Good morning! If you’re in the market for a $50 million payday, some good news: The Department of Justice has a check with your name on it. Just hand over information that leads to the arrest of Venezuela’s “narco trafficker” president, Nicolás Maduro, and you’ll never have to fly on Frontier again.

On a related note, America’s airlines all lose money on flights and are pretty much only still in business because of credit card rewards.

USA

👮 Trump threatens federal takeover of D.C.

President Trump is threatening a federal crackdown on crime in the independently run city of Washington, D.C. He’ll hold a press conference later today with more details of his plan, which he says “will, essentially, stop violent crime” in the capital.

The president’s threats began after a young DOGE staffer was beaten during an attempted carjacking last week. Trump described crime in D.C. as "out of control" and said the federal government might soon "have no choice" but to take over and “run this City how it should be run."

• Part of his plan involves pushing the homeless population "FAR" from the Capitol. “It’s all going to happen very fast, just like the Border,” he said.

Home rule: Washington, D.C., is federal territory. So Trump has full authority to dramatically increase the presence and activity of federal law enforcement agencies like the FBI. But the city has been run by an elected local government since Congress passed the Home Rule Act in 1973. Until then, D.C.’s leaders were appointed by the president.

• The city controls its own affairs, but its power is still limited. Congress can veto the city council, and the president appoints all of its local judges.

• A full federal takeover of city governance is technically possible, but would require a repeal of the Home Rule Act.

D.C.’s crime rate has been falling since 2023. But it’s still high, and critics say many crimes go unreported. The city’s new top federal prosecutor, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, has vowed to start holding young criminals "accountable."

• Fun fact: Until 1874, the District of Columbia contained multiple cities, including Washington and Georgetown. That’s why “Washington, D.C.” has a comma.

Speaking of takeovers: Israel’s government just approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial plan for a military occupation of Gaza City. Not approved just yet? His plan to establish a "security perimeter" around the entire Gaza Strip before handing the place over to Arab forces.

GOVERNMENT

🛶 Vice President JD Vance is taking flak for a kayaking trip he took to celebrate his 41st birthday because the Army Corps of Engineers (they operate hundreds of dams across the country) temporarily raised the water level in Ohio’s Little Miami River for him. Blowing taxpayer dollars on what seems like a frivolous expense isn’t very fetch, especially when so many agencies are taking big budgetary haircuts. But Vance wasn’t the source of the “more water!” demand. The request came from the Secret Service to ensure its motorized boats “could operate safely” while protecting Vance and his family.

🤝 The leaders of longtime arch enemies Armenia and Azerbaijan signed a peace deal at the White House on Friday. The two Caucasus (OG white) countries are squeezed between Russia, Turkey, and Iran, and have long fought one another over territorial control. So, what’s the plan? The U.S. will give Armenia tech support. Azerbaijan will give the U.S. access to its big pile of natural resources. And Armenia will open a U.S.-operated trade corridor on its territory that will connect two disconnected parts of Azerbaijan. Turkey loves the plan, but Iran and Russia aren't fans.

🌵 President Trump has directed the Pentagon to prepare plans for the use of military force against the Mexican drug cartels that he recently designated as foreign terrorist organizations. The extent of the plans is unclear, and there's no immediate plan to actually carry them out. But the White House said Trump's top priority is "protecting the homeland." In response, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum dismissed any use of American force in her country. She said Mexico will cooperate and coordinate, but "there won't be an invasion."

TRIVIA

Well, it happened again. Another real-life person played by Tom Hanks in a movie has died. This time, it was famed Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell, who passed away on Thursday at a youthful 97. Lovell was the commander of the doomed mission that miraculously made it back to Earth after explosions onboard prevented it from landing on the moon. Which six Apollo missions successfully landed on the moon?

Hint: They’re all between 10 and 20.

POLITICS

🏛️ Senate goes to war over Trump nominees

Imagine getting your dream job and having to immediately hire 4,000 people. Now imagine none of those 1,200 people can start working until they’re given the thumbs up by the U.S. Senate. It’s the presidency. We’re talking about the presidency.

Senate Democrats notched a rare W last week when the Senate adjourned for its typical August recess after a quick bout of confirmation votes on just seven of Trump's picks for top jobs out of more than 100 already on the calendar.

• Confirmations included the ambassador to Portugal, the national cyber director, and the head of the Federal Transit Administration.

• Other picks will have to wait until the Senate returns after Labor Day. That includes an assistant attorney general, a deputy under secretary of Defense, and the ambassador to Croatia.

Senate Democrats are pulling every procedural trick out of the Senate's arcane rulebook to slow the pace of debate, ensuring confirmation votes slow to a trickle. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “Historically bad nominees deserve a historical level of scrutiny."

• Part of that strategy? Demanding full, recorded votes rather than allowing voice votes or unanimous consent to lower-level nominees.

Republicans are big mad at the slow pace of confirmations. Now, they’re pushing party leaders to pull the so-called "nuclear option" and change longstanding Senate rules to speed up the pace.

• Passing laws usually requires 60 votes to defeat a filibuster, but changing some Senate rules can be done with a simple majority.

• In total, the Senate has confirmed 127 of Trump’s nominees since January 20. Nearly 250 others are awaiting votes.

No matter what happens with Trump’s picks, one thing won’t change: how many require Senate confirmation in the first place. Which is why a lot of activists on both sides think cutting that number is the real solution.

In other Trump nominee news: We’re not sure who he ticked off, but ex-Rep. Billy Long is out as IRS commissioner after less than two months on the job. Trump has instead nominated him to the super-important role of … U.S. ambassador to Iceland.

• Trump has also chosen White House economist Stephen Miran to fill a seat on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors.

• Both selections are, of course, subject to Senate confirmation.

Redistricting updates: Texas Democrats are still on the road, trying to prevent Republicans from redrawing the state’s congressional map. Texas Republicans are upping the ante now and threatening to (try to) draw themselves eight new seats instead of the planned five and forcing lawmakers to come pick up their paychecks in person.

• On the other side, California Democrats want to play the same game as Texas Republicans. They’re trying to get a measure on the state’s ballot ASAP to overturn the state’s nonpartisan redistricting commission.

BRIEFS

● President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet in Alaska on Friday to talk about the future of Russia's war in Ukraine. Ukraine’s president will not attend and says he will never recognize Russian sovereignty over land taken from Ukraine.

● TikTok's luck might be running out ahead of its Sept. 17 deadline to sell or face a U.S. ban. China wants to keep a minority stake, but buyers fear that would violate the 2024 ban law. And Trump seems to be sick of China using it as a wedge in trade talks.

● The Indians aren’t too thrilled with Trump’s decision to slap ‘em with 50% tariffs as punishment for buying Russian oil. In response, India canceled a diplomatic trip to D.C. and paused its plan to buy loads of American military vehicles, planes, and missiles.

● The FBI arrested the elected sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts (that's Boston) while he was in Florida on Friday. The feds say Steven Tompkins extorted $50,000 from the owner of a "national cannabis retailer" who wanted to do business in Boston.

● President Trump has reportedly moved the official portraits of Presidents George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama to private areas of the White House that are outside the view of visitors.

QUOTE

ANSWER

Sadly, the astronauts aboard Apollo 13 never made it to the moon. But six other missions were successful:

• Apollo 11

• Apollo 12

• Apollo 13

• Apollo 14

• Apollo 15

• Apollo 16

• Apollo 17