The Daily Brief
Today
Good morning. Two hydroelectric workers were pulled alive from mud-filled tunnels in Nepal nine days after a catastrophic flood barreled through Himalayan river valleys. One worker, after reciting prayers underground, asked rescuers, “How many days has it been?” per The New York Times; PBS News confirmed the rescue in its Friday news wrap per PBS.
A federal judge extended her block on the U.S. Postal Service's new Trump-backed mail-in ballot requirements through the November midterms, halting rules designed to restrict voting access as states begin mailing ballots per MSNBC. The preliminary injunction holds across multiple challenges confirmed by ABC News and CBS News, even as the Trump administration appeals to the Supreme Court per NBC News.
The Supreme Court ruled Friday that political parties should receive discounted TV ad rates when coordinating spending with candidates per The Washington Post. Former Kentucky governor and Trump ally Matt Bevin was jailed for two months on a civil contempt bench warrant per Newsweek. The Justice Department admitted it cannot prove David Hearn damaged the Reflecting Pool yet presses to revive the case per Raw Story.
A Pennsylvania infant's measles death was confirmed following skepticism from federal health officials per The Hill. The U.N. backed a new world map showing Africa in its true relative size with the U.S. standing alone in opposition per NPR. Rep. Greg Casar and Sen. Bernie Sanders are proposing legislation to permanently ban artificial superintelligence, temporarily pause advanced AI development, and establish a federal AI regulator per Bloomberg. Rep. Chris Deluzio called Sen. John Fetterman a failure of leadership and may primary him in 2028 per The Lever.