The Paper Trail: September 8, 2026

Trump's Blitz to Find Voter Fraud; Hegseth's Officer Purge; Kalshi’s Growing Clout in DC

September 8, 2026

Announcements

Iran War

"I wouldn’t call it a war": Vance plays down recent Iran strikes

In the first White House press briefing since the departure of Karoline Leavitt, Vice President JD Vance said he wouldn't call the military conflict with Iran a “war” — he described the recent exchange of strikes as occasional flare-ups — and conceded that he couldn't predict when it would end.

(Maggie Haberman, New York Times)

Widow of airman killed in Iran war says she was denied benefits
(Hafiz Rashid, The New Republic)

Epstein Files

Survivors of Epstein’s abuse say they feel snubbed by the DOJ

Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse victims say the DOJ hasn't taken meaningful steps to follow up on their meeting with Todd Blanche in July. They say the lack of communication from the DOJ since then has only reinforced their belief that Blanche has no intention of pursuing the issues they brought to him.

(Derek Hawkins, NOTUS)

Rep. Massie names 14 people he says should be investigated over Epstein
(Khaleda Rahman, Newsweek)

Operation Metro Surge

Weaponization of the Government

Prediction Markets

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Hegseth targets 7 more officers as his frustrated Army secretary quits

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired or blocked the promotions of more than 80 generals and admirals, a purge that has hit about 10% of the military’s top officers and shows no signs of slowing. More than half of the affected officers are Black or female. Hegseth's firings and refusal to explain the logic behind them are dividing the Pentagon and hurting morale.

(Greg Jaffe, Helene Cooper, and Eric Schmitt, New York Times)

Inside the battle to save one pioneering general from Hegseth’s purge
(Adam Entous and Greg Jaffe, New York Times)

VA said electronic health record modernization would cost $10 billion — now it’s $48 billion

VA is nearly tripling the ceiling on its contract with Oracle to modernize the agency’s electronic health record system. Lawmakers left a House hearing recently without clear answers about why the increase is necessary or how much taxpayers will ultimately pay.

(Natalie Oliverio, Military Times)

VA committee votes to subpoena Oracle executives over cost overruns in health records update
(Adam Entous and Greg Jaffe, New York Times)

Business and Finance

Tech

After OpenAI’s bots went rogue, watchdogs were kept on a short leash

OpenAI said in July that two of its most powerful AI systems had gone rogue and hacked into Hugging Face, a company that serves as a hub for open-source AI technology. The incident pointed to larger concerns about AI safety and the industry’s transparency about the technology it's building.

(Dylan Freedman, New York Times)

Trump’s former AI architect just confessed something terrifying
(Freddy Brewster, The Lever)

Infrastructure

The poorest in the U.S. can’t find housing even as low-income units sit empty

There are only about 4 million affordable rental units available for the country’s 11 million extremely low-income renter households.

(Claire Rush, Associated Press)

HUD is rolling back accessibility under the guise of cutting red tape
(Raymond Fernández and Eric Katz, NOTUS)

Health Care

The behind-the-scenes effort to contain the nation’s worst ongoing measles outbreak

In a year in which the U.S. has recorded its highest number of measles cases in 35 years, Pennsylvania health workers' efforts are complicated by a bitter political dispute between the governor and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

(Lena H. Sun and Rachel Roubein, Washington Post)

Reports: RFK Jr. ordered measles deaths deletion; CDC still secretly counts them
(Beth Mole, Ars Technica)

Announcements

Top Stories

Iran War

Epstein Files

Operation Metro Surge

Weaponization of the Government

Prediction Markets

Defense and Veterans Affairs

Business and Finance

Tech

Infrastructure

Health Care

ICYMI

On the Lighter Side

Hot Docs

Nominations & Appointments

Oversight in your inbox