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👋 Good morning! Welcome back. In today's edition: Djokovic stunned in New York, Aaron Donald is back, Scottie passes Tiger, Messi goes wild, Curaçao wins LLWS, OBJ makes the team, and more. Yahoo Sports AM is written by Kendall Baker and Jeff Tracy. Let's sports...   SPORTS MOVE FAST. SO DO THE MARKETS. Polymarket turns sports predictions into markets you can trade. Find the matchup or future you like, take your position, then watch the price move as the action unfolds. Stay in or trade out before it's over. Your call.   🎾 US OPEN NOVAK BOUNCED IN NEW YORK (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) For the first time in 20 years, Novak Djokovic has been eliminated in the first round of a Grand Slam. Is this the end? Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports: For so long, Djokovic has done things that 39-year old tennis players were not meant to do. On Monday night, that battle finally turned in the direction of time and mortality. He lost 7-6, 5-7, 4-6, 6-2, 6-1 to Mariano Navone, not because he has lost any skills or desire, but because he has a body he can no longer tame on command. A body that, on Monday night, was crouching to the ground after long points, stumbling into his chair during changeovers and was so generally unwell that on multiple occasions he went to the corner to vomit into his towel box. And then, in the middle of the fifth game of the fifth set, when Djokovic knew it was lost, he stood behind the baseline and sobbed. "I think it was obvious that it was an awful feeling on the court for me," he said after the match. "Pretty much despised every moment I spent on court." Battling his body: Sunday was the ultimate manifestation of what Djokovic called "a condition that I have, health-wise, that has been bothering me for the past couple of years" after a loss in Cincinnati a couple weeks ago where he looked similarly exhausted almost from the start. What exactly is ailing the 24-time major champion? He hasn't said specifically, but whatever it is, it gets exacerbated by heat and humidity — not a great combination for a sport played mostly outdoors and in warm weather. Asked Sunday night if this issue was something he could fix, his response was not reassuring. "I don't know," he said. "I'm trying, man. I'm trying. Let's see." Streak snapped: Djokovic had won his previous 77 first-round matches at majors (longest streak in the Open Era) entering the day, and he was a perfect 19-0 in the first round at the US Open. No more. End of an era: The last time none of the "Big Three" (Djokovic, Roger Federer, Nadal) were in the second round of a major was Roland Garros back in 2003 (!!!).   🏈 BACK TO WORK THE RETURN OF AARON DONALD (Yahoo Sports) After weeks of speculation, Aaron Donald is officially coming out of retirement to re-join the Rams on a one-year deal worth up to $30 million. He'll team up with the newly-acquired Myles Garrett, forming a dynamic duo of future Hall of Famers. Two-headed monster: Donald and Garrett boast a combined 236.5 sacks, five DPOY Awards and 17 Pro Bowl selections. "You bring a guy in like Myles, a generational talent, and it's like, 'That can be fun,'" said Donald, whose arrival makes LA even bigger Super Bowl favorites (+500 odds). Yes, but: While Sean McVay's squad is indeed loaded on both sides of the ball, it's a long road to a championship — and winning one will require these Rams to buck a daunting trend: Over the past 30 years, the preseason favorite has had title odds of +500 or better 20 times. All 20 of those teams failed to win the Super Bowl.   💯 STAT SHEET BIG NUMBERS (Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images) ⛳️ $130.4 million Scottie Scheffler won the Tour Championship by three strokes on Sunday, claiming a $10 million prize that vaulted him past Tiger Woods atop the PGA Tour's all-time earnings list. Scheffler — who as of January 2022 had not won a single PGA Tour event — has now earned $130.4 million. Chasing the GOAT: Woods still laps Scheffler when it comes to wins (82 to 22) and majors (15 to 4). But the trend here is unmistakable, writes Yahoo Sports' Jay Busbee: Scottie is entering all-time territory. (Leonardo Fernandez/Getty Images) ⚽️ 18 goals A third straight MLS MVP award is looking increasingly likely for Lionel Messi, who scored four goals in Inter Miami's 7-1 thrashing of Montréal, giving him an MLS-best 18 goals on the season. He also added his 10th assist, one off the league lead. Rewriting the record books: Messi needed just 72 MLS matches to record 20 multi-goal games. The next fastest to reach that milestone? Josef Martinez (100 matches), Robbie Keane (124), Bradley Wright-Phillips (149) and Landon Donovan (178). (Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) 🏒 $20.4 million Cale Makar and the Avalanche have agreed to a historic eight-year, $163.2 million extension ($20.4 million average annual value) that makes the superstar defenseman the first NHL player to sign a deal exceeding $20 million in annual salary. Hall of Fame trajectory: Makar, 27, is already Colorado's all-time leader among defensemen in goals (136), assists (371) and points (507). He's one of 14 players in history to win multiple Norris Trophies (best defenseman) and one of just two (Bobby Orr) to be a Norris Trophy finalist at least six times in his first seven seasons.   📸 SNAPSHOTS THROUGH THE LENS (Emilee Chinn/Getty Images) 🇺🇸 Williamsport, Pennsylvania Curaçao beat Nevada, 11-2, on Sunday to win the country's second Little League World Series title (2004*) and cap a landmark sports year for the tiny island, which earlier this summer became the smallest country (185,000 population) to ever play in the FIFA World Cup. So close, again: Nevada became the first state to reach back-to-back LLWS finals since Georgia in 2006-07. While the Peach State came away with two championships, Nevada came away with none, losing to Taiwan in last year's title game before falling short again this weekend. (Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland Was that Bill Belichick cracking a smile after North Carolina's 15-10 win over TCU to begin a season where everyone had already written his coaching obituary? It sure looked like it. More importantly, the Tar Heels finally looked like a Bill Belichick team. More from Week 0: Virginia destroyed NC State, 34-8; North Dakota State rolled over Jacksonville State, 33-7, in their FBS debut; No. 14 USC and its core of young talent beat San José State, 42-26; Memphis hung on for a 27-21 win over UNLV in head coach Charles Huff's debut. (Richard Pelham/Getty Images) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 London, England Filip Hrgović (21-1, 16 KOs) pulled off one of the biggest shockers in recent boxing history on Saturday when he stopped an exhausted Moses Itauma (14-1, 12 KOs) in Round 9 to capture the vacant IBF heavyweight world title and become Croatia's first-ever heavyweight champion. Halting the hype: Itauma, 21, was looking to become the second-youngest heavyweight champ in history after Mike Tyson, who achieved the feat in 1986 at age 20. The Brit was considered the natural successor to the heavyweight throne, but those plans were derailed by Hrgović and his iron chin. *That 2004 Curaçao squad featured two future big leaguers in Jurickson Profar (currently on the Braves) and Jonathan Schoop. How many future MLB players will this year's title-winning squad produce?   🏈 LET'S PLAY TRIVIA TIME (Elsa/Getty Images) Odell Beckham Jr. made the Giants' 53-man roster, giving the 33-year-old wideout a chance to finish his career where it began. Question: Can you name the four teams OBJ played for between his first (2014-18) and second stints (2026) with the Giants? Hint: Three AFC, one NFC. Answer at the bottom.   🏈 NEVER SAY DIE A COMEBACK FOR THE AGES (Screenshot: ESPN) William & Mary pulled off an unreal comeback against Villanova on Saturday, erasing a 10-point deficit with less than a minute remaining to take down the nation's No. 7 ranked FCS team in regulation. The Tribe began their rally with a 40-yard Max Lipinski field goal with 53 second left, cutting Villanova's lead to 32-25. Needing a touchdown, they recovered an onside kick inside the Villanova 40 after it bounced off a Wildcat. Three plays later, W&M QB Winston Watkins found WR Kai Austin for a 37-yard TD. With an extra point, they tied the game at 32-32. But the Tribe wasn't finished: Villanova QB Pat McQuaide threw deep with the clock winding down and got picked off by Cade Ellis, setting up Lipinski's 45-yard field goal to win it at the buzzer. Final score: 35-32.   Trivia answer: Browns (2019-21), Rams (2021), Ravens (2023), Dolphins (2024)

Alex Vindman shares more of his campaign war chest to help Democrats in November Vanquished Florida Democratic Senate candidate Alex Vindman is continuing to share some of his campaign fundraising largesse to help Democrats in this fall’s midterm election. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/08/28/alex-vindman-shares-more-of-his-campaign-war-chest-to-help-democrats-in-november/? Nixon’s ‘people-powered’ platform propels her to upset win State Rep. Angie Nixon’s striking political victory against retired Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the Aug. 18 Florida Democratic Senate primary election startled pundits and rattled the political establishment in an electoral season marked by a groundswell of voter dissatisfaction with the status quo and desire for change. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/08/31/nixons-people-powered-platform-propels-her-to-upset-win/? Democrats aim to emulate Republicans in building state power Progressive activist Gaby Goldstein thinks her opponents are brilliant. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/08/31/repub/democrats-aim-to-emulate-republicans-in-building-state-power/?

Josephus and Jesus Josephus was a first-century Jewish historian whose writings contain the earliest surviving non-Christian account of Jesus. In his Jewish Antiquities, Josephus recounts that Jesus was a wise teacher who performed startling deeds, won many followers, was condemned to crucifixion under Pontius Pilate, and appeared alive three days later. Scholars have long argued that later Christian copyists edited this passage—called the Testimonium Flavianum—to be more sympathetic to Christianity. In a new and fascinating line of research, New Testament scholar Thomas Schmidt finds reason to believe they didn’t. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/josephus-and-jesus/? Ashkenazi Jewish Ancestry Confirmed European by mtDNA Tests A recent study on mitochondrial DNA revealed that the female line of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry closely resembles that of Southern and Western Europe, rather than the ancient Near East, as many scholars proposed in the past. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/news/ashkenazi-jewish-ancestry-confirmed-european-by-mtdna-tests/?

3-year college degrees grow more popular in the US, saving time and cash. But critics aren’t sold Condensed programs have exploded in popularity. As of this spring, 26 U.S. states have a college that offers at least one reduced-credit, three-year bachelor’s, according to the nonprofit research group RAND. Read more. Why this matters: Advocates say these programs are a solution to the college affordability crisis and a godsend for non-traditional students. Critics, however, worry that they’ll narrow too much what students learn, confuse employers, limit graduate school options and create headaches in fields that require state licenses. For decades, colleges have offered accelerated programs that let students finish faster, often by forgoing long summer breaks, maximizing transfer credits and condensing semester-long courses into shorter, five- to 10-week terms. But those programs maintained the same course load, measured as credits. The new programs let students finish faster by completing as few as 90 credit hours. That shaves a year off the typical 120-hour bachelor’s degree. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ As Pell grants expand, students see openings to afford short-term job training An ‘influencer’ degree? Colleges bet on content creator major as critics question its value

Iran war economic impact: Consumers struggle as investors prosper As the U.S. and Israel relentlessly bombed Iran in the opening days of war, the most dramatic predictions of the conflict’s toll were unsparing: surging oil prices, worldwide recession and economic catastrophe. But six months into the conflict, the direst predictions haven’t come true even if no corner of the world’s economy has been untouched. Read more. Why this matters: A major turnaround has unfolded since the market bottomed in late March. The Dow has gained nearly 19%, the S&P is up almost 22% and the Nasdaq has surged 27%. If those gains survive the waning months of 2026, all three indexes would post their fourth consecutive year of gains. The war’s most obvious economic consequence has been its impact on oil. With tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz slowed to a crawl, the price of Brent crude climbed from a prewar close of about $72 a barrel to as high as nearly $120. Although oil prices have eased, they are still up about 20% from before the war. Oil’s price affects everything from crayons to cosmetics, but it hits anyone on the move especially hard. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US plans to sanction another bank in effort to clamp down on Iran transactions, Bessent tells AP United Arab Emirates says it has intercepted an Iranian drone over its territorial waters WATCH: USS Abraham Lincoln sails past Singapore en route to Thailand

Trump still teases a third presidential run, but he’s talking more and more about life after 2028 President Donald Trump has frequently suggested he wants to seek a third term, posting about mounting another campaign, donning 2028 caps and discussing ways to make it happen — even as he’s acknowledged the Constitution prohibits it. But lately, Trump has begun showing signs that even he doesn’t really believe another run will happen. Read more. Why this matters: During recent speeches, Trump has begun describing life after the White House when his term ends in January 2029. Being willing to say he’s contemplating a White House without him marks a notable shift for Trump. Going back to his first term and from virtually the moment he won a second, he’s left the door open to staying put for more than eight years. A sitting president talking about becoming a former one is always politically fraught. But with midterm elections now just nine weeks away, Trump is approaching the point of his presidency where there will be more and more reminders that his power will soon wane. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Latest AP-NORC polling on Trump Lake Ontario now called Lake America on Google Maps for US users after Trump ordered name change Moulton says Sen. Markey, 80, is too old for another term. Young Massachusetts Democrats are divided Measles deaths reported in Pennsylvania spark fight among politicians and health officials In AP interview, Attorney General Todd Blanche defends his record as political pressure mounts Hundreds show up to judge Zohran Mamdani look-alike contest

August 31, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. The U.S. and Iran traded fire for the first time in a month. More than 4,700 people are now missing in the flooding in Nepal, officials said. Climate change is making disasters there more likely. “The entire Himalayas are melting,” one glaciologist said. And there was flooding in the Grand Canyon, too: A torrent of water killed one person, and 15 people are missing. Read more here. We have more below. I want to start, though, with campaign financing. Ads paid for by undisclosed donors through nonprofits or super PACs. Dark money The November election will turn on a force you can’t see so much as feel: a vast flow of secret money disrupting races from coast to coast. A Times analysis found about $1 billion in clandestine cash inserted into the political landscape this year. It’s a staggering sum, report Shane Goldmacher and Theodore Schleifer, but still probably a low-end estimate. The money’s well hidden. Untraceable, undetectable — “billionaires, corporations and special interests hiding their agendas and involvement with relative ease,” they write. That money is working hard: funding digital and TV ads, supporting super PACs, paying for direct mail campaigns and getting influencers to boost content favorable to this candidate or that one. That door-knocker for a cause that’s only tangentially connected to a political campaign? Secret money can pay for that, too. Here are Shane and Teddy: Secret money is not new. But the pervasiveness has reached industrial scale in 2026 — and serves as a preview of its coming prevalence in 2028. Nearly every major primary and battleground race this fall has been or will be shaped by secret funds. The anonymously sourced expenditures are so big that, in some instances, they are outstripping the spending of campaigns themselves, making candidates seem like bystanders of their own elections. Both parties are looking for new ways to conceal who is contributing to this candidate or that one. Tens of millions of dollars slosh through complicated, interconnected networks of nonprofit organizations, so that they are nearly impossible to track. Still more money goes to secretly funded “policy ads” that look, as far as you and I can tell, like campaign commercials. “It’s almost like the people inside the Beltway live in a drug den, and this is just the newest drug that’s circulating,” the head of a group that has sought to reduce the role of money in politics told The Times. He called it “poison in the blood of the American political system.” How it works The biggest players this election cycle, Shane and Teddy report, are four nonprofit organizations, each of which supports Republicans or Democrats in Congress. They account for more than $460 million from hidden sources. All four outfits are registered under the federal tax code as social welfare organizations. That allows them to operate as nonprofits. But each shares office space with a super PAC. “In all four cases, the nonprofit and PAC are run by the same political strategists,” the reporters discovered, “essentially offering donors a one-stop shop to avoid disclosure while spending millions on politics.” Their playbook: “Issues” advertising. Nonprofit organizations do not have to disclose their contributors when they run commercials about issues facing the electorate: legislative debates, say, or societal problems. But in practice, those ads often root for — or bitterly attack — specific candidates by name. Giving to super PACs. Nonprofit groups can give money to allied super PACs that are required to disclose their donors. But the PACs don’t have to disclose their donors’ donors. It’s a way to launder gifts anonymously. And there are no limits on that kind of funding, Shane and Teddy report. Some super PACs are entirely funded by nonprofit groups. “Pop-up” super PACs. These groups slip through a loophole in federal disclosure laws. The last deadline for a super PAC to reveal its donors is three weeks before a federal election. A super PAC that arrives on the scene in the final days of a race can spend freely. It has to disclose its donors, but not until after the election, too late for voters to consider who’s paying to influence their ballots. Read more about the clandestine money that’s washing over the midterms. And meet the megadonors who have poured $1.2 billion into the races. THE LATEST NEWS Nepal In Bharatpur, Nepal. Atul Loke for The New York Times Nepal is starting mass burials as thousands remain missing from the floods. After the floods cut off roads and bridges in Nepal, a large drone delivered aid to isolated survivors. The devastating flash floods in Nepal and Tibet highlight the growing, unpredictable threat of melting glaciers in the Himalayas. Around the World The war in Afghanistan, America’s longest, ended five years ago. It offers lessons for policymakers hoping to avoid endless war in Iran, our military reporter writes. A passenger ferry capsized off the coast of Cyprus, leaving at least eight people dead and 18 others missing. German officials are exploring how to block the far-right AfD party from access to intelligence secrets if it wins state elections. Other Big Stories Off Florida in 2023. Jason Gulley for The New York Times The world’s coral reefs are running out of time to recover, research found. Google Maps renamed Lake Ontario “Lake America” for U.S. users after an executive order by President Trump. Rescuers saved a climber who spent more than nine hours clinging to a six-inch ledge on a California mountain during high winds. Many cancer drugs now cost more than $400,000 a year. OPINIONS Maisie Cowell Quitting is great. And men do it all the time, the author of a new book about quitting writes. The Kremlin is redefining what it means to be an author in Russia, a writer there argues. The mountains are coming undone as the world heats, a climate journalist writes. Get access to five locked games. Save 75% on your first year of a New York Times Games subscription. Get full access to Wordle, Spelling Bee, Crossplay, the Crossword and more. MORNING READS First Lt. Travis Fuller died in a helicopter crash in 2005. Sophie Park for The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. A loss that lingers: First Lt. Travis Fuller died in the Iraq war. As the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 approaches, his mother asks: What was it all for? YouTube ban: He was a top lawn care influencer who found enormous success. Then everything went haywire. Rural churches: Dolly Parton’s death has highlighted the decline of the small Southern churches that shaped her folksy, inclusive faith. Metropolitan Diary: A bag check takes a funny turn. Your pick: The most clicked story in The Morning yesterday was about a very posh summer camp for adults. TODAY’S NUMBER 1,100 — That is at least how many Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank by Israeli forces and settlers since the Oct. 7 attacks nearly three years ago. In that time, 67 Israelis have been killed by Palestinians in the West Bank. “What the settlers are doing here is the real threat to Israel,” a retired Israeli general who toured the region this summer told The Times. “This is more concerning to me than Iran, Gaza or Lebanon.” Read about what he saw. SPORTS Tennis: Novak Djokovic was eliminated in the first round of the U.S. Open, falling to Mariano Navone of Argentina. It was the first time in 20 years that he lost in the first round at a Grand Slam tournament. M.L.B.: The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 16-1. A controversial no-catch ruling on a diving grab by center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela helped the Yankees break open a scoreless game in the fifth inning. N.F.L.: Aaron Donald, 35, is back in the league two years after retirement. A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, he is rejoining the Los Angeles Rams on a one-year, $20 million contract. Baseball: The small Caribbean island of Curaçao won the Little League World Series for the second time, beating a team from Henderson, Nev., 11-2. RECIPE OF THE DAY Christopher Simpson for The New York Times Here’s a roasted tomato and white bean stew that’s summer-autumnal: a perfect shoulder-season, back-to-school meal. I’d add some kale to the mix at the end, as well as a shower of bread crumbs and another of grated Parmesan. A handful of cooked crumbled Italian sausage wouldn’t be bad, either! STACKED ACTORS Nina Westervelt for The New York Times This is super cool: how Dave Grohl builds the set list for a Foo Fighters show, cramming 31 years of rock mayhem into a three-hour celebration. Can you guess the first song? 🎸 More on culture Are we done talking about Rachel Cusk and her novel, “Life of M,” which may or may not be about Natalie Portman? We may be now. Parul Sehgal, one of our critics, lit both the book and the writer on fire. The Labor Day weekend might be your last, best chance to celebrate the United States’ semiquincentennial. See what’s on offer in museums and at re-enactments. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Read Emily Wilson’s “Crossing the Wine-Dark Sea,” a book of essays about translating ancient texts into modern language. “You don’t even have to be particularly interested in ancient literature to enjoy this book,” Jennifer Szalai writes, “though by the time you finish it you probably will be.” Hip yourself to this 20-minute workout for strong, healthy hips. Prepare for hurricane season with an uninterruptible power supply device to keep your Wi-Fi and small electronics running during an outage. The energetic line workers at Wirecutter found the best ones. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was exciting. 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 August 31 1980 Polish government signs accord with Gdansk shipyard workers Representatives of the communist government of Poland agree to the demands of striking shipyard workers in the city of Gdansk. The agreement led to the formation of the Solidarty trade union under the leadership of future Polish president Lech Walesa. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 21st Century 2015 Angela Merkel says “Wir schaffen das” on accepting refugees Arts & Entertainment 1928 Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “The Threepenny Opera” premieres in Berlin 2005 Destiny's Child honored as the best-selling female group of all time Crime 1985 Los Angeles mob attacks “Night Stalker” serial killer 1888 Jack the Ripper’s first victim murdered European History 1997 Princess Diana dies in a car crash Inventions & Science 1897 Thomas Edison patents the Kinetograph 1955 General Motors demonstrates first solar-powered car Natural Disasters & Environment 1886 Earthquake shakes Charleston, South Carolina U.S. Presidents 1935 FDR signs Neutrality Act World War I 1916 American soldier Harry Butters killed in the Battle of the Somme

🎥 1 film thing: Wile E. Coyote's back Wile E. Coyote, voiced by Eric Bauza, in "Coyote vs. Acme." Photo: Ketchup Entertainment via AP The abrupt termination of "Coyote vs. Acme" sent shockwaves through Hollywood. Everyone in the movie business is accustomed to sudden, painful twists of fate. But the wholesale elimination of a finished film faster than you can say "Meep! Meep!" was something new. But nearly three years later, the movie is, like its ever-undaunted protagonist, back from the dead. After an outcry, Warner Bros. put "Coyote vs. Acme" up for sale. Ketchup Entertainment, an independent distributor that last year released the Looney Tunes movie "The Day the Earth Blew Up," picked it up for about $50 million. Now it's in theaters. The movie opened with a respectable $15 million box-office haul, second only to the juggernaut that is "Spider-Man." More from AP.

🗺️ Lake America is live Screenshots of Google Maps and Apple Maps taken yesterday morning. President Trump's order to rename Lake Ontario to "Lake America" is splitting digital map providers: Google Maps now says "Lake America." Apple Maps is sticking with Lake Ontario. MapQuest said: "We're not changing the name of Lake Ontario. Name it whatever you want at your leisure." Photo: Keito Newman/The Canadian Press via AP Above: Ontario Premier Doug Ford (right) unveiled this sign Saturday in Grimsby, Ontario, Canada.

💰 AI group plans data-center push in battlegrounds Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images Build American AI — an advocacy group tied to pro-AI super PAC Leading the Future — is spending big on the data-center fight, with plans to pour millions of dollars into battleground states after Labor Day, according to an announcement shared first with Axios' Maria Curi. Why it matters: The data-center backlash is becoming a defining issue of the midterms, and supporters of the developments are punching back. Build American AI, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, has about $50 million cash on hand. The group's campaign will begin in Kansas, Ohio and Wisconsin. The money will go toward paid advertising, grassroots engagement, research, earned media and public education. 💡 The message: The U.S. should build the infrastructure needed to lead the world in AI while protecting families, communities and the environment. The group said the campaign will expand as state legislatures develop bills for 2027 sessions. The advocacy group is also launching a new super PAC — Building the Future (a 527) — to back state and federal candidates aligned with its agenda and oppose those who aren't. Build American AI is pointing to Colorado, Georgia and Texas as models for how states should approach data-center development: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) has been bullish on data centers. Georgia offers data-center tax exemptions. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has spoken harshly of data centers in recent weeks, including requiring companies to pay their own infrastructure costs and pausing new grid approvals pending an audit.

🥳 Happy 50th to the first index fund Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios The OG stock index fund, the Vanguard 500, turns 50 years old today. Why it matters: Passive funds ate the world. Today, index funds make up 64% of all stock fund assets, and millions of investors use them, Axios markets correspondent Emily Peck writes. Most of us are socking away money in these things automatically through 401(k) payroll deductions. Stat du jour: If you'd put $10,000 in the Vanguard 500 back in 1976, it'd be worth over $2 million today.

U.S. strikes Iranian mine launchers Ships are anchored in the Strait of Hormuz. Photo: Ali Saeedi/Getty Images The U.S. military struck Iranian military targets to prevent the deployment of sea mines in the Strait of Hormuz, a U.S. official told Axios' Barak Ravid. Why it matters: This is the first known U.S. strike in Iran since late July. Iran retaliated with limited attacks on both the UAE and Jordan. Oil surged 3% after the exchange of fire. Threat level: President Trump posted an apparent AI video overnight that he said showed Iran's crucial Kharg Island oil terminal being "blown to smithereens." Seizing or destroying Kharg, the heart of Iran's oil industry, has been one of his regular threats during the war. The U.S. military last week finished clearing all mines from the strait's main shipping lane. Trump said then that Iran was notified that any ship or boat placing new mines would be "immediately and systematically destroyed." Keep reading.

AI's reputation fix Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Stock: Getty Images AI has an image problem — and one way to fix it is for top companies to dive headlong into health care, Axios' Adriel Bettelheim writes in Axios Future of Health Care. Why it matters: Saving the world with AI-designed cures is better than being blamed for ruining the environment or driving up Americans' utility bills. 🩺 The Wall Street Journal reported this month that Anthropic is trying to shore up investor confidence ahead of its massive initial public offering with talk of pushing harder into health care and biotech. Anthropic isn't alone: Nvidia and Eli Lilly are building a $1 billion drug-discovery lab in San Francisco that will team life-sciences researchers with AI model builders and engineers. Isomorphic Labs, the AI drug-discovery spinoff from Google, recently raised $2.1 billion to hire more AI and clinical talent and has ongoing research collaborations with Novartis, Lilly and Johnson & Johnson. 💡 Reality check: AI is dramatically speeding up drug development and helping clinicians analyze medical scans and diagnose conditions. But there are concerns that AI-enabled research tools could be used for nefarious purposes, including making a biological weapon. And breakthroughs may still be years away. Read on ...

There is a spacecraft graveyard in the South Pacific Ocean. Known as “Point Nemo”, it is the furthest place on the Earth from land. It is home to over 300 spacecraft and associated space debris, including the MIR space station, the first ever object assembled in planetary orbit by Russian cosmonauts. James

Karina becomes a Pacific hurricane well away from land and is forecast to become a major storm Hurricane Karina formed Sunday in the Pacific Ocean and could become a major storm within days, forecasters said. The cyclone's center was at far out to sea and was not threatening land. Read More.

US strikes Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in first military action in weeks WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in their first military action in a month on Sunday, breaking a lull in fighting during an intermittent war that has lasted more than six months. Vowing to retaliate for what it called a deadly attack, Iran later said it had launched missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan. https://apnews.com/article/iran-strait-hormuz-strike-united-states-6b098da673ac3161a266ee459d5eff44?

NASA’s newest space telescope launches on a quest to explore the hidden universe CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA’s newest crown jewel blasted off Sunday to hunt for planets around other stars, explore secret dark energy and survey the cosmos like never before. https://apnews.com/article/nasa-nancy-grace-roman-space-telescope-2a8e59d0b4e4884966a3b50a159ab8c9?

Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno sentenced to 5 years for corruption QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Former Ecuadorian President Lenín Moreno was sentenced Friday to 5 years in prison after a court found him guilty of accepting bribes from a Chinese company in exchange for helping it secure a contract to build a hydroelectric plant. https://apnews.com/article/lenin-moreno-ecuador-sentence-prison-corruption-charges-1b9713ab7b260900b6ab19c72e64e803?

1 dead and 5 wounded in a shooting at a rave in Switzerland GENEVA (AP) — A shooting at a rave in the northern Swiss canton of Aargau left one person dead and five injured early Sunday, local police and media reported. Police said they are still looking for potentially more than one suspect. https://apnews.com/article/switzerland-shooting-rave-aargau-843e1c1cc57e1a0cb379851007ea6ba8?

Inside the 24-hour mutiny that threatened Niger’s ruling junta and how Russian forces intervened ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — Niger’s capital of Niamey on Sunday appeared calm with normalcy restored after a day of unrest as aggrieved soldiers staged a mutiny that threatened the ruling military junta before being repelled by loyalist forces aided by Russian troops. https://apnews.com/article/niger-russia-niamey-mutiny-tchiani-africa-corps-f0b808785a177e51ecee71c786624558?

Death toll rises to 38 from Russia’s deadliest attack on Ukraine this year KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian strike on a warehouse west of Kyiv, the war’s deadliest attack this year, rose to 38 with four people still missing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-strikes-attacks-energy-oil-gas-drones-warehouse-5cfe71b2954a40489c070459ba82116e?

Data center controversies are transforming the midterm elections The snowballing opposition to data center projects in communities across the United States has transformed the midterm election landscape. It's also thrown a wrench into the plans of the world’s richest companies. And it's brought a defense from perhaps the industry’s biggest booster, President Donald Trump. There's a search for large tracts of land, so tech giants and data center developers are exploring deeper into rural America. That's often uniting conservative ranching and farming communities with left-leaning environmental advocacy groups. Trump continues to stick up for data centers, even as politicians run from them. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ As midterm elections approach, Republican candidates weigh how closely to align with Trump As workplace surveillance grows, experts say it’s good to know the ways your employer is watching AI notetakers promise easy meeting recaps, but some professionals question their use Schools are starting to teach AI literacy. For many, that means helping kids see chatbots’ flaws Need spiritual guidance? Gurus join chatbot trend as people turn to AI for answers

What we know about Trump’s deal giving US access to vast oil reserves in Venezuela There's a lot that's not immediately clear about President Donald Trump's deal giving the United States a stake in Venezuela’s vast oil reserves. He's calling it the biggest oil deal ever. Venezuela’s acting president describes it as a step toward economic recovery that will modernize the country’s oil industry. No text of any agreement has been released. It's not publicly known how soon the reserves could be drilled and who will pay to make it happen. Experts have said Venezuela’s dilapidated oil infrastructure will take years and billions of dollars to repair. So a substantial boost in production isn't expected to come soon. Read more. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Trump oil deal draws skepticism and anger in Venezuela Far-right British provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos has been deported after his immigration arrest in US Eswatini receives 2 more US deportees under a controversial third-country deal Trump cannot deport students for criticizing Israel, judge rules WATCH: ICE arrests nearly 50,000 people in July ICE awards $16.7M contract to buy 6,000 pairs of gloves that deliver electric shocks Wyoming governor requests investigation into activity of Justice Department monitors during primary Thousands march in Washington to defend voting rights, in photos Untested in court, Trump’s new tariffs on Canada raise legal questions WATCH: Ontario premier answers Trump’s ‘Lake America’ with giant ‘Lake Ontario’ sign America In Focus: key inflation gauge remains high; Fed’s Warsh signals rate hikes may be needed How to avoid a Social Security cut? Lawmakers are floating ideas for what to do FBI no longer treating an applicant’s experience with prostitution as automatic bar against hiring Virginia removes three Confederate memorials El-Sayed apologizes for comments he made responding to an attack on a Michigan synagogue President Trump loses again in bid to erase his hush money conviction Florida grand jury finds DeSantis administration misused $10 million, but no charges filed Former White House teleprompter operator ordered to turn over profits, pay fine over insider trading