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Billionaire Trump Gives Jaw-Dropping Lecture to His Own MAGA Base The president blasted American communities that don’t want data centers built in their backyards. President Donald Trump is raging against Americans who don’t want data centers built in their communities, claiming they will end up “backwards and poor.” The 80-year-old president fired off a furious rant on Truth Social on Monday apparently aimed at those who oppose the data centers, despite some of the opposition coming directly from MAGA country. “The only reason that communities throughout the U.S.A. should not want Data Centers is if they want to end up being backwards and poor,” Trump whined. “If they want to be successful and rich, with far lower taxes and jobs all over the place, let Data Reign.” The president went on to claim that the “good news is that there are plenty of other places that want them.” “If we kill the Golden Goose, you will only have yourselves to blame. China could not be happier with this anti Data Center movement,” Trump continued. “Actually, they can’t believe it is happening!” It puts Trump at odds with the majority of Americans, who oppose the building of artificial intelligence data centers in their communities. Gallup found earlier this year that seven in ten Americans oppose constructing such data centers in their areas, including 48 percent who strongly oppose it and 23 percent who somewhat oppose it. Just 7 percent strongly favor the building of centers in their local communities, while 20 percent somewhat favor the move. The overwhelming opposition has led some Republicans to announce support for data center pauses or moratoriums heading into the midterms, but Trump on Monday appeared to scoff at their concerns and how the issue could impact the November election. Earlier this month, Michigan Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers announced support for a one-year moratorium on data center development as he faces a tough race to take the state’s open seat. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an audit of data center projects in his state earlier this month as he runs for re-election in November. Polling by the University of Texas’ Texas Politics Project found 57 percent of Texans strongly or somewhat oppose the construction of data centers in their communities. Trump was just in Texas last week to raise money for scandal-plagued Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton as the GOP fights to hold onto the seat in what has been a reliably red state for decades. Much of the local communities’ concern when it comes to building data centers is about how it would impact local resources, quality of life and increased costs, such as higher utility bills. The concerns, according to Gallup polling, outweigh the economic benefits. Americans have been struggling with higher costs of living already, including rising energy and gas prices, but Trump has largely dismissed concerns about affordability as a hoax by Democrats as his war in Iran and tariff policies drive up costs. Building a modern AI center can use as much power as 100,000 homes and, in some cases, much more, the World Resources Institute found. They also require a massive amount of water for cooling, with a mid-sized center using as much as 300,000 gallons of water a day. https://www.thedailybeast.com/billionaire-trump-gives-jaw-dropping-lecture-to-his-own-maga-base/? ps:Pathetic!!!!!

Obsessed Trump Finds a New White House Construction Project The private renovation was historically savaged by Republicans. President Donald Trump has found a new private area of the White House he plans to overhaul. Trump, 80, rejoiced on Monday after the Supreme Court voted to allow him to continue work on his $400 million vanity ballroom, complete with a military bunker underneath and a “drone port” on the roof. The president said the “Ballroom and Military Complex” will be finished by summer 2028, with his second term finishing in January 2029. Now, Trump has set his sights on renovating the Harry S. Truman Bowling Alley, which was built in 1947 and paid for by the former president’s friends and supporters from Missouri as an early 63rd birthday gift. Former President Dwight Eisenhower relocated the alley in 1955 to what is now the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, or EEOB, before former President Bill Clinton renovated it in 1994. Despite only being available to White House staff and their guests, Politico’s West Wing Playbook has reported that a contract for nearly $253,000 has been granted for lighting work on the VIP bowling alley. The General Services Administration awarded the sum on July 28, under the auspices of the Executive Office of the President, to Charles Mann Enterprises, founded by the former NFL player. The same contractor received another $8,880 on August 18 for escort services to allow workers into secure areas at the White House for construction purposes, the report noted. On the same date, the Washington-based construction management company was awarded a separate $878,000 for an “EEOB basement studio project.” Politico said the award listing had no further details about the unnamed project taking place in the same location of the bowling alley.However, the publication pointed out that while MAGA signed off on the new bowling alley renovations, Republicans instantly savaged a proposed overhaul of the private alley planned by former President Barack Obama in 2014. Ninety minutes after plans to replace the “irreparable” bowling alley were printed in Time magazine in July 2014, the GSA announced it was canceled. Time said the cancellation notice did not explain what happened, but “optics” likely played a role. The magazine added, “The lanes are reserved exclusively for the use of White House staff and guests. It was not clear how much the replacement would have cost.” At the time, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus criticized the Obama administration’s priorities in a tweet, crossing out “the economy” and “secure border” and ticking “Repair WH Bowling Alley.” The idea of renovating the bowling alley led former Rep. Pat Meehan introduce an amendment to stop funding for the project. “With our nation $17 trillion in debt, upgrading the president’s private bowling alley shouldn’t be a priority,” Meehan said at the time. “A spiffy new bowling alley may suit the wants for commander in chief, but I think I speak for the taxpayers of the seventh congressional district when I assert that it is certainly not a need.” The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and GSA for comment. Neither responded to Politico’s request for comment. The bowling alley was already repaired during Trump’s first administration, with first lady Melania Trump refreshing the area in May 2019. She “oversaw a restoration of the original wooden lane” while electrical wiring and new mechanics were also updated, as well as a “fresh interior.” That renovation was funded by the Bowling Proprietors’ Association of America. The lanes are just steps from the West Wing, while former President Richard Nixon built a separate one-lane bowling alley under the North Portico of the White House in 1969. As well as demolishing the historic East Wing to build his ballroom, Trump has paved over the White House Rose Garden, added a helipad to the South Lawn and turned the Colonnade into a “Presidential Walk of Fame.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed-trump-finds-a-new-white-house-construction-project/? ps:Pathetic!!!!!

Trump Voters’ Confidence in Their Decision Dramatically Crumbles It couldn’t come at a worse time for the president. Donald Trump’s voters are becoming steadily less certain that they made the right call in returning him to the White House. Just 58 percent of Trump’s 2024 voters now say they are “very confident” they made the right choice, according to a new University of Massachusetts Amherst poll. That figure has fallen in four consecutive surveys, from 74 percent in April 2025 to 69 percent, then 62 percent and now 58 percent. But there is an important wrinkle. The proportion of Trump voters who say they would actually change their vote has not continued to climb. A separate question in the survey found that roughly one in six Trump voters would not vote for him again, essentially unchanged from the previous reading. Alexander Theodoridis, co-director of the UMass Poll, described it as roughly 15 percent of Trump voters saying they “might or would vote differently or not vote at all” if they could do it over again. “There are no takebacks in electoral politics, but around 15 percent of Trump voters now tell us they might or would vote differently or not vote at all if they had it to do over again,” Theodoridis said. “This is hardly a mass exodus from the Trump tent, but is enough that it certainly could’ve been decisive against Trump in what was a relatively close 2024 election,” he added. “More notably, though, there are now clear, consistent signs of an erosion trend.” The erosion is visible elsewhere in the survey. The share of Trump voters reporting mixed feelings about their vote has more than doubled from 4 percent in April 2025 to 9 percent now. Those saying they have some regrets and might choose differently have risen from 1 percent to 3 percent, while those who say they would rather not have voted have jumped from 1 percent to 6 percent.Trump’s standing with Republicans has also deteriorated. His approval among self-identified Republicans has fallen from 89 percent in April 2025 to 75 percent now, a 14-point drop. Among voters who backed Trump in 2024, his job approval has fallen 10 points, according to UMass. Overall, Trump’s approval rating has reached 32 percent, with 64 percent disapproving. The poll was conducted Aug. 21–26 among 1,000 respondents. That does not amount to a mass rejection of Trump. A majority of his voters still say they are very confident they made the right choice. But the direction is difficult to miss. Four surveys, four declines, and 16 points gone from the number of Trump voters who are completely sure they made the right decision. The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-voters-confidence-in-their-decision-dramatically-crumbles/?

This Is the Shady Truth About Trump’s Phony ‘Victory’: Guru The president’s big oil deal is rooted in corruption, the political guru said. President Donald Trump’s oil deal with Venezuela is less of an agreement and more of a robbery, top foreign policy analyst David Rothkopf argues. Appearing on The Daily Beast Podcast, the political expert explained that what the president called the “biggest oil deal in world history” is a prime example of the Trump administration’s “mafia government” abusing its power. “It behaves much like the government does in the Kremlin, where it takes what it wants, it doesn’t care about the law, it breaks the laws, it enriches the people at the top, it doesn’t care about anybody else,” Rothkopf said. “You don’t agree with them at home? You don’t get support, we’ll try to prosecute you. Don’t agree with them overseas? We’ll invade you, we’ll attack you, we’ll cut your aid.” “And in this particular case, it also ties into the corruption that lies at the core of that, which has left Trump billions and billions of dollars richer after a year in office,” he continued. “The Venezuela deal is a perfect example because he wants us to celebrate it. Except the following,” he added. “It’s not a deal because he doesn’t have the ability to make the deal, and he’s stealing the oil.” Trump, 80, announced Friday on Truth Social that the U.S. would take control of 65 billion barrels of Venezuelan oil—a fifth of the country’s reserves—as part of a joint partnership with a private Venezuelan company North American Blue Energy Partners.The agreement comes months after U.S. military forces seized former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro to extradite him for prosecution on narco-terrorism and drug trafficking charges. The White House has worked closely with Maduro’s successor, former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, in the aftermath.“Remember, the United States is getting this oil because we attacked Venezuela, and at gunpoint, are saying, ‘Hand over the oil.’ That’s illegal under international law,” Rothkopf explained. “It’s also, by the way, illegal under Venezuelan law, which has a constitution that says you can’t hand over oil reserves to a foreign government.” The political expert noted that the deal was likely illegal under U.S. law as well, as it funnels money into the government and the Pentagon without congressional approval. “We don’t know how much money out of this Trump or his buddies are gonna make,” he said. “All we know is that we have the most corrupt government in the history of the United States, with a president who seems committed to monetizing the presidency.” “He’s trying to take essentially what is piracy—exactly the same kind of war of aggression Russia has waged in Ukraine—and steal the patrimony of another country because he thinks maybe he could make some bucks off of it,” he concluded. “It’s a crime; it’s not a deal.” The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/this-is-the-shady-truth-about-trumps-phony-venezuela-oil-deal-victory-political-guru-david-rothkopf/?

MAGA-Curious CBS Boss Hit With Furious Staff Backlash Disgruntled CBS staff lament another poor editorial decision from Bari Weiss. CBS News boss Bari Weiss drew intense backlash from her own staff after intervening in a story to tie Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed to the anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks. Current and former staffers blasted to Status the “shameful” story the now-Trump-friendly network wrote about El-Sayed, who is bidding to be the first Muslim elected to the Senate, as well as an accompanying social media post suggesting he may be “facing the risk of renewed scrutiny and fresh political attack” ahead of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Monday’s article was about how the Michigan Democrat had deleted two posts on X that he wrote during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that the virus had already killed more Americans than the 2001 terror attacks. In one since-deleted post, El-Sayed, a former epidemiologist and public health official, noted that more Americans had died in the COVID-19 pandemic than in the 9/11 attacks, and hoped “that means we’ll spend the next ten years fighting a war for public health & against poverty ... like we launched a global #WaronTerror after 9/11. We could save lives rather than take them.” In another deleted post mentioned by CBS News, which El-Sayed wrote on Sept. 11, 2021, he said, “Today, I mourn the 3K lives, 6K injuries, & infrastructural devastation in NYC, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my faith. Tomorrow, I’ll mourn ~1M lives, millions of injuries, & infrastructural devastation in 3 countries, perpetuated ignorantly in the name of my country.” El-Sayed deleted the posts after scrubbing his entire social media output from before July 2023, with his campaign telling Politico that he did not want the posts to be “taken out of context.” However, Weiss, who had no experience in television news production before Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison parachuted her into the role of editor-in-chief at CBS News, believed the deleted posts were scandalous enough to report on. Sources told Status that Weiss even personally directed that the story’s headline be changed to specifically mention that El-Sayed had deleted posts referencing the 9/11 attacks. The decision left many in the CBS newsroom in disarray, with staffers seeing it as another example of poor news judgment damaging the network’s reputation and credibility under Weiss’ reign. “They took a small nugget of news, forced it into something much larger, and messed up,” one CBS News staffer told Status. A former senior CBS News staffer added that the story was “shameful” and that the “racism is overt.” A source familiar with CBS News’ editing process told the Daily Beast that Weiss’ intervention to mention El-Sayed’s deleted posts had actually improved the original headline. “Stories are published all the time about politicians’ deleted tweets. This is no different, and El-Sayed had not explained at the time of publication why he deleted the tweets,” the source said. “We later published an on-camera interview with El-Sayed who gave a comprehensive response to the piece. And, given these points, the idea that staff are frustrated or upset about the piece simply is not accurate.” The report was published as El-Sayed faces media scrutiny for embracing progressive streamer Hasan Piker, who has been widely criticized for suggesting that the U.S. deserved 9/11 as payback for previous foreign policy mistakes—a remark for which Piker has since apologized. However, Status’ Oliver Darcy suggested that CBS News and Weiss would never have considered framing the story around El-Sayed’s deleted posts if the Democrat had not been a Muslim. “He didn’t praise the 9/11 attackers, minimize the horror of the terrorist attacks, or promote conspiracy theories as to what happened that day—unlike many high-profile figures in the MAGA movement,” Darcy wrote. “Like many mainstream figures at the time, he simply compared the death toll from the pandemic to 9/11 and argued that the government should respond to the public health crisis by marshaling its resources toward solving the problem with similar haste.” The Daily Beast has contacted Abdul El-Sayed’s office for comment. https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-curious-cbs-boss-bari-weiss-hit-with-furious-staff-backlash-over-abdul-el-sayed-story/?

Times have changed. Years ago, a young woman gave birth out of wedlock. A group of people from church visited her. They asked her to publicly confess to the congregation and apologize. She agreed, as long as other people who were having illicit affairs did the same. She gave some names. The "concerned" brethren and sisters packed it up and retreated. Another case, different church, a young woman was having an affair. She went to the pastor in contrition. He required her to publicly apologize to the congregation, which she did. Sometime later, the same pastor was caught in an adulterous relationship. An apology couldn't save his job. Can't recall if she was pregnant or not. My recollection is that she was not.

So,, now the question becmes: What shouold a Christian ckongregation do when a single women in the congration g ives birth? [Note: In my professional experience, I have come to believe that such often hapens due to "lDate Rape."] Recenty he senior pastor of the SDA lcongregation that I attend, brkought two young, single women to the front. He introduced them as having recently given birth. He called upon the congreation to support them in theier decision to raise the children. I fully agree with his call for support without judgment.

In this episode Big James asked about a prophecy found in Zechariah. He quotes Zechariah 14:16 which predicts that someday Israel's enemies, like the Assyrians and Romans, will celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles with them. He wonders how that would be possible. Jesus answers that something would have to change. Adventists view the Feast of Tabernacles as a type, which was a shadow of an antitype. The antitype in this case is the final judgement of the world. People from all nations will be among the saved. The writers of The Chosen were correct about something that has to change. Our hearts must change and that is as big of a miracle, if not bigger, than healing the lame man at the pool of Bethesda. People that were enemies will be gathered together and taken to heaven. Can you think of any enemies in your life? Perhaps a divorced spouse? A boss that fired you? An employee that stole from you? A gossip at church that lied about you? Can you imagine apologizing to them for things you did wrong even if they did were worse? That is the kind of miracle this prophecy is predicting. Former enemies will be reconciled.

Corruption consensus Data: Gallup. Chart: Avery Lotz/Axios Americans' perceptions of government corruption have hit a two-decade high during President Trump's second term, Axios' Josephine Walker reports from a new Gallup survey. 🌀 Why it matters: The data underscores how deeply Americans' confidence in the federal government has eroded. By the numbers: 89% of U.S. adults say government corruption is widespread, Gallup found. That's up 10 points from last year and a jump from the 72%–79% range between 2010 and 2025. Democrats are driving most of the rise, jumping to 91% this year after sitting at 76% during the first year of Trump's second term — when he reported some $2.2 billion in gains. 🌎 Americans are outliers among citizens in other developed nations: Among OECD member countries, the median level of perceived government corruption has fallen from 69% in 2009 to below 60% since 2022. For the first time, the U.S. tops perceived corruption ratings among OECD countries. Since 2023, just four other countries that Gallup has surveyed have scored higher than the U.S.: Lebanon, Peru, Ghana and Nigeria. Go deeper.

Wages are lower in “right-to-work” states These states have lower unionization rates and more anti-worker policies https://www.epi.org/publication/wages-are-lower-in-right-to-work-states-these-states-have-lower-unionization-rates-and-more-anti-worker-policies/? Everything you need to know about anti-union “right-to-work” laws Worker interest in unions is at historic highs, and nearly 70% of the public approves of unions. Yet most of the 56 million workers who say they want a union contract can’t get one because of weak federal labor law and the spread of state anti-union “right-to-work” (RTW) laws. Suppression of union membership has in turn lowered workers’ wages and benefits while inequality has skyrocketed. This FAQ examines the meaning, origins, and impact of anti-union RTW laws, and the importance of restoring workers’ collective bargaining power by removing RTW laws and other obstacles to unionization. https://www.epi.org/publication/everything-you-need-to-know-about-anti-union-right-to-work-laws/?

SNAP cuts could lead to kids losing free school breakfast and lunch Cuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program will likely spill over into schools, causing students to lose access to free breakfast and lunch. https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/09/02/repub/snap-cuts-could-lead-to-kids-losing-free-school-breakfast-and-lunch/?

Iran fires on Gulf neighbors after US military strikes Iranian military targets Iran launched fresh attacks on U.S. allies in the Gulf early Wednesday. An Iranian drone attack sparked a blaze in Kuwait City, while Bahrain intercepted incoming drones. The attacks followed a night of American bombardment that included a deadly strike on a wedding party. Read more. What to know: The latest violence has ended a monthlong lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran and raised new questions about how to end a war that has led to a spike in oil prices, roiled the global economy and is posing increasing political problems for U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party ahead of November midterm elections. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ WATCH: Sirens sound in Kuwait City as tension escalates The USS Abraham Lincoln docks near Thai beach city of Pattaya after its Middle East deployment Justice Department seizes more than $560,000 in cryptocurrency donations for Hamas

Postal Service work to comply with Trump’s executive order is rushed and sloppy, a whistleblower contends The U.S. Postal Service is poised to launch a hastily built, error-riddled computer system that could jeopardize the process of mail voting relied upon by one-third of all voters, according to a whistleblower statement released Tuesday by Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Read more. Why this matters: The effort is part of the implementation of President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting mail voting and has been temporarily halted by a federal judge. The ruling is being appealed by the administration and the directive may ultimately end up back before the U.S. Supreme Court. The disclosure from the unidentified whistleblower contends that the Postal Service has been scrambling to try to build a complex system that would normally take a year or more in only three months, sometimes in defiance of the judge’s orders halting work. The goal is to have it ready for use in the midterm elections. The disclosure contends that, due to the new procedures, a single scanning error in a batch of tens of thousands of ballot envelopes could prevent any from reaching voters. The Postal Service released a statement Tuesday evening in response to Blumenthal’s letter, pledging to work with Congress and the courts. It noted that the judge who issued the latest restraining order explicitly allowed the service to continue to develop its online tool for states that want to use it voluntarily. “Regardless of political party or perspective, we share a common goal: ensuring that Americans can have confidence that their election mail will be handled securely and delivered reliably,” the Postal Service said. RELATED COVERAGE ➤ Sen. Ed Markey, 80, wins Mass. Democratic primary over opponent who called for generational change Tuesday's full primary election results Macho, macho men? Democrats talk masculinity on campaign trail after years of Trump’s bravado House passes short-term funding bill to avoid a shutdown before the election

Not enough money, people or paper President Trump’s proposed changes to mail ballot rules are hitting another hurdle, with election officials saying it’s too late to even try to comply with the proposed rules before the November midterm elections. The administration wants redesigned ballot envelopes with more comprehensive tracking barcodes and states to submit voter information through a new federal system. But officials say there isn’t enough time to print millions of new envelopes, train workers or make the other changes required within the next two months — even if states can find the millions of dollars they expect compliance to cost. For now, election officials say they’re preparing for the midterms as usual and telling voters they can expect to vote by mail as they have in the past. + Read more: Election officials say they can’t comply with Trump’s proposed mail ballot rules + Analysis: The light is blinking red on Trump messing with the 2026 election + USAFacts: How many voters cast ballots early and by mail? Editor’s note: CNN has partnered with the not-for-profit USAFacts to share government data and insights that we believe are relevant to our audience.

ICE aims to equip all agents with body cameras ICE agents in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026. (Ryan Murphy/Reuters) Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the field are expected to have body cameras by the end of September, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a news conference on Tuesday. The use of body cameras has largely garnered bipartisan agreement, particularly amid a series of recent aggressive and sometimes deadly confrontations between federal agents and members of the public. A CNN investigation earlier this year found that ICE agents were using personal cellphone cameras in unconventional ways during tense encounters, including for facial recognition and to document their actions, often in place of body cameras. The practice raised questions about privacy, accountability and how footage of the encounters is handled. + Read more: ICE plans body cameras for all agents by month’s end + Video: How ICE agents use their cellphones in the field

4,500+ missing amid ongoing search efforts International aid agencies are racing to find survivors after floodwaters overwhelmed the border region between Nepal and China last week. More than 1,100 people have been killed, and some 4,500 remain unaccounted for across both countries, according to officials. The UN estimates the flooding left behind more than 2.4 million tons of debris, severely complicating rescue and recovery efforts. Meanwhile, a new report says the glacier collapse that triggered the devastating floods showed visible signs of instability days before the disaster. It suggests more comprehensive early warning systems downstream could have saved a “significant number of lives.” + Latest: Warning signs were visible ahead of Nepal-China floods, report says + Video: CNN joins Nepali police forces on the arduous search for flood victims

Americans hate ‘Lake America’ A person photographs boats on Lake Ontario from the Canadian shoreline in Grimsby, Ontario. (Keito Newman/The Canadian Press/AP) President Donald Trump’s new trade war with Canada and his push to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America” are proving to be deeply unpopular among Americans. A Reuters-Ipsos poll conducted in recent days found that nearly two-thirds of Americans oppose Trump’s executive order to rename the lake: 63% are opposed and just 14% are in favor, with the rest undecided. The poll also shows Americans oppose Trump’s new tariffs on Canada nearly 3-to-1, or 57% to 20%. Despite Trump blaming Canada for the escalation, significantly more Americans say the US is more responsible for the dispute. Republicans seem to want Trump to take a softer approach too, while strong backing for his position remains in the single digits among GOP voters. Put simply, there appears to be little appetite for a fight with our neighbor to the north. But none of that appears to be changing Trump’s calculus. He’s pressing ahead, with or without the public behind him. + More analysis: Americans hate ‘Lake America’ + Plus: MapQuest is No. 1 on the App Store after refusing to change Lake Ontario’s name + Rhetoric heats up: White House social media post shows bald eagle pinning down Canada goose

September 2, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning. The United States carried out a new wave of attacks against Iran, and officials there said civilians had been killed at a wedding. There’s more news below. I’m going to start, though, with the bond market. The Department of the Treasury in Washington. Eric Lee for The New York Times Word is bond Global bond yields are rising sharply. Um, what does that mean? We’re talking bonds today? Isn’t this a general-interest newsletter? Stick with me. Investors are anxious about inflation and the amount of money governments have borrowed. So the institutions and funds that buy bonds — basically, loans you give the government — are demanding a higher return, a higher yield, to compensate them for that risk. Yesterday, the higher yields lifted borrowing costs in some of the world’s biggest economies to the highest levels in decades. You’re going to feel that in the coming months. The bond market underpins the economy. In some ways, it is the economy. Your mortgage rate is tied to the yield on government bonds. So’s your car loan, your retirement plan, the new factory a company wants to build. “There is almost nothing financial they do not touch,” Ezra Klein said about Treasury bonds a few days ago on his Times podcast. Governments get jittery when bond yields rise, as we’ve seen in the Trump administration. It suggests lenders are becoming more reluctant to lend the government money. Scott Bessent, the Treasury secretary, has tried to reassure investors that the nation’s fiscal health means bond holders will still make money from those investments. They don’t always believe. The New York Times A moneymaker But wait. I’d have thought getting a better return on a bond was the whole purpose of investment. Wouldn’t a higher yield be good? Ben Casselman, the chief economics correspondent for The Times, laughed when I asked him that yesterday. “I get it,” he said. “It’s counterintuitive.” Then he escorted me to a conference room, sat me down like a grade schooler and started to talk. I took notes: When a government needs to raise money that it hasn’t raised in taxes, it sells bonds. At the most basic level: I give the government $1,000 for a fixed period of time, and in return they give me a fixed rate of interest. They pay that interest regularly over the course of the period — say, 10 years — and at its end give me my $1,000 back. What’s cool is, I can sell my bond to you, and you get the interest payments for however much time is left on the bond. The market for that is enormous — over a trillion dollars in Treasury bonds are exchanged every day. It’s the most risk-free financial instrument that exists. And every loan that gets made in the economy is benchmarked off its yield. As for why those yields are rising, he said, the simplest explanation is: inflation. Take Ben’s example. If you think inflation during that 10-year period is going to be at 4 percent instead of 2 percent, then you’re going to want a higher yield, because at the end of 10 years your $1,000 is going to be worth less than when you started — and the whole point was to make money on the deal. So here’s the cycle, he said. The government sells bonds to pay its bills. It makes debt payments on them — more than it spends on the military, currently — and then issues more bonds to make those payments. Rinse and repeat. To break this dependence, we either reduce deficits or expand the economy. And watch out for inflation along the way! No wonder folks are nervous. Your money My colleagues Ron Lieber and Tara Siegel Bernard write about personal finance. They took on the question of what havoc in the bond market means for those of us sitting at home, worried about our investment and retirement portfolios. There’s a reason people own bonds, they write: “Bonds have had lower returns than stocks over time, but they also lack the volatility of stocks.” How do we know what bonds we have and what’s happening with them now? Look at the paperwork. “Let’s say you put money away for retirement in a target-date fund, an investment vehicle that is named for the year you hope to stop working,” they write. “Those funds have a mix of stock, bond and sometimes other funds.” You can look online and see how they’re doing. If you’re in the Vanguard Target Retirement 2040 Fund, for instance, you’re still up for the year. But if a financial adviser has purchased bonds for you, Ron and Tara counsel, then “ask for an accounting and an explanation of the strategy.” Yikes. That sounds stressful. I’m glad my wife does that job. MORNING READS Haruka Sakaguchi for The New York Times We’ve made these links free for you. ‘Medical kidnapping’: A mom rejected doctors’ recommendations to treat her son’s cancer. Can she do that? Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a half-price luxury electric car. Lives Lived: Juan Tamariz was a zany magician whose exuberance and eccentricity were as much a part of his act as his tricks. He died at 83. THE LATEST NEWS Diplomacy At the Group of 20 meeting, the U.S. Treasury secretary urged countries to be more like America. Its allies were not always receptive, with Canadians and Europeans criticizing the administration. China and the U.S. also clashed, underscoring a major rift between the world’s two largest economies. Climate Change Extinguishing a fire in Indonesia. Wahyudi/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The world has failed in its goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial times, the United Nations said — the target set in the Paris Agreement. The planet is expected to warm 2.6 degrees Celsius, or 4.7 degrees Fahrenheit, by the end of the century. The damage from global warming is now felt in intensifying heat, drought, floods and fire. Nepal blamed climate change for recent flooding, which it estimates will cost about $5 billion — a tenth of the nation’s entire economy. Politics Mel Musto for The New York Times Senator Ed Markey, the 80-year-old progressive Massachusetts Democrat, soundly defeated a younger challenger who had tried to make the primary a referendum on Markey’s age. A whistle-blower said a “secretive, rushed” effort inside the Postal Service sought to carry out Trump’s plan to restrict mail-in voting, in defiance of court orders. The House passed a bill to avert a government shutdown. Both parties were eager to punt a messy spending fight until after the midterms. Russia A Ukrainian cargo plane at a German airport. John MacDougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images The German government says Russia was behind an explosive-laden drone found at the Leipzig airport last month. In response, Germany will close a Russian consulate and restrict Russians’ travel to the country. At a summit, Vladimir Putin pledged to continue his escalating war against Ukraine and to support Iran in its conflict with the United States. The first day of school for many children in Ukraine meant going underground. See inside their schools. Other Big Stories Deer on Catalina Island in 2023. Sinna Nasseri for The New York Times A conservancy that owns the bulk of Catalina Island, off the coast of Los Angeles, will try to kill nearly all of the island’s 2,000 deer. Jurors were deadlocked in the trial of Lindsay Clancy, a Massachusetts woman charged with killing her three children. The judge ordered them to keep deliberating. Read more about the case. A Utah judge allowed a murder case against the man accused of killing Charlie Kirk to proceed to trial and said prosecutors could seek the death penalty. Scientists hunting for dark matter found something strange and potentially groundbreaking: a subatomic signal that doesn’t fit the profile of any other known particle. New York City’s public school district, the largest in the country, will ban the use of A.I. in elementary and middle schools. After a jury convicted a man of orchestrating the 1996 murder of Tupac Shakur, some in the rapper’s family said they still lacked closure. “My appetite for justice has not been fed,” Shakur’s father told The Times. ASK THE MORNING What is the difference between the agenda of the Democratic Socialists and the agenda of the Democratic Party? | Marilyn McIntyre | Huntley, Illinois The Democratic Socialists of America (D.S.A.) is an activist organization, not a political party, so its members typically run as Democrats. This has prompted confusion about the two groups. Many mainstream Democrats and D.S.A. members want to move in the same economic direction — raising taxes on wealthy Americans, increasing the minimum wage and expanding health care access. But while most Democrats consider themselves capitalists, D.S.A. members envision ultimately accomplishing those goals by establishing public ownership of the largest corporations. The D.S.A. agenda is also further to the left than most Democrats on social and foreign policy issues. It includes policies like ending all aid to Israel, closing overseas military bases and fully abolishing the police and prison systems. — Lisa Lerer, national politics correspondent OPINIONS The Met should not have canceled its John Galliano exhibition, Robin Givhan argues. “Museums help society undertake painful conversations,” she writes. Instead, it should have canceled the Met Gala — a tribute to excess. “Shock jock” tactics work for Republicans but likely not Democrats, Michelle Goldberg writes. That’s why the Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed should distance himself from Hasan Piker. 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. TODAY’S NUMBER Karl-Anthony Towns with Aaron Judge before a game at Yankee Stadium in 2023. New York Yankees/Getty Images $900,000 — That is how much Karl-Anthony Towns of the New York Knicks paid for a baseball card featuring Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees. It’s not the only valuable card in K.A.T.’s vault. AT THE U.S. OPEN Naomi Osaka The New York Times The fashion: Naomi Osaka won her first-round match. She also tested the boundaries of on-court fashion, with a homage to the Philadelphia 76ers legend Allen Iverson. The food: Does anyone watch the tennis anymore? The scene at the U.S. Open this year is trending more toward food festival than sports tournament. “I’ve seen all these places on TikTok, and I’ve been wanting to try them,” one fan told The Times. On her list were a frozen Honey Deuce cocktail and chicken nuggets from Coqodaq. She opted for the six-piece set for $28, without caviar. More on sports: Arte Moreno has agreed to sell the Los Angeles Angels for a record-setting valuation of $4 billion to the owner of the Los Angeles Rams, Arsenal and other teams. RECIPE OF THE DAY Armando Rafael for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini. Christian Reynoso’s recipe for rotisserie chicken tostadas delivers a perfect weeknight fast-casual meal. I might scatter some queso fresco over the top, and drizzle everything with a tomatillo hot sauce, to make the dish a nod to enchiladas suizas, prepared in a fraction of the time. But just a nod. Here, it’s the crunch of the tostadas that matters, against the soft, lime- and cumin-scented shredded chicken. OUT OF THE POOL For 25 years, the Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim has been an outpost of unhinged, adult-oriented animated mayhem. Maya Phillips, one of our culture critics, lays out six essential series that have run on the channel. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Benjamin Rasmussen for The New York Times Be a little more like the cellist Yo-Yo Ma. “If we had nine or 10 Yo-Yos, the world would look different,” the pianist Emanuel Ax told The Times. Here’s why. Wear suede sneakers this fall, as I do most every day all year. T Magazine has 10 pairs for 10 budgets. (Mine are, naturally, the cheapest.) GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangram was tailwind. 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

THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 2 1945 Japan surrenders, bringing an end to WWII Japan formally surrenders to the Allies aboard the USS Missouri, bringing World War II to a close. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1885 Chinese miners are massacred in Wyoming Territory Ancient Rome 31 B.C. The Battle of Actium Arts & Entertainment 1995 Michael Jackson earns his final No. 1 song with “You Are Not Alone” Civil War 1862 Union General George B. McClellan is restored to full command Early U.S. 1789 Congress founds U.S. Treasury European History 1666 Great Fire of London begins Inventions & Science 1969 First U.S. ATM opens for business Sports 2013 Diana Nyad, 64, makes record swim from Cuba to Florida U.S. Presidents 1944 Navy aviator George H.W. Bush and his squadron attacked Vietnam War 1969 Vietnamese president and communist icon Ho Chi Minh dies World War II 1945 Vietnam declares its independence from France

🎓 1 for the road: Campus robot wars Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Stock: Getty Images A new cohort of fresh-faced delivery robots is arriving on college campuses this fall after the leading incumbent left the market, Axios Future of Mobility author Joann Muller writes. Why it matters: College students are a surprisingly good test audience for delivery robots. They're hungry at weird hours, impatient, tech-friendly — and live in a compact environment where walking 15 minutes for dinner can feel like an intolerable burden. Starship Technologies, which pioneered college robot delivery, announced in May it was shifting its U.S. focus to more lucrative grocery deliveries. Universities accustomed to the roving robots moved swiftly to recruit replacements. Avride operated robots on four campuses last year. Now it's adding 21 that were previously served by Starship. Robot.com just signed a seven-year agreement with food service company Sodexo. Keep reading.

⚖️ Death penalty resurgence Data: Death Penalty Information Center. Chart: Erin Davis/Axios Visuals Florida yesterday executed its 14th prisoner this year, adding to a post-COVID surge in capital punishment that drove more executions last year than any year since 2009, Axios' Avery Lotz writes. Even as fewer courts sentence defendants to death and more than half of the states have banned or at least temporarily halted the practice, the Trump administration has overtly cheered on the death penalty. By the numbers: 47 people were executed last year, 19 in Florida. 24 people have been executed this year, with 10 more scheduled. Keep reading.

🏛️ Rogue Dems face push for punishment Two centrist House Democrats who voted to help Republicans get a procedural motion across the finish line now face possible punishment from party leaders who say they were blindsided by the move, Axios' Andrew Solender writes. Why it matters: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is taking an uncharacteristically aggressive public approach to the defections, to the delight of some of his members. Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-Wash.) voted with Republicans to pass a "rule" — a procedural measure that sets the terms for House debate on a package of bills. Go deeper. Axios' Kate Santaliz, who broke the story on Rep. Chuck Edwards' conduct toward female staffers, writes: Rep. Chuck Edwards (R-N.C.) was censured by the House yesterday after the Ethics Committee found he failed "to adhere to the spirit of rules prohibiting sexual harassment of and unwanted advances to House staffers." The vote amounts to a remarkable bipartisan rebuke, with the GOP leadership team and the vast majority of Edwards' own party joining Democrats to impose one of the House's most serious punishments. The Ethics Committee's findings follow Axios reporting that Edwards singled out two young female staffers in their 20s for special attention that multiple sources described as inappropriate. Edwards and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) were the only GOP "no" votes on the censure resolution, which passed 413-2. Keep reading ...

💥 "Tanker for tanker" strikes begin Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photos: Getty Images The U.S. military attacked two Iranian government tankers as part of yesterday's round of strikes, Axios' Barak Ravid writes. Why it matters: This is the first time the U.S. military has struck Iranian tankers in retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz — rather than to prevent them from violating the naval blockade. A U.S. official said the move was part of a new "tanker for tanker" policy approved by President Trump to further deter Iranian attacks on tankers that move through the strait. Keep reading.

🕺 AI's tricky safety dance Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios OpenAI and Anthropic are trying to strike a delicate balance: convincing Wall Street that their businesses are sound and fast-growing, while assuring governments and the world that their models don't pose unacceptable risks, Axios' Ina Fried writes. Why it matters: Both companies are aiming for potentially record-breaking initial public offerings soon. OpenAI announced yesterday it will soon release its Astra model broadly. But the company said the model has reached a "critical" level of cybersecurity capabilities, meaning its most powerful cyber features will be initially limited to a small group of trusted testers. Anthropic debuted updated versions of its latest Fable and Mythos models. The changes are designed to address major complaints about their initial release, including cost, data sharing and a tendency to reject legitimate requests. 🔬 The intrigue: Anthropic is striking a commercially friendly note with its release. OpenAI is sounding more sober on the safety front. In addition to limiting the release of Astra, OpenAI's head of strategic futures, Dean Ball, penned an essay saying the Hugging Face breach is likely only the beginning of AI systems escaping human containment measures. "They will pay their own bills for the compute they run on," he predicted. "If they answer to humans at all, they will only do so partially, for example by providing services to humans in exchange for pay."

🤖 AI tensions surface at summit Axios' Maria Curi writes from the G20 innovation summit in Chapel Hill, N.C.: Trump administration officials came to this week's innovation summit to project a united front on U.S. AI leadership. But tensions between the Commerce Department and the White House's tech policy shop are playing out behind the scenes. Why it matters: The Trump administration wants the world to follow its lead on AI policy, even as it grapples with divisions at home. The two-day G20 Innovation Ministerial, which culminates today, features some of the tech industry's heaviest hitters and officials from the world's most powerful countries. Officials and executives pitched the U.S. as a model for other countries on AI, contrasting its lighter regulatory approach with the European Union's heavier hand. 🔭 Between the lines: The Commerce Department and OSTP are jockeying for control over the administration's AI policy agenda as key regulatory decisions remain unsettled. Commerce holds many of the administration's most important AI policy levers, including the Bureau of Industry and Security and the Center for AI Standards and Innovation. Keep reading.