LONDON (AP) — Nigel Farage depicts himself as an outsider taking on the establishment, but now the tables have turned.

The leader of anti-immigration party Reform UK is running in an election as the incumbent favorite, and his main opponent is a man dressed as a dustbin.

Farage, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, triggered Thursday's special election in the English seaside town of Clacton by quitting his seat in the House of Commons last month. Facing awkward questions about his finances, Farage said he would let voters judge him in a "people versus the establishment" contest.

But the other main parties called it a stunt and refused to take part, leaving Farage running against an assortment of independents, jokers and single-issue candidates led by Count Binface, a comic space alien with a trash can on his head. In that field, it's Farage who looks like the mainstream politician.

Simon Usherwood, professor of politics and international studies at the Open University, said Farage's appeal is built on his image as a straight-talking individualist, "the kind of bloke you can have a pint with down the pub."

"It's that very charismatic aspect of Farage that is both his strength and his weakness," Usherwood said. "He has fallen into a trap of thinking that he is somehow immune from the kind of scrutiny that would undo other politicians."

Farage built his brand on Brexit and immigration

For two decades, the populist Farage has led small parties with an outsized impact on British policy.

His charisma — and, critics say, his distortions — were key to securing victory for the "leave" side in Britain's 2016 European Union membership referendum. After Brexit, Farage switched his focus to migrants crossing the English Channel in small boats, a stream that he has called an invasion.

In 2024 he was elected to Parliament at his eighth attempt, representing the strongly Brexit-backing town of Clacton in eastern England.

Becoming a lawmaker brought unwelcome scrutiny of his finances. Parliament's standards watchdog is investigating an undeclared donation of 5 million pounds ($6.7 million) to Farage in 2024 from Christopher Harborne, a Thailand-based cryptocurrency billionaire. Farage says he didn't need to declare the money because it was a personal gift he used to fund his security and came before he was elected.

Newly elected lawmakers must declare gifts worth more than 300 pounds ($400) received in the previous year if they are related to political activities.

Farage is also facing an investigation into his financial relationship with George Cottrell, an aristocratic crypto-gambling entrepreneur who served eight months in a U.S. prison for fraud a decade ago after offering to launder money for undercover agents posing as drug traffickers.

Cottrell, 32, remains close to Farage and has reportedly given him money for security and staff. U.K. media report that Cottrell and his mother have been interviewed by police as part of a probe into donations to Reform UK, though they have not been arrested.

Farage is standing by the man he calls "Posh George," saying Aug. 3: "I don't ditch my allies."

Farage faces off against Count Binface

The governing Labour Party and opposition Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Greens all declined to run in Clacton. But it is still a crowded field, with almost three dozen candidates, including representatives of Rejoin EU, the Everyone is God Party and the Monster Raving Loony Party.

By far the best known is Count Binface, a frequent comedy candidate whose platform includes the pledge "I will not accept 5-million-pound gifts from crypto billionaires (on Earth)." He says his main appeal is "I'm not Nigel Farage."

Farage doesn't find it funny. He and his party claim Binface, alter ego of comedian Jon Harvey, is just another representative of a hostile political establishment.

"The establishment is using every means available, fair and foul, to undermine Farage before the country gets a chance to elect him," Gawain Towler, Farage's former press officer and now a Reform UK board member, said in a blog post.

Farage won handily in Clacton in 2024, and most observers expect him to win again. If he does, the parliamentary investigation of his finances will resume. A finding of wrongdoing could lead to Farage being suspended from Parliament and trigger yet another special election for the seat.

Reform UK has just seven lawmakers — eight if Farage is included — but led nationwide opinion polls for more than a year. But the party has recently suffered setbacks, losing a string of special elections, including one in June that brought now- Prime Minister Andy Burnham to power.

After months of flagging popularity, Labour senses a "Burnham bounce." Meanwhile, Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has found her feet after a shaky start. And Restore Britain, a far-right party with just one lawmaker but a loud social media presence amplified by Elon Musk, is nibbling away at Reform's support.

Farage, 62, has a history of walking away from parties he led. He stepped down from both the UK Independence Party and its successor, the Brexit Party, in the last decade.

He has earned more than 2 million pounds ($2.7 million) outside of Parliament in the past two years from speeches, promotional work and television appearances, far more than he makes as a lawmaker. He might be tempted to quit politics again if he remains under sustained pressure.

Martin Farr, a contemporary historian at Newcastle University, said Farage will probably come out of the election strengthened, at least in the eyes of his supporters.

"To his supporters, this will be an example of how he's fearless and he's prepared to fight against, as he will put it, the tyranny of the majority, the tyranny of the establishment," Farr said. "To his opponents, it suggests a thin-skinned demagogue who has reacted petulantly to scrutiny and has been embarrassed by the fact that no one else has taken his stand seriously."

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The factional fight gripping the Democratic Party goes to Minnesota on Tuesday, when voters will settle another moderate-versus-progressive U.S. Senate primary.

The race between centrist U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan is playing out in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration surge, which led to the shooting death of two protesters by federal officers in Minneapolis and galvanized the president's liberal opposition.

It will again take the temperature of Democratic primary voters a week after progressive Abdul El-Sayed won a bitter and divisive primary in Michigan that fired up the left and fueled anxiety among party leaders that Democrats will alienate moderate swing voters.

Whoever wins the primary for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party, as it's known in Minnesota, will be the frontrunner in November. Minnesota voters haven't elected a Republican to a statewide office since 2006.

Still, Republicans are hoping a fraud scandal involving the widespread theft of public funds will give them an opening up and down the ballot.

Among the leading GOP candidates for governor is Mike Lindell — the Trump- endorsed pillow purveyor, who has been among the most persistent advocates of the lie that Trump's 2020 loss to Joe Biden was fraudulent. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in a primary against six other candidates.

Race between Craig and Flanagan shaped by ICE, outside spending

In the race to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, Craig lined up support from Democratic establishment figures including House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as senators from battleground states.

She pointed to her record of winning tough races in a closely divided House district in the suburban Twin Cities, saying she has the experience to bring the change voters are demanding to Washington.

Flanagan has the support of leading progressive figures including Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. She was also backed by Smith, the retiring incumbent.

The race has been shaped by the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis, confrontations that were caught on camera and fueled a backlash to Trump's immigration policies. Flanagan has highlighted Craig's vote for the Laken Riley Act, an immigration bill that passed early in Trump's second term. Craig repudiated her support after Good and Pretti were killed.

U.S. support for Israel and the influence of corporations and wealthy donors have also figured prominently in a race that attracted tens of millions of dollars in spending by allies of both women.

Gov. Tim Walz has declined to endorse either candidate, but late last month his wife, Gwen Walz, endorsed Craig over Flanagan, a move seen as a repudiation of her husband's running mate and governing partner for two terms.

Trump hasn't endorsed a candidate on the Republican side, though former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya has support from the national GOP. Adam Schwarze, a Marine veteran and Navy SEAL, has the official backing of the state Republican committee and Royce White has an existing profile as a prior candidate, conservative commentator and a brief professional basketball career.

'MyPillow Guy' Mike Lindell is running for governor

Republicans have another crowded primary in the race for governor.

Lindell established his national profile from his TV advertising campaign as the "MyPillow Guy." He has been one of Trump's most outspoken supporters and a persistent proponent of myths about the 2020 election. He lost a defamation lawsuit last year and was ordered to pay $2.3 million to a former employee of a voting systems company, whom he called a traitor.

Trump's endorsement carries enormous weight in GOP primaries, and few of his favored candidates have lost so far this year. But some prominent Minnesota Republicans worry Lindell is too toxic with independent voters and will drag down the entire GOP ticket. Even state GOP Chairman Alex Plechash has raised doubts about Lindell's electability.

Lindell's primary opponents include state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, who has strong backing from GOP elected officials, and businessman Kendall Qualls, who won the Minnesota GOP's endorsement.

Klobuchar is the leading Democratic candidate for governor.

GOP sees hope despite Minnesota's long blue streak

No Republican has won a statewide race in Minnesota since Gov. Tim Pawlenty was reelected in 2006, but the state is more closely divided than that history would suggest.

In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton beat Trump here by only 1.5 points, and in 2024, even with Walz on the ticket, Democrat Kamala Harris won the state by only 4 points.

In the state Legislature, Democrats hold just a one-seat majority in the Senate, and the House is split evenly between the parties.

Republicans think the fraud scandal, which led Walz to abandon his plans to run for a third term, gives them a rare opening to make inroads in an otherwise tough environment for the GOP.

At least 65 people have been convicted in a series of overlapping food fraud cases stemming from investigations that began during the Biden administration. One former nonprofit leader was sentenced in May to 42 years in prison in a $250 million fraud case.

Trump pointed to the scandals as justification for launching a massive immigration crackdown that he initially said would focus on the state's large Somali community.

Connecticut Democrats are choosing whether to stick with U.S. Rep. John Larson, a longstanding fixture in the state's politics, or embrace a generational change by choosing a far younger replacement.

Larson, 78, has represented the Hartford and central Connecticut-based 1st Congressional District since 1999. After largely avoiding serious Democratic opposition during his time in Congress, Larson is now facing concerns about his health and age after he abruptly stopped speaking during a speech on the House floor last year.

His office has since said Larson suffered a complex partial seizure, maintaining that he's fit to seek a 15th term and is taking medication to help control the condition.

With Democrats expected to hold the seat in November, the fight over who becomes the Democratic nominee in the 1st Congressional District isn't critical to the party's effort to take back control of the House. However, it does reflect the growing willingness of younger Democrats to take on some of their party's most stalwart figures in Washington.

After President Joe Biden's drawn-out decision to ultimately step aside in 2024 at 81, which helped pave the way for Donald Trump's second term in the White House, the Democratic Party's veterans have increasingly been targeted as part of the problem.

Larson's leading challenger is former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who won the state's Democratic Party endorsement earlier this year.

Bronin, 46, is a Rhodes scholar, lawyer and U.S. Navy Reserve officer. He was a sophomore at Yale when Larson was first elected to Congress.

Bronin has said that the Democratic Party's reluctance to embrace generational change, including Biden's failed reelection campaign, was the leading factor in his decision to challenge Larson.

"I think we would be a stronger Democratic Party if more of our leadership recognized that part of leadership is knowing when it's time to pass the torch," Bronin said during a July 29 debate.

Larson has pushed back against the criticism surrounding his long time in office, saying experience is a virtue and leaning on his willingness to fight against President Donald Trump.

"I've called for his impeachment because of his violation for the rule of law, this president ignores the rule of law," Larson said during the July 29 debate.

Other candidates running for the congressional seat are state Rep. Jillian Gilchrist, 44, and Ruth Fortune, 38, a lawyer who immigrated to the U.S. from Haiti.

Connecticut's remaining four congressional seats are held by Democrats not facing a primary challenge. Republicans will hold a primary for the state's 4th and 5th Congressional Districts.

Separately, the only statewide race on Tuesday is the Democratic primary for governor. Current Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is seeking a third term against state Rep. Josh Elliott, 41, who is running left of Lamont.

Lamont, 71, a wealthy former cable entrepreneur, has developed a reputation as a fiscal moderate, signing a major tax cut and paying down unfunded state pension liabilities. He has also supported access to abortion through safe harbor laws and greater protections for immigrants.

No Connecticut governor has served three consecutive terms in modern times.

A recount in a contested Indiana state Senate primary in May has put Republican Paula Copenhaver, who was backed by President Donald Trump, ahead of incumbent Spencer Deery.

Deery was one of seven GOP members of the state Senate who faced primary challengers this spring after having voted down a redrawn congressional map that Trump pushed last year. Five lost, while Deery clung to a three-vote lead, which Copenhaver challenged.

On Monday, the Indiana Recount Commission threw out 10 votes — eight for Deery and two for Copenhaver — the Indiana Capital Chronicle reported, giving Copenhaver a three-vote edge.

Deery said on X that he would appeal the decision, calling it an "attempt to undermine the will of voters by treating ballots differently based on whether they furthered the president's political goals."

In a text message to NBC News, Deery said the commission's ruling set a bad precedent for future election challenges.

"What was most remarkable about today's hearing was that voter intent was never in question. None of the ballots challenged were discarded because there was uncertainty about whom the voter intended to support. The disputes instead centered on technicalities resulting from errors by government officials," he said. "We are confident Indiana's appellate courts will restore the vote totals that have been counted and recounted and reaffirm the choice voters made in Senate District 23."

Copenhaver, an aide to Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

If her victory survives appeal, Copenhaver would be favored in the general election in the heavily Republican 23rd State Senate District. West Lafayette City Council member David Sanders, a Democrat, and independent Joshua Brant are also running.

The new state Senate could reconsider redistricting ahead of the 2028 election. Senate President Rod Bray, who also opposed the Trump-backed map, said last month that he would not seek another term as Republican leader.

Trump celebrated his announcement on Truth Social.

"I want to thank the Great State of Indiana for your support, not only in my Presidential Election, which we won with the Highest Vote in the History of the State, but also for your support in getting rid of wayward Senators, led down the Path of Destruction by a FOOL named Rodric Bray," he wrote.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.

Rocket Lab plans to start launching even more frequently and flexibly, thanks to a new portable spaceport system called "GHOST."

GHOST — short for "Global Hypersonic & Orbital Spaceport Technology" — turns the company's "Electron and HASTE rockets into a launch-anywhere, launch-anytime capability for multi-launch flight campaigns and critical national security missions," Rocket Lab representatives said in a statement today (Aug. 10).

"Packaged entirely within standard shipping containers, GHOST deploys complete rockets, launch infrastructure, ground support and range control systems anywhere in the world," they added.

Electron is Rocket Lab's workhorse orbital rocket, giving small satellites dedicated rides to the final frontier. The expendable 59-foot-tall (18-meter-tall) launcher debuted with a test flight in 2017 and has 83 missions under its belt to date.

As its full name suggests, HASTE ("Hypersonic Accelerator Suborbital Test Electron") is a suborbital version of Electron that customers use to test various technologies in the hypersonic flight environment. HASTE first flew in June 2023 and has flown nine times to date, most recently in June of this year.

Rocket Lab currently flies from two different launch sites — one on the North Island of company founder and CEO Peter Beck's native New Zealand and one at Wallops Island in Virginia. But the company recently announced plans to fly out of Alaska's Pacific Spaceport Complex as well, and GHOST will expand its launch footprint even further.

"Electron and HASTE revolutionized small orbital launch and hypersonic testing. Now we're making it easier to deploy them wherever they're needed most, whether that's for missile defense testing or sovereign orbital launch capability," Beck said this afternoon during Rocket Lab's second-quarter 2026 earnings call.

"We've mastered the art of building launch sites," he added. "Now we're making them deployable worldwide."

Rocket Lab intends to deploy its two planned pads at the Pacific Spaceport Complex using GHOST, Beck said during the call. The company was inspired to develop the portable spaceport system, he added, to meet the needs of a HASTE customer, who expressed a desire for Rocket Lab to be "a little bit more mobile than we are."

Rocket Lab currently flies out of two pads at its New Zealand site and one at Wallops, though it has built a second pad at the Virginia facility to accommodate launches of its coming Neutron rocket.

Neutron will be bigger and more powerful than Electron, and partially reusable as well; its first stage is designed to come back to Earth for recovery and reflight, like SpaceX's Falcon 9.

Rocket Lab originally wanted to fly Neutron for the first time in 2024, but the new launcher has yet to leave the ground. Such delays aren't uncommon in the case of new rockets, and the company is making considerable progress with Neutron, according to Beck.

"Every part of the vehicle has now seen significant testing," he said during today's call. "As with any complex development program, we've had to tweak a few things along the way, but we're moving now into final checkout and assembly of all of our flight hardware before integrating them at the pad."

The company is on target to deliver the first Neutron to that Wallops pad in the fourth quarter of this year, Beck added.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Embattled Republican Rep. Max Miller is staying in the race for his Ohio congressional district, defying voices within his own party who urged him to step aside as he faced domestic abuse allegations from his ex-wife.

His determination to press on with his reelection campaign is creating headaches for a Republican Party that had not planned to devote attention to defending the seat in this year's midterm elections. His Democratic challenger, union ironworker Brian Poindexter, seized on Miller's controversies by appealing to voters with a promise to "serve with honor."

Monday presented the last chance for Republicans to replace Miller on the general election ballot in Ohio, leaving the congressman in what is increasingly seen as a competitive race.

Democratic groups supporting U.S. House campaigns have been closely watching the race for Ohio's 7th Congressional District, just south of Cleveland, to see if they want to ramp up their support for Poindexter.

President Donald Trump won the GOP-leaning district comfortably two years ago. Miller won it with just 51% of the vote two years ago in a three-way contest that included former congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich, who ran as an independent. Under Ohio's current maps, the district leans 55%-44% Republican, according to Dave's Redistricting.

Miller, 37, has said he is confident he can pull out a win, given those odds and the goodwill he said he has built with constituents over his two terms. While both of Ohio's senators, including his former father-in-law, Sen. Bernie Moreno, called on him to drop out of the race, Trump never did.

The Republican president called Miller "a good person" and said his legal dispute with Emily Moreno is best left to the families to figure out. Miller was a senior aide to Trump during his first term as president.

In a CNN interview last week, Miller said the president told him that if he stayed in, "it's going to be a tough race." Republican National Committee Chairman Joe Gruters suggested the party would back Miller but stopped short of saying it would spend on his campaign.

"We're going to support our nominees. Everybody has to prove they are capable of winning," Gruters said during a Sunday appearance on NewsMax. "We'll see. I hope that he can."

It was unclear Monday if Republican groups invested in House races, such as the National Republican Campaign Committee or the super PAC Congressional Leadership Fund, would spend on Miller's behalf.

Miller last week said he was prepared to spend more of his own money on his campaign.

"I know there are people that are concerned about my ability to win this race right now, but I don't share that," Miller said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal for a report on him infusing $1 million of his own money into the campaign. "I am invested in this election in every way, and I will invest the resources into my campaign to win."

Democratic groups such as the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and House Majority PAC were debating Monday whether to include the race among their midterm spending priorities

The race has been drawing increasing attention over the past month amid scrutiny of previous abuse allegations made against Miller by his ex-wife, Emily Moreno, and at least two other women. Some of his attempts to defend himself also have drawn backlash.

At the same time, Democrats have been heartened by Poindexter's prospects. The 46-year-old Brook Park city councilman has campaigned on pocketbook issues and won union endorsements from the Ironworkers International, United Auto Workers, AFSCME, Ohio AFL-CIO and others.

Poindexter on Monday sought to capitalize on Miller's controversies by welcoming voters across the political spectrum to support his campaign.

"It's unfortunate that Miller has chosen to keep putting his ex-wife and her family through this nightmare in the public spotlight," he said in a statement. "But let me be perfectly clear. I got into this campaign to fight for my neighbors and for working people across this district."

Miller did not return messages seeking comment.

Miller was the first person Trump endorsed as he sought to punish fellow Republicans who voted in favor of his impeachment over the Jan. 6, 2021, violent assault on the U.S. Capitol or blocked his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election, which was won by Democrat Joe Biden. The then-32-year-old jumped in to challenge Ohio Rep. Anthony Gonzalez, a popular former professional football player, who ultimately dropped out.

___

Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.

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Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) said Monday that President Donald Trump "does not have the expertise" to push his newly-signed executive order breaking up the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine ― and implored parents to listen to their child's doctor before anyone else.

"I'm a doctor. This executive order is wrong," Cassidy wrote on X. "The President does not have the expertise to make these changes."

Politics: Abdul El-Sayed Dumps On Trump's Marriage

Earlier Monday, Trump signed an order overhauling childhood vaccine recommendations that enforce his long-held belief that such shots be more spaced out. The order specifically recommends splitting up the MMR vaccine into three different shots that children receive during separate visits.

Cassidy's concern echoes that of other doctors and public health experts who say spacing out vaccines in the way Trump wants can lead to an increased likelihood of children getting infected with a preventable disease before they return for another medical visit.

"Breaking up vaccines will mean children have to get more shots to get the same protection, not fewer shots," the Republican said. "It will increase hesitancy and make children less safe."

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Trump spent much of his press conference for the order fearmongering around the shots, playing up an imaginary danger of combining measles, mumps and rubella into one vaccine as "quite lethal." He later tried to hedge his comment before turning around and claiming, without evidence, the MMR vaccine "can be explosive."

The order is also part of the ongoing anti-vaccine campaign by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who continues to push debunked claims that vaccines cause autism in children. Scientific consensus and decades of research have concluded there is no link between childhood vaccines and autism, and Cassidy affirmed that science on Monday.

Politics: Ex-Trump White House Lawyer's 2 Words On Todd Blanche Should Scare Everyone

"Vaccines are overwhelmingly safe. Vaccines are effective. Vaccines DO NOT cause autism," the senator said.

"Parents should listen to their child's pediatrician about vaccines rather than listening to an inaccurate executive order," he continued. "This is so wrong."

White House spokesman Kush Desai told HuffPost that Trump's executive order is based on the HHS vaccine safety assessment published earlier this year, "which was driven by Gold Standard Science." HHS did not respond to HuffPost's request for comment.

Political Updates

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Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) is so 2001. 

On Sunday, the South Carolina lawmaker appeared on "CNN Newsroom" and was confronted about a few anti-Muslim tweets she published on X over the weekend. The posts came just days after Abdul El-Sayedwon the Democratic primary for Michigan's U.S. Senate seat.

"Every single Muslim holding public office in America is a trojan horse," Mace wrote Friday. "And a threat to both national security and our republic. We refuse to be silent."

On Sunday, she followed that gem up with: 

"If not wanting to be blown up, stabbed, or rammed by a car by a radical Islamist in the United States of America makes us Islamophobes, then so be it." 

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During her appearance on CNN Sunday, host Omar Jimenez questioned Mace about her tweets after reading them back to her pretty much for batten.

"Are you saying that anyone who is Muslim is a threat to this country?" Jimenez  asked Mace.

Politics: Ex-Trump White House Lawyer's 2 Words On Todd Blanche Should Scare Everyone

"Uhh, that's not what I said, that's not what I said," Mace replied. "I do think we have a real issue with radical Islamic—" 

"I mean, it sounds like that's what you're saying," Jimenez interjected.

"No, I was talking about elected officials," Mace said. 

"So any Muslim elected official? Sorry to cut you off," the anchor followed. 

Mace confirmed the clarification by name-checking three progressive Muslims who are currently shaking up the political status quo: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, popular Twitch streamer and activist Hasan Piker, and El-Sayed.

While speaking about the men, Mace sounded very much like someone who recently dusted off her copy of "The Conservative Fearmongering Handbook" and took a few notes from the section about post-9/11 Islamphobic rhetoric.

News: 'The Enemy Is Inside The Gates': GOP Senator Links Zohran Mamdani To 9/11 In Anti-Muslim Post

Eventually, Jimenez cut her off again.

"But congresswoman, there's no indication that Mayor Mamdani has brought any of those ideals to New York City governance," he said. "Or that just being Muslim brings those in." 

Mace brushed off Jimenez's point and bulldozed ahead. 

"But congresswoman," Jimenez chimed in again. "When you make a blanket statement like that, it implies that every Muslim member of Congress or leadership, folks who are elected by the way by American citizens," Jimenez began. 

Politics: Trump Is Reportedly So Desperate To Declare Victory In Iran That He's Willing To Cave On The 1 Thing He Wanted

"I am deeply concerned about Michigan Democrats nominating a guy hanging out with Hasan Piker, who said America deserved 9/11, who has a framed photo of the Twin Towers being—" Mace said. 

Jimenez countered that El-Sayed has already apologized for that. For what it's worth, Piker also walked-back his 9/11 remark shortly after he made it in 2019 by saying it was "inappropriate."

"Yeah, but this is who he's hanging out with," Mace argued about El-Sayed's association with Piker. "This kind of person who is promoting communist ideology… America is not built on those values, and in the future, when our granddaughters are wearing burkas to school, we're going to look back and say, 'How did this happen?'" 

"There's no indication that that is happening on a wide basis," the anchor argued. 

Politics: Nancy Mace Tries Her Damndest To Deflect Responsibility For Her Wild Airport Tantrum

Up until this point, Jimenez was being firm yet polite while pressing Mace. But things began to get heated when Made upped the ante on her rhetoric.

"I don't want to hear the call to prayer five times a day in an American city," she gripped.

"Well, if you don't want to hear it, that's OK," Jimenez said before offering her a reality check with one simple point: "The First Amendment protects freedom of religion."

"If you don't want to hear it, fine," Jimenez said. "I grew up in a Christian household. I grew up in the South. Islam is not my religion, but I have Muslim friends who, if that is how they worship, even if I don't want to hear it, that is their right to hear." 

Politics: Nancy Mace Fuels Nasty Schoolyard Spat With House Colleague Over Iran

"In the privacy of their own mosque or their own home, not on the streets of America. I think we're speaking a very different, uh vibe here," Mace said. 

She continued, "I look at the women who are covered head to toe with little slits for their eyes. As a woman, that's scary to me—"

"That's not being forced on you, congresswoman," Jimenez said. "That's not being forced on you to do, congresswoman. That's not happening at a congressional, legal level." 

At this point, Mace wasn't even listening to Jimenez and was just rambling.

"A 6-year-old girl doesn't get a say if she should wear a hijab or not, I mean this is very, I think, dangerous ideology," Mace said. 

"That's up to a family's decision on how they govern their kids," Jimenez shot back.

As the interview wound down, Jimenez returned to his point about the Constitution. 

"I appreciate you taking your time and explaining your tweet as best you could there, but, you know, the First Amendment is pretty clear on freedom of religion," he said, also pointing to Article 6, which prohibits religious tests for public office. 

"I don't want this seeping into American culture. We have Christian foundations as a nation," Mace said. 

"That's your opinion. The First Amendment disagrees that it needs to stay that," Jimenez said. "If someone wants to express their religion, it's right there; it's number one in terms of the Constitution."

"Then go back to that country, is all I have to say," Mace concluded. "It doesn't need to be here."

Political Updates

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The United States sweltered through its hottest July ever recorded last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration confirmed Monday.

Warmer-than-normal temperatures affected the entire contiguous U.S., averaging 76.9 degrees for the month, which was 3.3 degrees above the 20th-century average, according to NOAA. The troubling milestone came amid a month chock-full of extreme weather events that hit nearly every corner of the country, including heat waves, drought, severe storms, flooding and wildfires.

NOAA's report said July 2026 was not only the warmest July but also the warmest month in the agency's 132 years of record-keeping.

For much of the country, it was a hot and dry month. At the end of July, around 40% of the U.S. and Puerto Rico was in the grips of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which tracks conditions nationwide and releases weekly updates.

Despite widespread drought, several regions experienced heavy rainfall in July that caused damaging flash flooding. Intense rain fell across the Texas Hill Country from July 13 to 17, producing rainfall totals of more than 28 inches near the town of Knippa, in Uvalde County, according to NOAA. Later in the month, from July 28 to 30, slow-moving thunderstorms dumped nearly 12 inches of rain over eastern New York, causing major flash flooding.

July is typically one of the hottest months of the year, and last month was no exception. It was among the top five warmest Julys for 13 states, while Wyoming experienced its warmest July and warmest month on record, with temperatures a whopping 5.1 degrees above average, according to NOAA.

Heat waves baked almost every part of the U.S. last month, including much of the West, Southwest, Rockies, northern Plains, Upper Midwest, mid-Atlantic, Gulf Coast and Southeast. NOAA said multiple sites across Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Montana set new all-time high temperature records July 12, including 109 degrees in Salt Lake City; 109 degrees in Sheridan, Wyoming; 111 degrees in Billings, Montana; and 115 degrees in Miles City, Montana.

Several large wildfires also broke out in the Pacific Northwest last month, continuing into August. More than 140,000 acres were scorched in Oregon in July, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate from mostly small towns across the central and eastern parts of the state. Devastating wildfires also burned in Canada and Europe, and fast-moving blazes this month have destroyed hundreds of structures in Washington state and Oregon.

NOAA's latest figures add to other grim climate findings: A report released Monday by the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service found that Western Europe had its hottest June-July period on record. The continent has suffered through four brutal heat waves since May, with temperatures smashing several national records and plunging the region further into drought.

The Copernicus report also said that average sea surface temperatures reached their highest levels for July across extrapolar oceans — the bodies of water between latitudes 60 degrees south and 60 degrees north that are free of seasonal sea ice.

A separate "state of the climate" report released Monday in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society indicated that last year was similarly extreme. The report found that greenhouse gas concentrations, global sea level and ocean heat content all reached their highest levels on record in 2025.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com

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Montana Democratic Senate candidate Alani Bankhead will not withdraw her name from the November ballot after state and national Democrats had pushed her to quit the race to replace retiring Republican Sen. Steve Daines in favor of independent candidate Seth Bodnar.

"I am in this race to win it, and I am staying in this race through Nov. 3," Bankhead said at a press conference hours ahead of the deadline to withdraw from the race on Monday.

Politics: Ex-Trump White House Lawyer's 2 Words On Todd Blanche Should Scare Everyone

Bankhead's decision means that the anti-GOP vote will remain split with Bodnar, giving GOP nominee Kurt Alme a much easier path to victory. Recent polling shows Bodnar leading or tied with Alme in a head-to-head race, but Alme winning easily with both Bodnar and Bankhead in the race. Bodnar has also far out-paced Bankhead in fundraising, pulling in more than $3 million to her $58,000.

Numerous state Democratic Party leaders and allied organizations pushed Bankhead to quit the race in favor of Bodnar. Both recent former Democratic Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus endorsed Bodnar, the former president of the University of Montana, as did the state's service employees and public worker unions. Bodnar also received the endorsement of former GOP Gov. Marc Racicot, who endorsed Tester in his losing reelection bid in 2024.

Just days before the deadline to withdraw, 22 Montana Democratic state lawmakers sent a letter to Bankhead urging her to withdraw.

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Bodnar supporters believe that he gives Democrats the best chance of winning a Republican-held seat in a Republican-leaning state. While Bankhead's refusal to quit the race could split the vote against Alme, it is still not impossible for the race to be competitive.

"I think there's a chance for him to win, but I certainly think it complicates it," Tester told HuffPost.

Politics: Democratic Candidates Have A New Strategy To Contest Tough Elections – Drop Out

Bankhead's refusal to quit the race is the lone failure by Democrats to execute a new strategy of leaving the field clear for an independent candidate to challenge a Republican. Democratic candidates in Senate races in Nebraska, Idaho and South Dakota, and the House race in Alaska, have all dropped out to make room for independents to take on Republicans head-to-head.

All of these states, Montana included, are among those ripe for independent candidates running without a Democrat in the race, according to a study by the political data site Split Ticket. This is due to their combination of low minority populations, low numbers of evangelical Christians and high Republican preference.

Minority voters, who predominantly vote Democratic, view their party preference as connected to their identity and, therefore, are more likely to not vote in an election where no Democrat is on the ballot. The same goes for evangelicals, whose religious beliefs are deeply enmeshed with their pro-GOP political preference. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party brand can be a drag in states where voters tend to prefer Republicans.

Among the states where independents are running in lieu of Democrats, Montana has the most recent history of Democratic Party success. The state had a Democratic governor and two Democratic senators as recently as 2014. President Bill Clinton won the state in 1992 and President Barack Obama nearly did in 2008. But politics have shifted heavily in favor of Republicans since President Donald Trump's election in 2016 as Democrats have not won a statewide race since 2018.

Political Updates

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Thanks to the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have shed light on a recent chapter in the history of our Milky Way's neighboring galaxy, Andromeda.

Using Hubble Space Telescope observations of Andromeda's stars, a research team showed that the spiral galaxy's rate of making new stars has dramatically slowed down in the last 40 million years. And they've found more evidence that one of Andromeda's own neighbors — a smaller galaxy called M32 — may be to blame.

"We can't explicitly say that we are seeing a decrease in star formation because of M32. But it's right there, and it's definitely the most likely suspect," said Tobin Wainer, a graduate student at the University of Washington and one of the astronomers, in a statement.

Astronomers like Wainer knew from prior research that Andromeda saw a burst of star formation about 2 billion years ago (possibly as a result of a collision with an unknown galaxy). They also knew that star formation had slowed down since then. What they did not know was how quickly that deceleration had been. If they could find out, they could fill in some of the gaps in Andromeda's history.

At 2.5 million light-years' distance, Andromeda is near enough to Earth that Hubble can measure its stars. In the past several years, Hubble has conducted two surveys of Andromeda. While Hubble can only make out stars in Andromeda that are brighter than our sun, these two surveys still gave Wainer and colleagues a compendium of 200 million stars, covering two-thirds of Andromeda's disk.

Wainer and colleagues parceled out this vast space into a grid of squares, 300 light-years to a side. They reconstructed the history of each square by examining the colors of its stars.

A square with many bright blue stars, for example, probably saw a lot of star formation recently, since blue stars tend to be younger. On the other hand, if a square only contains smaller, redder stars, we know those stars are longer-lived and older, and that square probably hasn't seen a lot of newborn stars.

The astronomers mapped out a story of slowing star formation. Around 500 million years ago, on average, Andromeda turned the equivalent of our sun's mass in gas and dust into newborn stars each year. As millions of years passed, that rate declined. About 40 million years ago, it was about one-half the sun's mass each year. Then, it tilted into a dramatic deceleration. Today, it stands at about one-fifth the sun's mass each year.

Curiously, they found that Andromeda's starmaking slowdown is especially pronounced on one particular side of the galaxy, starting about 60 million years ago. Astronomers know this side of Andromeda is closest to another galaxy: M32.

Astronomers have eyed M32 with suspicion for some time now. M32 is only located about 16,000 light-years from Andromeda (Andromeda is formally called M31) and it looks like the rump core of a spiral galaxy that lost its arms. It's possible that this is actually the aftermath of a collision between M32 and its larger neighbor. It's possible, though not confirmed, that Andromeda's slowing bears the fingerprints of this collision.

We may not need to wait long for more answers. Just as Hubble can see Andromeda's stars, so too will the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, set to launch in late August. In the coming years, Roman will be able to measure even more of Andromeda than Hubble has.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Todd Blanche, was sworn in Monday as attorney general after a bruising confirmation fight that exposed bipartisan concerns about the Justice Department's direction under the Republican president.

Another former Trump attorney — Emil Bove, now a federal appeals court judge — administered the oath of office to Blanche at the White House following early Saturday's Senate confirmation vote by the narrowest of margins.

Blanche, a former federal prosecutor in New York, is officially taking command of a Justice Department he has been leading in an acting capacity since Pam Bondi's firing in April.

With the confirmation battle behind him, Blanche now faces the challenge of having to navigate the demands of a president who has made no secret his desire to use the law enforcement agency to target his political foes. Blanche will do so with an agency that has been hollowed out by resignations, firings and voluntary departures while also confronting mounting pushback from the courts.

Blanche was confirmed in a 50-49 vote, opposed by two Republicans who cited concerns about what they described as increased politicization of the department under Trump.

Under deputy attorney general and later as acting attorney general, Blanche has overseen the investigations of numerous Trump foes, including former FBI Director James Comey, whom the Justice Department indicted in April for a second time since Trump returned to the White House last year.

Blanche has strongly defended the Trump administration against accusations that it has weaponized the Justice Department. Blanche has said he feels no pressure to placate Trump and insists he sees no problem with the president's interest in Justice Department matters, calling it the president's "right" and "his duty."

Blanche entered the president's orbit when he left his law firm in 2023 to represent Trump against multiple criminal cases, including two brought by the Justice Department under Democratic President Joe Biden. Blanche has said that experience afforded him a firsthand look at what he contends was the weaponization of the criminal justice system against Trump.

Blanche's defenders say the close relationship he developed with Trump as his defense lawyer can make him more successful than Bondi was at pushing back on the president's demands.

Blanche's nomination was almost scuttled over bipartisan concerns about Trump's controversial settlement of his lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service. His nomination only moved forward after he confirmed in writing, under pressure from Republicans, that the administration was rescinding plans to create a $1.8 billion fund to compensate Trump allies who believe they were wronged by the department.

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After the Trump administration announced an unprecedented settlement giving the president and his family immunity from tax audits, the union representing workers at the Internal Revenue Service realized they had a serious problem on their hands.

Many experts believe the immunity deal is flatly illegal. So auditors who honor it and give the Trumps preferential treatment could be violating their oath of office. But those who refuse could face discipline and retaliation, said Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union.

Politics: Generational Change Could Take Out One Of Congress' Most Stalwart Liberals

"It puts our IRS employees between a rock and a hard place," Greenwald told HuffPost in an interview. "They take an oath of office to follow the law and to uphold the Constitution… Then they'll have this order that is contrary to the law, and so it puts them in a very difficult position."

The union joined a lawsuit as plaintiffs against President Donald Trump's Justice Department last week, arguing that the immunity deal puts its members in an "untenable" position: carry out an unlawful order or risk their jobs.

Greenwald said the legal fight is about preserving the integrity of the tax system.

"Many people think IRS employees decide who they can audit. They don't. They don't get to choose," she explained. "They follow the law. And so this kind of special treatment for a few taxpayers threatens that confidence in the fairness of the system."

Politics: Ex-Trump White House Lawyer's 2 Words On Todd Blanche Should Scare Everyone

Trump won the tax immunity as part of an outrageous settlement Attorney General Todd Blanche crafted in May to resolve a norm-breaking lawsuit the president filed against his own administration over the leak of his tax information during his first term. Along with audit immunity for Trump and his businesses, the deal also sought to create a $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" slush fund that would enable the president to steer money to his allies, including potentially Jan. 6 rioters.

The group Democracy Forward sued over the fund on behalf of several plaintiffs, including Andrew Floyd, a former Justice Department prosecutor fired for his work on Jan. 6 cases, and a judge forbade the department from running the fund. But the tax immunity deal remains in effect, potentially saving Trump and his family business millions.

Trump's leaked returns showed in 2020 he'd been battling the IRS for years over a questionable tax refund and that an adverse ruling could cost him $100 million.

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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Former federal tax officials have argued the immunity deal violates a section of the tax code that prohibits executive branch influence over audits and investigations. In the amended complaint with NTEU as a plaintiff, Democracy Forward argues the deal also amounts to an unconstitutional emolument, giving the president a "tremendously valuable profit, gain, or advantage."

Politics: Trump Gets $1.8 Billion 'Anti-Weaponization Fund' After Dropping IRS Suit

"This has never happened before, and it should not be happening now," Greenwald said. "Having a tax system that Americans believe in… really requires everybody to be playing by the same rules."

The federal judge that oversaw the case Trump brought against his own government has also said Blanche's tax immunity order "directly contravenes" the law and "acquiescing to any such demand is wholly incompatible" with the duties of DOJ attorneys and IRS officials.

Last month, a top official in the Treasury Department, which oversees the IRS, was ousted from his job after warning White House officials they were at risk of violating the statute, though it wasn't clear if the official's ouster was related to the president's tax returns.

The Senate confirmed Blanche as attorney general last week after he grudgingly agreed to modify the terms of the settlement he created for the president. He put in writing that his order creating the weaponization fund had been rescinded, and the department published an additional memo saying the tax immunity would apply only to Trump, his two older sons and the Trump organization, but not any "affiliates" or "subsidiaries" as envisioned by the original order in May.

Politics: Abdul El-Sayed Dumps On Trump's Marriage

Still, two Republicans voted against Blanche. One of them, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), cited Trump's tax immunity first in her explanation: "Mr. Blanche approved an order to shield the President, his sons, and the family business from IRS audits, protections unavailable to other American taxpayers."

Federal unions have been pushing back on the Trump administration since his second inauguration, and the NTEU's lawsuit is a good reminder of why the president has tried to destroy them.

Trump has sought to unilaterally strip hundreds of thousands of federal workers of their collective bargaining rights in what some have called the biggest act of union-busting in U.S. history. The White House instructed IRS management to repudiate union contracts there earlier this year, and the agency has even destroyed union flyers and other decorations, the NTEU alleged in a separate lawsuit last month.

Greenwald said the immunity deal was just another illustration of why IRS employees need to have a voice on the job.

"We have always stood up for our members, and we're going to continue to do that," she said. "This is not a political issue. This is about ensuring that the law is honored."

Political Updates

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WASHINGTON — Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) is demanding answers from the Department of Homeland Security after local police discovered an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent sitting outside of Omar's latest town hall in a car with mismatched license plates, a practice that was supposedly discontinued and that violates Minnesota state law.

In a letter Friday to Michael McCarthy, who oversees DHS's field office in St. Paul, Omar raised questions about how it was "appropriate or necessary" for an ICE agent to be parked outside of her town hall with constituents in Richfield on Thursday.

Politics: She Followed Homeland Security Agents. Then Her Global Entry Was Revoked.

Police providing security at the event became suspicious when they noticed a woman sitting in a Ford Explorer monitoring the building, so they ran her plates and saw they didn't match the car. When they approached the woman, she identified herself as security before eventually explaining that she was an employee of Homeland Security Investigations, an agency within ICE, and was taking part in an undercover drug operation in the area. After a call to her supervisor, she left.

The woman was parked in plain view of "a prominent sign indicating my town hall was taking place at this location," Omar wrote in her letter, adding that it "raises serious and uncomfortable questions about the purpose of HSI's presence outside of my event."

"At best, your agent was unable to assess that the parking lot of a community center hosting a Congressional event wasn't the best place to conduct a drug operation," she said. "At worst, it emphasizes many Americans' growing concern that the Trump administration uses ICE to surveil political opponents and may interfere with our democracy."

A DHS spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Here's a copy of Omar's letter, first obtained by HuffPost:

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This incident comes months after the Trump administration flooded Minnesota with federal immigration enforcement agents under the guise of rounding up and deporting criminal undocumented immigrants. In reality, thousands of these agents were crawling through the state grabbing Black and brown people off the streets, regardless of their citizenship status or criminal backgrounds.

Immigrant communities were terrorized, families were torn apart and driven into hiding, federal agents were circling schools looking for children to nab, and two U.S. citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were fatally shot by federal agents.

Politics: Top Trump Adviser Embarrassed On Live TV Over Failed Strait Of Hormuz Promise

In her letter, Omar said she met with DHS officials in March and raised "dozens of reports we had received from community members" about ICE agents who had been switching out license plates on their vehicles, which is against the law in Minnesota.

"I was assured at that meeting that the practice had ended and [Homeland Security Investigations] was coordinating with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to receive new undercover license plates for all vehicles," she added. "It appears that this commitment was untrue."

The lawmaker gave McCarthy until Aug. 14 to answer questions about why an ICE agent was sent to the Richfield community center on the same night as her town hall, when the agent became aware that a congressional event was happening at the location and why DHS did not coordinate with local law enforcement.

Political Updates

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Hunter Biden sat for a lengthy two-hour interview with Tucker Carlson that premiered today, during which he called President Donald Trump an "existential threat" to America while slightly criticizing people who say he's merely a symptom of broader political rot.

"The one existential threat that I think that we face, as a country, is Donald Trump," he told Carlson. "I am not this believer that Trump is merely the symptom of a disease. I believe that Trump is central to why this disease has gone from a local epidemic to a pandemic in the United States of America."

Also in the news: More Primaries On The Horizon, Iran Issues New Demands: Live Updates

Carlson offered the ongoing war in Iran as evidence of one of "the big failures" of the Trump administration, then confusingly suggested that a lack of criticism from Democrats, notably Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), amounts to condoning the war:

"I mean you could say lots of things about Trump that are bad, but getting us into a war we can't win, in which Americans are dying, in Iran, that will only diminish America's power and bankrupt us — I mean, that's the only exit — really. And make Iran stronger. And, like, Chuck Schumer is like 'Yeah it's bad,' but of course he endorses it."

Political Updates

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China's latest rocket launch ended in failure this morning, lighting up the skies with some unwanted fireworks.

The state-owned China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) launched a Long March 7A rocket today (Aug. 10) from the Wenchang Space Launch Site, in the country's Hainan province, just after 8:00 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT; 8:02 p.m. local time). Around 85 seconds into the launch, the rocket exploded, generating a massive fireball and a cloud of smoke and debris while still soaring through Earth's atmosphere.

CASC had not yet released a statement about the incident by the time of this story's publication, but video reposted to social media captured the shock of onlookers the moment that the rocket burst into flames. Based on such views, the mission will almost certainly be deemed a complete failure, with total loss of vehicle and payload.

Today's launch was the 18th Long March 7A mission since the rocket's debut in 2020, which, subsequently, also ended with the vehicle's explosion. China traced that mishap to an engine malfunction that occurred shortly after first-stage separation. This morning's launch, however, didn't get that far.

The Long March 7A's four side boosters and core stage detach as a full cluster during first stage separation, which typically occurs just under three minutes after liftoff. As today's incident occurred just 85 seconds into flight, the rocket was still engaged in the main stage's initial engine burn to escape Earth's atmosphere.

The 7A — a variant of China's Long March 7 rocket family — stands just over 197 feet (60 meters) tall and combines the first two Long March 7 stages with a hydrolox (liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen)-powered third stage capable of launching up to 7 tons to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO).

According to China National Radio, today's launch carried China's Zhongxing-4B spacecraft,, a communications satellite presumably bound for GTO. China's Zhongxing satellites provide telecommunications and broadband internet services and are also thought to provide services for China's military.

It is unclear what repercussions today's explosion may have on upcoming launches, including a Chinese Zhuque-3 rocket liftoff scheduled for Monday evening. That mission is scheduled to fly from China's Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, more than 1,500 miles (2,415 kilometers) from Wenchang, at 7:45 p.m. EDT (2345 GMT; 7:45 a.m. local time), and is expected to feature a first-stage landing attempt.

CASC uses the standard Long March 7 rocket, which shares its core stage with the 7A, as its launch vehicle for delivering cargo to the Tiangong space station in low Earth orbit about every eight months. The most recent of those missions launched in May, putting the next resupply launch sometime around January 2027. Depending on the cause of this morning's explosion, that mission and others could face delays as China investigates the incident.

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Alani Bankhead made certain with hours to go before Monday’s deadline that she would not step aside to give independent Seth Bodnar — who is backed by former Sen. John Tester (D-Mont.) — a clearer run at Republican Kurt Alme.

“I’ll never bow down,” Bankhead said during a press conference ahead of the 7 p.m. Eastern Time deadline to drop out. “I am in this race to win it and I am staying through Nov. 3.”

Bankhead accused her opponents of being “hand picked” by the establishment while she won the Democratic Primary.

Her refusal to drop is no surprise. She told POLITICO earlier this month that it would take “a lighting bolt from God” to convince her to exit, and she’s cast Bodnar’s backing from Tester as proof that he’s more aligned with the establishment than she is.

It’s caused a significant headache for Democrats, who have had some success getting their candidates to drop out for independents in other deep-red states carried by President Donald Trump by wide margins in 2024. Democrats in Idaho, South Dakota and Nebraska have all dropped their bids, though legal challenges could still complicate some of those efforts.

But Montana is Democrats’ best shot of actually flipping a seat with an independent candidacy, and Bankhead remaining on the ballot is likely to complicate that path exponentially.

Polling has shown Bodnar in a competitive head-to-head position against Alme and closer than if Bankhead had a one-on-one contest. But with both on the ballot, Alme leads by more than 20 points. Democrats like Tester and former Gov. Steve Bullock have found success in the red-leaning state, but a split ticket all but cedes the race to the GOP and narrows Democrats’ path to a majority in the upper chamber.

Bodnar and his allies have upped their focus on Bankhead in recent days. A super PAC backing Bodnar has been hammering her on television while another group is posting signs around the state calling for her to drop out.

More than 20 local Democratic lawmakers recently called on Bankhead to drop out, as well as former Democratic Party leaders. But in the end, their argument wasn’t enough to change Bankhead’s mind.

Bodnar recently told reporters ahead of the Monday deadline that he, too, had no plans to drop — while publicly bashing Bankhead for the first time.

“On the Democratic side, millions of dollars of outside dark money poured into a primary to determine an outcome,” Bodnar said at a press conference. “Now they have a candidate who’s unvetted.”

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Scientists have captured the sharpest image ever of our sun's surface. This view has revealed incredible new details about the inner mechanisms driving stellar activity.

What is it?

An international team of researchers using the U.S. National Science Foundation's Inouye Solar Telescope has captured the highest-resolution view of the sun's surface.

In analyzing observations from this telescope, the team, made up of researchers from the National Solar Observatory, the NSF NCR High Altitude Observatory and the German Max Planck Institut für Sonnensystemforschung, discovered strange patterns on the sun's surface. The whirling patterns, they found, are actually evidence of what's called Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (KHI), or instability that happens when there is a change in velocity of fluids.

Why is it incredible?

This image is groundbreaking. Capturing the highest-resolution view of the sun's surface is a massive accomplishment, and in the time-lapse video above, you can even see the fluid dynamics on the surface of the sun in motion.

But this view is much more than a beautiful, high-resolution image. These observations have revealed swirls on the sun's surface at the edges of the magnetic areas, allowing the team to identify KHI on the sun's surface. This fluid instability has long been suspected on the sun, but these observations are the first time they have ever been directly seen like this.

"We believe that the discovery of Kelvin-Helmholtz Instability in the solar photosphere, backed up by analysis of numerical simulations, is a major step forward in our understanding of the dynamics and evolution of solar and stellar plasma, and will serve as a basis for future discoveries," David Boboltz, the deputy director at the National Solar Observatory, said in a statement.

A paper describing these findings was published recently in the journal Nature.

July was the hottest month ever recorded in the United States, according to data released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The month featured long, intense heat domes that led to record hot temperatures from the East Coast to the Plains and Southwestern states. NOAA's temperature records date back to 1895.

By the end of the month, large wildfires were burning in the Pacific Northwest and Canada, mirroring what has been taking place in Europe, which is having its hottest summer on record.

July's average temperature in the Lower 48 states was 3.3 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, NOAA reported. This was about 0.1 to 0.2 degrees warmer than July 1936 and July 2012 — the previous record holders — NOAA stated.

July tends to be the hottest month of the year in most of the US. More than 600 monthly records for highest maximum and minimum temperatures have been set this year in July across the US. There were fewer than 50 monthly records set on the cool side for temperatures. In any given month those should average out to be even. Climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels has altered this pattern.

One feature of the July weather pattern in the US was a seemingly endless series of heat domes that popped up in different parts of the country depending on the contortions of the jet stream. Heat domes act like a lid on a pot, trapping and enhancing hot air beneath them. The jet stream is a narrow corridor of fast-moving air at about 30,000 feet above the Earth's surface, and it plays a key role in steering and providing energy for weather systems.

Long-term, human-caused climate change is making heat waves more intense, longer-lasting and more likely to occur. Last month saw an intense heat wave that enveloped the eastern half of the country through the July 4th holiday weekend, with subsequent rounds of extreme heat that hit after that as well.

Above average temperatures stretched across the entirety of the Lower 48 states, with 13 states having monthly average temperatures that ranked in their top-5 warmest Julys. Wyoming had its hottest July and hottest month of any month on record. No state had a ranking near or below average for the month, NOAA found.

July has been warming especially rapidly during the past few decades. According to Climate Central, a research and communications nonprofit, in 229 US cities, July temperatures have climbed an average of 2.6 degrees since 1970, with the highest rates of warming occurring in cities in the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest.

Cities that had their warmest Julys include Denver and Salt Lake City, as the Intermountain West had the most significant heat compared to average last month. But many cities across the country had a month that ranked in the top-5 warmest, including Miami, L.A. and Minneapolis.

In addition to long-term climate change, a rapidly intensifying El Niño event in the tropical Pacific Ocean is also beginning to be a factor in elevating global average sea and air temperatures and may have played a supporting role in increasing July's air temperatures across the US.

However, studies showed that individual heat waves that struck the country were more connected to climate change plus the natural variability of weather systems than El Niño.

July's extreme heat was not limited to the US, as much of Europe saw multiple heat waves that led to wildfire outbreaks at the end of the month and into early August in Spain, France, the UK, Greece and other countries. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, Western Europe has had its hottest first two months of summer on record so far.

Extreme weather continues into early August

The onslaught of extreme weather has continued into August in North America and Europe, from deadly and record-setting blazes in Washington and Oregon, to additional heat waves and wildfires scorching both the US and Western Europe.

A complex of three wildfires damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes and other structures in Spokane, Washington last week, amid extremely dry, windy and hot conditions that were conducive to the rapid spread of flames.

In addition, extreme heat, drought and a dearth of winter snowfall led Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir, to hit a record low level last week. The reservoir supplies water to 20 million people in multiple Southwestern states.

CNN meteorologist Brandon Miller contributed reporting.

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Michael Zeiler is currently aboard the expedition ship Ocean Explorer, heading to the fjords of Greenland to view the upcoming total solar eclipse on Wednesday.

The veteran eclipse chaser has an ambitious goal: to make the first-ever observation of an aurora during solar eclipse totality. He also said he hoped to spot a few meteors flying by from the ongoing Perseid meteor shower.

Spotting these dazzling celestial displays together will take some luck. The good news? Seeing a total solar eclipse on its own does not. Thanks to powerful computer models and precise measurements, scientists can determine the path of an eclipse years, decades or even millennia in advance.

Zeiler, an eclipse cartographer and founder of the website EclipseAtlas.com, knows this most of all. He has created eclipse maps for over two decades, visualizing for the public the path of totality so that others get the chance to see and even chase eclipses. Zeiler has been chasing them since he saw his first total eclipse in 1991.

"My personal mission is to combine scientific accuracy with cartographic beauty. So, I think that for an eclipse map to really work, the first requirement is it has to be correct, has to be accurate, but it also has to effectively communicate the important information," Zeiler said.

The maps Zeiler creates are built on thousands of years of astronomical observations, mathematical calculations, and increasingly precise measurements of the Earth, moon and sun system that allows scientists to predict exactly where the moon's shadow will fall on our planet — and who will have a front-row seat to totality.

Who can see this year's total solar eclipse

A total solar eclipse darkens the skies when the moon passes between the sun and Earth, casting a shadow onto the planet and blocking the sun's light from some areas of the world, according to NASA.

Because the moon — about 2,159 miles (3,475 kilometers) in diameter — is much smaller than Earth, its darkest central shadow, known as the umbra, is only a few hundred kilometers wide. As the moon moves in its orbit, that narrow shadow sweeps across Earth's surface, creating what's known as the path of totality.

People within the path of totality experience a total solar eclipse, which unfolds when the skies go momentarily dark as the sun disappears behind the moon's shadow. During this year's eclipse, totality will be visible for observers in parts of Greenland, Iceland, northern Spain and northeastern Portugal.

Outside the path of totality, those viewers in the moon's lighter outer shadow, called the penumbra, will see a partial eclipse, in which only part of the sun's light is blocked from view. People in parts of Europe, Africa and North America will experience a partial solar eclipse this year.

The narrow path of totality will span a length of 5,157 miles (8,300 kilometers), starting over the Arctic coastline at around 1 p.m. ET and ending near the Balearic Islands at around 2:30 p.m. ET. Depending on where one is located, the duration of totality can vary. For example, in Reykjavík, Iceland, totality will begin at around 1:48 p.m. ET (5:48 p.m. local time) and last for about one minute, whereas in León, Spain, totality will begin around 2:28 p.m. ET (8:28 p.m. local time) and last for about two minutes. To check when the eclipse will occur in your area, and what it will look like, check Time and Date's website.

Eclipse maps also can help people determine where they want to be to observe an eclipse. Some eclipse chasers prefer to observe from the edge of totality to see certain phenomena that you can't see near the center, Zeiler said. One of these events is known as Baily's Beads, when flashes of light shine through gaps along the moon's uneven edge.

Totality maps are highly accurate for the most part, but there is always room for improvement.

"Right now, the most accurate is somewhere around a kilometer to maybe a kilometer and a half," said solar physicist Alex Young, associate director for science communication in the heliophysics science division at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We haven't gotten down to the meter scale yet. But I think that we perhaps will eventually get down to that scale."

Young pointed to calculations from the most recent total solar eclipse that was visible from Mexico, the United States and Canada in April 2024. They showed that the sun's radius was slightly different than previously estimated. That small difference shifted the predicted edges of the path of totality in some areas.

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"There are also a lot of solar missions that are still up that will be continually providing data that may allow us to make even better calculations," he added.

After Wednesday's event, the next total solar eclipse won't happen until August 2, 2027. The spectacle will be visible in North Africa and the Middle East. And it won't be until August 23, 2044, that a total solar eclipse will be visible from some parts of the contiguous United States.

How eclipse paths are determined and mapped

Total solar eclipses never repeat along exactly the same path. However, the recurring alignment of the Earth, sun and moon about every 18 years means they do follow a cycle that brings them across similar paths. Earth's rotation causes the path to slightly shift a few degrees, said Philippe Escoubet, a space plasma scientist and spokesperson with the European Space Agency.

This cycle, now called the saros cycle, was first recorded by the ancient Babylonians, who used clay tablets in late BC years to track celestial objects and planets, according to the European Space Agency.

Because of this cycle, astronomers can predict the path of totality well in advance. If you are on the path of totality, you're guaranteed to see something spectacular, Escoubet added.

"With our models that we have, we can predict when the eclipse will take place within a minute," Escoubet said. "The only thing that could change is if you change the orbit of the moon or the Earth. This means that you would need a very big asteroid hitting one of them, and then you would change the orbit, you know, of the moon or the Earth. But the probability to have that is very low."

Over the years, predictions have become more accurate as our understanding of space has advanced. For example, Galileo observed that the moon was not perfectly spherical in 1610, allowing for a more precise prediction of where the natural satellite's shadow will fall during an eclipse.

The saros cycle is still used today to identify patterns in future eclipses. But there are many other factors to consider, such as the moon's position in its orbit, the moon's distance from Earth and Earth's orbit around the sun, Young said.

Not only is this geometry complicated, but Earth's rotation and other objects in space shift over time and have to be accounted for. The moon, for example, will be far enough away from Earth in about 600 million years that our planet won't experience total eclipses anymore, Young added. This movement from the moon causes Earth's rotation to slow — but our planet's rotation also fluctuates unpredictably from year to year. To account for these changes in Earth's spin, astronomers use a correction called Delta T, which accounts for the small difference between Earth's predicted rotation and its actual rotation over time.

This offset and the uncertainty in Delta T are why predictions of eclipses can only go back or forward a certain amount of time. Typically, the area of confidence lies around 3,000 years into the future and about 2,000 years into the past, Young added.

But even with all this sophisticated science behind eclipse predictions, it's not just for "astronomy geeks," eclipse chaser Zeiler said. "It's for everyone, because during the precious moments of totality, darkness suddenly rushes over you, and in a blink of an eye, you see the sun's corona around the moon, and you see an amazing light show all around you. That's why people like us go."

Taylor Nicioli is a freelance journalist based in New York.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters in four of Alabama's seven congressional districts will select U.S. House nominees Tuesday under a new map that eliminates one of the state's two majority-Black districts currently represented by Democrats.

Primaries for all seven congressional districts were originally scheduled for May 19, but Republican Gov. Kay Ivey postponed the contests for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts following a U.S. Supreme Court decision that prompted a handful of Republican-controlled Southern states to throw out their congressional maps.

The court-inspired actions in Alabama, Louisiana and Tennessee, as well as earlier legislative actions in other states to redraw their boundaries through mid-decade redistricting, were part of a nationwide Republican effort championed by President Donald Trump to maximize the party's chances of holding its slim U.S. House majority in the 2026 midterm elections.

Alabama's U.S. House members will continue to serve in their current districts until the end of 2026. Candidates in Tuesday's primaries are running under the new Republican-backed boundaries, which go into effect in January 2027. Both of Alabama's Democratic members of Congress are seeking reelection in their newly configured districts and are unopposed in their primaries.

In the 2nd District, where U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures is running for a second term, the Black population will go from half of the population under the current lines to about 40% under the new lines. In the 2024 presidential election, Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris beat Trump in the current district, 53% to 46%. But Trump would have beaten Harris 57% to 42% if the new boundaries had been in effect in 2024.

Six Republicans are running to challenge Figures in November, including state Rep. Rhett Marques, Army veteran Joshua McKee and real estate broker Hampton Harris. Trump has endorsed Marques, who is the field's top fundraiser.

Black residents will maintain a slight majority in the new 7th District, where U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell is running for a ninth term. Harris beat Trump, 61% to 38%, under the current boundaries and would have beaten him by slightly less, 58% to 41%, if the new boundaries had been in effect in 2024. Two Republicans, Ammie Akin and David Perry, are competing for the nomination to unseat Sewell.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. CT, which is 8 p.m. ET.

What's on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for the 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th Congressional Districts.

Who gets to vote?

The special primaries are open to any registered voters in their respective congressional districts. Although Alabama does not register voters by party, voters will be asked to declare a party preference upon selecting a party's primary ballot.

How many voters are there?

As of June 1, there were 3.8 million registered voters in Alabama. Each congressional district in the state has a total population of about 718,000.

How many people actually vote?

About 409,000 ballots were cast across the state in the May 19 primaries, which was roughly 11% of registered voters. Past vote totals for the four new congressional districts are unavailable.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

Relatively few Alabama voters cast their ballots before Election Day. The state is one of the only holdouts in the country not to offer some form of in-person early voting. In the 2024 primaries, about 4% of Democratic primary voters and about 1% of Republican primary voters voted by mail.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Vote release practices vary from county to county. Most counties tend to release results from absentee voting in the first vote update, sometimes along with results from in-person Election Day voting.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the May 19 state primary, the AP first reported results at 8:28 p.m. ET, or 28 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 12:54 a.m. ET, with more than 99.9% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it's determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

In 2010, the Alabama attorney general issued an opinion that Alabama's automatic recount law does not apply to primaries. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 84 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

More than two years after a total solar eclipse swept across much of North America, another eclipse is coming to U.S. skies — though this one won't be quite so dramatic.

On Wednesday, Aug. 12, parts of the U.S. will see a partial solar eclipse, with the view varying considerably by location. 

Visibility will improve the further north you are, and many states will not be able to see any of the eclipse. For example, at the eclipse's peak, the moon will cover 37% of the sun in Fairbanks, Alaska, compared with just 4% in Washington, D.C., according to NASA.

Unlike the April 2024 eclipse, nowhere in the U.S. will experience totality. Instead, only those in Greenland, Iceland, northern Russia, Spain and a small corner of Portugal will get to enjoy it to maximum effect.

Aug. 12 has more in store for skywatchers in the United States. Before sunrise, six planets are expected to be visible across the sky in what is sometimes called a "planetary parade." Hours after the eclipse, the Perseid meteor shower will peak under a new moon, providing ideal, dark skies for viewing.

What time is the solar eclipse in the U.S.?

The partial eclipse begins shortly after 7:30 a.m. local time in parts of Alaska, while cities including Boston and New York won't see it begin until after 1 p.m.

NASA plans to livestream the eclipse beginning at 1:15 p.m. ET.

The space agency lists the following times for selected U.S. cities. (All times are local.)

Do I need eclipse glasses?

Anyone looking directly at the partial solar eclipse will need proper eye protection throughout the event.

NASA says viewers should use safe solar viewing glasses — commonly called eclipse glasses — or a safe handheld solar viewer. Regular sunglasses, regardless of how dark they are, aren't safe to use when looking at the sun. Safe solar viewers should comply with the ISO 12312-2 international standard.

Viewers also shouldn't look at the sun through a camera lens, telescope, binoculars or another optical device while wearing eclipse glasses. Those devices require special-purpose solar filters attached to the front of the optics.

People without eclipse glasses can use an indirect viewing method, such as a pinhole projector, which projects an image of the sun onto another surface without requiring viewers to look directly at it.

What time is the planetary parade?

Before the eclipse begins, six planets — Jupiter, Mercury, Mars, Uranus, Saturn and Neptune — are expected to be visible across the early morning sky in what is sometimes called a "planetary parade," according to USA Today and Wired. The term describes multiple planets appearing across the sky at the same time, rather than the planets forming a true straight line.

Not all six planets will be visible to the naked eye. Binoculars will be needed to catch a glimpse of Uranus, while a telescope will be required for Neptune. Mercury and Jupiter will sit low on the horizon, where buildings, trees and the growing light before sunrise could make them harder to spot.

When will the Perseid meteor shower peak?

The annual Perseid meteor shower will peak the evening of Aug. 12 into the early morning hours of Aug. 13, according to NASA. Viewing conditions should be particularly favorable this year because the peak coincides with a new moon, leaving skies ideally dark.

The shower is known for bright, fast-moving meteors and occasional fireballs, which can remain visible longer than an average meteor streak.

The Perseids occur every year when Earth passes through a stream of debris left behind by Comet Swift-Tuttle. Tiny pieces of comet debris enter Earth's atmosphere at high speed, producing the bright streaks of light seen during the shower.

For the best view, NASA recommends waiting until it's fully dark on Aug. 12, finding a dark, open spot and looking toward the northeast. Viewing should improve later in the night as Perseus climbs higher in the sky. Give your eyes about 30 minutes to adjust to the darkness.

Italian spear fisherman and diver Giacomo De Mola couldn't believe his eyes when what he thought was an underwater rock turned out to be the wreck of a 2,000-year-old Roman transport vessel off the coast of Sicily.

De Mola and fellow spear fisherman and diver Igor Bisulli were spearfishing off the coast of Mazara del Vallo last week when they saw what they thought was just a rock between 40 and 50 meters (131-164 feet) below the surface.

"But something compels me to check. One last breath. And I descend. The visibility isn't the best. I see a large dark mass and think: 'The usual big rock,'" De Mola wrote in an Instagram post.

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"I get closer. And my heart stops. It wasn't a rock. Beneath me was an immense expanse of amphorae. Hundreds of amphorae that had lain on the seabed for over 2,000 years. A Roman ship asleep in the silence of the Mediterranean. When I resurface, I say to Igor: 'You can't imagine what's down there…'"

The fishermen then notified the Sicilian Regional Superintendency of the Sea, which alerted the Carabinieri military police cultural protection unit that deals with antiquities.

The Carabinieri verified that the sunken vessel dated back to between the second and first centuries BC. It was carrying hundreds of clay amphora jugs used to transport wine and olive oil, the Culture Ministry said in a post on its website.

"A Roman-era shipwreck, presumably dating between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, has been discovered approximately three miles off the coast of Mazara del Vallo, at a depth of 46 meters," Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli wrote.

"The seabed contains hundreds of amphorae, mostly of the Dressel 1A type, two lead anchor stocks, and another structure made of the same material."

Giuli called it "one of the most important underwater archaeological discoveries of recent years." Video released by the ministry shows divers measuring and documenting the find.

The amphorae were piled nearly two meters (seven feet) high, in a heap spanning more than 20 meters (66 feet) in length and six meters (20 feet) in width.

Some of the jugs were the type used in North Africa and one is an older, Neo-Punic amphora, according to the Culture Ministry.

"The sea continues to bring us precious fragments of our history, and the Mazara del Vallo shipwreck tells us about the people, the routes, and the exchanges that made the Mediterranean a crossroads of civilizations. Research will continue to unravel its history and deliver it to the community," Giuli continued.

The site will now be subject to further documentation and research by the Superintendency of the Sea, aimed at achieving a more complete understanding of the archaeological context and adopting appropriate protection measures, according to a statement by the Carabinieri, who will secure the area.

"The operation to locate the wreck confirms the importance of collaboration between the specialized units of the Carabinieri and the organizations responsible for the protection of cultural heritage, aimed at safeguarding the historical testimonies preserved on the seabed and their return to the community," they said.

The waters around Sicily, which was colonized by the ancient Greeks and later conquered by the Romans around 240 BC, constituted one of the ancient world's most important trade routes.

The discovery will shed new light into just who was traversing these waters during that era, the culture ministry says.

"There is no plan now to raise the entire shipwreck but some of the artifacts may be brought up for study — it may turn into a dive site, it may eventually be raised, there is more to study in terms of the fragility of the wreck site, etc. and they need to determine if there had been previous pillages," a ministry spokesperson told CNN. "So it will stay put for now, protected, studied and valued."

The divers will receive special state recognition for their discovery, the ministry said.

"It is hard to describe the feeling of being among the first humans in nearly 20 centuries to see that place again," De Mola wrote on social media. "This is, without a doubt, the most incredible discovery of my life."

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The Adams County Jail, just north of Denver, does not allow in-person visits. Over the course of their incarceration, people detained there will never share a visiting room with their families and children, or even sit across from them behind a plexiglass barrier.

As in nearly all county jails across Colorado’s Front Range and a growing number of county jails across the U.S., visits happen only over video – on a phone, tablet or computer – for a per-minute fee.

A group of families are now challenging the Adams County ban in court, arguing it violates their right to maintain family associations under the Colorado Constitution. The plaintiffs include children as young as 4 years old. Their lawsuit is part of a national effort targeting jails with similar policies.

Video visitation can be a lifeline for family members when distance, work schedules or travel costs make in-person visits difficult. When video visitation is run well, visitors may appreciate avoiding security screenings, long waits and the harsh correctional environment. But many still miss physical touch with their loved one.

Technological glitches, limited privacy and fees can also make video visitation less than ideal. For these reasons, best-practice guidance from criminal justice policy organizations recommends video as a supplement to in-person visitation, not a complete replacement.

As researchers who study visitation in correctional settings, our role is not to say how the courts should rule. But the Adams County case raises an important question we’ve spent much of our careers examining: What impacts do in-person visits have on incarcerated people and their families?

The answer is not as straightforward as it might seem. Many incarcerated people receive no visits at all. For those who do, visits can be enormously beneficial for them and their loved ones. But the benefits are not the same for everyone — they depend on the environments in which visits occur, the preexisting relationships between incarcerated people and their visitors, and what happens during the visits themselves.

Temporary relief from the pain of separation

For many incarcerated people, separation from family and friends is one of the most painful aspects of life behind bars. Visits can offer temporary relief from that separation and provide a unique chance for families to connect face-to-face.

For a little while, incarcerated people can get a break from their identity as a prisoner and act as a parent, son, daughter, partner, sibling or friend again. Visits also break up the monotony of confinement and give incarcerated people something to look forward to – so much so that correctional facilities commonly use visitation as an incentive for good behavior.

Visits, and the support they provide, can help people cope better with being incarcerated. Those who are visited commit fewer serious rule violations and also report less psychological distress. Visitation is also associated with less reoffending after release, as the relationships people maintain during confinement are the ones they can rely on during reentry to help with housing, employment and staying out of trouble.

Family-friendly rooms are a rarity in US jails

Correctional settings are not designed for comfort – they are designed for security. Razor wire, steel doors, surveillance cameras and uniformed officers typically surround daily life inside, and firm rules govern nearly all aspects of in-person visitation.

For visitors, it is not uncommon to pass through metal detectors, submit to intrusive physical searches, follow strict dress codes and wait for hours within facilities. This process can be intimidating, and some visitors come away feeling disrespected or treated like prisoners themselves. These burdens can discourage families from returning and, in some cases, contribute to their decision not to visit at all.

What an in-person visit looks like varies widely from facility to facility. In some settings, families sit together in a room. In others, visits are “noncontact,” meaning families are separated by a physical barrier and must communicate through a phone or speaker. Incarcerated people and their visitors have more positive experiences when they can sit side by side, embrace and share food or games. They have more negative experiences when physical contact is not allowed.

Family-friendly visiting rooms – spaces with comfortable seating, toys or activities for children and opportunities for families to interact more naturally – are rare in U.S. jails.

Unlike prisons, jails are designed for short-term detention rather than prolonged confinement. They mainly hold people who have not yet been convicted of a crime, such as those awaiting trial, along with those detained for low-level offenses or probation violations. Jail populations turn over rapidly as people are booked, released and transferred. Faced with this churn – as well as staffing, security and contraband-control concerns – many jails invest little in family visitation. When in-person visits are offered, they most commonly are noncontact, an arrangement that is easier for jails to manage.

Still, these conditions can take a toll on visitors. Partners may struggle to have meaningful conversations through glass. For children, restrictions on movement and touch can make visits difficult. Additionally, having little to keep them occupied can leave children restless and fussy.

Visits can bring comfort … or reopen old wounds

Visits are shaped by both the relationships families bring with them and what they do with their limited time together. In one of our studies, family members described highs and lows with their loved ones long before incarceration. In another, visitors described relationships ranging from “close” and “loving” to “strained” and “terrible,” with some carrying hurt, anger or mistrust into visits. Strong relationships may make it easier for visitors to offer reassurance, affection and practical support, whereas fraught relationships can make visits less comforting or reopen emotional wounds.

Jails in the U.S. have become a front-line response for people with unmet mental health and substance-use needs. Such needs often weigh on family relationships and shape what happens during visits. Some visits consist mainly of “family time,” catching up or sharing news, while others take on harder tasks. Families may voice long-held frustrations, challenge incarcerated people to “step up” to their responsibilities, talk about change and set expectations for the future. These harder visits may be more likely to cause distress for all those involved, but they can also help families address unresolved problems.

In this way, visits can serve as a makeshift form of family therapy, with families confronting problems of addiction, parenthood and mental health under conditions that are far from ideal. These conversations can be tense and emotional, but, ultimately, they can be how families repair bonds, settle the past and prepare for a loved one’s return.

Read more of our stories about Colorado.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vermont Democrats will try on Tuesday to do something they've been unable to do in five previous attempts: nominate a gubernatorial candidate who can beat Republican Gov. Phil Scott.

Voters will also decide contested Democratic primaries for lieutenant governor and state auditor and choose a Republican nominee to challenge Democratic U.S. Rep. Becca Balint in November.

Scott is one of only two Republican governors to serve a state that then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried in the 2024 election. But toppling him this fall will be no easy feat. He received 73% of the vote in his 2024 reelection bid, improving upon the 69% he won in 2022.

He's also been a rare Republican critic of President Donald Trump. Scott not only endorsed former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley for president in the 2024 primaries, but he also says he voted for Harris over Trump in 2024 and for Joe Biden in 2020. He is unopposed for the Republican nomination.

Two Democrats are running to challenge Scott: economist Amanda Janoo and former child advocacy organization CEO Aly Richards, who boasts endorsements from former Democratic Govs. Howard Dean and Madeleine Kunin. Richards has raised about $453,000 for her campaign, compared to about $308,000 for Janoo. Richards also had about double Janoo's cash reserves as of the end of July.

In Vermont, the governor, lieutenant governor and other state constitutional officers serve two-year terms. If Scott is reelected and completes another term, he'll surpass Dean as Vermont's longest serving governor since it became a state.

All 30 state Senate seats and all 150 state House seats are up in 2026. Democratic state lawmakers suffered significant losses in the 2024 general election, losing more than two dozen seats across both chambers, along with their supermajorities. This year could prove to be another difficult one for the party but for different reasons: Democratic incumbents in five state Senate districts and 11 state House districts face primary challengers. Republican incumbents face challengers in only one state Senate district.

For state legislative primaries, the number of winners in each contest varies by district. With multiple winners in many seats and relatively low turnout for down-ballot primaries, especially on the Republican side, determining the winners could come down to a relatively small number of votes.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

What's on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. House, governor, lieutenant governor, auditor, state Senate and state House.

Who gets to vote?

Any registered voter may participate in any party's primary. Vermont does not register voters by party.

How many voters are there?

As of July, there were about 501,000 registered voters in Vermont.

How many people actually vote?

About 23,000 Republican primary voters and about 33,000 Democratic primary voters cast ballots in the 2024 gubernatorial primaries.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 30% of the vote in the 2024 state primary was cast by mail. In the presidential primaries that year, about 24% of Democratic primary voters and about 13% of Republican primary voters cast mail ballots.

As of Friday, about 17,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday's election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Vermont runs elections at the town and city level. There are 247 separate jurisdictions administering local elections, and they vary in terms of how and when they release results. In many of the larger jurisdictions, the bulk of results from both mail voting and in-person Election Day voting are released together in their first vote updates.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 state primary, the AP first reported results at 7:18 p.m. ET, or 18 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 11:45 p.m. ET with about 87% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it's determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

A candidate may request a recount if the vote margin falls below a certain threshold. In federal, statewide and state Senate elections, a recount may be requested if the vote margin between the winning and losing candidate is 2% or less of the total votes cast, divided by the number of persons to be elected for that position. For state House and local races, the required margin is 5% or less of the total votes cast, divided by the number of persons to be elected. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 84 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

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The AP's Matthew Junkroski contributed to this report.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Minnesota Democrats will decide a competitive U.S. Senate primary Tuesday in another face-off between moderate and progressive candidates that could define the party's identity heading into the midterm elections. Republicans will choose nominees they hope will end their 20-year drought in statewide elections.

The state has been at the center of a political maelstrom in President Donald Trump's second term, as the Republican president has focused much of his ire on Minnesota and its Democratic leaders.

An ongoing fraud investigation into state childcare programs contributed to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz ending his reelection bid and has been a frequent topic among Republican candidates on the campaign trail. Meanwhile, the Trump administration's immigration crackdown that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens has been a defining issue for Democratic candidates.

Walz's retirement announcement, as well as that of Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, triggered a reshuffling of races throughout the ballot.

In the race to replace Smith, U.S. Rep. Angie Craig and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are the leading contenders for the Democratic nomination. Smith has backed Flanagan, while Walz has not made an endorsement. Flanagan also has support from key figures in the party's progressive wing, including U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of the 5th Congressional District. Sanders is an independent but caucuses with Democrats.

Craig's key supporters are Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Craig has about doubled Flanagan in overall fundraising. She also had about $3.6 million available to spend as of late July compared with about $1.1 million for Flanagan.

The Center Forward Committee and Unite to Win — two political action committees known for backing moderate Democrats — have spent at least $2.4 million on Craig's behalf. The Center Forward Committee was founded by former Alabama U.S. Rep. Bud Cramer and supports what it describes as "pragmatic policymakers." Unite to Win recently spent $4 million backing U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens in her unsuccessful U.S. Senate primary bid against Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan.

Flanagan's largest backer in outside spending has been the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association, which has spent about $1.2 million on the race.

The Republican primary features nine candidates, including former sports broadcaster Michele Tafoya; former Navy SEAL Adam Schwarze, who has the state party's endorsement; and former professional basketball player Royce White, who was the Republican nominee for the state's other U.S. Senate seat in 2024. Trump has not endorsed a candidate.

Tafoya raised about $5.3 million for her campaign and had about $1.3 million in the bank as of July 22, a larger haul than the rest of the Republican field combined.

In the race for governor, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar faces minimal opposition for the Democratic nomination. She brought in $9.3 million for her campaign and had about $4.5 million in the bank as of July 20. Only three of Klobuchar's six primary opponents filed campaign finance disclosures, and they reported having less than a combined $3,200 in the bank.

The nine-candidate Republican field includes state House Speaker Lisa Demuth, MyPillow founder and prominent 2020 election denierMike Lindell, who has Trump's endorsement, and healthcare executive Kendall Qualls, who has the state party's backing.

Lindell outraised Demuth overall in the campaign, although Demuth sat atop a significantly larger war chest as of July 20.

Craig is the only member of Minnesota's U.S. House delegation who isn't running for reelection. Her upcoming departure has triggered a six-way Democratic primary to replace her in the 2nd Congressional District. The field includes state Rep. Kaela Berg, state Sen. Matt Klein and former state Sen. Matt Little. Klein leads the field in fundraising, followed by Little, who loaned his campaign $155,000.

The winner will face Republican state Sen. Eric Pratt, who is unopposed for the nomination.

Craig won reelection in 2024 with about 56% of the vote. Democratic then-Vice President Kamala Harris received about 52% of the district vote in the 2024 presidential race against Trump.

All seats in both chambers of the Minnesota State Legislature are up in 2026. Democrats have a one-seat advantage in the 67-member state Senate, while Democrats and Republicans are deadlocked at 67 seats each in the state 134-member House.

Hennepin County, which is home to Minneapolis, is by far the state's most populous and tends to contribute the most votes of any county in both Democratic and Republican statewide primaries. Neighboring Ramsey County, which is home to St. Paul, has the second-largest population but tends to be a bigger factor in Democratic primaries. Just north of the Twin Cities, Anoka County, which Trump carried in 2024 by about 4 percentage points, tends to be more influential in Republican primaries. Dakota, Washington, St. Louis and Olmsted counties are important primary battlegrounds for both parties.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty's 2006 reelection was the last statewide contest Republicans have won in Minnesota. The last Republican to win a U.S. Senate race in Minnesota was Norm Coleman in 2002.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 8 p.m. CT, which is 9 p.m. ET.

What's on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in contested primaries for U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, secretary of state, auditor, attorney general, state Senate and state House.

Who gets to vote?

Any registered voter may participate in any party's primary. Eligible voters may register at the polls on Election Day or during the early voting period.

How many voters are there?

As of Aug. 3, there were about 3.9 million registered voters in Minnesota.

How many people actually vote?

About 324,000 Democratic primary voters and about 194,000 Republican primary voters took part in the 2024 primaries for U.S. Senate. In the 2022 primaries for governor, about 432,000 voters cast ballots in the Democratic primary and about 323,000 in the Republican primary.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 23% of the vote in the 2024 state primary and about 20% of the 2022 primary vote was cast early in person or by mail.

As of Thursday, about 158,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday's election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Counties tend to release results from early in-person and mail voting over the course of the night, along with results from in-person Election Day voting.

The state's three largest counties of Hennepin, Ramsey and Dakota release relatively few results in their first vote updates, regardless of vote type.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the 2024 state primary, the AP first reported results at 9:08 p.m. ET, or eight minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 1:28 a.m. ET, with more than 99% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it's determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

Recounts in Minnesota are not automatic, but the losing candidate may request one under certain circumstances. A publicly funded recount can be requested in federal, judicial or state constitutional offices, like governor, if the margin between the winning and losing candidate is less than 0.25% of the vote. For state legislative races, the required margin is less than 0.5% of the vote. In races in which fewer than 400 votes are cast, the margin is 10 votes or fewer. Candidates may pay for a recount in races in which the vote margin is beyond the threshold for a publicly funded recount. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 84 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

Oceans globally recorded their hottest July ever last month, according to a new analysis. The severe ocean heat was evident around Europe, which is coping with a scorching summer.

Outside the polar regions, the ocean surface averaged 69.73 degrees F (20.96 degrees C), breaking the previous July record, set in 2023, according to the Copernicus Climate Change Service. Ocean heat was particularly severe in the Pacific, thanks to an intensifying El Niño.

Land surface temperatures were only slightly less severe. Across both land and sea, last month was the second hottest July on record globally.

In Europe, heat records continue to fall. "July 2026 was the third consecutive month of exceptional heat in Western Europe, bringing the combined temperature for June and July to a new record for the region," said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus. 

Recurrent hot spells and meager rainfall have desiccated soils across Western Europe, making heat more severe. "As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily," Burgess said. "This is a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another."

Drought has also drained rivers across Europe. Low water levels on the Danube River, on the border between Serbia and Romania, have revealed dozens of World War II shipwrecks. The ships belonged to a Nazi fleet that was sunk near the end of the war to slow the advance of Soviet forces. Elsewhere on the Danube, in Slovakia, authorities recovered an unexploded WWII bomb.

ALSO ON YALE E360

Overshoot: The World Is Hitting Point of No Return on Climate

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Ten Republicans will compete in a special primary election Tuesday to replace the late U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham on South Carolina's general election ballot. The candidates running to replace him include two congressmen, a former governor and Graham's sister, now a U.S. senator appointed to serve out the final months of his current term.

Lindsey Graham won the June 9 Republican primary for renomination to the seat he first won in 2002, but his unexpected death on July 11 from an aortic tear created a vacancy not only for his current U.S. Senate seat but also for his spot on the November ballot as the party's pick to compete for another six-year term.

U.S. Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed by Republican Gov. Henry McMaster to fill her brother's vacant seat, has President Donald Trump's endorsement to compete in the general election as the new Republican nominee. Among those challenging her in the special primary are U.S. Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman, former Gov. Mark Sanford and business owner Mark Lynch, who ran against Lindsey Graham in the June 9 primary.

Norman recently sought the nomination for governor and placed third in the primary.

If no candidate receives a vote majority in the special primary, the top two vote-getters will advance to a special primary runoff on Aug. 25.

The winner will face Democratic nominee Annie Andrews, a Charleston pediatrician who challenged Republican U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace in the 2022 general election.

Lindsey Graham last won reelection in 2020 with 54% of the vote. Trump carried the state in the 2024 presidential election with 58% of the vote.

Greenville County is the most populous in the state and typically contributes the most votes in statewide Republican primaries. It also has a bit of an independent streak. In the June 9 primary, a plurality of Greenville County voters preferred Lynch over Lindsey Graham in the U.S. Senate race and Norman over the two candidates who would advance to the runoff for governor.

Democratic-leaning Richland and Charleston counties have the next-largest populations and contribute a sizable number of votes in Republican primaries, but they tend to be more influential in Democratic contests.

Horry, Lexington and Spartanburg counties are also large counties that have big impacts on Republican primaries. Spartanburg was the only other county where Lynch outperformed Lindsey Graham in the June primary.

Besides Greenville County, Norman also was the top vote-getter in York County and three smaller neighboring counties, all in his 5th Congressional District, in the June gubernatorial primary.

Here are some of the key facts about the election and data points the AP Decision Team will monitor as the votes are tallied:

When do polls close?

Polls close at 7 p.m. ET.

What's on the ballot?

The Associated Press will provide vote results and declare winners in the special Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

Who gets to vote?

Voters who participated in the Democratic primary on June 9 may not participate in the special Republican primary on Tuesday. Only Republican primary voters or registered voters who did not participate in any party's primary may cast ballots in Tuesday's election.

How many voters are there?

As of Friday, there were about 3.4 million registered voters in South Carolina. Voters in South Carolina do not register by party.

How many people actually vote?

About 465,000 voters cast ballots in the June 9 Republican U.S. Senate primary in which Lindsey Graham was renominated. About 319,000 voters participated in the June 23 Republican gubernatorial primary runoff.

How much of the vote is cast early or by absentee ballot?

About 29% of the vote in the June 9 Republican state primary was cast early in person or by mail.

As of Friday, about 42,000 ballots had already been cast in Tuesday's election.

When are early and absentee votes released?

Nearly all of South Carolina's 46 counties release all or almost all of their early in-person and mail voting results in the first vote update of the night, usually before releasing any results from in-person Election Day voting.

How long does vote-counting usually take?

In the June 9 primary election, the AP first reported results at 7:22 p.m. ET, or 22 minutes after polls closed. The last vote update of the night was at 12:19 a.m. ET, with more than 99% of total votes counted.

When will the AP declare a winner?

The AP does not make projections and will declare a winner only when it's determined there is no scenario that would allow a trailing candidate to close the gap. If a race has not been called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or declarations of victory. In doing so, the AP will make clear that it has not yet declared a winner and explain why.

How do recounts work?

In South Carolina, recounts are automatic if the margin between the winning and losing candidates is 1% of the total vote or less. The AP may declare a winner in a race that is subject to a recount if it can determine the lead is too large for a recount or legal challenge to change the outcome.

Are we there yet?

As of Tuesday, there will be 84 days until the 2026 midterm elections.

___

Follow the AP's coverage of the 2026 election at https://apnews.com/projects/elections-2026/.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — It's been 12 months since President Donald Trump announced a crime emergency in Washington, pledging to make the city "safe and beautiful" and deploying the National Guard.

But a mission that seemed temporary has been extended through January 2029. Residents and a new cadre of local officials see in it an unacceptable attempt by the federal government to restrict the heavily Democratic city's autonomy and, a year in, still question why having troops on the streets of the nation's capital is necessary.

"There's a deep irony that here we are in the capital of the free world, and our president is treating it like a police state," said Scott Michelman, legal director of the ACLU of the District of Columbia. "D.C. residents have lived with our National Guard troops in our neighborhoods for about a year, despite the absence of any genuine emergency and really any reason for them to be here."

The continued deployment will be a major test for a new batch of political candidates expected to take office after the midterms this fall. Residents will look to them to push back on the Republican president's encroachment into the city's affairs — although they are limited in what they can do to counter it.

A temporary deployment goes on and on

On Aug. 11, 2025, Trump announced that he was launching a federal law enforcement surge in Washington aimed at fighting crime. As of Aug. 4, more than 4,600 military personnel from D.C. and 24 states and territories were still deployed alongside unknown numbers of less visible federal law enforcement officers. Some are expected to be withdrawn toward the end of the summer.

Small groups of armed guard members have become a routine presence on the streets of Washington. They have supported arrest operations but are also seen patrolling tourist areas, such as along the Tidal Basin during the Cherry Blossom Festival and in neighborhoods such as Georgetown where violent crimes are rare. They have helped with medical emergencies, snow removal and beautification projects — initiatives that have received support from some residents.

Extending the deployment into 2029 will cost about $1.4 billion, according to a Defense Department estimate.

"President Trump has transformed D.C. from a crime-ridden city into a safe and beautiful haven for residents and visitors alike," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in an email.

Figures posted to the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Columbia credit the surge with more than 13,000 arrests.

Crime, which was falling before the surge began, continues to drop. Metropolitan Police Department statistics show overall crime was down 20% through Aug. 7, compared with the same period in 2025. That includes a 32% drop in homicides, from 97 to 66.

But there's a debate over how much of that success is owed to Trump's mission or to yearslong local efforts to chip away at the crime rate.

What is certain is that locals feel the weight of the deployment and do not see a clear way to push back against it. National Guard deployments to other cities have been blocked by courts, and a lawsuit challenging the deployment is pending, but critics of the surge are not hopeful.

"The fact that we still have the National Guard walking our streets a year later with no end in sight is really demoralizing," city council member Brianne K. Nadeau said.

Autonomy is a top priority for newly elected candidates

Because Washington is a congressionally established federal district, Trump has much greater influence over the police and D.C. National Guard, which he controls directly, including its commander.

The Home Rule Act, passed in 1973, allows residents to vote for local leaders, including the mayor and council members. Congress has oversight over the local budget and review authority of all laws passed and the ability to summon district officials to the Capitol routinely to explain themselves. The D.C. delegate to Congress is a nonvoting position.

The city's governmental structure under home rule made it easy for Trump to do what he has done, Nadeau said.

"There isn't really any political liability for national leaders to mess with D.C. because nobody really cares," outside of those directly impacted, she said.

The law enforcement surge played a major role in Democratic primary elections in June, which elevated candidates who have made Washington's autonomy and statehood top priorities.

Janeese Lewis George, a democratic socialist who in the overwhelmingly Democratic city is likely to be its next mayor, has already rankled Trump. He threatened to put the city under federal control if she wins.

Robert White Jr., another pro-statehood candidate, won the Democratic primary for the city's seat in Congress.

And while they are hamstrung by the city's status, both hope they have strategies that can help fight back against the president and the deployment.

White told The Associated Press he plans to build "an army of residents" and allies to target swing districts and work at "un-electing" people critical of the district and "electing those who do support D.C."

The action is similar to one a former D.C. congressional delegate, Walter Fauntroy, successfully pursued in 1972, mobilizing Black voters and allies against a South Carolina Congress member who had long opposed D.C.'s independence.

"He didn't deploy that strategy a bunch of times, but it sent a signal to people to lay off of D.C.," White said.

The city's outgoing mayor, Muriel Bowser, avoided the kind of biting rhetoric and personal attacks typical of other high-profile Democratic leaders, despite the unprecedented intervention into her city. A major part of that was to avoid raising Trump's ire and threaten what independence the city has.

An emailed statement from Bowser's office said that despite challenges to its independence the city has progressed in achieving its goals. "The safety and well-being of everyone in our city remains our top priority and protecting home rule remains our North Star," the statement said.

"We're more than monuments and politics," Bowser said in a 48-second video pinned to her X account.

She said the city is made up of more than 700,00 taxpaying Americans who serve in the military, run businesses and raise families and "we don't have voting representation in Congress. We don't control the D.C. National Guard, and we don't have full access to full American democracy."

Concerns over troops in the city during elections

Donna Powell, who is living part time in the city, said she and her husband walk and metro everywhere. "We're already safe and beautiful," she said. "We don't need all these National Guard here."

The money could be better spent "on healthcare and food for families that need it."

The National Guard deployment has raised concerns among some over what the upcoming midterms and the 2028 presidential election will look like with troops on the streets.

"The last time this president was supposed to come out of power, Jan. 6 happened," said Alex Dodds, co-founder of FreeDC, an activist group that has protested the deployment by following and filming National Guard troops in quiet areas of the city far away from crime concerns. "Imagine if that happens again but this time he has 5,000 troops standing at the ready to be part of that situation. You know, that's our worry."

Key events

Trump officials offer cities tens of millions for Memphis-style police surges – with conditions

The Trump administration is offering grants of tens of millions of dollars to cities across the US to create more Memphis-style enforcement surges – on the condition that they abandon progressive ideologies on policing.

The US Department of Justice says it will announce up to four finalist cities which will split $300m in grant funding under a federal “Model Cities” policing initiative (MCI) next month, setting the stage for some of the largest federal policing grants ever awarded to individual US cities.

In exchange for the funding, cities are required to comply with federal immigration enforcement requests, enact conservative policies on anti-homelessness rules, and potentially repay millions of dollars in the event of a surge in violent crime or “civil unrest”, according to a grant document.

The document cites Washington DC and Memphis, Tennessee – two cities with national guard troops patrolling the streets – as a model to emulate. The administration has so far defied calls to suspend its controversial taskforce in Memphis, following four officer-involved deaths since its launch last September.

“That’s not a model I’d be looking for,” said Steven Reed, the mayor of Montgomery, Alabama. Reed said he had seen the grant and passed on applying. “Everybody wants a quick fix, and no one wants to invest in the root cause of the issue,” he said.

Trump appoints staff secretary Will Scharf as new White House counsel

Donald Trump announced on Sunday that ⁠Will ​Scharf, the staff secretary who helped secure approval for the $400m White House ballroom project, will become ⁠White House counsel and assistant to the president.

Effective 1 September, Scharf will replace David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Warrington ​formerly served ​as a ​personal counsel and a ​lawyer ‌for Trump’s ​2024 campaign.

Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a number of cases, including at the supreme court. Scharf also led the National ‌Capital Planning Commission, which approved the president’s construction ​of the White House ballroom.

“Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart! He also loves our Country, and respects the Law,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Will Scharf will do a great job as White House Counsel!”

The shakeup in the White House counsel’s office comes at a critical juncture – just months ahead of the midterm elections, where Trump’s Republican party will be fighting to hold on to control of Congress.

All eyes on Max Miller with Monday last opportunity to resign as candidate

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

Today is the last day that Max Miller, the beleaguered US Republican representative from Ohio, can resign and give his party time to find a replacement candidate.

But Miller vowed last week to defy a rising groundswell of resignation calls from his own party over domestic abuse allegations after his ex-father-in-law, Bernie Moreno, a GOP senator, said he was unfit to serve in Congress.

“If there are any basic standards of character required to hold elected office, Max Miller fails them,” Moreno, an ally of Trump, posted on Sunday. “He should not serve in the House of Representatives.”

Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Moreno described the dispute between his daughter and Miller as “truly the seventh level of hell”, adding: “This has been a horrific experience for my entire family.

“This has been brutal beyond comprehension, and if there’s any minimum standard for being an elected official, as I said, he fails to meet that minimum basic standard.”

Miller’s ex-wife, Emily Moreno, the daughter of the Republican Ohio senator Bernie Moreno, has accused Miller of pointing a gun at her head, pouring hot water on her and potentially breaking their two-year-old daughter’s collarbone.

Emily Moreno has also alleged Miller physically attacked her attorney and another legal representative, and filed for a restraining order on her lawyer’s behalf. Emily Moreno and Miller are now locked in a bitter custody battle.

In other developments:

• Donald Trump announced on Sunday that ⁠Will ​Scharf, the staff secretary who helped secure approval for the $400m White House ballroom project, will become ⁠White House counsel and assistant to the president. Effective 1 September, Scharf will replace David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Warrington ​formerly served ​as a ​personal counsel and a ​lawyer ‌for Trump’s ​2024 campaign.

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has announced she is going to freeze her eggs and will be sharing the process online. The progressive New York congresswoman, 36, revealed her decision to undergo fertility treatment in a series of Instagram stories this weekend. “This is a choice that I am making to feel more in control of my life,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

• Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic nominee for US Senate in Michigan, embraced Donald Trump’s suggestion that the two represent “VERY DIFFERENT” versions of the US, pledging to fight inequality while the president is “making billions of dollars off of you”. In a Saturday night post on his Truth Social platform, Trump shared an image of himself and the first lady, Melania Trump, beside a photo of El-Sayed, who is Muslim, and his wife, Sarah Jukaku, wearing a hijab. “Two VERY DIFFERENT America’s [sic],” read the caption.

• Some of Taylor Swift’s songs have been removed from videos posted on social media by Donald Trump’s campaign and the White House, silencing efforts to mock the pop star. A video posted 3 August featuring the US president and the first lady, Melania Trump, watching fireworks was posted this month on TikTok with Swift’s song August.

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After a primary campaign filled with twists, turns and scandal, the election to determine California's next governor has narrowed to two candidates: Xavier Becerra, a Democrat and veteran of California politics, and Steve Hilton, a Republican immigrant and ally of President Trump.

The two have similar origin stories as the sons of working-class immigrants — both even worked construction jobs to earn money as teenagers — but they have vastly different visions for California's future. If elected, Becerra promises to solidify many of the state's liberal policies and its opposition to Trump; Hilton pledges to reverse course by cutting taxes, ending regulations and shrinking state government.

The race is open because after two terms at the state's helm, outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom is blocked from running again. He has endorsed Becerra and is considering a run for president in 2028.

In a state where Democratic voters outnumber Republicans by nearly a two-to-one margin, Hilton has acknowledged his campaign is an uphill battle. Since the primary he has focused on reaching out to independent voters and making the case that after 16 years of Democratic control, poverty and wealth inequality in California have only worsened.

As the Nov. 3 general election nears, both have begun articulating their agendas, courting voters and lobbing attacks at one another.

Here's more about the two candidates, along with their stances on a few top issues.

Xavier Becerra

Top job: U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services
Biggest splash: As California attorney general, sued the Trump administration roughly 120 times.
Particulars: Becerra, 68, lives in Sacramento with his wife, Dr. Carolina Reyes, and they have three adult daughters. Born in Sacramento, he is the son of Mexican immigrants: His mother was a clerical worker and his father picked vegetables, worked in construction and had other jobs. He is a Democrat.

Once considered an underdog among the many Democrats vying to replace Newsom, Becerra shot to the top of the polls after former Rep. Eric Swalwell dropped out of the race after he was accused of sexual assault and misconduct. In the scandal's aftermath, several of Swalwell's campaign advisors jumped to Becerra's team. Voters in search of a new candidate said they were drawn to Becerra's calm demeanor and decades of experience in government.

He finished first in the June 2 primary with 28.1% of the total vote. Under California's top-two primary system, all candidates were listed on the same ballot, regardless of party, and first and second place finishers advanced to the Nov. 3 general election.

Read more: The mystery behind Becerra leapfrogging over his rivals in California's governor's race

A steady, if inconspicuous, presence in California Democratic politics over the years, Becerra is largely perceived as a risk-averse candidate who would continue the status quo if he is elected.

The son of working-class Mexican immigrants — his mother was from Guadalajara and his father was born in Sacramento but raised in Tijuana — Becerra grew up in Sacramento with three sisters. In high school, Becerra convinced a classmate to hand over their unused application to Stanford University rather than throw it away. He filled it out and was accepted, becoming the first in his family to attend college, and graduated with degrees in law and economics.

Following a brief period doing legal aid work in Massachusetts while his wife finished medical school, Becerra returned to California to work as a legislative staffer for former state Sen. Art Torres and a deputy attorney general. Within a few years, he was recruited to run for a San Gabriel Valley Assembly seat.

Though he boasts a long resume in California electoral politics, Becerra went decades without a challenging election fight — until this year. Backing from a group of powerful Latinos helped him win his first Assembly race and, two years later, an open U.S. House seat, which he would hold for 24 years.

Read more: Becerra's surge in California governor race draws fresh scrutiny to candidacy, long government record

In 2017, Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Becerra as state attorney general to fill the vacancy left by Kamala Harris' election to the U.S. Senate. He quickly became a top legal foe of the first Trump administration, suing more than 120 times over issues including immigration enforcement, protections for clean air and endangered species, and the Affordable Care Act.

Four years later, President Biden nominated Becerra to lead the sprawling Department of Health and Human Services and he was narrowly approved by the Senate. He faced criticism in the role for keeping a low profile during the nation's COVID-19 vaccination campaign and for his oversight of tens of thousands of migrant children in federal custody who crossed the border without a parent or guardian. A New York Times investigation found that as a result of scaled-back vetting processes, many of the children ended up working, often in dangerous jobs at factories, farms and construction sites.

Becerra has defended his record at HHS, arguing that the Trump administration had left the agency ill-equipped to care for so many children and disputing the number of unaccompanied minors who were "lost."

The candidate is linked to — but not accused of any wrongdoing in — a corruption case involving two former advisors and a lobbyist who siphoned $225,000 money from one of Becerra's campaign accounts. Sean McCluskie, Becerra's former chief of staff; Dana Williamson, a Democratic advisor and former chief of staff to Newsom; and lobbyist Greg Campbell have all pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Read more: A bombshell fraud case takes the spotlight in California's high-stakes race for governor

Since the primary, Becerra has kept a low profile with few public events. After Hilton criticized his opponent's absence from the campaign trail and challenged him to debate, Becerra's spokesperson Jonathan Underland said he "is building a coalition of Californians ready to elect a governor who won't bring Trump's chaos to their front door" and that he will debate Hilton.

Steve Hilton

Top job: Senior advisor to British Prime Minister David Cameron
Biggest splash: Fox News commentator
Particulars: Hilton, 56, was born in England and lives in the Bay Area town of Atherton with his wife, Rachel Whetstone, who worked as a public relations executive for Google, Uber, Facebook and Netflix. They have two children. He is a Republican.

With Trump's backing, Hilton consolidated enough Republican support to finish second in the primary with 24.6% of the vote. The president's endorsement, though, is a double-edged sword in California, where Trump is deeply unpopular.

Hilton has said he is "deeply honored" to have his endorsement. Since the primary, however, he has made overtures to independent and Latino voters, arguing that even if they dislike Trump, voters should choose him if they are dissatisfied with California's progress on affordability, homelessness and other issues.

"We may not agree about national politics, but I think we can agree that we need change in California, and I'm going to bring that change," he said during a July press conference.

Hilton has sought to keep the spotlight on Becerra's handling of the child migrant crisis, releasing video interviews with a whistleblower and teenagers who said HHS released them to traffickers who forced them to work and did not intervene to stop sexual abuse.

Read more: How a Trump-endorsed Republican could become California's next governor

Born in London to parents who fled conflict in their native Hungary, Hilton began a career in politics with Britain's Conservative Party after graduating from Oxford University. He was a close friend and advisor to David Cameron, who served as the U.K.'s prime minister from 2010 to 2016.

In British politics, Hilton earned a reputation as a zany but genius marketer who pushed the Conservative Party to embrace same-sex marriage and climate-friendlier policies. He was satirized on the BBC political sitcom "The Thick of It" as Stewart Pearson, the Tories' "eco-friendly, media-savvy, blue-sky-thinking" communications director. He was an early supporter of Brexit, the U.K.'s withdrawal from the European Union.

Hilton and his family moved to California in 2012 after his wife, Rachel Whetstone, was promoted to lead global communications at Google. In the Bay Area, he became a visiting scholar at Stanford University and co-founded CrowdPac, a nonpartisan political fundraising platform. He left the company after his support for Trump stirred controversy.

For six years, he hosted "The Next Revolution," a weekly Fox News show which Trump regularly tweeted clips from. On the show, Hilton lambasted lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic and called for an investigation into alleged voter fraud after Trump lost the 2020 election.

Hilton became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2021 and last year renounced his British citizenship. Before running for governor, he founded Golden Together, a policy institute focused on researching issues like housing costs, homelessness and the state's business climate. He has written several books that explore his ideas of "positive populism," the role businesses play in social influence, and the "failures" of California government.

Housing

Fixing one of California's most pressing issues — a severe housing shortage and sky-high prices — has been a rare point of unity in the governor's race. During the primary, all major candidates agreed on the need to reduce roadblocks to homebuilding and permitting.

If elected, Becerra has said he would declare California's housing shortage a state of emergency and direct his administration to identify ways to reduce the cost of building. He would expand the state's down payment assistance program for first-time buyers and supports blocking institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes.

Becerra promised to continue Newsom's legal crusade against cities that do not plan or build enough housing under state law. He has endorsed Proposition 1, an $11.25-billion affordable housing bond, and Proposition 37, a $25-billion down payment assistance program.

Hilton argues that layers of rules of permits have effectively halted construction of smaller and more affordable starter homes. He plans to prioritize construction of new 1,000-square-foot homes by fast-tracking their approval, reducing fees and placing a moratorium on new housing regulations.

He has proposed changing the California Environmental Quality Act to limit lawsuits that slow down or stall new home development. He's also criticized the state's "density bonus" law, which allows developers to increase the scale of housing projects if they include a certain percentage of affordable units.

"We've got to allow ourselves to build outwards, not just upwards, and we've got to end the bias against single family homes," Hilton said at a March forum hosted by the California Assn. of Realtors.

California's notorious cost of living

Hilton has promised to deliver $3 gas, slash utility bills by half and make Californians' first $150,000 in earnings tax-free (an increase from his earlier proposal of $100,000). He said he can do all this by taking "a sledgehammer to our bloated, bureaucratic nanny state" and rolling back climate policies, which he blames for increased energy costs.

To lower gas prices, he has proposed increasing domestic oil production and cutting regulations on refineries.

Becerra would address the cost of living "by standing up to price gouging and unjustified rate hikes, expanding help with childcare and essential costs, and using the power of the state to lower prices where the market has failed."

He does not specify how he would achieve those goals but touts his experience challenging anticompetitive practices among hospital systems as attorney general and negotiating more affordable prescription drugs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries as HHS secretary.

Though he previously promised to freeze home insurance rates and utility costs, Becerra appears to have backtracked after Hilton and insurance industry representatives questioned whether it is legal.

Healthcare costs and coverage for undocumented immigrants

Early in his campaign, Becerra pitched himself as a "healthcare governor" who would lower costs and expand access to medical care by drawing on years of experience writing and implementing major healthcare laws. He was criticized by other Democrats during the primary for not committing to state-sponsored single-payer health care; Becerra said he supports nationwide Medicare for all.

Becerra's 12-point healthcare plan includes expanding CalRx, the state's generic drug manufacturing program, expanding access to telehealth appointments and investing in robust, community-based programs to screen for and prevent diseases.

After years of expanding Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented immigrants, Newsom and lawmakers last year froze enrollment to stem increasing costs. Becerra has said he would reverse the cuts, arguing that it is more cost-effective to provide regular care than push uninsured people into emergency rooms.

In a video posted to Facebook in early June, Hilton promised to eliminate "free healthcare to citizens of other countries who shouldn't even be here." He said he would lower costs by increasing competition among health insurance companies and stop consolidation in the healthcare industry.

Read more: In California governor's race, voters face stark choice on immigrant healthcare

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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

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Senate Republicans want to spend August fighting to keep their majority and training their fire on Democrats. Donald Trump might have other plans.

The GOP's desire to move on from a monthslong intraparty squabble over Trump's No. 1 priority comes after senators left town early Saturday without advancing any form of his election security bill. Republicans don't have the votes to pass the SAVE America Act and punted a framework for a third party-line spending bill that includes parts of the measure rather than have a failed vote.

Whether Trump accepts that explanation is entirely unclear.

Some Republicans are prepared for the mercurial president's yearslong obsession with the election measure to resurface over the five-week recess and risk further inflaming the party's base just months before GOP senators need those same voters to turn out.

"That would be consistent with his approach," Sen. Mike Rounds said about the possibility that Trump could spend August criticizing Republicans for not passing the GOP election overhaul.

But, the South Dakota Republican added "we also know the votes aren't there."

The Senate's moves over the weekend — which conservatives say were signed off on by Trump — likely push a third GOP spending bill until after the November election.

And instead of voting again on the SAVE America Act, which some Senate Republicans oppose due to its restrictions on mail-in voting, for example, Majority Leader John Thune called up a vote on a simpler voter ID bill offered by Sen. Jon Husted of Ohio that received unified GOP support.

Some, like Utah Sen. Mike Lee and other Senate conservatives, have vowed to renew their fight for the GOP bill once the chamber returns.

But privately some GOP senators believe for now their actions are not enough to satisfy Trump, given his relentless focus on it that has derailed congressional business in the House and Senate at several points this year.

One GOP senator, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Thune wanted to hold a vote on the voter ID bill because "he thinks it will give us cover with the president."

"I think he's wrong," the senator said, adding that Senate Republicans were "not factoring in the president's reaction."

Asked if he thought the Senate's actions on the narrower voting bill would satisfy Trump, Thune said in an interview, "good question, but I think if they want votes, we'll try and get votes," adding, "I can't guarantee outcomes."

Trump and his allies' continued focus on a bill that doesn't have the votes to pass has frustrated Senate Republicans. Some Republicans also see Trump's focus on the election bill as a back-door way for the president to accomplish what they think he really wants: getting rid of the filibuster, which a critical mass of Republicans also opposes.

"At the end of the day, all Republicans need to start getting satisfied with everybody pretty quickly, so that we can get the voters to be satisfied with us, and we maintain our majority at least in the Senate," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said when asked about Trump.

He added that "I hear what the administration is saying. I look at political data almost every day of the week. …I don't see [the SAVE America Act] as one of the major factors that are going to get out to the polls."

Senate Republicans suggested to Vice President JD Vance during a closed-door lunch last week that he could speak to the president on their behalf about the realities they were facing on the budget resolution and other parts of their pre-August to-do list, according to two attendees. Vance, however, said Senate Republicans should speak directly with the president themselves.

A day later, Senate conservatives spoke with Trump who, according to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), blessed punting a vote on a budget resolution into the fall rather than forcing one before leaving that would have failed.

Such a vote would've also put a target on the backs of the GOP senators who opposed it and, potentially, only further frustrated Trump, who has lashed out repeatedly in recent weeks at the Senate GOP's inability to pass the elections measure.

"We're in total agreement. There was no argument about it. …He would like a better reconciliation bill. That will take more time, so he was completely supportive," Johnson said about the conversation with the president.

Thune, asked about the conservatives' conversation with Trump, added that "I think everybody for the most part is on the same page."

But Johnson's conversation with Trump, Lee and Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, comes after the Wisconsin senator acknowledged to reporters late last month that Trump "probably wouldn't like that too much" if Republicans left town without advancing a budget resolution.

"Nor would I," Johnson added. "Nor would a lot of people who support us."

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The first two months of summer in western Europe have been the hottest on record, the European Union's climate monitor said Monday, as the continent grapples with devastating wildfires and braces for yet another heatwave.

The average temperature for June and July was 21.62 degrees Celsius (70.9 Fahrenheit), about 2.79 degrees above the average, and surpassing the previous heat record set in 2022, said the Copernicus climate change service.

July was also the hottest month ever logged for the world's non-polar oceans, Copernicus said, with record high temperatures set along the Atlantic and western Mediterranean, putting sea life and coastal communities at risk. The conditions were partly fueled by the so-called "Super" El Niño weather pattern developing in the pacific.

The continent has been hit by a string of deadly heatwaves, with more hot temperatures forecast for this week. Heat has killed more than 25,000 people across Europe this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Europe is the world's fastest-warming continent but is particularly ill-equipped to withstand heat, due to older infrastructure and a lack of air conditioning.

The scorching temperatures and persistent droughts in June and July mutually reinforced each other to create a hot weather spiral, according to Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

"As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily," Burgess said, adding that it was "a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes."

Surface soil moisture levels across western Europe in July 2026 were also "significantly lower" than in July 2022, the last summer the region saw extreme drought, with "exceptional to record deficits" for rain and soil moisture in France, Spain and parts of Germany and the United Kingdom, the scientists found.

The record-breaking summer heat has fostered conditions for Europe's record-setting wildfires, which have displaced hundreds of thousands of people and burned more than 1.23 million acres of land, mainly in Spain, France and Italy, according to an August 6 report by the EU.

Beyond the scorched land, the fires have also had a broader effect across the continent, increasing emissions and disrupting air quality, said Laurence Rouil, director of the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service.

"Larger fires produce more smoke and inject it higher into the atmosphere, meaning it can travel further and impact air quality not only locally, but across the wider region," Rouil said.

Severe droughts have also sucked the water from Europe's major rivers, particularly the Seine, the Rhine and the Danube, threatening the continent's energy supply.

Hungary and Romania were forced to temporarily shut down nuclear reactors cooled by the Danube, Europe's second-longest river, which has experienced such low water levels that the crisis can be observed from space.

Richard Allan, a climate science professor at the University of Reading in England previously told CNN the these record river lows are likely to be broken again in the future and that this "will only be the top of the iceberg."

"Managing water resources will become progressively more challenging."

Laura Paddison and Oliver Sherwood contributed reporting.

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BERLIN (AP) — The heat waves roiling Western Europe this summer toppled an average temperature record for the June-July period set in 2022, according to the European climate agency Copernicus.

The extreme heat began in May and has contributed to major wildfires, prolonged drought and new national temperature records across the region, as well as thousands of projected heat-related deaths.

Globally, so far this is the third-hottest year, behind 2024 and 2025, climate statistics show. But 2026 still has time to catch up. Thanks to the one-two punch of accelerated human-caused global warming and a supersized El Niño, a periodic warming of parts of the Pacific that leads to temperature variations around the globe, there's an increasing chance that by the end of the year, 2026 could become the hottest year on record, beating out 2024 — or at least come close, scientists said.

Last month saw the highest average sea surface temperature ever recorded for July across the extra-polar oceans, or the oceans free of seasonal sea ice, Copernicus said.

That was partially fueled by developing El Niño conditions in the equatorial Pacific, the service said. The new average record for July is 20.96 degrees Celsius (69.73 degrees Fahrenheit), which beat the 2023 record of 20.89 C (69.60 F).

But last month's average surface air temperature globally was 16.90°C (62.42 F), making it only the joint second warmest July on record and tied with July 2024, Copernicus reported.

In Western Europe, meanwhile, the average temperature record for the June-July period hit 21.62°C (70.92 F), Copernicus said.

"Persistent high-pressure systems trapped heat over western Europe, the extreme temperatures also amplified widespread drought. As soils dry out, they lose their ability to provide natural cooling, allowing heat to build more readily," said Samantha Burgess, strategic lead for climate at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts.

"This is a clear example of how climate change is intensifying heat extremes, with heat and drought increasingly reinforcing one another."

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump announced Sunday that his new White House counsel will be Will Scharf, the staff secretary who as the Trump-appointed head of the National Capital Planning Commission helped secure approval for the $400 million ballroom project.

Trump said that, beginning Sept. 1, Scharf will be replacing David Warrington, who will be leaving the administration to join the private sector. Trump noted that Scharf previously served as a federal prosecutor and represented him in a number of cases, including at the Supreme Court.

"Will is Tough, Strong, and Smart! He also loves our Country, and respects the Law," Trump wrote on Truth Social. "Will Scharf will do a great job as White House Counsel!"

The shakeup in the White House counsel's office comes at a critical juncture — just months ahead of the midterm elections, where Trump's Republican Party will be fighting to hold on to control of Congress. Democrats have vowed to pursue investigations into Trump and his administration if they are successful in November.

The White House counsel's job is to advise on legal and policy questions related to the presidency. The office is the primary White House contact for the Justice Department, and it handles presidential pardons, works on judicial appointments and reviews legislation. The office also helps investigate and manage congressional investigations into the administration and lawsuits against the president when he is sued in his official capacity.

Trump in July 2025 had named Scharf as chair of the National Capital Planning Commission, the executive branch agency with jurisdiction over construction and major renovations to government buildings in the region.

Trump's ballroom won final approval from the NCPC in April, though a divided federal appeals court ruled Friday that construction on the project must stop because Congress had not approved it. Trump has vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The project is already well on its way and has begun to rise above ground on the east side of the White House.

The chairman of the Republican National Committee skirted around the alarming abuse allegations against Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) while appearing to confirm the GOP's congressional committee does intend to fund his reelection campaign.

On News Nation's "The Hill Sunday," Florida state Sen. Joe Gruter whitewashed scandal around Miller with a vague platitude about divorce, saying, "I always tell people that there's not many things worse than divorce and watch these processes play out. Nobody's a winner."

Politics: Pentagon Pushes Defense Companies To Boost Weapons Production After Concerns Of Depleted Stocks

Miller's ex-wife, Emily Moreno, has accused him on a long-term pattern of physical and emotional abuse toward both her and their 2-year-old daughter, including claims he held a gun to her head, broke their toddler's collarbone and would regularly hold her favorite toy hostage as a manipulation tactic.

Though Gruter coldly said he hoped Miller and Moreno "get the desired outcome they want," he told NewsNation that politics were his priority.

"We're gonna support our nominees," the GOP official said. "We need to make sure we hold the majorities. Max, I'm sure, is on that side."

Like this article? Keep independent journalism alive. Support HuffPost.

Word of the RNC's apparent commitment to Miller comes as the congressman continues to buck calls from fellow Republicans to end his campaign.

His ex-wife is the daughter of Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), who described Miller as a violent person who needs "serious psychological help" while calling for him to step down from office last Sunday.

Politics: GOP Senator Calls Ex-Son-In-Law 'Dangerous,' Unfit For Office After He Denies Abuse Allegations

Behind the scenes, Miller is reportedly worried that withdrawing from his race will seem like an admission of guilt.

"If he quits, he's basically giving up," a source told Axios. "And if he gives up, it basically means he did it."

Last Tuesday, the House Ethics Panel launched an investigation into Miller at his own request. On social media, the congressman said the probe will ultimately "clear my name from these horrific attacks on myself and family."

Related...

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Washington —GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana said on Sunday that his decision to support Todd Blanche's nomination for attorney general wasn't "black or white," outlining what informed his thinking ahead of casting the decisive vote.

"If you're looking for a black or white decision here, you're not going to find it," Cassidy said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

Cassidy announced in a lengthy speech Friday on the Senate floor that he would vote in favor of Blanche, clearing the way for him to be confirmed as attorney general. The Louisiana Republican, who was defeated by a primary challenger earlier this year after the president endorsed his opponent, has been more willing to break with his party in recent months, and his vote had been the subject of intense interest after GOP Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska said they wouldn't support Blanche.

With 53 seats in the upper chamber, and GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky's continued absence, Cassidy's opposition would have effectively sunk Blanche's nomination. But with the announcement of his support Friday, Senate Republicans narrowly confirmed Blanche as attorney general early Saturday morning.

Blanche faced pushback from a number of GOP senators over the Justice Department's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund to provide payouts to people who alleged they were wronged by the federal government, which came as part of a settlement agreement the department reached with the president to resolve a $10 billion civil lawsuit over the leak of his tax returns. Blanche testified in June that the fund was "dead," but concern persisted among some Republicans — including Sens. John Cornyn of Texas and Thom Tillis of North Carolina. Then last week, the two senators reached an agreement with the DOJ, dropping their opposition to Blanche's nomination as he issued an order rescinding his directive that established the fund.

Asked about his concerns regarding the DOJ fund, Cassidy reiterated that the decision wasn't black or white, but a "gradation of gray." But he stressed that he's been told that the process to reinstate the fund "effectively is dead." He cited Cornyn's comfort with where things stand, noting that the Texas Republican has a background as the state's attorney general.

"Took him a while to get there, but the fact that John did was important to me," Cassidy said. "I trust John on that."

On the settlement providing broad immunity to Mr. Trump's family, with protection against tax audits and investigations, Cassidy said "that's totally wrong."

"No American should be targeted by the law, but no American should be above the law," he said. "And that, frankly, almost weighed to vote no."

But Cassidy outlined what he saw as the positives for Blanche, saying he spoke to the U.S. attorneys in Louisiana in conversations that he said weighed "strongly" in Blanche's favor.

"If you want a DOJ which is actually doing its job, you need stable leadership, and you need leadership which is effective," Cassidy said. "And in that which is making the greatest difference in my life, in your life, in the American people's life, there's a lot of positive things to say about Todd Blanche."

As for how Blanche would handle the upcoming election, and questions Democrats have posed over whether Blanche will uphold the Constitution, Cassidy said "there's always this existential anxiety." But he added, "I am as confident as you can be about the future."

Cassidy's decision to support Blanche came more than a year after he likewise cast a decisive vote to advance Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., despite serious concerns over Kennedy's track record on vaccines. Cassidy, a medical doctor, has since clashed with the HHS secretary on a number of occasions.

The Louisiana Republican appeared emotional during his remarks on the Senate floor as he described the gravity of his decision to support Blanche. He explained Sunday that "sometimes you're aware of the incredible privilege of representing your state and your nation."

"As a little boy, I would read history books, and I read about these great decisions on the Senate floor," he said. "The fact that I, Bill Cassidy, was able to do that, I am so privileged. And whenever I just for a second am hit by the gravity of that and the honor of that, I get emotional."

Sen. Bill Cassidy said Sunday that his vote pushing Todd Blanche's attorney general confirmation up to a Senate majority was not a "black-and-white decision."

The Senate voted early Saturday morning to confirm Blanche 50-49, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska in opposition.

Blanche, President Donald Trump's former personal attorney and acting attorney general since Pam Bondi's ouster in April, climbed a steep hill to gain approval from some GOP senators largely due to his role in creating a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" as part of Trump's settlement with the IRS.

Cassidy's decision was swayed by Blanche reaching a deal with Texas Sen. John Cornyn to nullify the payout fund for Trump allies — including Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump — on Aug. 2. The fact that Cornyn, a former Texas attorney general, was "comfortable" with the deal was important to Cassidy, he said.

"What I'm told as regards to the Anti-Weaponization Fund, if you put it in the context of the political environment, the judicial environment, the process you would have to go back through in order to reinstate it, that effectively it's dead," Cassidy said to Margaret Brennan on CBS's "Face the Nation."

There were "a lot of positive things to say about Todd Blanche" and "stable leadership" was necessary for the DOJ to do its job, Cassidy said.

Cassidy said, however, that he almost voted against Blanche for continuing to grant protection to Trump and his family from IRS probes.

"That is wrong — and no American should be targeted by the law, but no American should be above the law. And that, frankly, almost weighed to vote 'No,'" he said to Brennan.

Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, the Republican whose vote made Todd Blanche attorney general, said Sunday that the decision took "an intense 48 hours" and that he nearly went the other way.

Cassidy choked up on the Senate floor Friday while announcing his support. Asked about it on CBS's Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan, he offered an unusually personal explanation.

"My voice cracked because my wife thinks it's endearing. I think it's embarrassing," Cassidy said. "But sometimes you're aware of the incredible privilege of representing your state and your nation."

He described reading history books as a boy. "I'd read about these great decisions on the Senate floor, and the fact that I have the ability to participate," he said. "Whenever I just for a second am hit by the gravity of that and the honor of that, I get emotional."

The Senate confirmed Blanche 50-49 early Saturday. Two Republicans, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted no with every Democrat, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was absent, leaving Cassidy holding the deciding vote.

He said the settlement between President Trump and the IRS, which granted the president and his businesses broad tax immunity, nearly cost Blanche his support.

"No American should be targeted by the law, but no American should be above the law, and that, frankly, almost weighed to vote no," Cassidy said.

Brennan pressed him on the $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund and on Sen. Dick Durbin's argument that Blanche's written rollback of it is unenforceable. Cassidy said he had been persuaded that reviving it would require a process that, in the current political and legal climate, "effectively is dead."

Cassidy said U.S. attorneys in Louisiana told him their prosecutors are measured on weekly metrics and are getting the resources they ask for.

"Our morale is up, not despite the accountability, because of the accountability," he said, relaying their account. "There's a lot of positive things to say about Todd Blanche."

Cassidy cast the vote as a lame duck. He lost his Republican primary in May to a Trump-backed challenger.

The following is the transcript of an interview with Sen. Bill Cassidy, Republican of Louisiana, that aired on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" on Aug. 9, 2026.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Good morning, and welcome to 'Face the Nation.' Both the House and the Senate are now gone for the summer, but we begin with one lawmaker who hasn't taken off quite yet for his home state, Louisiana Republican Senator Bill Cassidy. Good morning, and thank you for delaying your departure to be here in person. It's good to talk to you.

SENATOR BILL CASSIDY: Good to be with you. Good morning.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you were skeptical, you made that clear back when we spoke in June of Todd Blanche and confirming him to be Attorney General. You did late Friday confirm him, but you said you're not entirely satisfied. You no doubt will have concern in the future, and I want to play for our viewers what you said. Take a listen.

[START SOUND ON TAPE]

SEN. CASSIDY: I'll be criticized for this vote. What's new? But the people of Louisiana can be assured that I worked hard to understand the issue and to make the right decision.

[END SOUND ON TAPE]

MARGARET BRENNAN: You were emotional there. Your voice cracked. Why? And why do you think you're going to be criticized?

SEN. CASSIDY: Oh, you're going to be criticized. My voice cracked because my wife thinks it's endearing. I think it's embarrassing. But sometimes you're aware of the incredible privilege of representing your state and your nation. Incredible privilege, and as a- as a little boy, I would read history books, and I- and I'd read about these great decisions on the Senate floor, and the fact that I have the ability to participate, and after an intense 48 hours of coming up with a decision that wasn't black or white. You can argue one way or the other, and you can come up with just this side or just that side of approval. Now, the fact that I, Bill Cassidy, was able to do that, I am so privileged. And whenever I just for a second am hit by the gravity of that and the honor of that, I get emotional. And- and and that's just again, my wife finds it endearing. I find it embarrassing.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, it does have a great gravity to a decision like this, and you weighed it very carefully when we spoke back in June. You you were specific in some of your concerns, and I know acting Attorney General Blanche now, who's set for that confirmation had posted documents, including he rescinded the order to create the anti-weaponization fund, and he had an unsigned statement in which he narrowed the terms of the Trump-IRS protections that you had objected to. Now they'll apply just to Trump, Don Jr., Eric and the Trump Organization. Senator Durbin, who's the top Democrat on Judiciary, said these new clarifications-they're unenforceable. Is he correct?

SEN. CASSIDY: So, a couple things. Again, one more time, if you're looking for a black or white decision here, you're not going to find it. This is a gradation of gray. But what I'm told as regards to the anti-weaponization fund, if you put it in the context of the political environment, the judicial environment, the process you would have to go back through in order to reinstate that effectively is dead. Now, John Cornyn, a former state attorney general in Texas, was comfortable with it. I'm not an attorney.

MARGARET BRENNAN: It took him a while to get there, though--

SEN. CASSIDY: --Took him a while to get there-

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Basically said we can't take his word for it.

SEN. CASSIDY: It took him a while to get there, but the fact that John did was important to me to a certain extent. I'm relying on others that are bringing me information, and I have to trust them on that. Not everything, but some of that, and I trust John on that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And on giving his family protection from IRS probes?

SEN. CASSIDY: That's totally wrong. Totally wrong. And so I will go back. This is not a black or white decision. That is wrong, and no American should be targeted by the law, but no American should be above the law, and that, frankly, almost weighed to vote no.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And you're just hoping it- you had to accept it in the end, I mean--

SEN. CASSIDY: So, let's look at the positive. There's three aspects to the attorney general. The attorney general is supposed to give advice to the president, supposed to run the Department of Justice and is supposed to make sure that the U.S. attorneys nationwide are doing their job. It really weighs strongly in his favor when I speak to my U.S. attorneys in Louisiana, and I spoke specifically to David Courcelle and Kurt Wall, and they said, listen, we have calls once weekly between our office and DOJ, and they give metrics for our prosecutors, and each individual prosecutor is weighed on that metric, and we've had our focus restricted down to fighting violent crime, human and drug trafficking, and going after fraud in programs like Medicare and Medicaid. And if I need extra resources to bring a case home, we do it. And if there's a drug kingpin, we get the resources to go after them, and- and our morale is up, not despite the accountability, because of the accountability. Now, if you want a DOJ which is actually doing its job, you need stable leadership, and you need leadership which is effective, and in that which is making the greatest difference in my life, in your life, in the American people's life. There's a lot of positive things to say about Todd Blanche.

MARGARET BRENNAN: And you are confident that he will uphold the constitution with the upcoming elections? There are Democrats saying he may not.

SEN. CASSIDY: Well, of course, there's always this existential anxiety.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. CASSIDY: But I am as confident as you can be about the future you are. I cannot predict the future, and this is not a black or white decision. But I'm confident on that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I want to ask you about something that's come up in the news recently. On this program, we have talked extensively about the really concerning rise in anti-Semitism in this country. There have been remarks in the past few days from some of your Republican colleagues that do seem hateful about other religions, specifically about Dr. Abdul Al-Sayed in Michigan, who just won that Democratic primary. Senator Tommy Tuberville said, "Democrats just voted to send a terrorist to the Senate. He's a radical Islamist." Nancy Mace said, "every single Muslim holding public office in America is a Trojan horse and a threat to both national security and our republic. We refuse to be silent." These are just two of these statements. Are you comfortable here? Does your party need to condemn language like this?

SEN. CASSIDY: I condemn language like that. It's not to say that- let me just stop. The- the- the- the- the- the- Muslims that I typically work with are doctors working in a remote area of Louisiana who otherwise would not have a physician unless Dr. Mohammed actually agreed to move there and be their doctor. Or he is the- or she is the professor teaching students something positive. Now- so you have to take every community in its totality. Every community has a bad apple, and every community has those people, my gosh, weren't they wonderful people? Now, my exposure has been to the wonderful people. I condemn those statements, and everybody should be treated as an individual. If somebody is awful, they should be treated as awful. But we shouldn't treat everybody as awful because somebody with whom they are identified may be awful, if you follow that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I do. Thank you for your clarity on that. I want to ask you about Social Security, something I know you've been trying to work on here and reform. It's an emergency. If you look at the Social Security Board of Trustees, they say it's going to be insolvent in six years. 70 million beneficiaries will see a 22% cut to their checks every month, which means about $500 less in their pockets each single month. You've got a few months. What can you get done?

SEN. CASSIDY: So we're trying to get something done. We were trying to set up a process by which the Senate would invite the House to join and present bills that could be a solution. We don't dictate what the bill would be. It could be Ron Wyden's bill. It could be Bernie Sanders' bill. It could be Bill Cassidy's bill. We would just present things to the Congress in order for us to consider. To set up that process.

MARGARET BRENNAN: A pathway.

SEN. CASSIDY: I tried to get that set up. Ron Wyden came to the floor and objected, and I'm thinking, why are you objecting to a process? It could be your bill that we choose. Why doesn't congress do its job? Congress wants to be political. We're always angling to try and get the advantage, particularly in front of an election. As you read, the actuaries predict this fund is insolvent in six years. This is not the time to be political. It is the time to be a good senator. I was told by a couple of my colleagues, I'm a lousy politician, but a good senator. I would challenge everybody at this moment to be a good senator. And by the way, when you object just because of politics, as best I can tell, that's just so incredibly wrong.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, there is a Democrat looking to do something on this. Elizabeth Warren had this op-ed with Bernie Moreno, the Republican from Ohio, this past week, arguing that in order to help Social Security, they should eliminate the payroll tax cap, which currently applies to the first $184,500 bucks someone takes home, the rest of it being exempt if they make more than that. Do you support this proposal?

SEN. CASSIDY: First, let me say this is not Republican, Democrat. Dick Durbin is the one who's leading the charge with me to try and get this done. And so, absolutely, as a bipartisan, yes, let's set up that process as regards as regards the solution--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Yes- yes--

SEN. CASSIDY: -- that would be one of the things we consider. If Elizabeth and Bernie Moreno want to get their proposal considered, we first have to set up this process, and that's all Dick Durbin and I are trying to do is to set up a process.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You're trying to force the conversation to be had, but--

SEN. CASSIDY: --And- and if we come up with a solution to force the fact that it would be considered in committee, and then force the fact it would be considered on the floor. And once you force those two things, we could actually come up with a solution this year.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Well, AARP opposes your PROMISE Act because they say you got to do the hard work now. But you're saying no one's doing the hard work now, so you need to at least create the--

SEN. CASSIDY: -- No one is doing the hard work now. And by the way, what I said to AARP, if- would you accept that we would do this if it wasn't a commission, they don't like commissions, if we come up with just senators and representatives that would come together over the next two months with open hearings, and then we would in these next two months have the open hearings, and then we present the solutions? They said they would accept that, and so that's what we came up with.

MARGARET BRENNAN: But- how do you get Bernie Moreno's here? Okay, you're here. But how do you get other Republicans when President Trump has said campaigned on a promise not to touch Social Security, and you have these midterm races-- ?

SEN. CASSIDY: -- So- so implicit in your kind of question is that you're going to cut benefits, that you're going to do something harmful. That's not--

MARGARET BRENNAN: --Well, he said he won't touch it.

SEN. CASSIDY: That's not on the table. What if you touch it and you rescue it? I think the president would touch that. What if you touch it and you actually increase benefits for some? I think the president would touch that. But by the way, congress should be acting independently of the president. The president is not congress, and so we should do our job and we should step forward, no matter your party. Put politics aside.

MARGARET BRENNAN: As you've said, though, congress sometimes acts like an appendage of the president.

SEN. CASSIDY: Which is wrong and right now–-

MARGARET BRENNAN: But do you have any agreement from leadership of your party that they will take this up?

SEN. CASSIDY: And by the way, that was- that's what we were voting on. Let's set up a process by which the leadership would be forced to consider the solutions put forward, and any senator could replace a particular solution with their own proposal, it would be the way congress is supposed to work.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So you would be open to things like raising the retirement age again?

SEN. CASSIDY: I'm not- I'm not predicting- one, that is not part of my plan. Let me first say that.

MARGARET BRENNAN: You don't want to be prescriptive in the solution. You just want the process?

SEN. CASSIDY: Yes, but I have a plan, and we don't raise the retirement age in my plan. But that said–

MARGARET BRENNAN: This is the sovereign wealth fund--

SEN. CASSIDY: --somebody else may have a plan that does it- what's that?

MARGARET BRENNAN: This is the sovereign wealth fund plan you had with Senator Kaine?

SEN. CASSIDY: This is the one where you do a investment fund and you put $1.5 trillion in it and you allow it to grow with the economy. It's what the Canadians do, the Norwegians do, the Japanese do. It's what the U.S. government does with the Federal railroad retirement system. When you do that, the growth in the economy takes care of a lot of the problem with the debt.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Is anyone at the White House listening to you?

SEN. CASSIDY: So, Howard Lutnick actually spoke. I've spoken to he and Bessent and others. But Howard Lutnick in one of our Republican lunches spoke about how such an investment fund could be used as Google uses it and others use it to meet future obligations. And so certainly they've entertained it. And whenever you talk to somebody who does this sort of thing, they say, like, why aren't we doing this?

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right. Well, I want to talk about this as well with- with Senator Sanders, who we have later on in the program. I want to ask you about something you have raised was concerning to you back in June when we spoke. You had a really tough exchange with the president over the Iran War, and you said you were not getting enough information at that time. You got a private briefing. You were giving them some space to work on the diplomacy. That's all collapsed now. We are back in hostilities. Does the president need to deliver to the public some explanation of what is going on?

SEN. CASSIDY: Yes, I think he does. JD Vance came and spoke to the Republican lunch and did a good job of explaining the perspective as how to go forward, and someone said, not me, someone else, JD, the president needs to give that same message to the people. And JD said, well, the president has. Well, he may have, but it's being kind of overwhelmed by everything else being said, and so I think the president needs to come out and speak forcefully on what the path forward is, and- and at some point it may be that- that- that path forward works or not, but at least there needs to be that dialogue with the American people.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Can you explain to us what that path forward was that JD Vance explained to you?

SEN. CASSIDY: So I'll do my best to continue to put economic pressure, for example, by blockades upon the Iranians that will cause them enough discomfort that they will actually come back to the bargaining table. At the same time, continue to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz. JD points out that oil is $80 more than the $60 it was at the start, but a lot less than it was at $110 at the peak. And so we are having success getting oil out of the Strait, and that success blunts the effectiveness of what the Iranians are trying to do at the Strait of Hormuz. But that continued economic pressure, while alleviating the pressure on the west, as well as continued selective operations, is part of a long-term strategy. It's not something that ends it tomorrow, but something which gradually brings it to a close.

MARGARET BRENNAN: So this is really sort of an extended, open-ended hostility situation?

SEN. CASSIDY: I won't speak for JD, but I do think that again we- everybody assumes that something's going to start and end.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. CASSIDY: But we've been with the Iranians now for 47 years, and I think their point is- is that this is a continuation of that policy by other means.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Senator Cassidy, thank you for joining us today.

SEN. CASSIDY: Thank you, Margaret.

MARGARET BRENNAN: "Face the Nation" will be back in a minute. Stay with us.

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A new way to move around Earth's outer atmosphere could soon get a field test.

The Spanish company Kreios Space plans to launch into orbit the world's first satellite that uses scooped-up air to push it forward, the company announced on Tuesday (Aug. 4).

The technology Kreios Space has been developing is called air-breathing electric propulsion (ABEP). It relies on air sourced from Earth's atmosphere, which is then heated up, ionized and expelled to generate thrust.

This method will allow satellites in very low Earth orbit (VLEO) — the region from roughly 60 miles to 250 miles (100 to 400 kilometers) above our planet — to counteract atmospheric drag without the aid of liquid fuel.

"Kreios is building the satellites that make sustained operations in very low Earth orbit possible," Kreios Space CEO Adrián Senar said in the Aug. 4 announcement.

"By enabling satellites to fly lower, longer and more efficiently, we are enabling higher-resolution Earth observation, much better satellite communications, more responsive and accurate missions and a more sustainable orbital infrastructure," he continued.

Kreios Space chose Lithuanian-based Kongsberg NanoAvionics to provide the satellite bus that will carry the ABEP system into orbit for the test run.

"Kreios is tackling one of the most demanding operating environments in space, and this mission joins a very short list of European VLEO initiatives," Kongsberg NanoAvionics CEO Atle Wøllo said in the same statement.

"Our engineering team has worked closely with Kreios to configure the MP42 satellite bus to the mission's specific requirements and support the integration of Kreios' technology," he added.

Kreios Space did not give a target launch date for the mission in Tuesday's statement, saying that the company will launch it "at a time when interest in and development of VLEO technologies has accelerated." But the company's website identifies 2027 as a notional target for its first space mission.

A new, very low frontier

Satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) — altitudes of roughly 100 miles to 1,200 miles (160 to 2,000 km) — generally don't need constant propulsion. Usually, a small boost from traditional thrusters here and there is enough to keep a LEO satellite on the right track. To power the thrusters, these satellites usually have some form of fuel built in.

VLEO works differently. It's low enough that there's still some atmosphere present, which generates drag on spacecraft. If you want a satellite to move around VLEO, it'll need to employ propulsion most or all of the time to counteract that drag. Any fuel that the satellite brings with it therefore won't last long.

So, if satellites are going to operate in VLEO, it would be very helpful to have a method of propulsion that doesn't require traditional fuel — a method like ABEP.

Satellites in VLEO have a few advantages over those operating in LEO, like sharper imagery thanks to the closer vantage point. One of the biggest advantages is that VLEO is much less crowded. There are thousands of satellites in LEO — most of them SpaceX's Starlink broadband spacecraft — and the number is growing all the time. But VLEO has plenty of room.

If ABEP technology works and companies start outfitting satellites with this new propulsion method, then we might start seeing satellites operate quite close to Earth, zooming through the atmosphere and using the air around it to stay on course.

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