The NYT confirms Haaretz's report that Benjamin Netanyahu was secretly warned before Oct. 7, 2023 by the Emirati president that Hamas planned a major attack, per 2 sources The warning was not shared with Israeli security chiefs, per 5 ex-officials nytimes.com/2026/09/25/world…

No, Trump doesn't need Congress to curb diesel exports. Per @PeterEHarrell: semafor.com/article/09/24/20…

Sen. Bernie Moreno is expected to ask to pass his bill with Sen. Elissa Slotkin that would ban Chinese autos/connected components today Sen. Rand Paul is expected to object to it, according to a person familiar with the matter, but the bill has otherwise cleared a hotline from the rest of the Senate (99 senators), the person said

NEW: The US State Department declared this week that neither of Sudan’s two warring factions is fit to govern, as Washington pushes both sides towards a ceasefire @semafor with @adrianelimian semafor.com/article/09/23/20…

🟡 SCOOP: Flock Safety is weighing whether to sell itself semafor.com/article/09/23/20…

Comparing Trump 2026 to Biden 2022 is... 🙃

News from Team Semafor - The Trump administration is backing off its initial plan for an executive order that would give the president greater influence over decisionmaking on National Institutes of Health grants, according to three people familiar with the process. Sen. Collins says believe she's "making progress" on pushing back on the executive order, is talking to the White House and believes that White House chief of staff "Susie Wiles is also concerned about what the impact of this would be." @davidalim @ShelbyTalcott @Eleanor_Mueller semafor.com/article/09/23/20…

NEW @semafor: Paramount executives have discussed an equity injection from @elonmusk, as the company looks to diversify its cap table and shore up its financial picture. $PSKY $WBD semafor.com/article/09/23/20…

SCOOP: The Trump administration is paring back its planned executive order that would have given the White House greater influence over NIH grant decisions. w/ @burgessev, @ShelbyTalcott, @Eleanor_Mueller: semafor.com/article/09/23/20…

new - GOP *disarray* is building ahead of the election - Republicans increasingly breaking with the Iran War from James to Hinson to Mike Rogers to MMM - "It's not popular," says Sen. Ernst of her Iowa colleagues' distance from it. “The administration hasn’t been clear on how to end this and I think that’s why people are moving" - Sen. Budd: “You have to be in sync with people in your state to get elected — in an authentic way. I think people genuinely want the war to be over" - Thune is trying to kill the Democrats' Iran resolution this week, but Tillis says he's voting for it: "There are so many headwinds now for these candidates that I hope that the administration gets the point that you can be 90% with the president and speak about the 10% you’re not" - Wicker criticized Trump's Xi visit on the floor just now, calling Xi a "brutal, unelected and oppressive dictator" - Oh yes, and Curtis wants Judiciary to subpoena Trump Jr., prompting no comments from Grassley semafor.com/article/09/22/20…

Scoop w @ShelbyTalcott Bessent eyed for Trump’s ‘AI czar’ semafor.com/article/09/22/20…

<2 months ago, here's what he told @nicholaswu12 about Iran: -He'd heard "hardly anything" about it from constituents -"The commander-in-chief has the authority and the ability to do a lot of what he’s doing. I just think working with the legislature is probably a better idea."

New: In late 2024, FBI investigators had enough evidence to launch a sweeping bribery probe that could ensnare top lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins. Then Trump was reelected and eviscerated the FBI and DOJ teams handling public corruption probes. propub.li/4yLLwaF

.@AP’s @SeungMinKim: “[T]o put a finer point on it, though, how is this action legal and constitutional, considering the First Amendment? And Governor Sanders, you were White House press secretary. Do you agree with this plan to ban news outlets?” Trump: “Well, I’ll just answer it again. I’ll say it the same way. I don’t think somebody should be allowed to come in and write fake stories. They’re fake news, and that’s why they have no credibility. That’s why. So, I had 96 percent negative coverage during the election. And I won because they have no credibility. I got 96 — I guess NBC was 93 percent negative. So, 93 — with all of the victories I’ve had, everything’s been a victory. It’s all been a victory. And I won the election like nobody’s ever seen anything like it. I get no — they never write a good story. They won’t write a story about. I just reduced drug prices by 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 percent. I won’t get a good story out of these people. From some of them, I will. I’ll get one from him. I’ll get one from him. I’ll get a few of them. But it’s sick. I mean, there’s something wrong with a country that can allow people to write purposely negative stories. Now, if they want to write them, that’s fine, but I don’t have to — let them into my — into the people’s house.”

NEWS with @BurgessEv: Shaheen has a hold on the Trump administration's $2.8 billion sale to Israel — and has since July, @Semafor is told. semafor.com/article/09/18/20…

“This is the best publicity EA has gotten in years.” semafor.com/article/09/17/20…

New - Some Republicans say party needs to considering shifting strategy to have the best chance of keeping the Senate -- and move money from North Carolina and Georgia to more winnable races. Some see MI/OH/AK/IA/NH as more fertile GOP senator: “These are always tough decisions, but it's a zero-sum game. It's important that resources are directed where there's a high probability of a winning outcome ... North Carolina and Georgia have consistently shown us behind. It's not an easy environment." Sen. Cornyn says GA and NC “not looking good ... Georgia looks like it's pretty close to done. And North Carolina seems to be close to that. I'm still hopeful that something will change. But you know, at some point things get baked in" Leader Thune says it's too early to bail on those races; he's going to Georgia soon to help Collins. But he said tough decisions are coming “We'll have to obviously make decisions when it comes to resources about where we're going to invest the most ... it's all about keeping the majority and protecting the majority. So you know there are certain firewall states we just have to win" Sen. Budd says the party needs to stay in NC and warns the state breaks late: "What you don't want is a self-fulfilling prophecy" But Sen. Kennedy says Senate Leadership Fund and NRSC will pull money in a "nanosecond" if they think candidates can't win. Those decisions might not be for a couple weeks Sen. Cramer on NC and GA: "Move on? Maybe. Obviously we have limited resources, and we want to put them where we’re likely to win. And it would really suck if we lose in Alaska, for example, where we aren’t spending the resources" semafor.com/article/09/17/20…

“The truth is, the odds that I’ll let him go as an en bloc nominee are almost zero," Tillis told @Semafor yesterday. "But it needs some more work."

"Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far." "The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today." -Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-Fla), a former broadcast journalist, direct to camera in campaign ad #FL27

NEW MEXICO will have its say in nominating the next Democratic presidential candidate and Sen. Ben Ray Lujan has some advice on picking red or green chiles while campaigning there “It depends what they’re eating. Anyone that gives you an answer? They don’t know the state,” he said. “You can’t pick one.” Not just that, but water, public lands and nationals labs - Sen. Heinrich: “We have a lot of really unique issues that are not something that you learn about through osmosis in other parts of the country" @nicholaswu12 on the new class of Dem kingmakers semafor.com/article/09/16/20…