Large Hadron Collider is powered up Natural Disasters & Environment 1960 Hurricane Donna batters the Florida Keys World War I 1919 New York City parade honors World War I veterans World War II 1940 British War Cabinet reacts to the Blitz in kind

🏈 Pic to go Photo: Steph Chambers/Getty Images Vinod Khosla — the new owner of the Seattle Seahawks — waves a rally towel before the NFL season opener against the New England Patriots in Seattle last night, a rematch of last season's Super Bowl. Seahawks rallied for a 13-10 victory. Week 1 picks.

🗳️ GOP revives 9/11 playbook Axios' Alex Isenstadt reports from the GOP convention at American Airlines Center in Dallas: Republicans are invoking 9/11 to bash left-wing Democrats in a growing number of midterm races, seizing on the 25th anniversary of the attacks to portray them or their supporters as anti-American and sympathetic to terrorists. Why it matters: It marks the return of a controversial political tactic that was common in the years after the 9/11 attacks but had largely faded from campaigns over the past quarter-century. 👓 Between the lines: The GOP's 9/11-focused barrage is part of a broader effort to brand Democrats as extreme and increasingly influenced by the party's left wing, and turn midterms into a "Who's worse?" election. The strategy is playing out most prominently in Michigan, where Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers is expected to use his speech at the GOP's midterm convention to assail Democrat Abdul El-Sayed over 9/11, Axios has learned. Rogers aims to contrast El-Sayed's relationship with left-wing streamer Hasan Piker — who said in 2019 that "America deserved 9/11" (a comment Piker now disavows) — with Rogers' own background as an FBI agent, according to a person familiar with his prepared remarks. 🔭 Zoom out: In New York, the National Republican Congressional Committee attacked Democratic House candidate Effie Phillips-Staley over an appearance she made with Piker, and called on her primary rivals to condemn her. In Colorado, Republicans have assailed Democratic House candidate Melat Kiros for saying 9/11 was "inevitable" because of America's policies in the Middle East.

Trump plans $500 Obamacare rebates The Trump administration plans to send $500 rebate checks to as many as 1 million people who it says were overcharged for coverage under Obamacare, Axios' Marc Caputo has learned. The direct-deposit payment would be sent to people in 30 states before the Nov. 3 midterm election, as President Trump touts savings from his tax-cut legislation and prescription drug plan. The plan underscores a tenet of Trump's idea for remaking the health care system, which involves subsidizing more Americans directly for their coverage instead of paying health insurers. Keep reading. 💰 Another cash promise ... In a new wrinkle during his marathon speech at the Republican midterm convention in Dallas last night, President Trump said: "If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate — both of them ... because of our tremendous strength and success economically, I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000 ... It will be called the Trump Dividend." He likened the payments to a successful company's distributions to shareholders. Within an hour, Vice President JD Vance suggested the dividend payments wouldn't go to the wealthy. Vance suggested it could be paid for by U.S. tariff revenues, though the suggested payment dwarfs what the U.S. has taken in through the protectionist measures. (AP) 🥊 Joe Lonsdale, venture capitalist and Trump ally, wrote on X in response to Trump's bonus idea: "For the record, I am hugely in favor of winning the midterms, and love much about this admin, but am strongly against bread and circus bribes." ps:What a crock of Bull Manure!!

The AI twilight zone Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Two seemingly contradictory realities are true at once, Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen write in a "Behind the Curtain" column with Zachary Basu: Most people find AI only modestly useful, a more clever Google search. Many people building AI or using it obsessively worry it could severely damage or destroy humanity. Why it matters: We're living in an AI twilight zone. For many, the technology is simultaneously underwhelming in daily use and terrifying in its trajectory. The gap between these two realities helps explain why confusion and fear are exploding across politics, AI labs and business. 💡 State of play: The AI labs are in full panic. They worry the public dislikes AI and despises data centers — and that's before Anthropic insiders went public with their latest warnings that AI could end humanity this decade. They're uncertain how to showcase potential benefits of AI when X and now mainstream media are lit up with horror stories about rogue or ruinous AI. The data center backlash showed how fast public opinion turned against them. Their worst-case scenario: They lose full control of the politics, with both parties rushing to slow or stop AI in the run-up to the election. Between the lines: The past 36 hours show how fast politics and public opinion are moving. A low-level Anthropic employee for all of four months drove the national conversation — and 142 million views on X alone — by warning AI could end humanity. Numerous people, including Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, have issued similar warnings to us for years. But the tone and timing struck a nerve — and stirred countless members of Congress to call for new AI regulations. 🔎 Zoom in: Let's look at this tale of two worlds through two different sets of eyes — a mid-career manager and an Anthropic data scientist. The average manager has limited time to experiment with AI, worries it might threaten their job, and mostly uses the models as a search engine and for writing better emails or presentations. It's a nice-to-have, sometimes delightful, other times unimpressive. They don't understand the hype. The Anthropic employee spends all day, every day, staring at rapidly improving AI, often mesmerized, even spooked, by what it does. They see it exceeding even the most optimistic benchmarks, then spend their nights and weekends with similar AI obsessives discussing how it could cure cancer — or go rogue and destroy humankind. To them, this is truly civilizational and existential — a clear reality, not hype. The catch: AI companies have to explain both realities at once. But almost every version of the pitch sounds suspicious. Tell Americans today's AI will transform their lives, and many look at their own experience and wonder what the fuss is about. Tell them tomorrow's AI could become vastly more powerful, and the obvious response is: Then why are you racing to build it? Warn about catastrophic risk while spending hundreds of billions to accelerate development, and critics hear either hypocrisy or fear-based marketing. But keep in mind that the big AI labs are working with unreleased models weeks before the public sees them — plus early training data on future models, months in advance. So they are often warning about progress invisible to the public and government. 🖼️ The big picture: The politics are shifting fast. Until now, much of the AI backlash centered on tangible costs — lost jobs, deepfakes, power bills and data centers. Then on Tuesday, Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon quit and accused frontier labs of "gambling with our lives." Anthropic's alignment-science lead — who still works at the lab — responded by agreeing that AI could kill humanity, and said his personal odds of that happening in the next decade are over 10%. By yesterday afternoon, the alarm had gone bipartisan in a Washington already rattled by OpenAI's Hugging Face incident: Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described AI companies as being in a "blind race to build a death machine first." Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) renewed his push for a bipartisan AI kill switch. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has already proposed a data center moratorium and ban on superintelligence, is convening senators next week for a briefing on AI's "extraordinary dangers." Rep. Don Beyer, a Democrat from Northern Virginia, tweeted: "I hope warnings like these will help my colleagues understand how important it is to take broad action on AI regulation, and to do it swiftly." Even Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), one of Washington's loudest advocates for beating China in the AI race, called the risks "dangerous and frightening" and said guardrails are needed. The bottom line: The AI twilight zone has created fertile ground for a generational populist backlash. The industry requires Americans to absorb enormous disruption today for a future its own builders describe as miraculous or apocalyptic — sometimes in the same breath.

Vernor’s Ginger Ale is the oldest soda still being sold. It was created by Detroit pharmacist James Vernor in 1866. James

Down the shore Photo: Joan Fine A show-stopping late-summer sunset at Barnegat Lighthouse State Park in N.J., snapped by reader Joan Fine.

There's a book club for that Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Americans may be reading less, but bookstores are thriving and book clubs are bringing people together. Book club events on Eventbrite jumped 33% during the first half of this year compared with the same time last year, Axios' Sami Sparber reports. 👀 The intrigue: The book club boom has been largely driven by "hyper niche" meetups that bring together readers who love the same genres or have the same hobbies, Eventbrite says. Readers are lacing up corsets and attaching prosthetic fairy ears to gather with fellow fans of the red-hot "romantasy" genre. They're reading together silently, sometimes not even the same book. Indie bookstores are hosting clubs for people who want to craft while they discuss books. 👻 Case in point: At Atlanta bookstore Offbeat Books, each book club has its own vibe, owner Lindsi Bollinger tells Axios. The horror club spills into movie talk, while the nonfiction club is run "pretty much like a classroom," with PowerPoints, a projector and discussion questions. There's also a "weird girl" reading group — part of a literary trend celebrating books with messy, strange, complicated female protagonists. 👥 Between the lines: Book clubs are also getting a lift as younger people get more into offline hobbies and in-person hangouts. "One of my favorite parts of book club is when we have ended the book club and people are just talking to each other … maybe making plans outside of the book club," says Hannah Mathews, a bookseller at Offbeat Books who facilitates the "weird girl" club.

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Here is an example of why the KJV is less than perfect: Lu 5:6 And when they had this done, they inclosed <4788> a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. Ro 11:32 For God hath concluded <4788> them all in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all. Ga 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded <4788> all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. Ga 3:23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up <4788> unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. This word #4788 is used four times in the NT. It is translated 3 different ways. In Galatians, even though the word is used in consecutive verses, it is translated with different words. Note here: Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. KJV Note the brackets. This is an interpretation / translation choice by the KJV translators, likely wrong, considering the context "So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came...." RSV, ESV NRSV. According to the revised versions, the law served until Christ came." In line with this, the following verse says we are no longer under the guardian/schoolmaster. The KJV ignores the idea that the Law served only until Christ came, even though the verse following indicates that as well. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ,.... KJV So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came.... RSV

💵 J Street's AIPAC-backed targets Illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios The liberal pro-Israel group J Street is launching a $3 million offensive against five AIPAC-backed Republicans in some of the nation's most competitive midterm races, we've learned. Why it matters: The battle over Israel, which roiled Democratic primaries and fueled tens of millions of dollars in outside spending, is spilling into the general election and pitting two pro-Israel groups against each other. 🚗 Driving the news: The J Street Action Fund is targeting Georgia Senate candidate Mike Collins, Reps. Max Miller of Ohio, Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa. 🥊 It's the first time J Street has gone on offense against AIPAC-backed incumbents across a significant number of competitive races. 💰 And the investment is the largest super PAC expenditure in J Street's history. (Collins has received AIPAC's support in the past, but so far not in his current Senate bid.) Between the lines: AIPAC and J Street have long represented competing visions of what it means to be pro-Israel, but their rivalry has intensified this cycle as divisions over Israel deepen in both parties. Both are pro-Israel, but J Street is more critical of the Israeli government than AIPAC. — Alex Isenstadt

⭐️ Johnson spotlights Dems Speaker Mike Johnson's super PAC is spending big to give little-known Democratic challengers main-character energy — or at least starring roles in 30-second campaign ads. Why it matters: Trump wants to make the election about himself. The Congressional Leadership Fund — a super PAC affiliated with Johnson (R-La.) — is keeping the focus squarely on the Democrats running for Congress. 👉 The two strategies aren't necessarily at odds. But they offer different answers to the central question of the 2026 midterms: Is this election a referendum on Trump or a choice between individual candidates? ✅ Driving the news: Put CLF in the choice category. The super PAC has reserved new ads in eight congressional districts as it spends down its $175 million budget. It's now up in 15 districts. ✂️ The group is cutting bespoke attacks in a national campaign, with tailored ads for individual candidates and districts, drawing on on-the-ground research. The messaging varies, but the goal is the same: Elevate the Democratic candidate and define them before they can define themselves. The other side: The Democrats' main super PAC, House Majority PAC, is currently spending in 11 races — with considerably more thematic consistency. HMP wants to tie Republican candidates to the president and his policies, arguing that two years of MAGA rule have left voters paying more for health care, groceries and gas. Democrats aren't trying to make their opponents famous so much as make them part of the Trump brand — and responsible for his policies. 🔎 Zoom in: In a 30-second ad attacking JoAnna Mendoza, who is challenging Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-Ariz.) in AZ-06, CLF mentions Mendoza's name four times. "This is JoAnna Mendoza. Her job — an extreme liberal lobbyist," the narrator opens. "Because liberal lobbyist JoAnna Mendoza is not looking out for you." It's the first salvo in the $2.9 million CLF has reserved in AZ-06, according to AdImpact. Democrats want to link GOP incumbents to the costs voters see in their everyday lives. "When I got the notice about my premiums going up, it stopped me in my tracks," a woman says as she jogs through a neighborhood in an HMP ad, part of a $6.4 million reservation to defeat Rep. Gabe Evans (R-Colo.). "For some they are doubling — all because Gabe Evans cast the deciding vote for Trump's billionaire tax cut." 🌎 Zoom out: The GOP super PAC is mostly playing defense. Democrats are leaning more heavily into offense. Nine of CLF's 15 ads are aimed at protecting Republican incumbents, while five target sitting Democratic lawmakers. One is focused on the open Nebraska seat being vacated by retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.). By contrast, just two of HMP's first 11 ads are devoted to protecting Democratic incumbents. Seven target sitting Republican lawmakers, with the remaining two focused on open seats. The bottom line: Republicans are offering concierge attack service — targeted messages for each Democratic candidate. The format of Democrats' ads is closer to "a noun, a verb and Donald Trump": Tie Republicans to the president and make them answer for his policies. — Hans Nichols

Click on the unlined part... Here is a interesting description of the issue I just came across..

Fighting With Family (Andrew Harnik / Getty)   View in browser When Donald Trump looks at a map, he doesn’t see nations. He sees property. All of those pretty colors do not represent actual places filled with human beings who have distinct cultures, languages, and histories; the planet, to Trump, is a big board game, like Risk or Monopoly. Greenland isn’t a real location—it’s a valuable chunk of territory nestled between Boardwalk and Park Place. The Strait of Hormuz isn’t an international waterway—it’s a thing to control somewhere between Kamchatka and East Africa. This inability to grasp the existence of independent nations drives the president to fury when countries and their governments refuse to play along with his delusions. Trump cannot understand why Iran won’t bend to his will, why NATO won’t instantly obey his orders, why South Korea and Japan won’t just write checks or provide troops on demand. The only people Trump seems to respect are the autocrats in Beijing and Moscow and Pyongyang who, like him, view the world as a brutal competition for power and territory. Now Trump has declared economic war on Canada, a nation that has vexed him for years. Even by the standards of Trump’s many fixations, his obsession with Canada has become not only weird but truly destructive. He has opened a giant political and economic rift with one of America’s biggest trading partners, a sister nation, and an ally in the common defense of North America and Europe. Why does Trump hate Canada so much? We can only speculate about what goes on in the president’s head, but his actions suggest a pattern. When Trump is frustrated about something he can’t control, he lashes out at friends harder than he does enemies. He took out his anger about the Epstein files on legislators from his own party, even though he had campaigned on releasing those documents. Stymied by Iran on multiple fronts, Trump decided to blame South Korea for not helping him, and curtailed military exercises with a vital U.S. ally. (This decision also had the side benefit of allowing Trump to make another embarrassing overture to the North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un, a bromantic gesture that went unreciprocated.) Trump values absolute loyalty over everything else—not that he always returns it—and he detests any sign that others, especially those who are supposed to be his friends and allies, might have views and interests of their own. The American economy is stalling, and Trump’s poll numbers are in the basement, so the next obvious move is to pick a huge fight with a nation that is essentially family to Americans. Canada is most definitely a foreign country, which is one reason I like to visit. (Go ahead—try to find a convenience store in America that sells Aero chocolate bars or wine gums.) But to the utterly incurious Trump, it probably looks like an extension of upstate New York. Canada and America are bound by deep cultural and historical bonds, but ironically, the superficial similarities are likely driving much of Trump’s vitriol. How dare these people—whose country is, to him, just a cheap knockoff of America—defy him! After all, most of Canada speaks English; its cities look like ours (if definitely cleaner); we share pop stars and TV shows; they even call their money “the dollar,” despite its colorful look and plasticky feel. Canada, in the president’s eyes, is less a sovereign nation than a real-estate parcel he forgot to buy because it’s in a neighborhood he never visits. The fact that Canada is led by someone Trump accidentally helped put in office probably irks him too. Early last year, Canada’s Liberal Party had been in power for 10 years and was facing a huge defeat in what seemed to be an impending “change” election. Trump, as usual, could not control himself when it came to the internal politics of an allied nation: He imposed tariffs during the lead-up to the Canadian vote while banging on about making Canada the 51st state. The Liberal leader Mark Carney—an unflappable public figure who is completely different from Trump in both temperament and intellect—pivoted quickly and campaigned on standing up to the American president. Carney almost overnight went from a no-hoper to prime minister. And now he has shown that he is perfectly willing to retaliate against Trump’s policies rather than fold. If Trump wants tariffs, Carney will provide them—in spades. Imagine how all of this looks to Trump, who has made clear that Canada shouldn’t even exist as an independent state. I am humiliated as an American, and as a friend of Canada, to admit this, but Trump’s attitude toward Canada is almost indistinguishable from the way Russian President Vladimir Putin sees Ukraine: not as a state but as some kind of historical anomaly that should be returned to its rightful owners. Trump might think it’s funny to post memes of Canada with an American flag superimposed on it, but those jokes are a lot less hilarious to people in places such as Ukraine, who are fighting a war against a dictator who feels exactly the same way about their country. Canadians are probably scratching their head over Trump’s willingness to hurt his own people and especially his own party. Trump may hate Canada, but it’s hard to imagine what he thinks he’ll gain by causing economic pain to Americans along the Canadian border, especially in states such as Maine and Michigan, where Republicans are facing tight battles for congressional seats. What the Canadians may not realize is that, with this president, none of it has to make sense, and that if recent history is a guide, he will back down, perhaps after declaring victory over Ottawa. Trump will then move on, leaving ordinary Americans and their Canadian friends to deal with the damage. Related: Trump will make South Korea pay for his Iran humiliation. How to lose a trade war

What to know about Europe’s push to compete in space Key figures from Europe’s space industry and other international players have converged on Paris to discuss how to advance the continent’s ambitions in a global market dominated by the United States. Read More.

An unnamed donor responds to global aid cuts with a record gift for the nonprofit Americares A major American aid group is promising to deliver more medicines in high-need areas around the world after receiving its largest ever donation. Read More.

Hobie, When you post quotes or summaries of other people's work, it would be helpful if you would site the source of the individuals you quote, whether it is an exact quote or not.

Nearly a decade after the Cambridge Analytica scandal, New Mexico alone is taking Facebook to trial Attorneys representing the state of New Mexico told jurors that targeted political ads, attempting to lower Democratic turnout during the 2016 election, used Facebook data sold to a political consulting firm, during opening statements in a trial over the platform's data protections. Read More. The Tate brothers must stay locked up during their UK extradition fight, US judge says Social media influencers Andrew and Tristan Tate must remain in custody as they fight extradition to the United Kingdom, where the brothers are accused of rape and sex trafficking, a federal judge in Miami ruled Wednesday. Read More.

Anthropic researcher resigns with warning about the dangers of AI development An Anthropic researcher said he is resigning from the company over concerns the artificial intelligence firm and its competitors are not acting responsibly in AI development, echoing concerns raised inside and outside of the industry about the technology's potential to elude human control. Read More.

Missouri’s congressional map is back before the U.S. Supreme Court, sowing still more confusion JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A battle over Missouri’s congressional districts vaulted back to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, two months before a pivotal November election that will determine control of Congress and affect the fate of President Donald Trump’s agenda. https://apnews.com/article/redistricting-congress-missouri-trump-gerrymandering-ecc7931d276eec7567a93736dcb8d3d0?

🕯️ D.C. marks 25 years since 9/11 A fragment of the airplane that crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Photo: Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian's National Museum of American History this week is highlighting about 40 objects tied to the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Flight 93 that are not currently on display, Axios D.C.'s Anna Spiegel reports. The objects will be displayed on open tables rather than behind glass, for an unusually close look meant to "inspire respect and reflection." ⛑️ The Smithsonian's 9/11 collection has over 700 pieces, including plane and building fragments, first responders' gear, photographs and letters. The museum will also screen the documentary "9/11: Stories in Fragments." More events ...

⚡️ Gas prices supercharge EV interest Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios 56% of drivers say high gas prices have raised their interest in electric cars, Axios' Jim Sergent reports from HERE Technologies and SBD Automotive's annual survey. 🔌 Charging availability is becoming less of a deterrent, too. 47% of drivers say there's a good number of public chargers, up from 28% last year. 🤑 Yes, but: Higher purchase prices are holding back two in five would-be EV buyers, according to the survey. Kelley Blue Book says Americans paid an average of $56,126 for a new EV in July. That's $6,200 more than the typical car. Go deeper ... Explore the data.

Trump says oil prices that spiked because of Iran war likely won’t come down until after midterms WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday that oil prices that have surged because of the Iran war likely won’t come down until after U.S. midterm elections. https://apnews.com/article/trump-oil-prices-iran-midterms-22ffe753bb2d60c99024ca6cfbec4142? Rubio says US is working with allies to counter drugs but will 'still blow up ships if need be' Secretary of State Marco Rubio gave new clarity Wednesday on the U.S. approach toward combating drug trafficking in Latin American waters, saying the Trump administration is now focused on working with allied countries and aligning with their laws but insisting that the military will “still blow up ships if need be.” Read More.

Microsoft Is Forcing a Windows 11 Security Feature That Could Slow Down Your PC An upcoming October Windows update will turn on Memory Integrity by default—improving system security, but potentially tanking performance on older hardware and demanding games. https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-is-forcing-a-windows-11-security-feature-that-could-slow-down?