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Progressives jolt Dems in huge primary win Abdul El-Sayed at a press conference in Detroit today. Photo: Finn Gomez/Getty Images Progressives scored their biggest win of the year in yesterday's Michigan Senate primary, Axios' Holly Otterbein writes. Left-wing outsider Abdul El-Sayed underperformed predictions, but his victory over moderate Rep. Haley Stevens was a rebuke to party leaders — and to big donors. 🥊 El-Sayed told supporters this morning, as AP called the race in his favor: "In the words of Muhammad Ali, we shook up the world." Our key takeaways from last night's results... 1. Progressives are laying the '28 groundwork. Progressives have been eager to show that they can carry a battleground state in the next presidential election. They'll now get a chance to prove that in November. 2. Money isn't everything. Stevens and her allies spent $65 million on ads, compared to $7.5 million by El-Sayed and his supporters. Stevens' loss is also a face-plant for AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobby whose super PAC poured more than $30 million into the race against El-Sayed. 3. Bernie handed Chuck an "L." Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a progressive icon, went on a mission to elect progressives up and down the ticket this year — often opposing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's favorites, including Stevens. Abdul El-Sayed supporters cheer at an election watch party last night in Detroit. Photo: Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images 4. The left had downballot muscle. Will Lawrence won a battleground House nomination, and Donavan McKinney ousted Rep. Shri Thanedar. 5. Republicans like the result. Recent polls suggest that former Rep. Mike Rogers, the GOP's Senate nominee, would fare better against El-Sayed than Stevens. Go deeper.

Microsoft Just Fixed File Explorer, But It's Still Broken Windows 11 is finally getting customizable File Explorer context menus, but Microsoft's biggest usability problem is still hiding in plain sight. https://www.pcmag.com/news/microsoft-just-fixed-file-explorer-but-its-still-broken?

ICE Rounds Up Dozens of Relatives of U.S. Troops The change reflects the ruthlessness of Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda in his second term. More than 50 parents and spouses of active-duty U.S. troops have been detained, and at least six have been deported, in President Donald Trump’s massive crackdown on immigration. At least eight immediate family members of service members are currently in ICE custody. The Associated Press found that many military family members have been detained during immigration appointments while applying for parole-in-place or seeking to adjust their legal status. Parents and spouses of service members have generally been protected from deportation for decades, under both Republican and Democratic administrations. Experts say the move could have a negative impact on U.S. troops as they fight Trump’s war with Iran. Deporting family members can leave troops in emotional distress, without caretakers for their children and forces some to leave their posts to take care of their families or help with the immigration process. “How can I even focus on my military career because I have to worry about how my wife is doing?” said Army Sgt. Hedar Leonel Turcios Juarez, whose wife was detained in front of their six-year-old daughter outside a Walmart in July while he was stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas. The change reflects the ruthlessness of Trump’s mass deportation agenda in his second term. According to a new April 2025 policy, “military service alone does not exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws.” Dan Gividen, who served as ICE’s deputy chief counsel under Trump in his first term, said it was uncommon for immigration authorities to detain service members’ immediate family members unless they had committed violent crimes. “We would not place them into removal proceedings, period. That’s insane,” Gividen told the Associated Press. “The fact that they’re doing it now is just outrageous.” One of the reasons why many join the U.S. military is because it offers a pathway to legal immigration status from within the country. The benefit, which the military itself advertises, extends to spouses, children and parents of active-duty service members and veterans. The policy dates back to 2007, when President George W. Bush introduced it during the Iraq War. “They basically told me that if you serve, and if you served honorably, you can help your parents,” said Vilchis-Valle, 23, who was honorably discharged shortly after his mother was deported. “In a perfect world, I wished, because of my service, they could have pardoned her.” ICE historically canceled orders to detain parents or spouses of troop members or allowed them to adjust their legal status, Margaret Stock, an immigration attorney and retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, explained. “It’s the same thing that happens if you don’t provide healthcare to the troops, or you don’t provide housing to the troops,” she said. If soldiers are preoccupied with detained or deported family, “they’re not concentrating on their job anymore.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-detains-relatives-of-us-troops-during-immigration-crackdown/? ps:What a commander and chief, gets people to vote for him and than deports them as there kids who are serving our country!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Judge Torches Trump’s DOJ Goons in Scathing Ruling The judge ripped into the administration for moving to dismiss charges against the worst Jan. 6 defendants. A federal judge slammed the Department of Justice as he “reluctantly” granted the Trump administration’s request to throw out the charges against nine members of an extremist organization that led the Capitol riot. On his first day back in office, Trump pardoned more than 1,500 rioters, effectively wiping out about 1,270 convictions and ending criminal proceedings against the remaining defendants who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.He also commuted the sentences of 14 people found guilty of organizing and leading the attack—including former members of the far-right Proud Boys and Oath Keepers—which freed them from prison but meant they were still classified as felons. Judge Amit P. Mehta on Tuesday granted U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s motion to dismiss the charges against nine Oath Keepers, including its leader Stewart Rhodes, less than a month after charges were dropped against five Proud Boys. Mehta’s scathing decision made it clear he was only ruling that way because he lacked the authority to deny the request, since the executive branch has final authority over charging decisions. His ruling laid out the gravity of the crimes committed by the defendants and warned that in the court’s view, dismissal was not “in the public interest.” “Today’s epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and law enforcement officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy—the peaceful transfer of presidential power—to buckle,” Mehta, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote. He also ripped into the DOJ for failing to provide a compelling reason for dropping the charges “The government does not say that the charges were legally deficient or that evidence presented is insufficient to sustain Defendants’ convictions,” he wrote. “It confesses no prosecutorial misconduct, nor does it assert any denial or compromise of the defendant’s rights. And it does not identify any legal error that resulted in an unfair trial or wrongful conviction.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the DOJ for comment. Rhodes and five other defendants had been convicted of the most serious crimes, including seditious conspiracy, for trying to violently overturn President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Trump. Two others were convicted on other conspiracy charges, while another was convicted of obstruction of an official proceeding. Rhodes was sentenced to 18 years in prison, the second-longest of any J6 defendants, and had called on Trump to issue a full pardon so he could own a gun, vote in his home state of Texas, and receive veterans benefits. Using encrypted communications, Rhodes helped recruit and train rioters, brought paramilitary gear and weapons to Washington, D.C., and helped breach the Capitol building. While the angry mob attacked police officers inside, Rhodes remained outside coordinating the attack, according to the DOJ. He then continued plotting even after the riot failed to stop the election’s certification until he was arrested in 2022. Rhodes and the other defendants had challenged their convictions in hopes of expunging their records. They were facing an April deadline to file their arguments about why the government had overreached with its charges. Defending the convictions would have likely required the DOJ to argue that the far-right groups were acting on behalf of Trump, who has long denied being responsible for the violence that took place at the Capitol, The New York Times reported at the time. Instead, Pirro—a longtime Trump loyalist—filed to have the charges dismissed against the remaining defendants. https://www.thedailybeast.com/judge-torches-trumps-doj-goons-in-scathing-oath-keepers-capitol-riot-ruling/? ps:The really sad thing is they all know, everyone of his administration know what they're doing wrong!!!!!

Military Families Rage at Trump Over Gross Conditions for Troops Relatives of the crew aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln say exhaustion on the carrier could get someone killed. Sailors fighting President Donald Trump’s war with Iran are washing in moldy showers and rationing meals in the ninth month of a mission that shows zero signs of ending. The USS Abraham Lincoln sailed out of San Diego in November on a deployment supposed to last seven months. Trump, 80, launched his air campaign against Iran in February. The carrier has been in the fight ever since, and its 5,000-plus sailors and Marines still have no homecoming date. The president said the conflict would last a “few weeks.” It’s been five months. Bonnie York, whose stepson is aboard the Lincoln, told MS NOW she had been told a doctor or therapist on the ship warned the crew needed to reach port before people started “losing their minds.” She voted for Trump—and partly because he promised not to start any new wars. She no longer believes the country is safer for it. “You’ve essentially stranded them out there,” she said of the crew. Relatives of the crew told the network they fear the exhaustion on board will get someone killed. A dozen spoke to the outlet about the conditions, and most asked not to be named, fearing retaliation against their relatives on the vessel. Brett Snow, a Navy veteran with a son on the ship, said the grind has produced a situation “ripe for accidents.” Even in peacetime, he said, a carrier is one of the most hazardous places to work. The crew has set foot off the ship for just two days in the more than eight months since it left California. There was a brief stop in Guam in December, then no port at all until the Lincoln reached Oman on July 7, ending 208 unbroken days out on the water. No U.S. carrier has spent longer at sea without a break in the modern era. Families of the service personnel on the ship described toilets that are out of service, laundry rooms shut for weeks and long stretches without hot water. Nicole Conrad, who, like York, voted for Trump, has not seen her son’s face for months. He has messaged her about locked showers, a shuttered laundry and a meal that came to two tortillas and a half-cup of rice. She now wants Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, 46, to see the ship for himself. “He put our nose in a war that we shouldn’t be in,” she said. The crew’s relatives went public two days after Trump handed Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, control of a new panel on military family welfare, the New York Post reports. He signed the order in the Oval Office on Monday. Its members are Christie Mullin, wife of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, and 20 spouses of the Joint Chiefs, the service secretaries and each branch’s top enlisted leader. Hegseth brushed off an earlier round of complaints about conditions at sea. Photographs of near-empty meal trays aboard the Lincoln and the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli spread online in April, and the Daily Beast reported at the time on parents’ fury over their children going hungry on board. The defense secretary called that coverage “fake news.” Rep. Sara Jacobs, 37, a San Diego Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said the crew’s fatigue and mental health worry her deeply, and warned that history shows such strain can carry serious consequences, including a heightened risk of suicide. Trump, she said, “needs to end the Iran war now and bring our service members home.” Other military families have had a different week. The Associated Press counted 51 cases of mothers, fathers, husbands and wives of serving troops taken into immigration custody since Trump returned to office. At least six have been deported. At least eight are still being held. No federal agency keeps a tally, and the Department of Homeland Security told the wire it compiles none, so the real figure is almost certainly higher. The arrests have pushed back deployments, driven some troops to take leave and left others with nobody at home to mind their children. Experts told AP the reversal could damage readiness while the country is fighting a war. One of the officials who has stepped in to get military spouses released is Markwayne Mullin, whose department is making the arrests, and whose wife took her seat on Trump’s commission for military welfare on Monday. The Daily Beast has contacted his department, along with the White House and the Pentagon, for comment on this story. https://www.thedailybeast.com/families-rage-at-trump-over-american-forces-aboard-uss-lincoln/?

How Abdul El-Sayed went from political oblivion to progressive breakthrough in Michigan Senate race DETROIT (AP) — Abdul El-Sayed, a former public health official who harnessed Democratic frustration with the party establishment, narrowly defeated Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s U.S. Senate primary, setting up a crucial test for progressives in a key battleground state. https://apnews.com/article/michigan-primary-senate-elsayed-stevens-60c79349b60ffbf24a34d60b76e130ed?

👋 Good morning! Happy Hump Day. In today's edition: Skenes is slumping, Caitlin Clark just wants to "shut up and dribble," Bijan gets mega-extension, Buckeyes top preseason poll, World Dog Surfing Championships, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   🚨 ICYMI HEADLINES ⚾️ Skubal loses Dodgers debut: Tarik Skubal pitched well in his Dodgers debut (6 IP, 2 ER), but his new team's bats went silent in a 5-1 loss to the Cubs. And the fans at Wrigley Field gave him and the Dodgers a taste of what's to come the rest of the season, raining boos down on the team that "ruined baseball." 🏈 Mega extensions: The Falcons gave Bijan Robinson a three-year extension worth up to $75M, making him the highest-paid RB ever; The Ravens gave Zay Flowers a four-year, $140M extension with $108M guaranteed, the most ever for a WR; The Bears gave Darnell Wright a four-year, $116M extension, the richest ever for a right tackle. 🎾 Alcaraz withdraws: Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the upcoming Cincinnati Open due to his lingering wrist injury, despite it reportedly being "completely healed" for the past few weeks. His status for the U.S. Open remains up in the air. 🏀 Cleveland Sirens: Cleveland's WNBA expansion franchise will be called the Sirens, named for "Lake Erie's power and pull." The league's 16th team is set to debut in 2028, followed by additional expansion clubs in 2029 (Detroit) and 2030 (Philadelphia). ⛳️ Koivun's latest honor: PGA Tour rookie Jackson Koivun, currently in the hunt for a spot in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, was named the SEC Male Athlete of the Year, becoming the first golfer to win the award in its 51-year history, and the first Auburn athlete to win it since Bo Jackson in 1986.   ⚾️ SLUMPING ACE WHAT'S WRONG WITH PAUL SKENES? (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) Paul Skenes takes the mound today in unfamiliar territory. For the first time in his brief but brilliant career, Pittsburgh's ace is legitimately struggling. A month to forget: The reigning NL Cy Young pitched to a 6.25 ERA in six July starts — 6.38 if you include his final sub-par outing of June. That's raised his season-long ERA from 2.86 to 3.90, and put a massive dent in his chances of winning another Cy Young this year. It hasn't been all bad, as Skenes mixed three victories into the middle of his month, but he's suddenly allowing far more men to reach base, and then struggling to keep them from scoring. While he remains an elite strikeout merchant, his hit and walk rates have nearly doubled, allowing 1.2 hits per inning in his last seven starts (up from 0.73 in his first 16) and issuing 0.38 walks per inning (up from 0.2). Wild stat: Skenes has allowed 5+ earned runs as many times in his last six starts (3) as he did in the first 72 starts of his career. What's causing this? Skenes' slump is likely due, at least indirectly, to his velocity being way down. After throwing 1,552 pitches at 98+ mph across his first two seasons (an average of 28 per start), he's thrown just 95 such pitches this year (4 per start). On the one hand, he said recently that "I don't think velocity is something I need to pitch well," and there are numbers that lend credence to that claim: His opponent batting average and slugging percentage against his four-seamer are in line with career norms. But the issue is how that dip in velocity affects the rest of his arsenal. Indeed, batters are crushing his offspeed pitches this season (.286 AVG and .397 SLG, up from .189/.250 last year), as they no longer need to sell out for a triple-digit heater. Looking ahead: The worst-case scenario is that Skenes, like so many other young flamethrowers, is beginning to show the signs of what will eventually lead to elbow surgery. But he also may just be enduring a blip fueled by some bad luck (his 2.91 FIP* ranks sixth in the majors). We'll see if he can right the ship tonight against Milwaukee (7:30pm ET, ESPN). *FIP, explained: Fielding Independent Pitching is similar to ERA, but it focuses only on events pitchers have control over — strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs. In other words, it removes results on balls hit into the field of play.   🏀 IN THE SPOTLIGHT CAITLIN CLARK JUST WANTS TO SHUT UP AND DRIBBLE (Soobum Im/Getty Images) Caitlin Clark just wants to "shut up and dribble." It's time for people on both sides of the political divide to let her. Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: No matter the discourse that flares up around her style of play, the fouls she takes from opposing players or the various political controversies that find their way into the WNBA ecosystem, Caitlin Clark has been remarkably consistent about one thing during her entire career. She wants no part of your agenda. If you're on the left and believe Clark is doing something to foster online racism and harassment toward her opponents, it is apparent that no amount of denunciation (which she has done many times) will convince you that she just wants to play ball. And if you're on the other side of the spectrum, trying to bait her into one of these hot-button debates that dominates right-wing media, you, too, will find yourself disappointed by her equal-opportunity evasiveness. In an era where every athlete is supposed to have an opinion on everything for the rest of us to judge as we retreat into ideological camps, here's a basketball player who literally just wants to shut up and dribble. And her reward is getting attacked from both sides. It's exhausting. It's pathetic. And everyone would be much better off if they simply let Clark handle her career and her image in the way she sees fit.   🏈 BAG SECURED BIJAN RUNS IT BACK IN ATLANTA (Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports) The following is an excerpt from Yahoo Sports Biz, our new sports business newsletter authored by Dylan Dittrich. Sign up here to get on the list. Bijan Robinson became the highest-paid running back in NFL history on Tuesday, signing a three-year extension with the Falcons worth up to $75 million. The impact: While the deal raises the bar for the position (great news for Jahmyr Gibbs), it doesn't radically alter the complexion of a league that has paid less of the cap to star running backs over the last decade. Nor does its three-year term represent a marked shift from prioritizing youth at the position. Youth movement: Teams have grown accustomed to restraining their running-back investment beyond a certain age — usually a back's mid-to-late 20s — instead prioritizing youth at the position. The cash-pay chart above only looks as favorable as it does in recent years because of the high draft positions and hefty signing bonuses for Ashton Jeanty (6th in 2025) and Jeremiyah Love (3rd in 2026). Teams are willing to invest in a back's explosive early years. Superstars at the position still earn lucrative second contracts, so long as those deals don't take them past their presumed shelf-lives. Robinson's contract extends through his age-28 season, offering the Falcons protection from a decline. Bye-bye, bell cow: The league emphasis on passing and the prioritization of fresh legs has numbered the days of the traditional bell-cow running back. This season's highest-paid running back (by cap hit) is Jonathan Taylor, whose hit ranks only 110th in the league. 15 years ago, Adrian Peterson ranked 13th. No running back in the last decade has cracked the top 20. Quarterback envy: In 2011, the top QB cap-hit belonged to Peyton Manning at $16 million, while Peterson's trailed closely behind at $13 million. Compare that to the upcoming season: Matthew Stafford's hit is $48.2 million, up 201% from the Sheriff's, while Jonathan Taylor's $15.5 million is only a 20% improvement on AP's. Go deeper: Bijan Robinson's extension resets our beliefs about the value of running backs (Jeff Eisenberg, Yahoo Sports)   🏈 TOP 25 BUCKEYES, DUCKS TOP PRESEASON POLL (Joseph Raines/Yahoo Sports) The Big Ten has the top two teams in the 2026 preseason Coaches Poll, with Ohio State at No. 1 and Oregon at No. 2. Conference call: While the Big Ten has three of the top six teams in the poll, the SEC has five teams in the top 10 and nine ranked teams overall, one more than the Big Ten's eight. The Big 12 has four teams in the top 25, while the ACC has three.   📺 VIEWING GUIDE WATCHLIST: WEDNESDAY, AUG. 5 Seattle celebrates after winning last year's Leagues Cup. (Alika Jenner/Getty Images) ⚽️ Leagues Cup, Group Stage The World Cup is over, but the Leagues Cup is here, as 36 teams from MLS and Liga MX are competing in a month-long tournament for North American bragging rights and spots in the CONCACAF Champions Cup. South of the border: For the first time ever, there will be Leagues Cup matches played in Mexico, starting with tonight's headliner between top-seeded Toluca and defending champion Seattle (10pm ET, Apple/FS1). Another one worth watching: Lionel Messi and Inter Miami host Atlético de San Luis (7:30pm, Apple). More to watch: ⚾️ MLB: Cardinals at Yankees (7:05pm, Prime); Pirates at Brewers (7:30pm, ESPN) … Can Paul Skenes (6.25 ERA in July) bounce back in August? 🏀 WNBA: Storm at Liberty (7pm, USA); Sparks at Sky (9pm, USA) … New York (18-13) has won five of six, immediately after losing six of seven.   🥇 ON THIS DAY TRIVIA TIME (Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) Question: 10 years ago today, the 2016 Summer Olympics kicked off in what city? Answer at the bottom.   🌊 SURF'S UP PHOTO FINISH (Godofredo A. Vásquez/AFP via Getty Images) The annual World Dog Surfing Championships were held this weekend in Pacifica, California (about 14 miles south of San Francisco), and the photos did not disappoint. Way to rip, Rusty! (Heather Diehl/Getty Images) The dogs, sporting colorful life vests, were assisted by human participants, who spotted the best waves to carry them to shore as thousands of spectators cheered — and barked — from the beach. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images) The event, which benefits local animal charities, included a tandem competition. Here we have Bradley "Shortboard" Cooper, Rippin' Rosie and Charlie competing as the "dream team.” Absolute legends.   Trivia answer: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Billionaire Republican Megadonor Pulls the Plug on Trump’s Party The wealthy cosmetics heir pumped millions into Republican causes just last year. Ronald Lauder, the billionaire and major GOP donor, has abruptly stopped handing out political donations ahead of the crucial midterm elections for Donald Trump. The wealthy heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics fortune has tightened his purse strings and has not donated to any Republican causes in his home state of New York this year, The New York Times reported. Lauder, who has an estimated net worth of around $4.9 billion, has closed his checkbook just as the GOP is expected to suffer heavy defeats in November’s nationwide elections. The ramifications of an electoral wipeout for the Republican Party would be significant for Trump if a Democratic-controlled Congress were to pursue impeachment proceedings against the president. However, the 82-year-old’s change in spending habits does not appear to be linked to dissatisfaction with Trump or the GOP as a whole. Instead, sources told the Times that Lauder’s adult children had convinced him to curtail his lavish spending and public activities as he enters his later years. That includes cutting back on political donations, downsizing staff, and giving fewer public speeches. In January 2025, Lauder—whose daughter Jane is married to Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh—announced he would be retiring from the Estée Lauder Board of Directors. Lauder is also hoping to prioritize art and philanthropic projects, which he believes will form a greater part of his legacy. Gerard Kassar, chairman of the New York Conservative Party, said a close associate told him that Lauder had “got to a certain age that his family and him all decided he wasn’t going to be as active the way he has been.” “Can anyone replace him in New York financially?” Kassar told the Times. “The simple answer is no.” Lauder remained politically active last year, including donating $5 million to MAGA Inc., a super PAC backing Trump, in March 2025. He previously handed $200,000 to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. He also donated another $1 million to a super PAC opposing Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani’s mayoral campaign. Lauder’s ties to Trump date back decades, and he is credited with putting the idea in the president’s head to try to purchase Greenland back in 2018. Estée Lauder’s headquarters is just two blocks away from Trump Tower on New York’s 5th Avenue. Overall, Lauder is estimated to have donated more than $40 million to state and federal campaigns. However, that pales in comparison to what he has spent on artwork. In 2006, the billionaire paid $135 million for Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, the highest price ever paid for a painting at the time. In a statement to the Times, Lauder said he has used his political donations to “strengthen” New York City. He added: “I intend to continue dedicating my time, resources and energy to advancing those democratic principles and to ensuring that New York remains a place where people, families, businesses and communities can thrive.” The Daily Beast has contacted Ronald Lauder’s office for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaire-republican-megadonor-ronald-lauder-pulls-the-plug-on-trumps-party/? ps:One by one, but is it to late??

Bone Spurs President Uses AI to Award Himself Ultimate Medal The five-time draft dodger imagined himself outranking two of America’s most iconic generals. Draft-dodging Donald Trump has cast himself as a battlefield leader in the mold of America’s greatest generals—while appearing to bestow himself with the nation’s highest military honor. The 80-year-old president posted an AI-generated image on Truth Social Tuesday depicting him alongside generals George S. Patton and Douglas MacArthur, two of the most celebrated U.S. military commanders of World War II, against the backdrop of a raging battlefield. Trump’s fantasy image places him above Patton and MacArthur in the military hierarchy, showing him with four stars while the legendary generals wear two. In reality, MacArthur was a five-star general—one of only five Americans to attain that rank—while Patton was a four-star general. Trump, who received four deferments for education and one for a disputed bone spur diagnosis, also imagined himself bedecked with dozens of service ribbons and a medal resembling the Medal of Honor. The Medal of Honor is presented by the president to service members who display “conspicuous gallantry” and risk their lives above and beyond the call of duty in combat. Recipients are saluted by service members of every rank, including five-star generals, as well as the president, according to the National Medal of Honor Museum. Trump has never served in the armed forces and therefore never held an official military rank. He attended the New York Military Academy, where he became cadet captain. After receiving four deferments while in college, Trump received a fifth deferment in 1968, as the Vietnam War was raging. That followed a diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels—courtesy of a Queens podiatrist who rented an office in a building owned by his father, Fred Trump. Trump has been thirsting after military glory despite having no military résumé. White House insiders told The Wall Street Journal in April that amid the chaos of his war on Iran, which has so far claimed the lives of 18 troops, Trump considered giving himself the Medal of Honor. The Journal reported that Trump pondered the idea during a White House reception, saying he deserved it because his plane flew into Iraq on an unlit runway during a first-term trip to visit troops stationed in the country, citing people who were at the event. The president, who has reportedly called fallen soldiers “losers” and “suckers,” had previously riffed about his Iraq trip during a rally in Georgia in February. “I flew to Iraq and was extremely brave. In fact, so brave I wanted to give myself the Congressional Medal of Honor,” he said. As his Iran war effort struggles, Trump has turned to AI to rewrite his own mythology—casting himself alongside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and John F. Kennedy over the past two weeks. https://www.thedailybeast.com/bone-spurs-president-uses-ai-to-award-himself-ultimate-medal/? ps:What a pathetic little vain president!!!!!

This Is Why Jeanine Pirro Defied Trump: Wolff Allegations against a supposed reflecting pool “vandal” were too absurd even for a longtime Trump ally to prosecute. Donald Trump’s longtime biographer has lauded Jeanine Pirro for resisting intense pressure from the president to prosecute a supposed “vandal” without evidence. Michael Wolff tells the Inside Trump’s Head podcast that he believes Trump’s hand-picked D.C. prosecutor and MAGA ally had a “burst of clarity” when she decided to drop charges against the former Olympian accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Pirro, 75, abandoned her prosecution of David Hearn on Friday, saying it was a “flawed installation” that caused Trump’s green-slime fiasco, not vandalism. She also admonished the Department of the Interior for not “fully and accurately” briefing her prosecutors. “It’s just flatly not true. It is obviously not true,” Wolf said of the accusations against Hearn. “If it went before a judge, it would be thrown out. She... could be sanctioned on this.” Wolff continued, “Trump wants this done, but she has to do it, and she has to do it in her name,” he explained. “So I think it just got to be too much for her. I think she just said, ‘I can’t. There is just no way. Even I, a loyal—abjectly loyal—Trump functionary, factotum, I can’t do this.’” Hearn, 67, had pleaded not guilty to a single count of destruction of property. His lawyers said in a statement that the administration owes him an apology—though there has been zero indication from the White House that one is coming. Rather, the 80-year-old Trump has raged at Pirro over her decision to drop the charges, saying in the Oval Office on Monday that she had “choked” and “folded like an umbrella.” “I was disappointed with Jeanine Pirro. Really disappointed with Jeanine Pirro,” he said of the former Fox News pundit. “Instead of going after the people that did it, the judge went after her and went after her department, and I guess she choked. I don’t know what the hell happened.” Neither the White House nor Pirro’s office immediately returned the Daily Beast’s requests for comment. Asked by co-host Joanna Coles why Pirro would make such a decision that would anger the president, Wolff theorized that this lie was just “too much for her.” He said that he thinks Pirro experienced a burst of “incredulity” at the tricky situation she found herself in. “Somehow, in her mind, I think she said, ‘I’m in... a terrible corner here,’” he said. “Some people suddenly say, ’I have a reputation. I’m Judge Jeanine, I have a reputation.’” “There’s an old expression: There is some s--t I cannot eat,” Wolff added. “I think that she just came to the end of the road. And I’m sure she now regrets it, by the way. But I think she had a burst of... clarity, a burst of just, ‘Can I do anything else?’” https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-is-why-jeanine-pirro-defied-trump-on-reflecting-pool-prosecution-michael-wolff/?

Endangered Republican Senator Suddenly Opposes Trump’s AG The GOP holdout could complicate the acting AG’s confirmation vote later this week. An embattled Republican senator says she is against the nomination of President Donald Trump’s former personal lawyer as attorney general. Maine’s Susan Collins shared a statement Tuesday evening cementing her opposition to Todd Blanche’s nomination, arguing that the DOJ has strayed from operating independently of partisan influence under his reign as acting attorney general. “While I believe Mr. Blanche is a capable lawyer, the Department of Justice has become increasingly political,” Collins, 73, wrote on X. “Mr. Blanche has taken several actions that have further eroded the Department’s independence, and that is the basis for my vote to oppose his confirmation.” Collins cited Blanche’s ludicrous backdoor deal to “shield the President, his sons, and the family business from IRS audits” and his creation of a $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” as prime examples of his partisan leanings. She also condemned how he oversaw the DOJ’s targeting of two Democratic senators, Elissa Slotkin and Mark Kelly, over their “ill-advised, but constitutionally protected” videos advising American troops not to follow illegal orders. “More than 1,200 former Department of Justice employees have opposed his nomination, arguing that he has undermined the institution,” the senator added. “For these reasons, I will vote against this nomination.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the DOJ and Collins for comment. The Maine senator’s refusal to vote for Blanche comes after two of her GOP colleagues, Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn, backpedaled on their previous condemnation of Blanche on Monday. Both Tillis and Cornyn had said last week that they would not vote to confirm Blanche unless he confirmed in writing that the anti-weaponization fund he helped create as part of a settlement between Trump and the IRS was terminated. Late on Sunday, Cornyn brokered an agreement with Blanche that seemed to adhere to his demands, leading him and Tillis to cast their support for his nomination as AG. The Texas senator later admitted that “there was nothing we could do to rein in the president” as he faced pressure from Trump to vote in his favor. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which both Tillis and Cornyn sit on, voted 12-10 along party lines on Tuesday to advance Blanche’s nomination to a vote by the full Senate later this week. Despite Blanche clearing a hurdle with Tillis and Cornyn, Collins’ lack of support could prove crucial in the final confirmation vote. Republicans need only one more holdout to stop Blanche’s confirmation dead in its tracks, and several GOP senators, including Lisa Murkowski, Bill Cassidy, and John Curtis, have yet to clarify their support for Blanche. https://www.thedailybeast.com/endangered-republican-maine-senator-susan-collins-suddenly-opposes-trumps-ag-todd-blanche/? ps:I don't trust Blanche period! Even though he says one can easily do another!! This is what just about each trump candidate has done!!!

Talking Exodus with Ken Kitchen Part 1 The Exodus Investigation https://www.patternsofevidence.com/2026/07/23/talking-exodus-with-ken-kitchen-part-1/ Talking Exodus with Ken Kitchen Part 2 Interviewing a Legend https://www.patternsofevidence.com/2026/07/31/talking-exodus-with-ken-kitchen-part-2/? Mysterious Mercenaries The biblical King David, before he became leader of the Israelites, was a mercenary who sold his services to the Philistine king of Gath. This was nothing out of ordinary, as mercenaries were an integral part of many ancient armies, beginning in the Late Bronze Age (c. 1550–1100 BCE). Among the better-documented warrior groups of that era were the Shardanu, whose name would suggest they originated from the island of Sardinia in the central Mediterranean. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/ancient-cultures/mysterious-mercenaries/? Who Was Noah’s Wife? Eve, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel—the names of biblical matriarchs such as these have lived on long after they were first written down more than two and a half millennia ago. They are among some of the most common names still used across the world today. Within the narrative of Genesis they walked alongside their male counterparts and even took center stage at times. The name of one important matriarch, however, is conspicuously absent from the story found in the biblical text—Noah’s wife. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/bible-interpretation/who-was-noahs-wife/?

A man carrying ammo was monitoring security at Trump golf course near Los Angeles, authorities say A man carrying ammunition and with a gun in his vehicle was arrested Sunday at President Donald Trump’s Los Angeles-area golf course after appearing to monitor security preparations ahead of Trump’s fundraiser there on Tuesday, authorities said. https://apnews.com/article/trump-golf-course-california-armed-man-arrested-9b5617796efe673a57ad163680d8e8dd?

Iran and the US say a Strait of Hormuz deal is close, but one or both would have to back down CAIRO (AP) — Iran said Wednesday it is in the “final stage” of drafting an agreement with Oman over the Strait of Hormuz, and U.S. President Donald Trump has said a deal could be announced this week. That could potentially reopen the critical waterway, ease pressure on the world economy and help bring an end to the war. https://apnews.com/article/iran-war-us-hormuz-trump-august-5-2026-ecdbd96f2b46c70beb5926d8508f9c55?

This summer isn’t breaking heat records — yet. Wait until El Nino kicks in, scientists say So far this is only the third-hottest year on record, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. However, accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Nino mean there's an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could be the hottest year ever seen, scientists said. Read more. What to know: Climate scientists said what we’ve seen this summer can’t be blamed on El Nino because its impacts really don’t kick in for a few more months. Even if this year sets the record, it won't last long. Although scientists disagree on whether 2026 will be the hottest year on record, they agree on it being a near lock that 2027 will beat out any modern year for heat, maybe by a great deal. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The Danube River’s water is dropping so low that World War II ships are emerging Divided federal appeals court says Trump administration was wrong to terminate climate funds Wildfire destroys about 230 homes in western Canadian Indigenous community, officials say AP’s wildfire tracker

Trump’s arch could disrupt the historical significance of many of Washington’s sites, report says The proposal for a towering gilded arch, which last month received initial approval from a key federal commission, would impact the “integrity” of dozens of those historical properties, according to an assessment by the National Park Service. Read more. Why this matters: The proposed arch is one of several projects President Donald Trump is pursuing to leave his lasting imprint on Washington. With the potential to change the city’s sightline, it has already sparked opposition. One of the most obvious elements the report cited is that the arch would break alignment between the Lincoln Memorial, Memorial Bridge and Arlington House that was formerly Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee’s home. The White House said in an email that it would follow all legal requirements in constructing the arch. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Lawyers in Reflecting Pool case say Justice Department knew case was flawed FBI agents fired over Trump investigation get broad backing in lawsuit against administration Guard deployment to Washington into 2029 will cost roughly $1.4B, estimate shows House Ethics Committee opens investigation into domestic abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller FACT FOCUS: No, you won’t need an ID to shop at city-owned grocery stores in New York City

Ukraine At least 17 people were killed and dozens more wounded in and around Kyiv overnight after Russia launched more than two dozen ballistic and anti-ship missiles, none of which Ukrainian defenses intercepted. The attack underscores the danger facing civilians far from the front lines as Ukraine struggles with critically low stocks of missile interceptors. July was already the deadliest month for Ukrainian civilians since April 2022, with Russian attacks killing at least 377 people and wounding more than 2,100 others.

Medical misinformation Covid-19 has killed more than a million people in the US, but Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has claimed that lockdowns did more harm than the virus itself. In a contentious interview with CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday, he made a series of misleading statements about coronavirus, measles, autism, and Lyme disease while renewing his criticism of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who led the US response to the pandemic. Here's what the evidence tells us about Covid-19 today.

Missile stockpiles The US military has used up nearly 80% of its interceptors for a key missile defense system, leaving stockpiles "dangerously low" as mediators work to revive talks between Washington and Tehran. Gulf allies are also worried that dwindling US air defense stockpiles could leave them more vulnerable if President Donald Trump escalates the ongoing conflict. Several of those countries rely on US air defense systems and acknowledge the shortage could hinder their ability to intercept Iranian missile and drone attacks.

Election night takeaways The results are in from most of Tuesday's primaries, but one of the biggest races remains unsettled. Votes are still being counted today in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary, with progressive Abdul El-Sayed and moderate Rep. Haley Stevens locked in a tight contest that's become an early test of where Democrats want to take the party. Voters on Tuesday also picked nominees in a series of key gubernatorial and congressional races across Kansas, Michigan, Missouri and Virginia. Here are early takeaways. Key Democratic primary for Michigan’s Senate seat hung on a razor’s edge The bitter and expensive race became the most notable proxy battle between the Democratic Party’s establishment and progressive wings, with moderate U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens against progressive former public health official Abdul El-Sayed. The race was too early to call early Wednesday with only a few percentage points separating the two candidates. Read more. Why this matters: Candidates from the party’s left-flank — including democratic socialists — have found surprising success in the party’s U.S. House primaries, including in New York and Denver. Those races, however, were in deep-blue cities. Michigan has a purple hue. A progressive victory there would be more significant. Whoever wins will need to bring splintered factions back into the fold to beat former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, in a must-win Senate race for Democrats. More primaries took place in Kansas, Missouri, Virginia and Washington. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Michigan primary results All the election results More on Michigan’s Democratic Senate race Photos of the election Virginia Democrats pick establishment nominees Missouri US Rep. Wesley Bell wins a Democratic primary rematch against former Rep. Cori Bush

August 5, 2026 Your first month is free in The New York Times app. Download now → By Evan Gorelick Good morning. Votes are still trickling in for one of the biggest primary races of the year, the Democratic contest for a Senate seat in Michigan. We’ll start there. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Haley Stevens. Nick Hagen for The New York Times; Finn Gomez/Getty Images Still counting A marquee Senate race in Michigan, which Democrats are watching to gauge the strength of a left-wing insurgence that has swept through primary elections this year, remains too close to call this morning. Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, a progressive former public health official, leads Representative Haley Stevens by just over one percentage point, with more than 95 percent of votes counted in the state. But the largest share of uncounted votes is in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, where Stevens has held an edge. See live results here. Recent polls had forecast a comfortable victory for El-Sayed, who promised to end U.S. military aid to Israel and attacked Stevens repeatedly for taking at least $30 million from AIPAC, a pro-Israel lobbying group. The race wound up a lot tighter. “We knew this was going to be a close race, and that’s exactly what we’ve got,” Stevens told supporters shortly before 1 a.m. Left-wing candidates have won plenty of primaries this year, despite seemingly endless Democratic hand-wringing about their ability to court mainstream voters come November. But their victories have been largely confined to highly educated and heavily blue areas in urban America. El-Sayed wants to break that trend. At least one progressive candidate scored a decisive win last night: Down ballot in Michigan, the left-wing organizer William Lawrence prevailed in one of the most competitive House districts in the country after his two centrist opponents, each refusing to drop out of the race, split the moderate vote. When I interviewed Lawrence over the weekend, he told me it was his priority “to stop these stupid wars around the world that are wasting trillions of our dollars, including for war crimes committed by Israel.” More elections results In Kansas … Cindy Holscher, a state senator who called for a pause on the construction of data centers, is the Democrats’ pick to try to keep the governor’s mansion blue in a deep-red state. The pastor of the largest United Methodist congregation in the country, the Rev. Adam Hamilton, won the Democratic nominee for Senate. He faces an uphill battle: The state hasn’t sent a Democrat to the Senate in nearly 100 years. Voters rejected a ballot measure that would have required state Supreme Court justices to be elected, rather than appointed by the governor. (That’ll be a setback for Republicans hoping to overturn the court’s decision legalizing abortion.) In Missouri … A moderate pro-Israel Democrat, Wesley Bell, fended off a primary challenge from former Representative Cori Bush, a democratic socialist and critic of Israel who had been trying for a comeback. Voters rejected an attempt by the Republican-controlled Legislature to make it harder to pass citizen-sponsored amendments to the state’s constitution, which have been used to expand Medicaid, legalize marijuana and establish a right to abortion. And in Virginia: Democratic primary voters chose former Representative Elaine Luria to face Representative Jen Kiggans, a Republican, in a House race expected to be one of the most competitive in the country this fall. See all of the results from last night’s races. THE LATEST NEWS Politics A Senate committee approved the nomination of Todd Blanche for attorney general, clearing a major hurdle toward his confirmation. A box of evidence, a raised voice and an inner-circle confrontation: Read the inside story of the Oval Office showdown between Trump and Jeanine Pirro. Times exclusive: Ronald Lauder, a billionaire Republican megadonor, abruptly stopped giving money this year. Associates point to the cratering value of his stake in the family company, Estée Lauder. War in Ukraine In Kyiv this morning. Vladyslav Sodel/Reuters Russia launched a blistering ballistic missile attack on Kyiv before dawn today, killing at least 17 people. It was the third major attack on the city in a week, as Ukraine runs desperately low on interceptors. The war in Ukraine has become a battle for the skies as ground combat is largely frozen. Ukraine’s gas stations, once social hubs, are now a target for Russian drones. Middle East Iran and Oman are making progress in their negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, officials say. An agreement could pave the way to a cease-fire between Iran and the United States. The S&P 500 hit a record high after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said there might be a deal to reopen the strait soon. Israel has ramped up its attacks on Gaza in the days since Trump announced a new deal to disarm Hamas. More International News Emergency crews rescued more than 170 migrants from a burning boat in the English Channel that was crossing to Britain from France. A malaria-carrying, insecticide-resistant mosquito is threatening cities across Africa. Other Big Stories New York City has started slapping large green stickers on the windows of cars that disobey parking regulations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has linked six more states to the cyclospora outbreak, bringing the total of affected states to 15. A judge scheduled a trial for to determine whether Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery violates antitrust law for March, further delaying the deal. BUGGING OUT A small insect trapped in a Saxifraga candelabrum. Xin-Jian Zhang Everyone needs a hobby. For Charles Darwin, the father of evolutionary biology, it was carnivorous plants. He obsessed over them, studied their features and wrote about them with obvious excitement. He once remarked that he cared more about sundews — plants that lure insects into gluey traps and eat them — “than the origin of all the species in the world.” Can you blame him? I can’t. I love carnivorous plants, too. When I was 10 or 11, I spent months begging my parents for a Venus fly trap. (They wouldn’t budge, so I settled for a mini red cactus I found by the checkout line at Home Depot.) In 1875, Darwin theorized that alpine plants with sticky hairs reminiscent of his beloved sundews, in the genus Saxifraga, could be flesh-eating. He tempted two species with insects but ultimately couldn’t prove they were carnivores. Now, more than 150 years later, scientists have vindicated Darwin’s hypothesis. A team of researchers served tiny flies to a Saxifraga species in China and found that the plants could digest and absorb nutrients from their prey. A botanist at Michigan State University said there could be hundreds, even thousands, of other species with similarly sticky hairs, including the common tomato. Some of them may be secretly carnivorous. OPINIONS Laurent Allard What objects best represent American culture? A writer makes the case for the red solo cup, the plastic lawn flamingo, the dog stroller and 22 more curiosities. Gun culture, a cowboy ethos and rural isolation have contributed to a suicide crisis in Wyoming, German Lopez writes. Deeply reported journalism needs your support. The Times relies on subscribers to help fund our mission. Become a subscriber today. MORNING READS In The Hague. Ilvy Njiokiktjien for The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. Hot for being cool: The Hague, a diplomatic capital and the home of the International Criminal Court, has become Europe’s latest vacation destination. Clearing the air: China consumes roughly half the world’s cigarettes. Nonsmokers, many of them younger, have started provoking fights over secondhand smoke. Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about the name change of one of the world’s smallest countries. TODAY’S NUMBER 100 — That is the number of endangered plant and animal species that will benefit from a new $200 million project involving organizations started by Jeff Bezos and Leonardo DiCaprio. Bezos’ involvement has raised questions for some conservationists, given that Amazon is helping fuel the problems the fund seeks to solve. “Does it fully offset their responsibility?” said one. “No, but this is a really cool fund that is super needed.” SPORTS N.F.L.: Bijan Robinson and the Atlanta Falcons agreed on a three-year deal that makes him the highest-paid running back in league history by average annual salary. Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the upcoming Cincinnati Open to continue rehab on his injured wrist. With the U.S. Open a little over three weeks away, the defending champ could miss a third straight Grand Slam. RECIPE OF THE DAY Jenny Huang for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett. Washburne A lot of one-pot pastas come out dry or gooey. Not Alexa Weibel’s one-pot zucchini-basil pasta. Cooking the noodles in just enough seasoned stock means they’re done in the same amount of time it takes the liquid to reduce into a concentrated, extra flavorful sauce. Mascarpone makes it silky; if you don’t have any, crème fraîche or even softened cream cheese can serve as a stand-in. FAKED OUT The New York Historical’s new wing. Luis Corzo for The New York Times When the New York Historical realized that the sunlight shining through the large windows in its new wing could damage some vulnerable items on display, it replaced them with reproductions. The decision started a debate among experts and readers about authenticity, particularly in the age of A.I. Read their thoughts and then add your own. T This is me I am here I find it shocking that the museum deemed it more important to "respect" the architecture than to display genuine historic objects. What a lack of respect for the actual artifacts, the museum-goers, and frankly, the purpose of a museum itself! K Kim Susan Foster Charlotte, NC This is where the phrase: It is the Thought that counts...... can be applied. You should not care if copies are on display. You should care about: Why is it on display? Why? View all comments More on culture Bowen Yang will be the next comedian to take on the role of Mary Todd Lincoln in the Broadway comedy “Oh, Mary!” Do you recognize these lines about summer from classic literature? Take our quiz. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Theodore Tae for The New York Times Improve your balance with this 20-minute agility ladder workout. Don’t drink water from the plastic bottle you left in your hot car. Heat could accelerate the release of chemicals and microplastics. Change your toilet seat. Wirecutter says it’s a low-effort, low-cost reset for your bathroom. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was honeydew. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times. See you tomorrow. 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

🚁 1 for the road: Trump's helipad do-over Photo: Mark Schiefelbein/AP A photo taken from the Washington Monument on Friday shows what the new helipad on the South Lawn will look like, complete with a granite presidential seal. But President Trump — dissatisfied with the results so far — has ordered contractors to make changes, The Washington Post reports. The South Lawn slants downward, and "Trump has expressed a desire for a landing pad that sits level with the horizon, prompting contractors to disassemble their work and consider whether to start by changing the lawn itself." Photo: Eric Lee/Reuters Above: The same view yesterday, with the granite seal removed from the helipad. Go deeper (WashPost gift link).

💸 Charted: New stock record Data: FactSet. Chart: Matt Phillips/Axios The S&P 500 rose 1.8% yesterday, notching a new all-time closing high of 7736.52 — its first record since June, Axios' Matt Phillips writes. In the past four sessions, stocks have jumped almost 6%, led by gains from Palantir, Microsoft, Amazon and Alphabet after each posted strong quarterly results. Some analysts and investors had worried that the markets were beginning to deflate. Previously high-flying chip stocks hit an air pocket in early June before finding their footing over the last week. Why it matters: High stock prices are critical to keeping funds flowing to the AI buildout. A significant erosion of investor confidence would risk the AI flywheel of financial flows, capital expenditures and industrial activity fueling the U.S. economy. Go deeper: Investors can't stop believing in stocks.

Inside Trump's AI framework Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images The White House is excluding open models from its framework for testing advanced AI capabilities, sources familiar with the matter told Axios' Maria Curi. Why it matters: The voluntary framework — which the White House plans to keep secret — will determine how the Trump administration reviews advanced AI models before release. The White House held staff-level meetings with industry yesterday to go over the recently completed framework. Companies that weren't invited remain in the dark about its contents. The AI framework comes as industry grapples with high-profile cyberattacks and rapid advances by Chinese AI developers, reigniting a debate on how to deal with open-source models. 🔬 What's inside: The AI framework reviewed yesterday defines a covered frontier model as closed-source with state-of-the-art capabilities and national security risks, multiple sources briefed on meetings held at the White House said. There's no clear definition of what is considered state-of-the-art or a national security risk. Open models are excluded, and the framework explicitly says nothing in it should be interpreted as restricting open models once they've been released. 👓 Between the lines: The White House wants companies to submit models for review only when they're close to public release, not in early development, according to people familiar with the discussions. That timing requirement means many companies with less advanced systems may not qualify for review under the framework at all, sources said.

⚡ Trump aims to announce Iran deal today Intel from Axios' Barak Ravid: The U.S., Iran and Oman are closing in on an interim agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with the U.S. aiming to announce it today, according to two regional sources and a U.S. official. Why it matters: The deal, which has been under negotiation for several weeks, is meant to resume the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran and restart negotiations over a nuclear deal. The emerging deal would meet some of Iran's demands for greater control over traffic in the Strait of Hormuz — control it didn't have before the war. It would create a 60-day temporary arrangement between Oman and Iran in the strait that could be extended, according to two regional sources. 🚢 How it works: All inbound traffic of ships through the strait and into the Gulf would go in a northern lane through Iranian waters. All outbound traffic through the strait and into the Arabian Sea would go in a southern lane through Omani waters, in coordination with Iran. No tolls or fees would be charged during the 60-day period. The parties would work on clearing naval mines from the median lane of the strait within 30 days. After the median lane is cleared, it would be used for inbound and outbound traffic under a permanent arrangement to be negotiated between Oman and Iran. 🥊 Reality check: The White House, Oman and regional mediators thought they had a deal with Iran three weeks ago, only to see Iran resume attacks on ships. That led to two weeks of fighting and almost an all-out war.