1.) AP: Blanche scraps a $1.8 billion political-targeting claims fund and wins two GOP confirmation votes
The still-unopened fund came from Trump's IRS settlement and would have let a DOJ commission pay people alleging political targeting.
[RELATED] Blanche leaves the settlement's separate Trump-family protection intact
The rescission killed the commission and its potential payouts, but did not unwind every part of the settlement. Blanche preserved a separate order protecting Trump, his adult sons and the Trump Organization from liability tied to past tax conduct; it does not cover returns filed after the settlement.
2.) NBC NEWS: Israel raises 'serious security concerns' over Hamas disarmament deal
The roadmap would move a stalled October ceasefire into its disarmament-and-withdrawal phase.
3.) AP: Iran denies Trump's claim that new U.S. talks would start Monday
Trump said negotiations would begin Monday afternoon after he held off on threatened strikes; Iran's Foreign Ministry said no talks or delegation were scheduled.
[RELATED] Oil prices fall as traders reassess the immediate risk of a wider Iran attack
Trump's decision to pause the threatened strikes reduced the market's near-term estimate of supply disruption, even though the war and the Strait of Hormuz remain major risks for energy prices.
4.) VOLODYMYR ZELENSKY: Zelensky says Russia launched nearly 1,900 drones at Ukraine in one week
The Ukrainian president said 16 regions were attacked and more than 1,500 sites were damaged during the week.
[RELATED] Zelensky's prior-week tally
Zelensky reported nearly 1,700 Russian drones, more than 1,630 guided bombs and 95 missiles during the preceding week.
5.) AP: Spain updates Ceuta death toll as it installs sea barrier
Spanish authorities raised the count from 67 deaths Saturday to 72 deaths Sunday as searches continued.
6.) NEW YORK TIMES: California Democrats endorse a one-time tax equal to 5% of billionaire wealth
Proposition 40 could raise tens of billions for health care, but the hardest questions are how California would value private fortunes and what happens after the one-time money is gone.
For the tax
California's Legislative Analyst's Office says the levy would probably raise tens of billions of dollars over several years from a few hundred people. Ninety percent must go to public health care, with the rest for education, food assistance and administration. Supporters argue that asking people with extraordinary ability to pay is preferable to cutting Medi-Cal or shifting the bill to ordinary taxpayers.
Because it is a one-time levy on wealth already accumulated, it does not permanently raise the tax on future investment returns. The OECD says a surprise capital levy can therefore be less economically distortive in theory, although successful examples are rare. The Jan. 1 residency rule also means moving later in 2026 would not erase the bill.
Against the tax
California does not already receive a clean net-worth figure on income-tax returns. Public stock is easy to price; private companies, trusts and intellectual property are not. The measure would invite long disputes over ownership, debt, control and fair value, while giving the Franchise Tax Board broad rulemaking and enforcement authority.
A billionaire on paper may not have $50 million in cash for every $1 billion of wealth, making sales or long deferrals more likely. The money is also temporary while health-care costs recur. The LAO expects departures and other responses could reduce ongoing income-tax revenue by less than $1 billion a year, so California would trade a large, uncertain windfall now for some risk to a highly concentrated future tax base.
_QUICK BITES_
AP: Head Start rulebook may shrink
The administration is considering cutting 122 pages of federal standards to about a dozen and leaving most staffing and safety rules to states. The proposal is not public and would require comment before adoption.
GAO: DOJ task-force safeguards
DOJ can let state and local officers serve warrants before federal training and has no department-wide criteria for when misconduct should remove them. GAO recommends uniform training and removal guidance.
CDC: Michigan reports first Cyclospora deaths
Michigan reported the first two deaths associated with a multistate Cyclospora outbreak that has caused 11,234 illnesses and been linked by federal officials to iceberg lettuce. Both people who died had significant underlying health conditions.
AXIOS: Ethics panel seeks Edwards censure
The bipartisan House Ethics Committee recommended censuring Chuck Edwards (Rep-R North Carolina) over his treatment of two female staffers in their 20s. Its 25-page report described gifts, comments about the staffers’ appearance and invitations the panel characterized as intimate, finding that the conduct violated House rules and the spirit of prohibitions on sexual harassment and unwanted advances. Edwards’ attorneys said he was cleared of sexual misconduct and quid-pro-quo harassment.
NEW YORK TIMES: Clayton takes intelligence post
Jay Clayton was sworn in as director of national intelligence after a days-long handoff delay. Acting director Bill Pulte began transferring control after a weekend of questions about why he remained in the job. During his brief tenure, Pulte said the Office of the Director of National Intelligence had cut staffing by about 30% from its level several weeks earlier, though he did not release details that would allow the figure to be independently verified.
AXIOS: White House keeps its new AI pre-release rules private
The voluntary framework could give the government up to 30 days of access to advanced AI models before other trusted partners see them. The White House says the rules are finished, but has not disclosed which models qualify, which labs helped write them or when any company will use them.
NBC NEWS: Kaptur hurt in hit-and-run
Marcy Kaptur (Rep-D Ohio) was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries after a hit-and-run driver struck the vehicle carrying her to a Sunday church service in Toledo. Her spokesperson said she was alert and receiving treatment.
WSJ: Reflecting pool charges dropped
U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro dropped charges against Olympian David Hearn and at least three others after evidence attributed damage at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool to a faulty installation rather than vandalism. President Donald Trump criticized the decision, saying Pirro “choked” and “folded like an umbrella.”
NBER: Cognitive decline can be missed by long-term-care screens
A Dutch study found that 42% of cognitively impaired older adults living in the community used no formal or informal long-term care. That is not evidence they were denied care: the authors say many may manage on their own, and reported unmet need is low in the Netherlands. The useful warning is that cognition predicted care use beyond physical and functional limitations, so a program that asks mainly whether someone can bathe, dress or move around may miss a different kind of need.
POLITICO: Senate advances shutdown patch
Senate appropriators unveiled a bipartisan bill that would keep federal agencies funded at roughly current levels through Dec. 11, averting an Oct. 1 shutdown if enacted and postponing broader negotiations until after the midterms. The measure would also temporarily block the Trump administration’s plan to shift greater control over scientific grants to political appointees.
AP: UEFA threatens FIFA with legal action
UEFA warned FIFA it could sue over Gianni Infantino’s failed attempt to transfer World Cup commercial rights into a new venture—an unusually public fight over who controls the tournament’s media and sponsorship business.
POLYMARKET: Ohio governor
Republican Vivek Ramaswamy faces Democrat Amy Acton for an open seat; markets give the GOP only a modest edge.
POLYMARKET: Maine Senate
Susan Collins faces Troy Jackson, selected after the Democratic primary winner withdrew.
POLYMARKET: Texas Senate
Republican Ken Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico.
POLYMARKET: Alaska Senate
Democrat Mary Peltola is challenging Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan.
POLYMARKET: Iowa Senate
Ashley Hinson and Josh Turek are running for Joni Ernst’s open seat.
POLYMARKET: Michigan Senate
Gary Peters is retiring; Mike Rogers is the GOP nominee while Democrats vote Aug. 4.
POLYMARKET: Ohio Senate
Sherrod Brown faces Jon Husted in a Nov. 3 special election.
POLYMARKET: Wisconsin governor
Open seat; Francesca Hong leads the Aug. 11 Democratic primary, while Tom Tiffany is the likely GOP nominee.
POLYMARKET: Georgia governor
Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms faces Republican Rick Jackson for Georgia's open governor seat.
POLYMARKET: Nevada governor
Democrat Aaron Ford is challenging Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo.
Prices captured Aug 4, 10:40 AM CT. These are trader-implied estimates, not polls. Separate contracts trade independently, so opposing prices may not add to exactly 100%.
NOT NEWS NEWS
7.) NBER: Tariffs raised prices for imported and U.S.-made goods—with the biggest policy exposure in metals and autos
An NBER working paper estimates 26% pass-through to consumer-goods prices and says indirect increases took nine to 12 months to arrive.
8.) PEW RESEARCH CENTER: China is now viewed more favorably than the U.S. in 25 of 36 countries
Dot plot comparing favorable views of the United States and China across 36 countries
Notable results: Canada moved from U.S. 57% / China 14% in 2023 to U.S. 33% / China 44% in 2026. Mexico registered China 59% / U.S. 40%. The United States still led in India, Japan, the Philippines and South Korea.
Source: Pew Research Center, Spring 2026 Global Attitudes Survey.
[RELATED] How elite U.S. rhetoric about China converged
An NBER working paper finds presidential rhetoric about China became markedly more negative after the early 2000s, converging with already-negative congressional, media, social-media and think-tank language. The authors find evidence of bottom-up diffusion across institutions, not that presidents alone set the national tone.
TRUMP’S COMMENTS
What Trump said today, from policy conditions to off-the-cuff remarks.
BLOOMBERG: Trump praises yen intervention, then invokes Pearl Harbor
Trump called U.S. support for Japan’s currency intervention a “signal of friendship,” then said Japan had been good to the United States “with the exception, of course, of Pearl Harbor.”