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Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Uphold Ban on Transgender Troops

President Trump issued an executive order barring transgender service members from the military as part of a broader attack on transgender rights.

© Allison Robbert for The New York Times

If the justices accept the case, they could schedule oral arguments during the Supreme Court’s term that begins in October.
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Judge Again Denies Trump’s Request to Move Hush-Money Case to Federal Court

The ruling, from Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein, blocks President Trump’s quickest path to overturning his 2024 conviction for covering up hush-money payments to a porn star.

© Doug Mills/The New York Times

In July, the Supreme Court found that presidents were entitled to presumptive immunity for official acts, raising the bar for any prosecution.
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Smaller Revision Points to More Accurate Jobs Numbers

The 2026 revisions by the Bureau of Labor Statistics represent a downward adjustment of just 0.1 percent of the total work force.

© Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Networking at a job fair in Carson, Calif., in June.
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Why Many Iranians Are Losing Hope After Six Months of War

Iranians have become increasingly desperate, as they grapple with an economic crisis made worse by the conflict and grow increasingly skeptical about President Trump’s motives.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

The most immediate preoccupation for most Iranians is dealing with soaring prices caused by an enduring economic crisis.
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Six Months of War, and Trump’s Push for ‘Lake America’

Plus, the Friday news quiz.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

A taxi station in Tehran last month. Iranians have become more desperate as they live with an economic crisis made worse by war.
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Wyoming Governor Objects to ‘Very Odd’ D.O.J. Election Monitoring

Governor Mark Gordon, a Republican, said he was concerned by the behavior of election observers who visited a polling station in Cheyenne.

© Haiyun Jiang for The New York Times

Governor Mark Gordon of Wyoming leads one of the most conservative states.
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Why Many Iranians Are Losing Hope After Six Months of War

Iranians have become increasingly desperate, as they grapple with an economic crisis made worse by the conflict and grow increasingly skeptical about President Trump’s motives.

© Arash Khamooshi/Polaris for The New York Times

The most immediate preoccupation for most Iranians is dealing with soaring prices caused by an enduring economic crisis.
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Lake Ontario Didn’t Ask for Trump to Rename It

There is a U.S.-led war in the Middle East and the midterm elections on the horizon, but President Trump’s latest priority seems to be “Making The Great Lakes Even Greater.”

© Cole Burston/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Boats were anchored along the waterfront of Lake Ontario in Toronto on Thursday.
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Trump vs. the Bond Market

Robin Wigglesworth of Financial Times explains everything you need to know about the Trump administration’s meddling with the bond market.

© The Ezra Klein Show

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Judge Once Again Bars Postal Service From Restricting Mail-In Vote

After reviewing the agency’s final plan to comply with President Trump’s demands, a federal judge barred the Postal Service from imposing new restrictions on mail-in voting.

© Zack Wittman for The New York Times

In a filing on Thursday, the Postal Service denied that its proposal left any room for it to second-guess states on which voters were eligible to cast a ballot.
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Trump Administration’s Blacklisting of Anthropic Was Illegal, Judge Rules

The government retaliated against the A.I. start-up “for constitutionally protected expressive activities,” a federal judge in California wrote.

© Karsten Moran for The New York Times

Anthropic, led by Dario Amodei, was barred from government work after it insisted that its technology not be used in mass surveillance of Americans or for autonomous lethal weapons.
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Trump Plans to Mark 9/11 at the Pentagon, Not Ground Zero

President Trump originally intended to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11 with remarks at ground zero, but the memorial’s organizers do not allow speeches. Mr. Trump changed his plans.

© Vincent Alban/The New York Times

Memorials left at the south tower reflecting pool last year at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.
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In Trump’s Washington, Ballooning National Debt Stirs Little Action

The relative indifference to the news that the U.S. government now owes $40 trillion demonstrates how drastically the politics of deficit spending has changed.

© Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

A sign showing the national debt last week at a bus stop in Washington.
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Judge Says Trump’s Name Should Stay Off Kennedy Center for Now

After the court forced the removal of the president’s name from the building’s title, the center devised a plan to add an inscription honoring President Trump.

© Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Though President Trump’s name was taken down weeks ago, the scaffolding and tarps used in the process remain up outside the Kennedy Center.
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White House Construction May Have Contributed to Close Call With Trump’s Helicopter

A controller let a jet take off after missing warnings that Marine One was about to fly through the area, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

© Kent Nishimura for The New York Times

A passenger jet came within a mile of Marine One in early August, after an air traffic controller at Ronald Reagan National Airport appeared to have missed multiple warnings.
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