The Daily Brief
Today
Good morning. A federal judge ruled the Pentagon's ban on Anthropic's AI tools for federal agencies was "illegal and baseless," and ordered it lifted after [the administration failed to justify the restriction and the judge found it was partly intended to make a public example of the company](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2026-08-28/anthropic-scores-legal-win-against-trump-administration-video). At the same time, a court rejected Trump's third bid to move his hush-money case to federal court, leaving his 34-felony conviction intact as he appeals directly to a state appeals court.
In California, [the administration intervened to resurrect a stalled Santa Barbara oil pipeline, escalating a year-and-a-half power struggle with state and local authorities over who regulates offshore production](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/trump-intervened-to-revive-a-fraught-santa-barbara-oil-pipeline-but-why). The coast, beloved by surfers, swimmers, tourists, and nature lovers, becomes another front in the struggle between capital and community. A decade after Standing Rock, documents reveal how digital mercenaries targeted local communities to stir up anti-protest sentiment.
Abortion rights face a new offensive in Indiana, where a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood has become ground zero for the post-Roe civil war between states — a conflict that seemed inevitable after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
As these fights play out, Trump signed an executive order creating a U.S. Space Academy, a military institution pitched to train the next generation for missions to Mars and beyond. He awarded the Congressional Space Medal of Honor to the Artemis II crew and told astronauts space exploration is something "we have genetically," a remark that left NASA confused.