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A new ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos survey finds 57% of Americans believe AI is harmful to society, while 66% oppose new data center construction nationally and 72% would oppose one in their own community. Political strategists tell CNET that opposition spans party lines and could influence midterm election outcomes, particularly for candidates who backed data center projects without community input.
Sources say Trump aides are privately identifying a fall guy for anticipated midterm losses, pointing to deputy chief of staff James Blair's redistricting strategy. Republican operatives reportedly blame Trump himself for the Iran war and rising prices, but say they cannot tell him so directly. Forecasters now say some redrawn districts, including Florida's 25th, have shifted toward Democrats instead of yielding the GOP pickups originally projected.
A new opinion piece argues that Donald Trump's once-vaunted media savvy has eroded, citing his incoherent public appearances, the five-day tenure of press secretary Katie Zacharia after a botched briefing, and a low-profile Small Business Administration broadcast modeled on a reality-TV pitch competition. The SBA special featured business owners pitching to judges including Grant Cardone, Nicki Minaj, and Joe Gebbia in an apparent bid to mimic Trump's old Apprentice format.
Ahead of the Nov. 3 midterms, tech policy topics like AI regulation, data center construction, privacy and child online safety are becoming prominent campaign issues. Tech executives are making large political donations, including Elon Musk's roughly $366 million to conservative causes, Andreessen Horowitz's $91.3 million to Republican-aligned groups, and a $25 million gift from OpenAI President Greg Brockman and his wife to a pro-AI PAC. A Gallup poll found 70% of US adults, across party lines, oppose local data center construction due to concerns about electricity and water use.
The Instagram account for the 'No Kings' protest movement was suspended for about an hour during this past weekend's nationwide demonstrations, with admin access locked for several more hours. Some supporters suspected Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg deliberately silenced the account given his recent alignment with Trump, though commentators Will Robinson and Tim Chambers argue intent is beside the point.
Voters in Pennsylvania's competitive 7th Congressional District, including 2024 Trump voter Jenny Escolastico, say rising childcare expenses are influencing their midterm voting decisions. Escolastico, an Air Force veteran, says childcare for her two young children would cost more than she could earn working full-time, keeping her out of the workforce. The district is seen as pivotal to control of Congress in the upcoming midterms.
President Trump says he still intends to send $5,000 checks to Americans after November's midterm elections, a promise he has floated amid political pressure. Interviews with attendees at recent Trump rallies in Alaska and Texas show mixed reactions, with some supporters skeptical the payments will materialize while others expressed full confidence.
A WIRED investigation found election offices across 32 states received letters containing white powder in the days before the midterms, prompting evacuations in Arizona, Delaware, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Louisiana. Most letters were intercepted by the U.S. Postal Service before reaching staff, and tests on the powder that did reach offices found it non-hazardous. Ten states and Washington, DC reported no such letters, while eight state offices did not respond to inquiries.
In an interview on The Verge's Decoder podcast, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker addressed artificial intelligence, comparing its potential dangers to nuclear weapons while also suggesting it could extend human lifespan to 100 years. The conversation, conducted ahead of the midterm elections, also touched on government's role in addressing collective action problems around technology and privacy.
Ahead of November's midterms, Democratic lawmakers are signaling plans to intensify oversight of AI companies if they regain control of one or both congressional chambers. Senior Democrats on key committees have pointed to data center tax credits and recent hacking incidents as areas they want to investigate, with committee control potentially letting them subpoena documents and call tech CEOs to testify.
New Federal Election Commission filings covering July through September show Democratic candidates outraising Republican rivals directly across Senate and House races. Republicans are compensating with massive outside super PAC spending, led by the Senate Leadership Fund's record $272.9 million haul and the Congressional Leadership Fund's record $94.4 million, both fueled heavily by billionaire donors including Elon Musk.
Federal filings show Elon Musk's America PAC spent $76.7 million in the third quarter of 2026, including $35.8 million on a voter-turnout canvassing operation across seven Senate battleground states and various House races. That canvassing spend already exceeds the roughly $45 million the PAC had spent at the same point in the 2024 presidential cycle. Musk also directed $158 million to the Senate Leadership Fund and a similar sum to a newly registered Texas PAC supporting Ken Paxton's Senate bid.