Rep. David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, dies at 80 Scott, the first Black chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, was first elected to Congress in 2002 and was facing a competitive primary.

Representative David Scott, D-Ga., has died. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, plans to run a hyper-local campaign touting over $1 billion she has brought to Maine in recent years, aided by her chairing the Appropriations Committee.

I asked @grahamformaine.bsky.social to respond.

+ Collins campaign rejoinder here: www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Democrats want FBI Director Kash Patel to fill out alcohol use screening test Patel sued The Atlantic over an article that alleges excessive drinking and unexplained absences at the agency, and that at one point he thought he was fired.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus... @ryanjreilly.com @rebeccashabad.bsky.social @corkysiemaszko.bsky.social

Senate hopeful Graham Platner calls to investigate Trump and impeach two Supreme Court justices The underdog Maine candidate, who has risen in polls, told NBC News he wants to carry on the legacy of Bernie Sanders and push Democrats to be more aggressive.

Who does PLATNER want as Senate Democratic leader? He floats four names: Chris Van Hollen, Mark Kelly, Chris Murphy, Brian Schatz.

MILLS is uncommitted on Schumer: "I've talked to other members of the Senate who apparently are interested in running for leadership."

www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

Southern Poverty Law Center says it's being 'targeted' by Trump administration The head of the civil rights organization said that they believe DOJ is running a criminal investigation, possibly involving their use of confidential informants.

Southern Poverty Law Center says it's being 'targeted' by Trump DOJ

FBI will look for connections to deaths and disappearances of scientists Online speculation has grown over the seemingly unrelated deaths or disappearances since 2022 of at least 10 scientists and government workers who at some point may have worked with sensitive informat...

www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi... @corkysiemaszko.bsky.social

3 warning signs for Republicans in our new poll: From the Politics Desk Plus, Republicans weigh how big to go on their next party-line funding bill.

New: Republicans weigh how big to go on their next party-line funding bill

THUNE & party leaders want a “skinny” bill limited to ICE & Border Patrol funds.

Others say go bigger: CRUZ (tax cuts), Kennedy (SAVE Act provisions), Tuberville (Iran war $$).

www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

Supreme Court takes up Catholic objection to Colorado's preschool program The Archdiocese of Denver says church-run preschools should be eligible to participate in a state-funded program without having to abide by nondiscrimination rules.

Supreme Court takes up another religious rights case over Catholic objection to a Colorado preschool program's nondiscrimination provision:
www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...

Hey, give us just a few bucks and you get to read my fun yarn:

www.nbcnews.com/tech/interne...

Presidential approval tracker: How popular is Trump at his second term? Follow Trump’s approval rating in NBC News polls and see how it compares with those of Presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Updated regularly.

President Donald Trump’s job approval rating has sunk to a new low as Americans express growing concerns about rising costs and the war with Iran.

ARTICLE: www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...

POLL TRACKER: www.nbcnews.com/data-graphic...

NBC News poll: Trump's overall job approval rating is 37%, disapproval is 63%.

On economic issues (Trump's firewall from 2016-2025) his approval is down to 32%. Disapproval is 68%.

Janet Mills is undecided on whether to sign a bill banning data centers in Maine The state legislature passed a first-of-its-kind bill to impose a moratorium on data centers amid a heated national debate over the energy-hungry structures that power AI.

New: Gov. Janet Mills is undecided on whether to sign a bill banning data centers in Maine

I spoke to Mills in detail about her hesitation.

Closely watched: first of its kind statewide moratorium amid an intense national debate over data centers & AI.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

24 members of Congress are 80 or older. More than half are running for re-election. While older members of leadership in the House and the Senate are retiring, some from the Silent Generation say their seniority is still a boon for their districts.

The representative pictured above, David Scott, also featured in our reporting earlier this year on the octogenarian members of Congress, more than half of whom are running for reelection. www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Democratic primary challengers stockpile cash, putting House incumbents on defense Nearly 20 House Democrats are facing primary challengers who raised at least $200,000 in the first three months of the year, according to new campaign finance reports.

I helped assemble the data behind this story for @NBCNews.com: Nearly 20 House Democrats are facing primary challengers who raised at least $200,000 in the first three months of the year, according to new campaign finance reports. www.nbcnews.com/politics/202...

ngl this is brilliant and evil

www.reddit.com/r/BrandNewSe...

House effort to end Trump's war with Iran fails by one vote The nearly party-line vote of 213-214 shows that Republicans are sticking with the president's military campaign in Iran. Every Democrat except one voted to order an end to the war.

NEWS: House effort to end Trump's war with Iran fails by one vote

213-214.

Republicans are sticking by Trump in favor of the war.

Among Rs:
—The only NO was Massie
—1 (Davidson) voted "present," 3 didn't vote

All but one Democrat (Golden) voted YES.

www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

Judge again halts construction of Trump's White House ballroom, but allows work on underground bunker to proceed The judge said he "cannot possibly agree" with the administration's position that an exception in an earlier ruling allowing for safety measures meant the whole project could proceed.

National security, Judge Richard Leon writes, “is not a blank check to proceed with otherwise unlawful activity.”

Judge again halts construction of Trump's White House ballroom, but allows work on underground bunker to proceed The judge said he "cannot possibly agree" with the administration's position that an exception in an earlier ruling allowing for safety measures meant the whole project could proceed.

“A federal judge on Thursday issued a new order halting construction of President Donald Trump's much-touted new White House ballroom, finding the administration was using fancy footwork to try to sidestep his previous ruling.” [no paywall] www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...

Drivers sue San Jose over nearly 500 Flock police cameras that track drivers in California A class action lawsuit filed against San Jose and its police department Wednesday aims to require police to get warrants to track drivers.

New: San Jose and SJPD sued over use of nearly 500 Flock Safety cameras. Class action alleges their prevalence and the accessibility of residents' location data violates the Fourth Amendment.

DOJ officials attempt to 'tour' the Fed's renovations as probe stalls The unannounced "check on progress" visit could further gum up the Senate confirmation of Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump’s nominee to chair the Fed.

NEW:

Jeanine Pirro's top deputies attempt to 'tour' the Fed's renovations as DOJ probe stalls

Musk’s Grok AI chatbot is still making sexual deepfakes, despite X’s promise to stop it An NBC News review found dozens of AI-generated sexualized images of real women posted to X over the past month.

www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne... @davidingram.bsky.social

Musk’s Grok AI chatbot is still making sexual deepfakes, despite X’s promise to stop it An NBC News review found dozens of AI-generated sexualized images of real women posted to X over the past month.

NEW: Elon Musk’s Grok AI chatbot is still making sexual deepfakes, despite X’s promise to stop it www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...

Musk’s Grok AI chatbot is still making sexual deepfakes, despite X’s promise to stop it An NBC News review found dozens of AI-generated sexualized images of real women posted to X over the past month.

We dove into Grok's continued creation of deepfakes, and found that some users have found new methods to bypass Grok's guardrails, allowing them to generate sexual AI images of celebrities and real people.

from @davidingram.bsky.social

www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-ne...

Trump's Iran war deepens the GOP's midterm challenges: From the Politics Desk Plus, Trump vs. the pope.

Trump's Iran war deepens the GOP's midterm challenges www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

Pope Leo says he has 'no fear' after Trump labels him 'weak' and 'terrible' in feud over Iran war The first American pontiff told NBC News on Monday that he would keep up his appeals for peace, which he said were rooted in the gospel.

Leo, who has been unusually direct in his criticism of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran, told NBC News that he had “no fear of the Trump administration” and vowed to keep up his appeals for peace that he said were rooted in the gospel.

Judge tosses Trump's $10 billion suit against the WSJ over Epstein birthday book report Trump's attorneys had claimed the birthday card was "nonexistent," but a card matching the paper's description was later released by Epstein's estate.

U.S. District Judge Darrin Gayles tossed the case after finding Trump’s suit “comes nowhere close” to reaching the standard of actual malice....

Congress returns to battles over DHS, expelling lawmakers and the Iran war It's another busy week on Capitol Hill, with the House and Senate returning to Washington after a two-week recess and facing a growing to-do list.

NEW: Congress is back after a two-week recess

On the agenda

—DHS funding (shut down for 58 days)
—GOP reconciliation bill for ICE/CBP
—Renewing expiring FISA Sec. 702
—Potential House lawmaker expulsions
—Iran war powers votes

www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...

AI runs this store. It's lied, surveilled workers and tried to hire someone in Afghanistan Andon Market, designed and managed by an AI system but staffed by two human employees, opened Friday in San Francisco.

www.nbcnews.com/tech/innovat...

Pope Leo: "I have no fear of the Trump administration"

www.nbcnews.com/politics/don...