Key events

California congressman Robert Garcia, the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, welcomed the US supreme court’s decision to block the US Postal Service from enforcing a rule to restrict the delivery of mail ballots in the midterm elections, in line with Donald Trump’s wishes.

“The Supreme Court has done the right thing by protecting the American people’s right to vote,” Garcia said in a statement. “Donald Trump tried to illegally interfere with our elections and undermine vote-by-mail for millions of Americans and failed. We will keep fighting to protect the right to vote of every single citizen in this country”.

“This decision is a big victory for voters this midterm election season,” Kristen Clarke, the NAACP general counsel said in a statement on the US supreme court ruling that blocks the US Postal Service from enforcing a rule to restrict the delivery of mail ballots in the midterm elections.

“The Supreme Court rightly rejected an effort that would have made it harder for millions of Americans to participate in our elections,” Clarke added. “Mail voting is safe, secure, and deeply rooted in our nation’s history. The Court’s decision preserves a critical pathway to the ballot box and reaffirms that our democracy works best when every eligible voter can participate. We will continue to use every tool available to support Americans in registering their voices and their ballots this midterm election cycle.”

US supreme court blocks Trump administration from changing mail ballot rules for midterm elections

The US supreme court on Monday denied a request from the Trump administration to implement new US Postal Service restrictions on mail voting in the 2026 midterm elections, which has already started.

The decision allows states to continue sending out mail ballots without meeting new requirements the USPS tried to impose to comply with an executive order from Donald Trump who insists without evidence that vote-by-mail is riddled with fraud.

The application for the high court to lift a lower court order blocking the implementation of the new postal service rule was denied by the court with just two noted dissents, from the conservative justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas.

“The Government is unlikely to succeed on the merits of its challenge to the District Court’s preliminary injunction,” the brief, unsigned ruling stated. “And the equitable factors applicable for obtaining emergency relief from this Court do not favor a stay.”

In his eight-page dissent, Alito argued the opposite, writing: “The Government is likely to succeed on the merits of its appeal.”

Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in a concurrence that he agreed that the restrictions should not go into effect for the midterms but indicated he might rule in favor of the Trump administration later.

Gavin Newsom tells CNN he won't run in 2028 if Kamala Harris does because 'the zen diagram on that is just pure crossover'

With a slip of the tongue reminiscent of Joe Biden, Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, told CNN that he would not run for president in 2028 if his fellow Californian, former vice-president Kamala Harris, decides to run again, since “I know what that means: I know her base of supporters, I know her friends, the zen diagram on that is just pure crossover”.

Newsom made the remark in part of an interview with Jake Tapper, the CNN host, conducted while the two men were fly-fishing at the governor’s in-laws’ ranch in Montana.

When Tapper pointed out that he could face two fellow Californians in the 2028 Democratic primary – Ro Khanna, the progressive congressman and Harris - the former vice-president, Newsom replied: “I don’t know if she runs, but we’ll see.”

After Tapper said, “I know she’s called around”, Newsom added: “But I wouldn’t run if she ran.”

Pressed to explain why, the governor suggested that the two would likely compete for the same supporters, and donors, and open the door for another candidate to win.

“First of all, electorally it’s a gift from God for everybody else. They’d enjoy the hell out of it. Mutual assured destruction. It services no greater good,” Newsom said.

The fact that Newsom clearly said “zen” and not “Venn” in video of the exchange posted online was hinted at in the CNN transcript of the conversation, which read: “I know what that means. I know her base of supporters, I know her friends, the (Venn) diagram on that is just pure crossover”.

While the Associated Press incorrectly reported that Newsom said “Venn diagram”, rightwing outlets highlighted and mocked the governor, who has been open about his dyslexia, for his slip. The Blaze, founded by the former Fox News host Glenn Beck, shared the video with the caption: “Gavin Newsom apparently doesn’t know what a Venn Diagram is”.

Newsom’s botched reference to a Venn diagram in relation to his own supporters and those of Harris might have been prompted by the former vice-president’s repeated references to her love of Venn diagrams in recent years, which was frequently mocked online by the Republican National Committee.

Mitch McConnell returns to Senate after long absence

Mitch McConnell, the 84-year-old former Senate majority leader from Kentucky, was seen in Washington for the first time in months on Monday, minutes before his office released a statement saying that he was back at work.

Senator Mitch McConnell arrived for a vote at the US Capitol on Monday, making his first public appearance since a fall in June. Photograph: Finn Gomez/Getty Images

McConnell said in a statement that his months‑long absence for health reasons, which fueled rampant online speculation that he might be incapacitated, or worse, was over.

“Today, I’ll cast my first Senate vote since I took a bad fall back in June. I’m really looking forward to being back on the Senate floor and seeing my colleagues,” the statement began.

“My recovery has been a long and often frustrating process, and the lingering effects of childhood polio haven’t made it any easier. I’m still not quite back to 100%, but I’ve assured Leader Thune that, as I continue with physical therapy on the advice of my doctors, I will do my best to be present for tough votes when our Conference needs me,” he continued.

“Elaine and I are very grateful for all the continued well wishes from our fellow Kentuckians, and I’m glad to get back to more of business as usual on their behalf this month,” the statement added, with a reference to his wife, Elaine Chao, a former cabinet secretary in the first Trump administration whose visit to her native China during her husband’s illness had also been the focus of speculation online from McConnell’s critics on the left and the far-right.

Video of McConnell being moved from his Washington DC home in a wheelchair was posted on social media by one of his critics on the Maga right, the Kentucky influencer Nick Sortor, with the caustic comment: “This dude is in NO shape to be a US Senator.”

After Trump says he likes Flock surveillance cameras, Montana Senate candidate responds: 'Flock off, man'

One day after Donald Trump expressed support for AI-powered Flock surveillance cameras, “because of law enforcement”, Seth Bodnar, a former president of the University of Montana who is mounting a strong campaign for the US Senate as an independent candidate, responded to the president on social media with a video of himself saying, “Flock off, man,” before shooting one of the cameras.

“Are you tired of security cameras watching your every move?” Bodnar asks at the start of the campaign video that shows him loading a rifle and destroying two cameras. “Yeah, me too.”

Trump, who dodged a question about Flock cameras last month amid a bipartisan backlash, was asked on Sunday by Beni Harmony, a correspondent for the far-right network Real America’s Voice, if he agreed with law enforcement officers who support the network of over 100,000 cameras.

“I sort of like them because of that, because of law enforcement, but some people don’t, they think it’s an infringement,” Trump told Harmony, a former spokesperson for two far-right Republican congressmen, Paul Gosar and Matt Gaetz.

“They help catch a lot of criminals,” Harmony interjected.

“But I like them,” Trump concluded.

Harmony, who began her media career as a producer for Turning Point USA, achieved viral fame in right-wing media last year after she claimed that she had been suspended by a local news station in 2025 for an on-air tribute to Charlie Kirk after his death.

Speaking on the US Senate floor on Monday, Chuck Schumer, the senior Senate Democrat, scoffed at Donald Trump’s claim that he could personally regulate AI, amid concerns that the advanced technology could pose an existential threat to humanity.

“The warning signs about AI’s rapid pace have never been clearer,” Schumer said. “But what is President Trump’s response to the recent calls for the government to regulate AI – even from industry leaders? Trump says, ‘the only control or guardrails that AI needs is a strong and smart high IQ president.’”

“Well, even if we had a high-IQ president right now – and we surely don’t – it wouldn’t be enough. Congress cannot afford to turn a blind eye to AI,” the New York Democrat continued. “Today, I’m calling for an all-Senators classified briefing with top administration officials to address the dangers of unchecked AI development and hold the administration accountable for its lack of action to protect the American people.”

Senator Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, condemned the Trump administration’s reported plan to repeal rules limiting carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, which were introduced by the Biden administration, a clear case of corruption.

“It’s simple”, the senator posted on social media, with a link to a Washington Post report on the planned rollback of regulations on emissions of climate changing gas. “Big Oil & Big Coal give millions to help get Trump elected. He lets them pollute more. You get dirtier air, extreme heat, flooding, & droughts.”

“Trump’s trading away your health & safety to pad his donors’ pockets,” Van Hollen added. “Polluters win, Trump wins, you lose.”

Here's a recap of the day so far

• Donald Trump has claimed there is a “SICK conspiracy” against artificial intelligence and data centers in response to the growing calls for greater checks on AI development. “The only control or ‘guardrails’ that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, insisting that the administration has stopped leaders of AI companies from “doing bad, or potentially bad” things. This comes after a number of AI company CEOs called for the advancement of the technology to slow down.

• House speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill that the White House will schedule a meeting with artificial intelligence executives either by the “end of this week or early next week”. However, the speaker said that while the legislative branch could have “a role” moving forward, he did not want to act “irrationally or haphazardly”. He added: “If you do that, then you lose your edge, and that is a national security concern for the American people.”

• Meanwhile, vice-president JD Vance told reporters today that he doesn’t think Americans “should be scared of anything” when it comes to concerns about AI regulation. Vance also noted that he was skeptical of AI companies “begging” the government for increased regulation. “It feels a little bit to me like a bit of a Trojan horse. So I think we just have to be careful about this,” he said.

• For his part, Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader has called for an all-senators briefing with key administration officials to discuss the administration’s actions to regulate “responsible” development of artificial intelligence, and “stopping China’s advancement of AI”. “I have long argued that we must keep the US as the global leader in AI innovation and security,” Schumer, a Democratic senator from New York, said in a statement. “But that innovation must be coupled with serious guardrails that earn the trust of the American public.”

• Detainees at Florida’s “Alligator Alcatraz” federal immigration jail were frequently locked in outside metal cages no bigger than a phone booth, according to a damning government watchdog report. The findings from the office of the inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) were published on its website – and offer rare criticism of the Trump administration by one of its own agencies. The report also provides the first official confirmation that guards repeatedly used the highly restrictive cages on detainees in direct contravention of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) rules. More here

• Two dozen states and the District of Columbia have sued the Trump administration over a rule that would make it harder for adults to get a green card. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policy, due to take effect on Friday, grants immigration officials greater authority to reject green cards if applicants are deemed likely to rely on public assistance programs like food stamps and Medicaid. Federal law already requires those seeking to become US permanent residents to prove they will not be a burden to the US – also known as a “public charge” – but the new rule includes a broader range of programs that could disqualify them.

Some more context following the news that Mike Johnson and Donald Trump are set to meet with AI company executives by the end of this week or early next.

Trump met privately with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backstage at the Republican midterm convention last week, according to MS Now.

Citing three people familiar with the matter, Altman met with the president on Thursday, just days after Jacob Coxon – a former researcher for Anthropic and OpenAI said that “neither company was acting responsibly”, as the technology continued to develop rapidly.

According to one of MS Now’s sources, Altman requested the meeting with Trump, which was reportedly centered on artificial intelligence and its growing power. Altman was also one of the CEOs who spoke out about the need for increased guardrails.

Johnson says he will meet with AI execs 'soon' alongside Trump

House speaker Mike Johnson told reporters on Capitol Hill that the White House will schedule a meeting with artificial intelligence executives and company CEOs “soon”.

“I think either end of this week or early next week. But wait and see,” he told reporters.

The speaker didn’t say whether Congress would try and rush through any legislation to curb AI development this week, before House lawmakers head out of Washington to continue campaigning ahead of the November midterms. However, Johnson confirmed that the Ratepayer Protection Act – a piece of legislation that would require tech companies to cover the costs associated with datacenters – will head to the House floor this week. The speaker said that he supported the bill.

On Sunday, Johnson said it was up to tech companies, not Congress, to guarantee the safety of their artificial intelligence products. However, on the Hill today, he seemed to say that the legislative branch could have “a role” moving forward, but did not want to act “irrationally or haphazardly”.

“The reflex of legislative bodies is to cover things up with red tape and hyper-regulation. If you do that, then you lose your edge, and that is a national security concern for the American people,” he said.

Trump 'open to' talks with Iran, insists that countries should reimburse US for oil arriving through strait of Hormuz

On Truth Social, Donald Trump also claimed that Iran wants to make a deal “quickly and badly”, and that while the US president will “determine” whether to engage, the US is “open to” the “concept”.

This comes after scheduled talks between Gulf states and Iran about the future control of the strait of Hormuz, were postponed today.

Earlier, Trump insisted that other countries who have benefited from oil that has arrived through the vital passageway should ultimately reimburse the US.

“The Countries of the World, which have been no help to us whatsoever, should, and will, reimburse the United States of America when this SCAM Confligration is all over,” Trump said. “We are doing it much more for others, than we are for ourselves, and we have been for Generations!”

The president has claimed that the “only reason” that there has been such consternation about increased guardrails on artificial intelligence is because the US is “leading” development of new technology. “Don’t kill the Golden Goose!” Trump warned on Truth Social.

However, the recent pushback, including from leading AI company CEOs has been in response to employees who have warned of irresponsible and “reckless” growth in the space, which – they argue – is threatening humanity.