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Ed Markey Defends Transgender Athletes in Massachusetts Senate Race

Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts has emerged as a vocal defender of transgender rights as he tries to fend off a primary challenge from Representative Seth Moulton.

© Mel Musto for The New York Times

“Trans athletes should be able to play,” Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in an interview this past week with The New York Times.
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This Governor Could Lose His Primary. A Bridge May Be to Blame.

The closure of a crucial Rhode Island bridge for safety reasons in 2023, and the traffic nightmare that followed, have dogged Gov. Dan McKee in the Democratic primary.

© Cassandra Klos for The New York Times

Gov. Dan McKee, a Democrat seeking a second term in Rhode Island, is facing a close and heated primary showdown against Helena Foulkes.
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How Trump’s Policy Agenda Runs Through One Federal Court, in Texas

For years, conservative litigants flocked to Judge Reed O’Connor’s district. Now, North Texas has become a favorite destination of the Justice Department.

© U.S. Courts, via Reuters

Judge Reed O’Connor in 2018. He has built a reputation as a conservative stalwart and became the chief judge of the Northern District of Texas last August.
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Trump’s Venezuelan Oil Deal Relies on a Powerful and Divisive Partner

The administration will work with a private Venezuelan oil company that has close ties to the country’s government.

© Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times

Venezuela is believed to have one of the world’s largest reserves of oil but it produces very little oil because of mismanagement, corruption and U.S. sanctions.
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Warsh, After Talking Tough on Inflation, Faces a ‘No-Win Situation’ on Rates

Kevin M. Warsh, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, must soon decide whether to raise interest rates if inflation does not ease, even if it draws President Trump’s ire.

© Natalie Behring/Getty Images

Kevin Warsh, chairman of the Federal Reserve, at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday.
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Milo Yiannopoulos, Right-Wing Agitator, Deported Home to U.K.

Mr. Yiannopoulos, an early supporter of President Trump and vocal supporter of mass deportations, was himself sent back to his home country, part of a long fall from right-wing grace.

© Win Mcnamee/Getty Images

Milo Yiannopoulos at the U.S. Capitol in 2022.
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Relative of Afghans Who Helped U.S. Military Is Deported to Africa

The Trump administration has deported thousands of immigrants to countries where they have no ties. Dozens were on the latest flight, to the Central African Republic.

© Sam Mednick/Associated Press

The Central African capital of Bangui, in 2024.
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One Democrat to Face Three Republicans for Alaska Governor

The second-place finisher in a primary where the top four advance to the November ballot said he would drop out of the race so voters could coalesce behind a single Democratic candidate.
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Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Stanford Students Who Criticized Israel

The ruling was a win for Stanford’s student newspaper, The Stanford Daily, and it followed another court victory for students targeted by the Trump administration last year.

© Jim Wilson/The New York Times

A lawsuit argued that student journalists had been forced to self-censor out of fear of government retaliation.
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Turkey and Israel Vie for Middle East Influence as Tensions Spike

Israel’s strike on a Syrian base to pre-empt the feared deployment of Turkish forces was part of a growing competition in the Middle East and beyond.

© Ugur Yildirim/Dia Photo, via Associated Press

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Turkey, this year. Analysts and officials fear the growing rivalry between Turkey and Israel could exacerbate volatility in the Middle East.
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High Debt and Rising Prices Catch Up to Trump, as Midterms Near

To win in 2024, the president promised an economic course correction. Almost two years later, his agenda has made that fight even harder.

© Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times

A series of concerning economic snapshots for President Trump have been released over the past week.
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In Georgia, Jon Ossoff Courts Broad Appeal With an Anti-Trump Script for Senate Race

Senator Jon Ossoff, the youngest sitting senator and the only Democrat seeking re-election this year in a state President Trump won in 2024, hasn’t moderated his message in his critical race.

© Alex Kent/The New York Times

At rallies across Georgia this summer, Senator Jon Ossoff has delivered a series of blistering rebukes of the president and a challenger for his seat, Representative Mike Collins.
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‘Lake America’? These Upstate New Yorkers Aren’t Letting Go of ‘Ontario.’

President Trump on Thursday signed an order rechristening Lake Ontario as Lake America, but businesses around Niagara Falls say they won’t be changing their tune.

© Cole Burston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

For some of the over two million New Yorkers who live along the shores of Lake Ontario, its new name seemed like an unworthy distraction.
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Trump Says U.S. Struck Deal for Control of More Than 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuela’s Oil

The president said an agreement between the countries covered more than 65 billion barrels of reserves. A U.S. official said it would involve a partnership with a private company.

© Adriana Loureiro Fernandez for The New York Times

An oil refinery in Punto Fijo, Venezuela, in 2021. Venezuela’s president, Delcy Rodríguez, said a U.S. oil deal would have a “significant impact on our nation’s revival.”
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Why Iceland and Others Might Want In, Not Out, of the E.U. Club

A few years ago, some feared the European Union was going out of style. Now Iceland is mulling membership alongside a long list of candidates.

© Jonathan Nackstrand/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Reykjavik, Iceland’s capital. A vote on Saturday will determine whether the country restarts talks to join the European Union.
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