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Vance? Rubio? DeSantis? Cruz? Republicans at Dallas convention ponder options for post-Trump leader In interviews with nearly two dozen attendees, there was no clear consensus yet on a favored 2028 candidate. While potential front-runner Vice President JD Vance received plenty of mentions, a long list of others were on wish lists as well. And most said they weren’t ready to commit. Read more. Why this matters: It reflects how completely the party has come to revolve around President Donald Trump in the decade since he seized control, making it difficult for some Republicans to consider a future without him at the helm. The uncertainty mirrors the wide-open field on the Democratic side, which is embroiled in its own soul searching. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Trump wants to send Americans money. Congress and economists don’t seem thrilled with the idea Trump promises $500 Obamacare rebate checks for 1M enrollees in 30 states Under Trump, census eyes sweeping plan to omit immigrants, race data Prosecutor brought in to lead investigation of Trump foes tells AP that he has resigned his position

The US has made progress in reopening the Strait of Hormuz, but the Iran war is far from over In recent weeks, the United States has succeeded in loosening Iran’s grip over the Strait of Hormuz while virtually shutting down Iran’s own oil exports, accelerating its economic free fall. But low-level fighting persists, the U.S. does not seem to have an exit strategy and the stalemate is costly for both sides. Read more. Why this matters: The mounting economic pressure on Iran has yet to stoke an uprising, and if its leaders are backed into a corner, they may opt for military escalation rather than capitulation. Their Houthi allies in Yemen have meanwhile stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabia, helping to push oil prices back up. The price of a barrel of Brent crude surged above $100 this week, and diesel — heavily used in transport and farming — hit a record, potentially stoking inflation. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that gas prices are likely to stay high through the midterm congressional elections. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ US diesel prices soar past $6 a gallon Saudi airstrikes hit Yemen’s rebel-held Mokha airport as Houthis take an island near a key strait Yemen risks a return to civil war as Iran-backed rebels target a vital oil shipping route

When the planes crashed and the buildings collapsed on that sunny September morning, shock waves of dismay and grief swept across the United States. Today Americans commemorate the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.   An American flag flies, with the lower Manhattan skyline in background, Wednesday, in Jersey City, NJ. (AP Photo/Adam Gray) US NEWS US marks 25 years since the Sept. 11 attacks On Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaida extremists hijacked four commercial jets and crashed them into New York’s World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The attacks left nearly 3,000 people dead, the nation shaken, and a decades-long trail of aftermath, from personal grief to far-flung wars. Read more. What to know: Friday’s milestone anniversary will bring memorial rituals to a day that about half of U.S. adults remember as one of the most historic events of their lifetime, according to a new Ipsos poll. President Donald Trump plans to attend a ceremony at the Pentagon. For the first time, this year’s New York commemoration will add a silent moment to honor people who were exposed to the clouds of toxic dust released by the twin towers’ fiery collapse and have since died of cancer and other illnesses. Questions remain about how many people developed health problems linked to the dust. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Archive footage shows how the day unfolded Defining photos of 9/11 still endure AP photographer who captured indelible images recalls ‘unearthly’ scene WATCH: Light show takes place in New York Smithsonian marks anniversary with a display of rare artifacts One attack, many Americas: Why 9/11 and its many griefs land differently 25 years later 9/11 overshadows other major events of the past 25 years for many Americans, new poll finds From the Lockerbie bombing to 9/11: How attacks on flights defined US air travel Most states prompt schools to teach about 9/11, but the details differ, AP finds Trump to commemorate 25th anniversary of 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon Trial remains elusive for purported mastermind accused of plotting 9/11 attacks

September 11, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. We have news — on the war in Iran, artificial intelligence and Kawhi Leonard — below. But first, I’m going to hand things over to my editor, Adam Kushner, to talk about the meaning of 9/11. (All of the links related to the anniversary are free to read.) Firefighters on Sept. 11, 2001. Ángel Franco/The New York Times 25 years of 9/11 By Adam B. Kushner After an airliner hit the first tower, my dad rang. “Some idiot has flown a plane into the World Trade Center,” he told my roommate, who woke me up with the news. We were in our college dorm a few miles north of the site, and we figured it was a freak accident. When the next plane struck, we knew it wasn’t. From our building, we could see the smoke column rising over Lower Manhattan. “All of us who were around then have our stories,” Dan Barry, who saw the plumes from a ferry that morning, writes in an elegy to “the memory of what you’d rather not remember.” For our journalists, it was a hometown tragedy. The Times has chronicled every chapter of the 9/11 saga — the wars and their costs; the transformation of politics and culture and law and technology; the attackers and the victims. On this 25th anniversary, reporters and critics are reflecting. Today, we offer a few ways to understand the meaning of 9/11. What we lived through Jacob Campbell was a baby when his mother was killed in the Sept. 11th attacks. Hiroko Masuike/The New York Times Grief. It is famously not a thing you can pack away neatly with the passage of time. But I was moved by the story of Jacob Campbell, who was a 10-month-old baby when his mom died in the south tower. Sept. 11 haunted him into adulthood and drove him to booze, weed and suicidal thoughts. What brought him back from the brink? He realized what his grandparents had done in giving him a happy childhood. As he put it: “There are people out there who are in the midst of tragedy, and are helped. There is love in the world in equal measure to the suffering.” Consequences. Many Americans joined the armed forces. We profile three whose service changed them. One 19-year-old became a machine gunner and eventually rose to squad leader in Iraq. Today his right arm is wrapped in a black tattoo scattered with skulls — one for each person he killed in Ramadi. “Only two of them I regret,” he said. “One, I threw a hand grenade through a window, and it killed a 16-year-old boy. Another, we blew a door in not knowing Grandma was right on the other side.” In New York, a wave of Islamophobia made neighbors suddenly suspicious of one another. Muslims in the city also became more politically engaged. A generation later, the city has a Muslim mayor whose efforts to observe the anniversary have not always been welcome. Justice. Kenneth Feinberg had the strange job of deciding how much government money to award the surviving family members. He saw their pain up close. Some bridled at the idea that money could make them whole. A husband contemplating a $4 million payout snapped: “I got a better idea. Bring my wife back.” In this quiet portrait, Feinberg wonders whether a spiritual leader might have been better equipped for his task. Normalcy. Listen to this terrific conversation between our critics Wesley Morris and Jason Zinoman about how 9/11 changed comedy. The weeks after the attack were awkward: On the return of “Saturday Night Live,” the NBC impresario Lorne Michaels asked Rudy Giuliani, “Can we be funny again?” The mayor’s reply: “Why start now?” A new direction. The Times’s editorial board looks at the U.S. response. It argues that the government showed resolve and sought justice, admirably and correctly, but that it also bumbled by trying to rebuild Afghanistan, launching the Iraq war under false pretenses, torturing prisoners and spying on citizens. What remains unresolved In Afghanistan. Jim Huylebroek for The New York Times; Tyler Hicks, Joao Silva, Damon Winter/The New York Times The forever war. Al Qaeda, the terrorist group American troops went abroad to fight in the weeks after 9/11, is still a force in Afghanistan. By one estimate, the war on terror cost more than $8 trillion and 900,000 lives. This collection of images from 25 years of conflict is sobering. (The photograph from a 2009 suicide bombing in Kabul, in particular, has stayed with me all this time.) The site. A quarter-century after the attack, the apartment building designed to replace 5 World Trade Center still hasn’t gone up. Around the corner, the 9/11 Museum is struggling to stay afloat. About one in three Americans was born after Sept. 11; it may have shaped their lives, but their memories are not seared. The historical significance. At the time, it seemed that something was ending and another thing, maybe worse, was beginning. But was it? Charles Homans argues that life does not divide into neat geopolitical demarcations. Instead, 9/11 “is a middle chapter in the story of American fracture rather than the pyrotechnic beginning.” For more The four previous presidents will observe the anniversary in silence at the Trade Center site. President Trump plans to deliver a speech at the Pentagon instead. Peter Baker, who has covered the White House for decades, says the juxtaposition tells us about the way each views terrorism. Modern Love: “I’ve seen more footage of my father’s last day than I have of his entire life.” A drone light show in New York this week. Jeremy Weine/Getty Images TODAY’S NUMBER 102 minutes — That’s how long it took after the first impact for the second of the two buildings, the north tower, to collapse. What happened in between? In 2002, Times journalists gathered phone conversations, emails and voice messages of people’s final moments. In many cases, they are the only window we have onto acts of bravery, decency and grace at a brutal time. Please read it. THE LATEST NEWS War in Iran Vice President JD Vance took the unusual step over the spring and summer of directly calling U.S. military commanders around the world to seek unvarnished assessments of the Iran war, The Times reported. The oil price rose above $110 a barrel today, and U.S. diesel above $6 a gallon. Read more about gas prices. Artificial Intelligence Anthropic said it had disrupted several potential plots this year by scientists who used its leading artificial intelligence models for work that could have helped develop biological weapons. A.I. could end humanity, one former Anthropic researcher warned this week. How are humans supposed to process that? OpenAI’s breakthrough on a famous math problem has brought a bitter dispute with researchers over its aggressive tactics. Voting The Trump administration is trying to overhaul mail-in ballots. Election officials say proposed rules for their design would prove chaotic and costly, if not impossible, to implement. The Supreme Court once again prevented Missouri from using a new congressional map this November that was drawn at Trump’s request to boost Republicans. Middle East Supporters of the Houthi militia in Sanaa, Yemen, in July. Osamah Abdulrahman/Associated Press After four years of stalemate, Yemen is back on the verge of all-out war. The Houthi militia, the Yemeni government, Iran and Saudi Arabia all have reasons to escalate the conflict. The Houthis, who have Iran’s backing, captured a strategic Red Sea port, giving them greater control over an important shipping route. (That’s one thing that shifted oil prices.) The world is likely to burn record amounts of coal this year, in large part because of the Iran war, the International Energy Agency said. Republican Midterm Convention A Republican gathering in Dallas was a chance for Vance to take the spotlight before his likely presidential bid. Trump’s proposal to give every adult $5,000 if Republicans win the midterms has drawn backlash from the party’s fiscal conservatives. Other Big Stories The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into claims of a scheme by Los Angeles Clippers to pay a star player, Kawhi Leonard, outside the bounds of the N.B.A. salary cap. T.S.A. PreCheck members may soon be able to bring larger bottles of water through security at some airports. The Anniversary Sale is on: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Celebrate 175 years of The Times with savings on unlimited news, puzzles, recipes, sports and more. $1/week for your first year. Save now. MORNING READS We’ve made these links free for you. You just need to log in. In Trujillo, Peru. Reuters Untouched for centuries: Ancient Chimu tombs recently discovered in northern Peru are the first of their kind to be found undisturbed by looters. See what was inside. Your pick: The most clicked story in The Morning yesterday was about Trump’s makeover of Space Force uniforms. Lives Lived: In 1990, Toyohiro Akiyama became the first Japanese person and the first journalist in space. He didn’t like it and his complaints earned him the nickname “space antihero.” He died at 84. SPORTS U.S. Open: Elena Rybakina stopped Coco Gauff’s run in the U.S. Open. She’ll face Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s singles final tomorrow. N.F.L.: The San Francisco 49ers shut down the Super Bowl-favorite Los Angeles Rams in a 27-7 victory at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. It was the league’s first regular-season game in Australia. RECIPE OF THE DAY Christopher Testani for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews. Bring pops of color and loveliness into a somber day. Make Mark Bittman’s corn chowder for dinner and transport yourself to the East End of Long Island circa 1973, with corn fields running down to the beach unimpeded by mansions, fresh new potatoes at the farm stand, a sweating bottle of cream on the wooden sideboard near the stove. Go easy on the tomatoes. You want the primary hue of this soup to be blazing sun, and the taste to be predominately of corn. LET’S GO! Gustavo Dudamel on his first day as the music director of the New York Philharmonic. James Estrin/The New York Times Gustavo Dudamel started his run as leader of the New York Philharmonic this month, and it won’t be a slow one: He will lead 14 concerts in three halls over the next three weeks before taking the orchestra on its first European tour in a decade. Last night, at Radio City Music Hall, he appeared with Lizzo. “This is not a job — it is a mission,” Dudamel told The Times during an interview at his office. “It’s important to open up the doors and begin to connect with people.” More on culture “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” opens in theaters today. It’s a documentary that chronicles the band’s triumphant reunion and world tour in 2025. Our critic calls it “both a headbanger and a tear-jerker.” It’s a Champagne supernova! Jason Farago, our art critic, offers a visually rich introduction to the Bayeux Tapestry on display at the British Museum. It’s stranger than you might think, he writes, but “straightforward, a little goofy and very accessible for kids, flowing left to right like a comic strip.” Take his tour. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Rethink your book storage situation this weekend, with help from the self-improving bibliophiles at Wirecutter, who’ve found ways to transform what to some might look like hoarding into Athenaeum-like beauty. Take our news quiz. Get ready for the fall. In Extra Credit, our new newsletter for college students, our fashion reporter has tips for what to wear and how to put together an outfit. It’s good advice for everyone. Sign up for the Extra Credit newsletter. A newsletter that helps college students get ahead inside and outside class, hosted by Matt Yan. Get it in your inbox. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were unhandled and unhealed. 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 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

PATRIOT DAY - Remembrance & Service 25th Anniversary Of 9/11 Everyone here at VetFriends.com would like to take a moment to send our thoughts and prayers to the many families & friends who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks. They will be remembered always. We additionally would like to express our deepest respect and gratitude to the Courage, Bravery and Patriotism of all our Veterans, active Military, firefighter & police heroes. We thank you for all that you have done to protect the American people & our great nation. We salute you.   PATRIOT DAY Since the first Patriot Day on September 11, 2002, Patriot Day, honors & remembers the nearly 3,000 people who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks on our nation on September 11, 2001. On October 25, 2001 - a vote of 407-0 approved U.S. House Joint Resolution 71 - which stated that the President designate September 11 of each year as "Patriot Day." President George W. Bush signed the resolution into law on December 18, 2001 (as Public Law 107-89). Patriot Day is a discretionary day of remembrance.   In Memory On this day, the flag of the United States will be flown at half-staff and displayed from individual American homes, at the White House, and on all U.S. government buildings and establishments, home and abroad. A moment of silence is observed beginning at 8:46 A.M. (Eastern Daylight Time). Today, on the anniversary of 9/11, the families of victims will gather for a ceremony on the 9/11 Memorial plaza to read aloud the names of the 2,983 men, women, and children killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks and February 26, 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. Six moments of silence will mark the times when each of the World Trade Center towers was struck, when each tower fell, and the times corresponding to the attack at the Pentagon, and the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania. A seventh moment of silence honoring those lost to 9/11 health effects will be observed following the reading of the names.* (*9/11 Memorial and Museum: www.911memorial.org) Thank You U.S. Veterans and Military, along with our firefighters and police. On this Patriot Day - please join us in remembering all who lost their lives on 9/11, along with our many heroes who have and are fighting the War on Terror. VetFriends.com salutes, thanks and supports all of you, our U.S. Veterans, active & reserve military of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines & Coast Guard - All Heroes of our Nation. May your day be filled with Honor, Remembrance & Tradition.

Saudi Arabia shuts down a pipeline as Houthis seize an island, opening a new front in the Iran war CAIRO (AP) — Saudi Arabia said Friday it shut down a major pipeline a day after it was attacked by drones, and Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, two officials said, opening a new front in the Iran war. https://apnews.com/article/yemen-houthis-iran-mokha-mandeb-shipping-saudi-025d052a14d9481258d51009a76d0bd6?

THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 11 2001 Attack on America Terrorists highjack four commercial planes and use them to carry out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Thousands of Americans die, and the Twin Towers in New York City are destroyed. read more 19th Century 1814 America victorious on Lake Champlain 1812 Russians dedicate Fort Ross, their first stronghold on the California coast American Revolution 1777 The Battle of Brandywine begins Arts & Entertainment 1971 Donny Osmond has the No. 1 hit on the U.S. pop charts with “Go Away Little Girl” Cold War 1971 Nikita Khrushchev dies Crime 1857 120 emigrants murdered at the Mountain Meadows Massacre Latin American & Caribbean History 1973 Chilean president Salvador Allende dies in coup Slavery 1851 The Christiana Resistance

🖼️ 1 fun thing: Tapestry mania The 230-foot-long Bayeux Tapestry during a press preview at the British Museum in London. Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images A blockbuster new exhibition at the British Museum in London showing the Bayeux Tapestry — an embroidered account of the Norman invasion of England in 1066 — has set off a national frenzy. Newspapers are running special guides, ticket strategies are circulating online and the pub opposite the museum temporarily changed its name to "The Beer Tapestry." The tapestry was displayed this week during a press preview at the British Museum in London. Photo: Kin Cheung/AP The masterpiece will be shown at the museum in central London for the next 10 months, after leaving France for the first time since the 11th century. Believed to have been sewn by English seamstresses before being taken to France, the embroidery tells the story of the events leading up to the Battle of Hastings — one of the most pivotal moments in European history. Explore the tapestry (NYT gift link).

TikTok blocks Meta's ads Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios TikTok has rejected ads from Meta that call on TikTok and other tech platforms to join Meta in settling with U.S. state attorneys general in a landmark children's safety lawsuit, sources tell Axios' Sara Fischer. Why it matters: Part of Meta's historic multibillion-dollar settlement is contingent on its peers also agreeing to settle. Other tech firms have yet to publicly comment on their plans. Meta has been running a public campaign to encourage TikTok and YouTube to join its settlement through statements and advertisements. Snap Inc., which is notably not mentioned in its campaign, appears poised to settle. Meta argues it will face a competitive disadvantage if it's the only platform forced to add restrictions as part of a settlement. Keep reading ...

🎒 Record low test scores Data: OECD. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Test scores of 15-year-old students fell sharply worldwide in math, reading and science, according to new results from the influential PISA exam. Reading took the biggest hit, falling to the lowest level ever recorded in the assessment. "Hasty reading" — skimming fast but getting it wrong — nearly doubled between 2018 and 2025. OECD, which administers the test, found the sharpest declines in "the very skills that matter most in the AI age: evaluating information, making connections across multiple sources, and thinking critically about what we read." Math and science scores also hit record lows across 23 OECD countries. 🧪 Between the lines: U.S. science scores were a rare exception, ticking up three points from three years ago to match where they stood in 2009 and 2018. American reading and math scores both fell to their lowest on record. Read the full report.

🕯️ Never forget Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images A worker buffs the surface of the September 11 Memorial in New York yesterday ahead of remembrance events on the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. The annual remembrance ceremony at Ground Zero will begin at 8:40 a.m. ET. The first of seven moments of silence will be observed at 8:46 a.m., when the first plane struck the north tower of the World Trade Center. The other moments of silence commemorate when the south tower was struck, when each of the towers fell, the attack on the Pentagon, the crash of Flight 93 near Shanksville, Pa., and to honor those who lost their lives to 9/11-related illnesses and injuries. President Trump will speak at a Pentagon ceremony this morning. Photo: Craig Barritt/Getty Images for the New York Foundation of the Arts Above: A drone show depicts the Twin Towers using 2,977 lights, one for each life lost on 9/11, on Wednesday during a test of the annual "Tribute in Light." 📸 Axios interview: 9/11 photographers who ran toward the danger.

🗳️ Inside the RNC's "election integrity" fight Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images 53 days before midterms, Republicans are fighting roughly 200 legal battles over elections — including several cases in which the GOP isn't officially participating but is paying legal fees or advising on strategy, Axios' Brittany Gibson writes. White House political staff and the White House counsel's office are regularly updated on the RNC's work. Zoom in: The Republican National Committee's vast roster of cases includes efforts to tighten voter ID rules in Montana, decrease ballot drop-off locations in Georgia, increase scrutiny of voter lists in New Jersey and Delaware, and boost access for election observers and challengers elsewhere. Five RNC officials described the scope of the party's nationwide "election integrity" effort to Axios. They said strict enforcement of voting laws and preventing noncitizens from registering and voting are top priorities — even as analysts say there's no evidence of any systemic or significant voter fraud. Separately, the Trump administration is pursuing criminal charges for alleged voting law violations. Executive branch offices have told state election officials they're criminally liable for registering or allowing a noncitizen to vote. ICE also has been trying to obtain voter data to investigate cases. Keep reading.

🏛️ Congress gripped by AI panic Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios Anthropic insiders' warnings this week that AI could end humanity in the next decade have members of Congress frantically seeking answers and trying to cobble together some kind of response, Axios' Andrew Solender writes. Why it matters: Federal lawmakers are at the "concepts of a plan" stage, with congressional leaders showing little apparent urgency to mobilize. Some rank-and-file members in both parties say something must be done: "We should absolutely act, and act with urgency," Rep. Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.) told Axios. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) wrote Wednesday on X: "Congress needs to convene a special session on AI and what the future of the U.S. looks like." 🔬 Zoom in: Dozens of members of Congress — mostly Democrats, but a handful of Republicans as well — have since called for urgent action and floated a wide variety of legislative responses. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), one of House Democrats' most vocal advocates for AI regulations, is pushing a bipartisan bill requiring AI developers to build a human-activated "kill switch" into any AI system. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said he and Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) "will soon be introducing legislation ... to pause advanced AI and ban superintelligence altogether." Others called for a more cautious approach, with Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas) writing that "we need AI to flourish" and calling for "deliberate, thoughtful, and prudent policymaking" to mitigate its risks. 🥊 Reality check: Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, haven't indicated they're treating this as a pressing matter. The House is set to be in session for just four more days before Election Day, with lawmakers meeting on Capitol Hill next week before going on a six-week recess. 🔮 Many Democrats are speaking about the issue as something they'll tackle in 2027 if they take the majority in one or both chambers. Keep reading.

MAGA's millennial messenger Axios' Marc Caputo reports from the GOP convention at American Airlines Center in Dallas: Support for President Trump is dropping among millennials and Gen Zers — particularly young men. Vice President Vance is in charge of getting them back in the midterms. Why it matters: The 42-year-old Vance, the first millennial VP, capped off the GOP's two-day convention with a direct appeal to families with young children, emphasizing the "birthright" of U.S. citizens. Vance also sought to cast Democrats as anti-American, anti-family "crazies." "America belongs to those who love it. Not those who hate it," he said. 🔎 Zoom in: Support for Republicans is slipping across all age brackets. But the disapproval among millennials and young men is an acute concern for Trump's political operation, because they were crucial to the president's 2024 victory. Millennials (born from 1981 to 1996, so roughly ages 30-45) are the largest generation in America — and the cohort with the most school-age kids. So they particularly feel the bite of higher food and gas prices. In his 41-minute speech, Vance established his millennial bona fides by mentioning that he's now the father of four young children who share in the "birthright ... to inherit the blessings of the greatest country on Earth." Vance spoke on the first anniversary of the assassination of his friend and ally, Charlie Kirk. "Charlie spoke to young men in particular," Vance said. "He understood that there was no greater calling for a young man ... than falling in love, starting a family and becoming a father." 👀 Behind the scenes: Earlier in the day, Vance addressed a closed-door room of Republicans and emphasized the need to talk up the administration's record on lowering costs for prescription drugs — and to attack Democrats. "We have to remind the American people of all the good things that we're doing. And number two, we have to remind the American people of how effing crazy the Democrats have become over the past couple of years," Vance said. Between the lines: Vance is younger than any member of Trump's Cabinet, the freshest face in an administration led by the oldest person ever elected to the presidency — Trump, an 80-year-old Baby Boomer. An administration political adviser told us: "The dynamic you're seeing play out in the administration between the young millennial leader and the boomer is happening in corporate boardrooms across America." "JD is uniquely qualified to talk to parents with young families. He's one of them, so this is only the start." 🔮 What's next: Vance and Trump plan to hit the campaign trail to support as many as 35 congressional candidates and a dozen Senate campaigns.

US diesel prices soar past $6 a gallon, deepening strain for hauling everyday goods CHICAGO (AP) — Diesel prices in the U.S. hit yet another record on Friday, soaring past $6 a gallon on average as Washington’s war with Iran disrupts the world’s flow of fuel. https://apnews.com/article/diesel-prices-record-iran-war-636252b3b82326b41661ee5c4073dacb?

Record August Heat August was the joint-hottest month ever recorded globally, tying July 2023, according to data released by the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. Explore the data here. Combined global air and sea surface temperatures averaged 62.53 degrees Fahrenheit (16.96 degrees Celsius), nearly 3 degrees (1.65 C) above preindustrial levels. That exceeds the 1.5 C warming threshold set by the 2015 Paris climate agreement, though the target refers to long-term averages rather than a single month. Copernicus attributed the heat primarily to greenhouse gas emissions, compounded by a supersized El Niño warming the Pacific. Western Europe and the contiguous US both recorded their hottest summers, and the eight hottest months on record have all occurred since July 2023. Watch how El Niño shapes global climate. August is typically cooler globally than July—a reversal that has occurred only four other times since 1940. See how much climate change influences daily temperatures in your city.

Remembering 9/11 The American flag is flying at half-staff today as the US recognizes the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. The day remains the deadliest terrorist attack in modern history. In total, 2,977 people were directly killed—2,606 in the World Trade Center, 246 across four hijacked planes, and 125 at the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Tens of thousands more were injured in the aftermath or suffer from long-term illnesses caused by the debris (read Wednesday’s write-up). The attacks were the catalyst for protracted wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over 7,000 US military personnel were killed, and another 53,560 were wounded across both missions. Today’s anniversary comes five years after the Taliban, which harbored al-Qaida, regained control of Afghanistan following the withdrawal of US and NATO troops in 2021. See how Afghanistan has changed here. Roughly 83% of Americans born before 2001 say they remember exactly where they were or what they were doing when they learned of the attacks. But over a quarter of the US population was born after 9/11. See how your state teaches the history in school here. See also how the attacks unfolded via news reports and eyewitness footage (warning—sensitive).

🍳 GOP leadership scramble Rep. Tom Emmer at the Republican midterm convention yesterday in Dallas. Photo: Mark Felix / Bloomberg via Getty Images DALLAS — Republicans don't yet know whether they'll control the House next year, but they're already gaming out what comes next. Why it matters: House Republicans are maneuvering ahead of postelection leadership contests, particularly given that they could lose the majority, scrambling the current leadership slate. Emmer intends to stay on as his party's whip, telling us in Dallas today that he has no plans to try to move up the leadership ladder after the November midterms. The House Republican Conference elects its party leadership during the lame duck session after the midterm elections. Emmer expressed confidence that Republicans will maintain control of the chamber, predicting that Johnson would remain speaker and Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) would remain in his current post. "Anybody who's talking otherwise is already being a loser," Emmer said. "We are going to win in November." 🤔 The intrigue: Emmer's comments come as other Republicans are beginning to make moves that could position them for a leadership shakeup after the election. Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has decided not to seek a waiver to remain atop the committee next Congress, prompting speculation about his leadership ambitions. Asked about Jordan's maneuvering, Emmer said it was "news to me" and praised Jordan as "one of the best leaders" in the Republican conference. Asked if he thinks Jordan would make a good minority leader, he said, "You're not going to get me to start pitting my friends against one another." 👉 Emmer also pointed to Trump saying last week that Republicans should "keep Jim right where he is." Between the lines: Hudson (R-N.C.), who is in his last term as chair, wouldn't say what his future plans are. 🗳️ "I'm just thinking about the election, you know, and that's what everybody needs to be focused on next 50 days," he told us today. "I believe God opens doors and closes doors. I have no anxiety about what happens Nov. 4 or 5. I'm focused on Nov. 3, and I think the whole party is." — Kate Santaliz

👟 Not running from Trump DALLAS — House Republican leaders have a message for anyone reading the GOP no-shows in Dallas as Republicans distancing themselves from President Trump: Don't delude yourself. Why it matters: GOP leaders are convinced the convention is delivering on its promise to fire up Trump voters for November. The no-shows shouldn't be read as a lack of enthusiasm for the president, they insist. ❌ "I don't buy it," Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) told us during a sit-down interview at the convention today when asked whether Republicans are running from Trump. 🐖 "It's Washington D.C. hogwash," National Republican Congressional Committee chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) told us in a separate sit-down at the convention today. 💎 "[Trump] is a total asset, and the more he gets a stage like this to talk about what he's actually accomplished for the American people, the better," Hudson said. Driving the news: Only 100 lawmakers and candidates planned to come to the convention, we previously reported, with most battleground members staying home. Emmer blamed some of the absences on the convention coming together late, saying members had already scheduled fundraisers and campaign appearances. He said he was "pleasantly surprised" by the turnout given that members were being asked to contribute and sacrifice valuable time on the campaign trail. "Trump has got us here," Emmer said. "The policies that we were able to pass because of his leadership are Republican policies." Between the lines: If there was any doubt about the convention's Trump-first strategy, the president erased it last night. ⚡️ "I'm asking you to pretend that I'm on the ballot," Trump told the crowd. 🖼️ Framed photos of the president are also plastered around the halls of the American Airlines Center. Yes, but: The Trump-first strategy comes at a time when Republicans in competitive races are navigating political headwinds over the economy, rising consumer prices and the war in Iran. And the decision by most battleground House Republicans to stay home underscores the various calculations candidates are making about how best to spend the final weeks before Election Day. 😳 Most Republicans are too scared to bluntly tell Trump how unpopular he is, Axios Marc Caputo previously reported. 🛶 "We have no choice. We're stuck on the boat with him whether we like it or not," said a top Republican campaign official who's in contact with Trump's political operation. Zoom in: The overwhelmingly pro-Trump crowd also offered a glimpse of the pressure Republican leaders on the other side of the Capitol face from the party's base: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) was booed when Trump mentioned him from the stage, prompting the president to defend him. Thune, who has faced Trump's ire over the Senate's failure to pass the SAVE America Act, notably did not have a speaking slot at the convention. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) also faced some light heckling over the legislation during his remarks yesterday. The bottom line: GOP leaders are still declaring the experiment a success, with Hudson telling us the midterm convention is here to stay. "This is great for our party, great for morale," Hudson told us. — Kate Santaliz and Hans Nichols

A Turning Point for the Right (Al Drago / Getty)   View in browser When Charlie Kirk was assassinated last September, many of his allies on the right memorialized him as a hero of free speech and the founder of an enduring political movement. Critics on the left tended to emphasize his long history of offensive remarks and dismiss him as little more than a troll. With a year of distance, neither view appears complete. Since his death, the MAGA movement has stumbled: Its factions are bickering, and Republicans are facing potentially disastrous midterm elections. President Trump seems disconnected from his base and reality. The current plight points to Kirk’s rare ability as a political node, someone who united otherwise disparate forces under one umbrella—and also to how much the movement depended on Kirk personally. Just how fragile a peace Kirk had managed to keep became clear three months after his killing, at an annual conference of Turning Point USA, the organization he’d co-founded. At the summit, feuding parties each tried to claim Kirk’s endorsement of their views. Ben Shapiro, the Daily Wire impresario, used the occasion to blast the broadcaster Tucker Carlson for conducting softball interviews with anti-Semites and other white supremacists. Citing Kirk’s stiff-arming of the Hitler-admiring influencer Nick Fuentes, whose followers were sometimes ejected from Turning Point events, Shapiro assailed Carlson for giving Fuentes a platform. Carlson mounted a counterattack in that evening’s keynote speech, arguing that it was Shapiro who was betraying Kirk’s commitment to open debate. These conflicts among leading right-wing figures have continued ever since. Kirk’s widow, Erika, now leads Turning Point and is well-regarded, but she does not seem to have the muscle that her husband did to quell conflicts. Carlson has become a furious critic of Trump and has vowed to create a rival political movement (although his ability to follow through is in question). Candace Owens, another prominent media personality, has become a proponent of conspiracy theories about Kirk’s death and has baselessly suggested at various times that the Israeli or French governments or “Egyptians” were involved. Fuentes has become a more influential commentator, but overall, MAGA media figures are seeing splintering audiences. No movement leader is as important as Trump, but the president has also had a tumultuous year. He is obsessed with building a ballroom at the White House—in part as a legacy project, but also perhaps because Kirk’s assassination and the attempts on his own life have instilled an understandable sense of paranoia that makes having a secure space at his residence feel imperative. As Trump has become more cloistered and withdrawn from public appearances, he has lost touch with his base, and he is pursuing an unpopular long-term war in Iran that betrays his campaign platform and writing off voters’ concerns about the economy and inflation. These dynamics, along with the natural pendulum swing against the sitting president’s party in midterm elections, mean that Republicans have bleak expectations for November. Not only are Democrats leading in polls of the generic House ballot and gaining in several Senate forecasts, but GOP voters are less enthusiastic than their Democratic counterparts. The problems are particularly acute among young voters. Although that group is typically heavily Democratic, Trump nearly matched Kamala Harris’s showing with the demographic in 2024, for which Turning Point received a great deal of credit. Today, however, young voters disapprove of Trump by wide margins—even greater than the general population. Young people who voted for Trump are also more likely to regret their vote than older ones, a recent Navigator poll found. Young men have turned against the president more than almost any other group has. What’s notable is that this drop in support and enthusiasm for Trump and Republicans comes at the same time that Turning Point is growing. As Reuters reported today, the organization has expanded since Kirk’s death, especially on campuses, but the people flocking to these chapters aren’t uniformly loyal to Trump. Turning Point could yet be an important presence in the midterms. The group was central to the Trump campaign’s plan for voter turnout in the 2024 election, helping deliver the president his first popular-vote victory among his three tries. Wired reports that Turning Point once again plans to spend large sums on field operations from now until the midterms. Kirk’s legacy on free speech and debate also remains up for grabs. As I wrote shortly after the assassination, an ironic phenomenon was emerging in which Kirk was being praised for his commitment to open discourse at the same time that right-wing figures were attempting to stifle any criticism of him. Some professors who were fired or punished in that period have since been reinstated or paid damages, but Trump and his allies have abandoned even a perfunctory commitment to free speech. Many of the tensions on display today have always been present in the MAGA movement. Trumpism is a big tent; it includes populists and plutocrats, isolationists and interventionists, and a dozen more dyads. The seams would inevitably have become visible at some point, but in retrospect, Kirk appears to have helped stave that off by maintaining connections across many factions and the sway to keep figures such as Fuentes outside. In his absence, the conflicts have come into the open. Related: The irony of using Charlie Kirk’s murder to silence debate Ali Breland: “I watched 12 hours of Nick Fuentes.”

Ella Langley leads Country Music Association Awards nods, with mentor Miranda Lambert close behind Ella Langley, riding the wave of her crossover megahit “Choosin’ Texas,” led Thursday's nominations for the 2026 Country Music Association Awards with nine nods, followed by her mentor Miranda Lambert with six. Read More.

Mortgage rates climb: Average rate on a 30-year home loan hits the highest level in over 14 months Mortgage rates rose for the third week in a row, pushing the average long-term U.S. home loan rate to its highest level in over 14 months. The benchmark 30-year fixed rate mortgage rose to 6.76% from 6.71% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. One year ago, the average rate was 6.35%. Read More.

Anthropic says it blocked misuse of its AI that could have supported biological weapons Anthropic said Thursday it has blocked efforts by bad actors to use its artificial intelligence models for malicious activity such as cyberattacks, surveillance, and research that could have led to biological weapons. Read More.

Official media: Algeria severs diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates Algeria announced Thursday that it's severing diplomatic ties with the United Arab Emirates, in a Foreign Ministry statement reported by state media. Read More.

Trump wants to send Americans money. Congress and economists don't seem thrilled with the idea Donald Trump's pitch to send Americans $5,000 checks should Republicans prevail in the November midterms is drawing scorn from some members of Congress — the very people who have constitutional authority over federal spending. Read More. Rubio pledges US won't take unilateral action against drug trafficking despite recent strikes Secretary of State Marco Rubio pledged Thursday that the U.S. would not take military action against narcotics traffickers in Latin American countries without the approval of its allies, even as the Trump administration keeps up a yearlong campaign of deadly strikes against alleged drug boats in international waters. Read More.