NYTIMES (Rachael Bedard) - MAHA Propelled Kennedy to the White House. It May Become His Downfall.
Will MAHA stay committed to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.?
WASHINGTONPOST (Karen Tumulty) - Trump tests loyalty of Christian supporters as erratic behavior escalates
The president maintains his hold on the Christian right, but his bluster, fight with the pope and portrayal of himself as a Jesus-like figure strain that bond.
WASHINGTONPOST (Lena H. Sun, Dan Diamond, Rachel Roubein) - White House sidesteps vaccine skeptics in potential CDC leadership reset
A new team could mark a shift away from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s unpopular vaccine agenda ahead of the midterms.
WASHINGTONPOST (Dan Diamond) - Trump’s top arts commissioner says D.C. needs three arches, not one
Rodney Mims Cook Jr. tried to build an arch in D.C. for years. Now his panel will review the president’s own proposal — and Cook says two more should be built, too.
WASHINGTONPOST (Clara Ence Morse, Gregory S. Schneider) - Largely secret donors pour millions into election that could tip Congress
Most of the almost $100 million raised to influence the vote, heavily favoring Democrats, comes from nonprofits that don’t have to disclose their donors.
WASHINGTONPOST (Michelle Lee, Chie Tanaka) - Japan is a pacifist nation, and now a hint of change is drawing rare protests
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made revising the constitution’s “no-war” clause a priority amid rising threats in Asia, but any change is highly sensitive.
NPR (Leila Fadel) - Morning news brief
President Trump's timeline for an end to the Iran war continues to shift, U.S. and Iran block the Strait of Hormuz, trapping the Gulf's oil and gas, Trump's allies defend his remarks about Pope Leo.
NPR (Scott Neuman) - 3 things to know about naval blockades as U.S. begins patrols in the Strait of Hormuz
The White House says it wants to choke off Iran's oil export revenue. But experts say that blockades are often unpredictable and difficult to enforce.
NPR (Ashley Lopez) - We watched 2 focus groups of Georgia swing voters. They're not happy with the Iran war
None of the 13 focus group participants — who all voted for President Trump in 2024 — said they would describe the military action in Iran as going well so far.
AXIOS (Russell Contreras) - Religious resurgence stirs Gen Z
Data: Gallup; Chart: Axios Visuals New polling shows an uptick in religious fervor among young men, even as overall U.S. levels remain near historic lows . Why it matters: Gen Z still has the highest share of religiously unaffiliated adults in modern history. But small hints of a religious rebound have spawned speculation about how that could reshape politics, culture wars and church strategy for years to come. Driving the news: A Gallup poll released Thursday found that 42% of young men between the ages of 18-to-29 now say religion is "very important" in their lives. - That's up from 28% just a few years ago. - The uptick reverses a long-standing gender gap: "One of the truisms in American social science has been there's a gender gap…