An Iranian assassination threat against President Donald Trump <\/b>prompted an operation last <\/b>month in which the president flew secretly from Turkey on an alternate military aircraft while the White House said he was aboard Air Force One, our colleagues Dan Lamothe<\/b>, John Hudson<\/b>, Andrew Ba Tran <\/b>and Joyce Sohyun Lee <\/b>broke last night.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s extraordinary reporting and deserves your time. It also speaks to the complexities of protecting the president abroad and the impact the war with Iran is having on all aspects of Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
You can read the full report here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Primary season is coming to a close, and today is the most crowded day left on the calendar.<\/p>\n Here are the races you should be paying attention to \u2014 and why they matter:<\/p>\n Wisconsin\u2019s topsy-turvy gubernatorial contest<\/b><\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure there has been a stranger race this cycle than the Democratic gubernatorial primary in Wisconsin. The race has had it all: a campaign finance scandal<\/a> involving a sitting statewide official, a candidate<\/a> who drops out, gets back in, picks up a key endorsement and thereby forces another candidate out<\/a>, and an unexpectedly strong campaign<\/a> from a controversial progressive candidate.<\/p>\n So, yeah, it\u2019s been a lot.<\/p>\n But today the race comes to a close, and it is becoming increasingly likely that Francesca Hong<\/b>, a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly and a democratic socialist, will be the Democratic nominee.<\/p>\n More establishment Democrats, like Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers<\/b>, have gotten behind Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley<\/b>, who was running, dropped out and got back in. But polls show Hong with a sizable lead, possibly because of the unconventional way Crowley has run his campaign.<\/p>\n The winner of this primary will be running in one of the most high-profile gubernatorial contests in the country. Rep. Tom Tiffany <\/b>is expected to be the Republican nominee.<\/p>\n The race to replace Lindsey Graham<\/b><\/p>\n A whopping 10 Republicans are running to replace the late senator Lindsey Graham<\/b> in South Carolina. Trump pushed for <\/b>Graham\u2019s sister, Darline Graham<\/b>, to be his short-term replacement and endorsed her in today\u2019s primary.<\/p>\n But whether Republicans in the state go along with the president is an open question.<\/p>\n If no candidate receives a majority vote, the top two will advance to a runoff on Aug. 25. It\u2019s all but certain this race will go to that runoff.<\/p>\n The question is whether Graham makes the runoff, and if she does, whom she will face in a few weeks. Those running against her include Reps. Russell Fry <\/b>and Ralph Norman <\/b>and former governor Mark Sanford<\/b>.<\/p>\n The Driftless race in southwest Wisconsin<\/b><\/p>\n Full disclosure: Wisconsin\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, made up almost entirely of the \u201cDriftless Region,\u201d may be my favorite in the nation. Politically, it\u2019s compelling \u2014 voters there backed Barack Obama<\/b> twice before supporting Trump three times. And it\u2019s just lovely, with endearing towns and scenery.<\/p>\n It will also be home to an intriguing Democratic primary in a House race that could be one of the most closely watched in November.<\/p>\n Rebecca Cooke<\/b>, whose backers include Sen. Bernie Sanders<\/b> of Vermont, the more centrist Blue Dog PAC and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, is widely seen as the front-runner in the race. But there has been a growing conversation about Emily Berge<\/b>, the former Eau Claire City Council president, who has hit Cooke from the left.<\/p>\n It feels unlikely that Berge could upset Cooke, in part because Cooke has raised a staggering $8.6 million to Berge\u2019s $728,000. But it\u2019s worth watching whether Cooke can hold on because the winner of the primary will face Rep. Derrick Van Orden<\/b>, one of the most vulnerable Republicans in the House.<\/p>\n Calls for generational change in Connecticut<\/b><\/p>\n Connecticut Democrat John B. Larson <\/b>has been in the House of Representatives for 14 terms. He would like at least two more years, but the race to replace him has become the latest test of the left\u2019s desire for generational change.<\/p>\n Larson faces three challengers today \u2014 former Hartford mayor Luke Bronin<\/b>, Hartford school board member Ruth Fortune<\/b> and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest<\/b> \u2014 but Bronin is seen as the candidate with the best chance to upset Larson, who turned 78 last month.<\/p>\n Larson is staking his reelection campaign on his seniority, arguing that it would be foolish for voters to throw away the power that comes with age in the nation\u2019s seniority-driven political system. \u201cIf you\u2019re coming to Congress for the first time, you start at the bottom and work your way up,\u201d Larson said this month<\/a>. \u201cBut if you have the opportunity to send someone who\u2019s going to be a chairman, that means your voice in your district is amplified.\u201d<\/p>\n Bronin has argued that while he respects Larson\u2019s time in office, it is time for him to \u201cpass the torch,\u201d echoing the calls many Democrats made to President Joe Biden<\/b> before he bowed out of his 2024 reelection campaign.<\/p>\n This primary is the latest in a string of generational-change contests, and it won\u2019t be the last.<\/p>\n A Democratic clash in Minnesota<\/b><\/p>\n The race to replace Democratic Sen. Tina Smith <\/b>has pitted the different factions of the Democratic Party against one another, with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan <\/b>representing the more progressive wing of the party and Rep. Angie Craig<\/b> coming more from the center.<\/p>\n My colleague Matthew Choi<\/b> has covered this race extensively, and wrote a prescient piece about how the Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in the state has animated the contest<\/a> and is driving the two campaigns ahead of today\u2019s primary.<\/p> Read more Rule could let parents put $2,500 into child \u2018Trump accounts\u2019 tax-free<\/a><\/p>\n Left-wing <\/b>Democrats certainly feel momentum after Abdul El-Sayed\u2019s<\/b> win in Michigan last week, and could get another boost from Minnesota if Flanagan wins.<\/p>\n Reliable polling has been somewhat hard to come by in the race, but Flanagan is seen as the narrow favorite headed into Election Day.<\/p>\n The winner is likely to face Michele Tafoya<\/b>, the former sports-broadcaster-turned-politician, who is expected to win the state\u2019s Republican primary.<\/p>\n Alani Bankhead<\/b> will be Democrats\u2019 Senate nominee in Montana, a move that national Democrats argue will ensure Republican Kurt Alme <\/b>will be the overwhelming favorite to keep the seat in Republican control come next year.<\/p>\n We have written about this race<\/a>, but here is a refresher: Republicans, led by Sen. Steve Daines <\/b>(R), engineered a situation where Daines ended his reelection campaign minutes before Montana\u2019s filing deadline<\/a> and immediately endorsed <\/b>Alme, the state\u2019s U.S. attorney, who had filed moments earlier. The timing left Democrats no chance to recruit a stronger candidate in response, and Bankhead, a little-known Air Force veteran, later won the Democratic nomination. Democrats have been calling for Bankhead to get out of the race and clear the field for independent candidate Seth Bodnar<\/b>, a former University of Montana president who has raised more than Bankhead and Alme combined.<\/p>\n Bankhead, however, said on Monday that she will not be heeding those calls. \u201cI am in this race to win it, and I am staying through November 3,\u201d she said at a news conference. This has long been her position, but I texted her after the conference to ask about those Democrats calling on her to end her campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a democracy. They can think and do whatever they want. I am grateful they showed us who they really are,\u201d she wrote.<\/p>\n Abigail Tracy<\/b>, Bodnar\u2019s spokesperson, responded to the Democrat by saying that she has \u201cevery right to stay in this race\u201d but that Montana voters \u201cshould ask themselves why Republican-aligned dark money groups are boosting her campaign, raising money for her and rooting for her to stay in.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis campaign isn\u2019t slowing down,\u201d Tracy said.<\/p>\n So what does this mean for Democrats?<\/p>\n The Montana Democratic Party will line up behind Bankhead, as officials told us in July.<\/p>\n But the broader Democratic ecosystem is likely to see this race as wholly off the map with both Bankhead and Bodnar on the ballot.<\/p>\n \u201cIf she doesn\u2019t get out, it\u2019s done,\u201d a top Democratic operative working on Senate races said of Bankhead ahead of the deadline. The operative spoke on the condition of anonymity to be candid about Democrats\u2019 concerns about their party\u2019s nominee.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee declined to comment.<\/p>\n Pennsylvania Capital-Star<\/b>: Data center proposals are everywhere in Pennsylvania, and so is an organized, fervent opposition<\/a>, often via Facebook.<\/p>\n Georgia Recorder<\/b>: Nearly two years after Hurricane Helene rocked Georgia, some farmers say they have yet to receive promised insurance payments<\/a>. Officials cite a data loss issue.<\/p>\n Utah News Dispatch<\/b>: The Great Salt Lake hit historic low levels in 2022, and dust from the lake bed began blowing into the surrounding area. Was it bad for their health? Was it cancer-causing? The state initially couldn\u2019t answer, but it has now set up a program to analyze the dust<\/a>, a reality in a drought-stricken West.<\/p>\n I have trip envy.<\/p>\n My summer travel has been great, and I feel very lucky that I have been able to have time with my wife, our two kids and my broader family. We spent a few weeks in Los Angeles and attended some World Cup matches, and then spent a week in Maine where we hiked, water-skied and just relaxed.<\/p>\n But you all clearly know how to travel.<\/p>\n \u201cWe took a (really) long weekend, flew to San Francisco, rented a Mustang convertible and drove the coastal highway from Carmel to Cambria and back \u2014 before the road falls into the ocean (again),\u201d wrote Douglas W. Corkhill<\/b>.<\/p>\n Paul Laurenza<\/b> wrote that he went on a \u201cten-day photo tour of southern Namibia,\u201d and while the trip included waking up at 3 or 4 a.m., it was \u201cone of the most memorable summer adventures of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe drove east to cross the border into Canada at Port Huron on our way to Niagara on the Lake, home of the Shaw Festival and dozens on dozens of amazing wineries,\u201d wrote Roberta Jacobs Meadway<\/b>. \u201cWe saw a wonderful farce at the Shaw, took long walks along the Niagara River Trail, had some spectacular meals at The Nest at Stone Eagle and at Peller.\u201d<\/p>\n And Malaika Hilliard <\/b>did one of my dream vacations.<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband and I took a fabulous, 2-week road trip through Scandinavia last month. We spent a few days in Copenhagen, and from there drove to Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen,\u201d wrote Hilliard. \u201cWe lucked up on gorgeous weather for almost the entire time, and the landscapes through Norway were breathtaking. I\u2019d never been north of Belgium. Can\u2019t wait to go back!\u201d<\/p>\n Everyone is getting a podcast \u2014 including former president Barack Obama<\/a>. What podcasts do you listen to? Is there a podcast that you enjoy daily? Weekly? What is a podcast that you would recommend \u2014 on politics or another topic \u2014 to the Early Brief community? Let me and your fellow Early Brief readers know at earlytips@washpost.com<\/a>.<\/p> Read more Democrats demand briefing on Trump\u2019s secret flight from Turkey<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/28d1e8dc58d3f462a5c09f6c70a27824-1024x683.jpg\")
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