The Hill reports: A band of Democratic lawmakers is introducing legislation to thwart President Trump’s takeover of the D.C. police department, arguing the White House is exceeding its authority. The resolution would terminate Trump’s Monday order, something the lawmakers say comes as “the President has concocted a false narrative around the city’s crime rates” which have been declining for two …

Politico Europe reports: Several hundred people gathered for a pro-Ukraine rally in Anchorage, Alaska, where U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin are set to meet Friday. The high-stakes summit — the first in-person meeting between an American president and Putin since the latter launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, is meant to lay the …

CNN reports: Wednesday evening on the MAGA cable channel OAN, as Defense Department spokeswoman Kingsley Wilson gushed to host Matt Gaetz about an alleged year-over-year increase in female military recruits, four images of women soldiers in combat fatigues were displayed on-screen. All four images were AI fakes. The images appear to have been generated using Elon Musk’s Grok, as small …

CNN reports: Erin strengthened into a Category 1 hurricane with sustained winds of 75 mph on Friday morning more than 400 miles east of the northeastern Caribbean’s Leeward Islands, according to the National Hurricane Center. Four other systems roamed the Atlantic basin before Erin – Andrea, Barry, Chantal and Dexter – but none were stronger than a tropical storm. The …

The Washington Post reports: Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi L. Noem is living for free in a military home typically reserved for the U.S. Coast Guard’s top admiral, officials familiar with the matter said. The highly unusual arrangement has raised concern within the agency and from some Democrats, who describe it as a waste of military resources. Noem recently …

The Washingtonian reports: The US Department of Agriculture spent $16,400 to hang two banners in May outside its headquarters on Independence Avenue in Washington, DC, government documents show. One banner honored Abraham Lincoln. The other featured the glowering face of President Trump. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins posted a video on X on May 15 that begins, amid stirring music, with …

Politico Europe reports: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov appeared to be wearing a sweater with the letters “CCCP” — Russian for USSR — upon his arrival in Alaska. Lavrov will be part of the Kremlin’s delegation when Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump meet later on Friday in a hotly anticipated summit to discuss the war in …

Rolling Stone reports: A new directive signed last week by President Donald Trump gives the Pentagon authorization to use military force against Latin American drug cartels designated as terrorist organizations, according to administration sources. A U.S. official familiar with the matter confirmed to Rolling Stone certain details regarding the Trump-signed directive, which was first reported by The New York Times. …

From the Family Research Council’s website: A group of 80 pastors — Baptists, Lutherans, Pentecostals, Presbyterians, and more — are taking a stand against Kroger. The coalition of clergy sent a letter to interim Kroger CEO Ronald Sargent with an ultimatum: Drop the LGBT agenda or face a boycott. On the company’s website, it plainly states, “We proudly stand with …

Goldsboro’s CBS affiliate reports: According to officials, 30-year-old Shelton Kelsey Burkart was charged with 5 counts of second degree sexual exploitation of a minor and 5 counts of third degree sexual exploitation of a minor after the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation seized his electronic devices at his church. NC SBI said Burkart was the pastor at Zion Global …

The Washington Post reports: D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb has sued President Donald Trump over his executive actions asserting control over the D.C. police department and attempting to install an emergency police commissioner, one of the most extraordinary exertions of federal power in the city’s half-century of home rule. The lawsuit came hours after U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi ordered …

From the Wall Street Journal editorial board: President Trump knows the public is skeptical about his tariffs, which is why Administration officials are anxious to convince voters someone somewhere else in the world will pay for them instead of American households. Inflation data released Thursday tell a different story. The producer-price index (PPI) in July rose 0.9% in the month …

The New York Times reports: SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket and satellite internet company, has received billions of dollars in federal contracts over its more than two-decade existence. But SpaceX has most likely paid little to no federal income taxes since its founding in 2002 and has privately told investors that it may never have to pay any, according to internal …

“CA media: After the vulgar behavior today at a live event, you have a duty to not cover these rallies live if Gonzalez is involved. You have a duty to your viewers…and an FCC license to keep. I am looking forward to Nov 4 when California voters hand Gavin Newsom a humiliating defeat by rejecting his corrupt and dishonest redistricting …

The BBC reports: Trump’s short post on social media a few minutes ago – “HIGH STAKES!!!” – raises expectations and the sense of drama. The US president will land at a Cold War-era American air-base in Anchorage, followed shortly afterwards by President Putin. Stepping foot on US soil, beyond UN meetings, for the first time in two decades, Putin in …

Mediaite reports: Sara Gonzales, a host at Glenn Beck’s conservative network BlazeTV, was manhandled out of a town hall on Thursday after she called Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) a “fake ghetto hoodrat” and “a spoiled rich kid from Missouri.” As Gonzales was shouted down by other members of the audience, a woman pushed against her and snapped, “Get your ass …

The Texas Tribune reports: A new poll of Texas’ Senate GOP primary shows Sen. John Cornyn leading Attorney General Ken Paxton by 1 percentage point, breaking a spell of public polling that had found the incumbent trailing by wide margins. In a sample of nearly 500 registered Texans planning to vote in the Republican primary, Cornyn garnered 30% of the …

New York City’s ABC affiliate reports: Police evacuated 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan after envelopes containing white powder were discovered on Thursday, according to officials. 26 Federal Plaza is the New York headquarters of federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, Homeland Security and ICE. Police responded to the building, the same one being used, in part, as an ICE …

Politico reports: Former President Barack Obama met Thursday with Texas House Democrats to praise them for leaving the state to stop a GOP-backed redistricting effort. Obama also pointed to the response by California — which launched its own redistricting retaliation on Thursday — as a result of the Texas Democrats’ own protest, which he views as a temporary offset. He …

The Hill reports: President Trump says he’s open to following through on former President Biden’s push to reschedule marijuana, a move that comes up short of legalization but would still provide a major boost for the cannabis industry. Trump reportedly told donors this month he was considering rescheduling marijuana, and in a press conference this week he said a decision …