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SpaceX’s massive Starship is finally going to orbit SpaceX is preparing to launch its Starship rocket into orbit for the first time today, a major step before the vehicle becomes fully operational. Getting here hasn’t been smooth, though: Since 2023, SpaceX has launched 13 prototypes from Texas, with nearly half ending in unintended explosions. Liftoff today is expected during a 75-minute window opening at 8:15 a.m. ET, though the launch could be delayed or postponed, as previous attempts have been. If successful, Starship will deploy a new generation of Starlink satellites that could boost its internet business and orbital data centers to power energy-sucking AI models. SpaceX ultimately plans to use the rocket for carrying NASA astronauts to the moon and, eventually, pursuing Elon Musk’s ambitions for Mars. + Live updates: Unprecedented test flight of SpaceX’s Starship will aim for orbit + Read more: SpaceX’s massive Starship is facing its biggest test yet

Trump’s taxpayer-funded ads draw bipartisan criticism The Trump administration is using taxpayer money to air television ads featuring the president, including one in which he vows “a final battle” against communists and the “fake news” media. But the most provocative part of the new 30-second spot may be the tagline viewers saw during NFL broadcasts Sunday: “Paid for by the U.S. Government.” That money inevitably comes in part from Americans who oppose Trump’s agenda, meaning they, too, are helping pay to promote his message. The White House says the spots are patriotic public service announcements, but government watchdogs and members of both parties have raised questions about whether they cross legal lines barring federal funds from being used for political propaganda. Adding to the scrutiny is the timing: The ads are airing just weeks before the midterm elections, potentially blurring the boundaries between government messaging and campaigning. + Watch: Trump stars in taxpayer-funded video + Read more: Ads portray the president as a ‘relentless, square-jawed strongman’ + Inside Trump’s midterm strategy ps:Pathetic!!

September 28, 2026 By Sam Sifton Good morning from rain-soaked New York City. In other storm news, Hurricane Polo is bearing down on Baja California Sur, in northwestern Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 115 m.p.h. There’s plenty more below. But first, let’s add some protein. Powered by protein Nearly 90 percent of Americans have enough protein in their diets, according to a recent government report. That hasn’t stopped food companies from trying to sell us more, nor stopped consumers from buying it. Some of my colleagues started keeping track of the counterintuitive sources of protein they saw in grocery stores and gas station markets, in warehouse clubs and bodegas, in chain restaurants and coffee shops. They found protein cookies and candies. Protein coffee and protein water. Protein vodka. Protein milk. Here were protein-enhanced Pop-Tarts, Uncrustables, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Cheerios. They saw protein-loaded meat sticks and brownie-batter protein balls, too. Protein chips and protein crackers. A company that collects detailed data on retail food sales counts 37,232 products with protein claims on the front of their packaging. Those claims come in big fonts. And those big fonts draw attention. They work. The company says it’s measured around $90 billion in consumer spending on protein products over the last year, including more than $2 billion on protein pizzas. That’s up a lot, as the following chart shows: The last point covers the 52 weeks ending Sept. 5, 2026. Source: NIQ. The New York Times Americans are way into protein. Why is that? Selling points The simple answer is hype, according to the reporters Margot Sanger-Katz and Larry Buchanan. If weight-loss advice shows up in your social-media algorithm, the importance of protein will be at the center of it. My dudes who lift weights swear by the stuff — and march around with four-pound bags of nuts in their backpacks. So do the biohackers who want to live past 100. People taking GLP-1 weight-loss drugs hear about the macronutrient from their doctors. And the government’s latest MAHA-coded dietary guidelines increased the levels of recommended protein by more than 50 percent. Americans should “prioritize protein foods at every meal,” according to the guidelines. The food industry is happy to oblige, even if the science says that too much protein can lead to problems, including heart disease, kidney issues and weight gain. They sell us yogurt and cheese as the answer. Eggs, too, and salmon and tilapia, beans and tofu. They wrap little salamis in packaging that declares them “protein packs.” Protein is everywhere. The data covers the 52 weeks ending Aug. 29, 2026. Source: NIQ. The New York Times It’s even in snacks: in Protein Nom Noms, for instance, and Doritos Protein. “You’ve got the claims sneaking into categories that don’t make a lot of sense,” said an executive at the company that monitors retail food sales. For the bold The food industry has always rolled with nutritional trends, which come and go. As my colleagues show, Doritos are a pretty cool case study. The intensely flavored tortilla chips were sold in the 1970s with bags touting “no preservatives!” Since then, Doritos have been labeled “cholesterol free,” “Light (⅓ less oil),” low calorie, low carbohydrate and, right now, “naked of dyes.” (It’s legitimately weird to see a nude Dorito, without its cloak of bright orange flavor chemistry.) Special K cereal is another one, a reminder that what’s old can be new again. Seven decades ago, food scientists teamed up with researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health to develop it. The main selling point, right there on the cereal box: “HIGH-PROTEIN.” Take a look at the whole article, which has incredible images of protein-mad food packaging and a neat feature that allows you to call up photographs of random protein products. And use this calculator to see how much protein you actually need, based on your age and weight. FREE TO READ A gold mine in Venezuela. Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times Times investigation: The Trump administration is brokering deals to mine gold in Venezuela and export it. Gangs are taking a cut of the profits. Brit lit: Ninth-graders in China are required to read “Jane Eyre.” Why? Your pick: The most clicked link in The Morning yesterday was about a standoff at an In-N-Out. Metropolitan Diary: A makeshift memorial. Science project: Biologists working from a makeshift lab in a motel room made a discovery that could offer a window into the origins of life. THE LATEST NEWS Politics The New York Times Vice President JD Vance said the White House anti-fraud task force had found $250 billion of fraud. In the video above, our reporter Linda Qiu explains why that claim is exaggerated. Click to watch. An ad repurposed from Trump’s 2024 campaign is running on TV stations across the country. Taxpayers are funding that. The New York Police Department used Flock surveillance cameras to make more than 1,700 searches, although the department doesn’t have a contract with the company. Around the World Abbas Araghchi, Iran’s foreign minister. Lexi Parra/The New York Times Iran’s foreign minister said he was still waiting on an “official” U.S. response to his country’s latest cease-fire proposal, which Trump has called unacceptable. The police in Britain thwarted a possible terrorism plot targeting an air force base used by the U.S. military. Officers are now investigating. The U.S. ambassador to China said that Trump offered to sell arms to Beijing during Xi Jinping’s visit. A White House official said there were no plans for such a sale. Times journalists pressed Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, on trade, China and Trump during an hourlong conversation last week. Read the full interview. Other Big Stories A scientist questioned Anthropic’s claim that its A.I. independently discovered new enzymes, saying his team had been sharing research with Anthropic’s model, Claude. The measles outbreak in Pennsylvania has grown to nearly 900 cases. Two pandas that Xi Jinping promised during his White House visit have arrived in Atlanta. OPINIONS After the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the novelist Curtis Sittenfeld celebrated marriage’s mysteries and wonders. Newly divorced, she revisits her views. A peaceful death doesn’t always have to take place at home, Daniela J. Lamas, an I.C.U. doctor, writes. The Anniversary Sale ends soon: Morning readers, enjoy our best offer. Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your interests with expert coverage of news, culture, business and more. Save now: $1/week for your first year. TODAY’S NUMBER 64 — That is how many hours a scientist spent tracking wild pygmy raccoons near a beach club on Cozumel in Mexico, watching them fish paper receipts out of the trash, crumple them into tight spheres and play with them like makeshift balls. It represents the first time that raccoons have been recorded engaging in what’s called “material culture” — that is, using objects and learning from others how to use them. “Obviously,” the scientist said, “it was adorable.” Watch the videos that confirm this. SPORTS W.N.B.A.: New York, Golden State, Atlanta and Las Vegas all won on the first day of the playoffs. Golf: The Americans won the Presidents Cup for the 11th straight time. Tennis: John McEnroe said big-name players need to boycott the Grand Slams if they want a greater share of their revenues. Wrestling: Benjamin Satterley, an English wrestling star known by the ring name Pac, has died at 40, CNN reports. RECIPE OF THE DAY David Malosh for The New York Times There’s a great instruction in Melissa Clark’s recipe for crispy chicken thighs with cucumber yogurt, which she adapted from one developed by the Maine chef Devin Finigan. It’s to “work confidently” when you turn over the chicken crisped in the pan, so as not to tear the skin. Confidence in the kitchen is everything. Even if you’ve only been at this game a little while, it’s important to bring self-assurance to your actions at the stove. Let the fat render. Let the skin go golden. Let it release. And then turn the bird, sure in the knowledge that you’ve done your best. The seasoning and that fantastic cucumber yogurt will do the rest. You’ve got this. BOOM SHAKALAKA Gabriela Bhaskar/ The New York Times Intercollegiate Bollywood-fusion dance competitions are at the center of “Best of the Best,” a coming-of-age comedy recently released on Netflix. The film is fictional, but the world it depicts is not. South Asian dance teams at American colleges and universities number in the hundreds. The photographer Gabriela Bhaskar spent the last year documenting one of them at the University of California, Los Angeles, and her images are stunning. Revel in them. More on culture Patrick O’Connell, 80, made the Inn at Little Washington into one of the country’s great restaurants. He’s become a rural baron along the way, presiding over both his business and the Virginia town some see as his fief. What will happen when he’s gone? At MTV’s Video Music Awards, Taylor Swift presented a new video, and Madonna performed. See the show’s best and worst moments. THE MORNING RECOMMENDS Watch the 100 best TV shows of the 21st century. Here’s how. Eat apples. They really do keep the doctor away. Replace that rusted-out fire ring in your yard with a (so-called) smokeless fire pit. The pyromaniacs at Wirecutter found the very best ones. Take our news quiz. GAMES Here is today’s Spelling Bee. Yesterday’s pangrams were nullified, unfiled, unfilled and unfulfilled. And here are today’s Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections, Crossplay and Strands. Thanks for spending part of your morning with The Times and me. See you tomorrow. — Sam Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. Reach our team at themorning@nytimes.com. Host: Sam Sifton Editor: Adam B. Kushner News Editor: Tom Wright-Piersanti News Staff: Evan Gorelick, Brent Lewis, Lara McCoy, Karl Russell Saturday Writer: Melissa Kirsch Editorial Director, Newsletters: Jodi Rudoren Deputy Editorial Director: Lauren Jackson

Iran War Victims Put Trump’s Power Grab On Trial An unprecedented lawsuit from Iranian-American families challenges Trump’s ability to wage war without Congress. Families of victims of President Donald Trump’s war in Iran just filed an unprecedented lawsuit asking a federal judge to decide a constitutional question Washington has evaded for decades: Can a president wage war without the approval of Congress? Attorneys behind the lawsuit, filed on behalf of the members of the National Iranian American Council, say this is the first time people impacted by an unauthorized military intervention, rather than lawmakers, are legally challenging presidential war powers. The Constitution’s Declare War Clause vests the power to declare war in Congress, not the president. The suit is being brought on behalf of Iranian-Americans whose relatives have been killed, injured, or otherwise harmed by U.S. strikes in Iran. “Nobody has tried this approach,” said Alan Morrison, a public interest lawyer representing the plaintiffs who has argued 20 cases before the Supreme Court — including one that has been interpreted to limit Congress’ ability to check presidential power. “We have a different group of plaintiffs, the people here who are suffering the war as the plaintiffs. Members of Congress have tried to stop the war before, [and] occasionally servicemen have tried to stop the war before, [but] none successfully.” This case deliberately sidesteps the War Powers Resolution, a federal law that, among other things, allows Congress to demand the president cease unsanctioned hostilities, but has never been successfully used to stop military action. In June, both the House and the Senate passed war powers resolutions demanding an end to Trump’s Iran war, with no tangible effect. On Thursday, the same day Iranian-Americans filed their lawsuit, the Senate narrowly voted down another Iran war powers resolution. Modern U.S. presidents, from Lyndon B. Johnson to George W. Bush, have rarely sought a congressional declaration of war, instead taking unilateral military action and claiming that such force does not amount to all-out war. The last time Congress officially declared war was during World War II. Congress has repeatedly introduced war powers resolutions to end such unauthorized conflicts, but the resolutions’ legal standing remains contested. Legal scholars have interpreted a landmark 1983 Supreme Court ruling in a case brought by Morrison as delegitimizing congressional resolutions’ ability to limit the executive branch. Others argue that the justices carved out an exception for war powers resolutions. Now, some observers say Congress’s June Iran war powers resolution could be further complicated by the follow-up resolution’s failure this week. Lawmakers could assert their authority by suing the Trump administration for violating the first resolution, although no such case has been filed. Similar attempts to enforce the War Powers Resolution in the courts have gone nowhere. The National Iranian American Council lawsuit takes a different approach. “We made a conscious decision to not talk about the War Powers Resolution in this case,” Morrison said. Instead, the plaintiffs want the judiciary to quickly declare the war unconstitutional, based on the idea that the Constitution’s Declare War Clause forbids the president from waging a full-scale, extended war that Congress never authorized and has voted to terminate. Such a ruling could provide a way to hold Trump accountable for ignoring such war powers resolutions. “To flout a court judgment, among other things, would be an impeachable offense,” the lawsuit notes. The lawsuit comes as Trump threatens to escalate his current war, threatening this week to “annihilate” Iran. The court filing uses such bluster to bolster its case, citing Trump’s comments earlier this year that “I won’t use the word ‘war’ because they say if you use the word ‘war,’ that’s maybe not a good thing to do… So, I’ll use the word ‘military operation.’” “Absent a declaration from this Court that defendant’s continuing presidential war of aggression violates the Constitution, the war will continue indefinitely,” the lawsuit reads. https://www.levernews.com/iran-war-victims-put-trumps-power-grab-on-trial/?

🎨 1 for the road: Homes go green Paint colors Grounded (left) and Celery. Photos: Behr and Sherwin-Williams Next year's home paint palette is getting greener and more adventurous, Axios' Sami Sparber writes. Paint companies Behr, Valspar and Sherwin-Williams recently named their picks for the next big hues in home design: Behr chose Grounded, a "mossy olive," as its 2027 color of the year. Valspar went with Cottage Door, a comforting gray-blue. Sherwin-Williams picked Celery, a pale green that looks just like, well, the vegetable. Read on.

⚡ Nvidia launches agent security platform Image: Jensen Huang/X Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang this morning unveiled an Nvidia Open Agent Safety Platform with more than 100 industry partners, including Anthropic, Hugging Face, IBM, Microsoft and Palantir. AI's "full promise can only be realized when people have confidence that AI is being built to be safe and deployed with wisdom and responsibility," Huang wrote on X. "Safety is how trust is earned." Why it matters: The platform can spot a rogue agent in milliseconds. Nvidia wins more business when agents work safely. Between the lines: Nvidia's announcement says that reports from frontier labs about rogue agents "have led to a serious debate about the pace of agent development. We believe we need to increase the pace of AI safety research and engineering in collaboration with frontier labs and the broader community." Huang calls the platform "the beginning of an open ecosystem to build the trust layer for safe agent systems. Together, we are building the foundation of the AI economy." Read the announcement.

Data-center backers plan for '27 and beyond Photo illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios. Photo: Brandon Bell/Getty Images AI companies, private equity firms and unions are banding together to form a new multimillion-dollar coalition to make the case for responsible growth in seven key states, Axios' Hans Nichols reports. Why it matters: The new group, the American Infrastructure Alliance, wants to partner with state and local officials to create clear standards and guardrails for data centers in 2027. In return, the coalition hopes to head off any moratoriums on new construction. The group plans initial campaigns in Texas, Georgia, Ohio, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Indiana and South Carolina. The alliance is backed by Blackstone, OpenAI, QTS and SoftBank Group, along with key unions, including the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW). 🔭 Between the lines: The group represents an initial investment in a broader battle over AI and data centers that will likely bleed into the 2027 state legislative battles and the 2028 presidential campaign. Watch an ad ... Read on.

🇮🇷 Trump expects Iran negotiations this week The day after rejecting an Iranian proposal to end the war, President Trump told Axios' Barak Ravid in a phone interview that U.S. negotiators will engage in more talks with the country this week: Qatar and other regional mediators are trying to revive negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, but the two sides are far apart on the key issues, Barak writes. While Iran wants to focus any talks on the Strait of Hormuz and the U.S. naval blockade, the Trump administration is demanding that Iran agree to nuclear concessions. "I expect more talks with Iran [this week]," Trump said. "They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make. It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand." Asked if he is considering resuming strikes against Iran, Trump said: "I am always thinking about it." Keep reading.

Speaker's 22-state dash Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is launching a five-week campaign blitz that will take him to more than 40 congressional districts across 22 states in the 36 days before Election Day, Axios' Kate Santaliz reports. Why it matters: Johnson is going all-in on defending his party's House majority as the political terrain disintegrates for the GOP. 🗳️ Zoom in: Johnson's campaign swing will be split evenly between Republican-held seats the party is fighting to defend, and Democratic-held districts the GOP hopes to pick up. The speaker begins his travel this week in Louisiana and New York. He'll also campaign in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. Read on.

THIS DAY IN HISTORY September 28 1941 Ted Williams becomes last MLB player to hit .400 On September 28, 1941, the last day of Major League Baseball’s regular season, the Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams gets six hits in eight at-bats during a doubleheader in Philadelphia. He becomes the first player since 1930 to hit above .400, a mark that generations of players have continued to chase. read more Sponsored Content by REVCONTENT 19th Century 1542 Spanish explorer sails into San Diego Bay 1990s 1994 Passenger ferry Estonia sinks, killing 852 21st Century 2018 Arctic shipping lane opens due to ice melt; cargo ship completes the journey American Revolution 1781 Battle of Yorktown begins Ancient Egypt 48 B.C. Pompey the Great assassinated Arts & Entertainment 1901 TV host Ed Sullivan born Cold War 1965 Fidel Castro announces Cubans are free to leave the island Crime 1988 A cult leader kills one of his followers European History 1066 William the Conqueror invades England Inventions & Science 1918 Philadelphia parade exposes thousands to Spanish flu Sports 1960 Ted Williams hits home run in last major league at-bat 1920 Eight MLB players indicted in “Black Sox Scandal” World War I 1918 British soldier allegedly spares the life of an injured Adolf Hitler

> President Donald Trump rejects Iranian offer to restart talks to reopen the Strait of Hormuz; US reportedly focused on nuclear program concessions (More) | Five men arrested on suspicion of terrorist activity outside RAF Fairford, a British airbase used by the US (More) > Northern Ireland’s “Orange Order” cleared to hold contentious Drumcree parade for the first time since 1998; march was a flashpoint during decadeslong Catholic-Protestant conflict (More) | What were "the Troubles?" (More) > At least 27 people killed, more than two dozen wounded in separate mass shootings outside South Africa's Johannesburg and Cape Town; suspects at large as of this writing (More)

Sunflowers can help clean radioactive soil. Japan is using this to rehabilitate Fukashima. Almost 10,000 packets of sunflower seeds have been sold to the people of the city. James

Strikes kill 8 in Ukraine, 1 in Russia after Moscow rejects German calls to de-escalate Russia and Ukraine exchanged strikes overnight and Sunday, killing at least eight people in Ukraine and one in Russia, officials said, hours after Moscow rejected German calls to ease off its escalation toward NATO. Read More.

Colombian police capture wife and daughter of Ecuadorian gang leader extradited to the United States Colombian police on Sunday said they captured the wife and daughter of a notorious Ecuadorian gang leader who was extradited to the U.S. last year on drug trafficking charges. Read More.

Supreme Court vote shadows Maine Sen. Susan Collins in her first race after abortion rights decision For years, Planned Parenthood’s endorsement of Susan Collins was enough to persuade Erin Evans to vote for Maine's longtime U.S. senator, believing that the moderate Republican would protect abortion access. Read More.

Anthropic and OpenAI sound the alarm on AI safety — and seek to shape how it's controlled As tech titans warned an AI-weary world that their own advanced systems could endanger humanity, the question emerged: What do they have to gain? Read More.

This week in the pre-campaign Illustration: Brendan Lynch / Axios. Stock: Getty Images A look at what potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders are up to: 🤔 Ocasio-Cortez talked openly about running for president or the Senate in 2028 in an interview with The New York Times' Shane Goldmacher. "There's an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot," she said. "… Life doesn't wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you." 🇺🇳 California Gov. Gavin Newsom made the rounds in New York City during the United Nations General Assembly, where some foreign officials treated him as a president-in-waiting. Newsom met and signed a climate agreement with the prime minister of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, who according to reports snubbed President Trump's reception. 👏 Besides campaigning for El-Sayed in Michigan this week, Harris went to an event held by the Detroit Branch of the NAACP and got a standing ovation from the crowd when she was asked about running in 2028, the Michigan Chronicle's Sam Robinson reported. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said on "CBS Mornings" that he was diagnosed with diabetes two years ago, and since then has lost 80 pounds using a GLP-1 drug. Pritzker previously had dodged questions about whether he used the drug in his recent weight loss. Democratic megadonor Alex Soros posted about meeting Pritzker in New York City this week. Buttigieg told Meidas Touch that the Biden administration made mistakes dealing with the southern border. "Democrats were slow to acknowledge that this was a problem. I'll admit that I did not understand the proportions of the problem at first," he said. 🥯 In a video with food influencer Jeremy Jacobowitz, Buttigieg also revealed his go-to bagel order: sesame bagel with lox, scallion cream cheese (or chive) and capers. Jacobowitz judged the order an 8.9. 🦀 Maryland Gov. Wes Moore put out an AI framework that would focus on regulating its use in housing, gambling, lending, in the workplace, and elsewhere. Read it here. 🤖 Kelly introduced AI legislation that would focus on making large tech companies pay to help workers displaced by the technology. Emanuel jabbed at AOC and Sen. Bernie Sanders in a New York Times profile by Shane Goldmacher. "Some people want to do oligarchy tours. I want to do majority tours. That's what I'm doing with my time," he said. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear dodged questions from CNN's Jake Tapper about committing money to the Texas governor's race (he also mistakenly said Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs was running for reelection in Ohio). California Rep. Ro Khanna said on "Meet the Press" that Democrats should hold impeachment investigations if they win the House in November, and that it wouldn't be a mistake to impeach Trump a third time.

🗽 AOC's Senate test run Photo: Aaron Schwartz / Bloomberg via Getty Images BUFFALO, N.Y. — AOC's flirtation with a 2028 Senate bid is getting real — more real than the presidential buzz around her might suggest. 🏃🏼‍♀️ She's barnstorming through upstate New York, meeting with local officials and kicking off a voter turnout program that could help her collect valuable data for a possible Senate campaign. Why it matters: Whether she runs for Senate or the White House is one of the biggest questions hanging over the 2028 Democratic presidential primary. 🔬 Zoom in: Her swing through Buffalo and Ithaca the last few days was officially aimed at boosting Democratic turnout in the midterms. But it doubled as a way to test AOC's appeal far from her home base of Queens and the Bronx, and build relationships with locals. In Buffalo, she met privately with Mayor Sean Ryan, then held an impromptu press conference with him, generating coverage of the duo on local TV news. She and her team later kicked off a training session aimed at getting inactive voters to the polls, an operation that could help them gather information about the electorate outside New York City. "I want to be very forthright about our intentions here, which is to transform the state of New York," Ocasio-Cortez told activists at the event in a Buffalo arts center. In Ithaca, she appeared at an apple festival with Rep. Josh Riley (D-N.Y.) and today was scheduled to headline a "Students vs. Billionaires" town hall. It's friendly terrain: The city is home to several democratic socialist elected officials, and Ocasio-Cortez is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America. 🤔 The intrigue: AOC says she's genuinely undecided on whether to run for the White House or Senate. Her recent activities upstate suggested that wasn't a head fake. Ryan said Ocasio-Cortez has been talking with state officials about how help communities beyond New York City. Meanwhile, some influential Democrats in early presidential primary states have told us they haven't yet heard from AOC. Many political insiders believe that if Ocasio-Cortez were to run for an open Senate seat, she'd clear the Democratic field. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who's in his fifth term, hasn't said whether he'll run for reelection. Yes, but: Ocasio-Cortez also has taken several steps that could point toward a presidential run. She's toured the country, moderated her stance on some cultural issues, and opened up about her egg-freezing journey. She recently told the New York Times she'll consider whether to run for president after the midterms. Between the lines: One exchange we had with Ocasio-Cortez offered a window into how she is approaching her decision. We asked her how she's thinking about the future of the progressive movement as she weighs a White House run. In the last two open Democratic presidential primaries, there has been a clear progressive standard-bearer, and many on the left think she's their only hope for 2028. "The movement is so much bigger than any one person," she told us. Read more. — Holly Otterbein

🚫 Swing-state Dems shun AOC Photo illustration: Sarah Grillo / Axios. Photo: Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images Democrats in some of this year's most critical congressional battlegrounds are sending a clear message to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: We don't want you to campaign for us. Why it matters: If they continue, the snubs could hurt AOC's standing as a potential contender in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary, when many voters will prioritize electability. Ocasio-Cortez and her allies argue that her unapologetic advocacy for big progressive policies like Medicare for All would make candidates like her more electable than moderate liberals, but many Democrats in tight races this fall have disagreed. 🛑 She was welcomed by several Democrats in competitive primary races, but now some of those candidates have distanced themselves as they've moved to the center to take on Republicans in the Nov. 3 election. 🔎 Zoom in: Sam Forstag, a progressive House candidate in Montana who rallied with AOC in May en route to winning the Democratic primary, suggested he doesn't want her to campaign for him in the conservative state for the general election. "I don't intend to be having a lot of folks from out of state campaigning with me over these next 40 days," he told Axios when asked about AOC stumping for him. Forstag has scrubbed Ocasio-Cortez's endorsement from his campaign's website. Driving the news: Some Democrats in other close races have explicitly asked Ocasio-Cortez's team to stay away, party officials told Axios. 📉 "The polling is atrocious for her," said a senior Democratic strategist working in a key swing district. "She's a lightning rod." AOC doesn't always tell national media about her events in advance, so we asked her team whether she's campaigned in person for any of the Democrats' top House or Senate candidates this cycle. They didn't point us to any. "Call us on Nov. 3," said her chief of staff, Mike Casca, suggesting she may do more events before Election Day. Zoom out: In June, CNN reported that AOC's aides were "putting together a fall schedule meant to beta-test her appeal beyond a base that adores her." So far, that hasn't happened nationally. In contrast, several of AOC's potential 2028 rivals for president — including former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly and former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel — have been welcomed by Democratic candidates in competitive districts and states during the past month. Even former Vice President Kamala Harris — whose help has been resisted by some battleground candidates — has been welcomed by others. Harris was in Michigan with left-wing Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed last week and plans to campaign for statewide candidates in Georgia and Nevada. 👀 The intrigue: In the final weeks of the Senate Democratic primary last month in Michigan — a key presidential swing state — El-Sayed had AOC campaign with him. He and his allies spent almost $1 million in TV ads featuring her, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact. But since winning the Democratic nomination, El-Sayed has spent almost nothing on ads featuring AOC. El-Sayed's campaign said they'd welcome Ocasio-Cortez back in the coming weeks. "There are a lot of Michiganders who can't wait to have AOC back in town," a spokesperson told us. AOC did launch a campaign swing this week throughout New York with stops in Buffalo and Ithaca, but she's not campaigning in one of the country's most competitive House districts — the 17th District in the lower Hudson Valley. Cait Conley, a former Army officer and national security official in the Biden administration, told CNN this month that she wouldn't campaign with AOC. 🗣️ What they're saying: We asked Ocasio-Cortez what she thinks of Republicans using her name in a new ad to try to hurt Conley. "I invite them to spend even more money … because they're just setting it on fire," Ocasio-Cortez said, arguing that the GOP has been running the same anti-AOC playbook since she first was elected to Congress in 2018. Read more. — Alex Thompson, Holly Otterbein

Trump Rages at Supreme Court for Ruining His Latest ‘Victory’ Checks and balances are for other presidents, apparently. Donald Trump, 80, has lashed out at his hand-picked Supreme Court justices after they handed him another defeat. In a rant on Truth Social Sunday morning, Trump raged about how the court had again refused to allow a new voting map in Missouri. “The Supreme Court of the United States will just not let Missouri have an Election Victory. They continuously, three times now, overrule Judges who came to the correct decisions,” the president wrote. With the midterms looming, Republicans in Missouri want to use a newly drafted electoral map that gives Republican candidates a leg up in races across the state and would potentially see them gaining a seat from the Democrats. The new map was created last year at the behest of Trump, who has been pushing Republican-controlled state houses to redraw boundaries and lock out Democrats. It divided Kansas City into several districts in an attempt to unseat long-time Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver. The president’s push to redraw districts began in Texas and has since spread to other states, including North Carolina, Ohio, Florida and Tennessee. Democrats in California and Virginia also joined in the redistricting fight with maps favoring their party, but the Supreme Court blocked Virginia’s effort in a ruling that delighted the president. The Missouri map, however, has been knocked back by Trump’s own justices twice before, once by Brett Kavanaugh, and then unanimously by the full bench. On Friday, the justices shut it down a third time, issuing an unsigned ruling with no dissenters. The state’s 2022 map, which includes six seats currently held by Republicans and two by Democrats, will be used in November. “The election is not merely upcoming; it has already started. Ballots using the 2022 map have been printed and mailed. Absentee voting has already begun, as has military and overseas voting,” the decision said. Trump, furious that the highest court in the land did not do what he wanted, said the people of Missouri were “fighting so hard for Fairness and Election Security.” “Such tremendous Spirit and Love of our Country. I won Missouri BIG, all three times, and I couldn’t be more proud of doing so. A great place — I love you all! President DONALD J. TRUMP,” he continued. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The GOP is struggling to hold back a predicted blue wave in November, as Trump’s approval rating has tanked over the cost of living and his hugely unpopular Iran war. The redistricting is part of their attempt to maintain control of the House, which currently has 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats serving. For control to change hands, Democrats would just need to flip a handful of seats. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trump-rages-at-supreme-court-for-ruining-his-latest-victory/?

MAGA Revolts Over Wild White House Champagne-Spraying Video Dan Scavino is catching heat for a “shameful” video he posted partying it up. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Dan Scavino has sparked an uproar with a tacky flex on social media. Scavino, 50, posted what appears to be an AI-generated video on Instagram showing him popping champagne with what seems to be his second wife, Erin Elmore, and the president’s son Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump. The video is set to the tune of Pitbull’s hit song “Don’t Stop the Party.” In the caption of the video, he wrote, “This is not an intended for the Dems heads to explode—Being some of the post State Dinner party has gotten out, I felt inclined to share mine as well, in complete transparency, with the American People. GOD BLESS THE USA!!!♥️🤍💙🇺🇸🦅🚀” It’s not the Democrats Scavino needed to watch out for, however, as the video infuriated prominent conservatives. Especially as Republicans look to hone in on their messaging strategy ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which, if polling holds, will be a disaster for the GOP at the ballot box. Jonah Goldberg, editor-in-chief of the center-right outlet The Dispatch, responded, sarcastically saying, “This is precisely the midterm messaging the GOP needs from the Deputy White House Chief of Staff.” “You really have no shame, do you? Many Americans can’t afford groceries, gas or their mortgage payment, and you post a tone deaf AI video of you and your buddies partying at the People’s House,” Conservative activist Carrie Prejean Boller wrote. Conservative commentator Meghan McCain responded to Scavino’s post with some anecdotal economic observations, writing: “One of my friends couldn’t afford air conditioner this summer.” Never-Trump Republican Sarah Longwell wrote, “Real fall of Rome sh-t.” Other self-described MAGA accounts also weighed in on the luxurious display of wealth from Scavino. “Wow...This is really going to resonate with everyday Americans. They are so out of touch. It’s astonishing,” one person wrote. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Scavino appeared to acknowledge the backlash on Sunday afternoon by reposting yet another AI-generated video depicting the imagined afterparty, this time through the supposed lens of Xi Jinping’s “lost camera roll.” “…as the typical nutters are losing their s--t over AI created content, well done! It is AI, correct?😂🎯” he wrote on X. If Republicans’ concerns about the first video’s opulence amid Americans’ cost-of-living struggles reached Scavino, he apparently did not care. The AI video opens with Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, flipping through photos from the purported party. The images show Trump galloping through the White House on horseback; Vance and Musk holding his feet as Xi helps him do a keg stand; Trump jet-skiing on the Reflecting Pool; and Melania eating a lavish cake off his stomach, among other scenes. Republican concerns ahead of the November elections come as polling shows the GOP is headed towards a wipeout at the ballot box. President Donald Trump’s advisers have tried to tell him to focus more on affordability going into the 2026 midterms, especially after Republicans suffered serious losses in the off-year 2025 elections. Rank-and-file Republicans, meanwhile, are distancing themselves from Trump entirely. A growing number of Republicans, including those who represent safe Republican districts, have also deleted references to Trump on their campaign websites, including candidates whom Trump has endorsed. Trump, whose approval rating has sunk to one of the lowest of any president, has insisted that his administration has a winning record, and has doubled down on tying the midterms to his own record. He has told his MAGA base to just vote as though he is on the ballot. “Pretend that I am on the ballot,” Trump declared during the Republican midterm conference earlier this month. “I’m on the ballot.” https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-revolts-over-tone-deaf-white-house-video-from-dan-scavino/?

Trump’s Wild Offer to Chinese Leader Revealed The president’s ambassador to China made the stunning admission in a Fox News interview. President Donald Trump offered China the chance to buy U.S. weapons in an astonishing proposal. During Chinese President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Washington, Trump at one point asked him if he would be interested in buying American weapons, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue admitted. The U.S. last approved $11 billion in sales of U.S. arms to Taiwan in December 2025, as China has been flirting with the idea of invading the small island to take it over. When asked by Fox News on Sunday about the administration’s stance on Taiwan’s independence, Perdue made the stunning admission that Trump had actually offered Xi weapons. “President Trump continues to say, ‘Hey, we sell arms to other people around the world.’ He actually asked President Xi if he would like to buy some, at one point,” Perdue said. That confession received no further inquiry or pushback from Fox host Shannon Bream. The Daily Beast has reached out to the White House for more information. Trump’s offer to Xi marks a stunning departure from decades of U.S. foreign policy that outright bans China from purchasing U.S. arms. U.S. law strictly prohibits the export of defense articles and defense services to China. After the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing, the U.S. and European countries imposed arms embargoes on China that still exist today. The U.S. does sell weapons to Taiwan, much to the dismay of Beijing, which claims the country as its territory. Trump has delayed a more recent $14 billion arms package for Taiwan for several months, as he has dismissed bipartisan calls from Congress to advance it, describing it as a “very good negotiating chip” in his discussions with China. Following Perdue’s bombshell comments, a U.S. official told The Wall Street Journal that the Trump administration has no plans to sell weapons to China, while a second U.S. official pointed out that federal law bars weapons sales to China, adding that no plans or offers have been put on the table for Beijing. https://www.thedailybeast.com/trumps-wild-offer-to-chinese-leader-xi-jinping-revealed-by-david-perdue/?

As to other related ilssues: * All people who wish to worshilpl in a lSDA congregation in peace, are welcomed to attend. I p[ersonally know of some homosexuals who attend SDA Congregatios but are not members. * Homosexuals who remain celebate are welcomed to be baptized and become mebbers. 8 There are a few ccases where a non-celebate homosexual has been baptized and allowed to become a SDA member. Such is rare and a viiolation of policy.

That's the way it works in my Church as well.

As to the policy related to homosexual SDA Clergy, it is simply this: Homosexuals may be ordained as SDA Clerlgy only as long as they remain celebate. If they do not remain celebate their ordination will be revocked. We do have some who do remain celebate. We have revoked the ordination of some others who did not remain celebate.