Axios

DALLAS — Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (D) made a bombshell appearance Wednesday night at the GOP convention, in a video praising President Trump and Republican Sen. Dave McCormick for helping America's steel industry.

Why it matters: Fetterman's stunning turn — a Democratic senator in a supporting role at the GOP's showcase campaign event, fewer than eight weeks before the Nov. 3 midterms — marked a dramatic escalation in Fetterman's growing estrangement from his party.

An online panic erupted this week after millions discovered that leading AI researchers routinely debate and calculate the risk of human extinction.

• Taken at face value, the odds are chilling: 10%, 20%, sometimes far higher, assigned to the possibility of AI catastrophe.

Why it matters: An esoteric debate over "p(doom)" has suddenly become a gut-level question for lawmakers, investors and millions of ordinary people: Why are we racing toward a technology its own builders believe could destroy us?

The nation's election system is in a messy legal limbo, with fights over mail-in voting, electoral maps and voter records still locked in court.

Why it matters: Americans are in the eye of the storm, with over half saying they don't think the 2026 midterms will be conducted fairly or are unsure, according to a new poll.