Today in One Sentence. A Postal Service whistleblower warned that the agency’s new mail-voting system could lead to a “catastrophic failure” ahead of the midterms; the House passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government open through Dec. 11; the U.S. launched “large and powerful” strikes on Iranian targets; Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned following months of disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth; and the CDC excluded Pennsylvania’s two measles-associated deaths from its national count.

1/ A Postal Service whistleblower warned that the agency’s new mail-voting system could lead to a “catastrophic failure” ahead of the midterms. The anonymous federal official described the effort to carry out Trump’s restrictions on mail voting as “secretive, rushed” and “risky and haphazard.” The whistleblower alleged that USPS gave itself roughly three months to build a system that would normally take nine months to a year, and warned that the portal was “untested” and would have “significant operating problems” when released. The Postal Service also adopted a “zero-percent failure policy,” under which one barcode that fails to scan or match the submitted information could cause an entire batch – potentially thousands or tens of thousands of ballots – to be rejected until the discrepancy is resolved. The disclosure called the process “entirely unforgiving” and warned that “potentially millions of American voters” may not receive their mail-in ballots in time or at all. While a federal judge has blocked the mandatory implementation of the system for now, they allowed USPS to continue building it so long as states aren’t required to use it. (Associated Press / New York Times / Axios / Washington Post / NBC News / CNN / NPR / CBS News / The Guardian)

  • The Commerce Department removed explicit bans on political interference from its scientific integrity policy. The Aug. 19 revision deleted language banning officials from suppressing, delaying, or altering scientific findings for political purposes. It applies to the Census Bureau, NOAA, and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. (NPR)

2/ The House passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government open through Dec. 11, punting negotiations over the full-year funding plan until after the midterm elections. The measure keeps spending largely at current levels, blocks the Trump administration from transferring new funds to Border Patrol, and temporarily prevents political appointees from canceling federal grants. The Senate approved it last month, and Trump is expected to sign it. (Reuters / NPR / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / The Guardian / Axios / CBS News / NBC News)

3/ The U.S. launched “large and powerful” strikes on Iranian targets. Trump said the strikes were in “retaliation for the Iranians’ failed attempt at adding sea mines to the Strait,” and for an earlier attack on a military base in Jordan. Trump warned that if the Islamic Republic retaliates, “they will be hit again at a much harder and higher level, but it will not be the biggest attack of them all, that is waiting in the wings.” He added that “there will be very little left” of the country. Hours later, however, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that the country had launched a “regretful response.” (New York Times / Politico / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / CNBC / CNN / The Guardian / NBC News)

4/ Army Secretary Dan Driscoll resigned following months of disagreements with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Driscoll told Trump he was frustrated that Hegseth had fired generals involved in the Army’s transformation efforts and blocked promotions of senior Army officers. His departure leaves the Army without Senate-confirmed civilian or military leadership after Hegseth fired Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George in April. (Wall Street Journal / Politico / NBC News / Reuters / New York Times / Bloomberg / Axios / Washington Post / CNN)

  • Former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino was under internal investigation for alleged misconduct when he retired from Customs and Border Protection in March. CBP notified Bovino on March 2 that it had opened an official inquiry into alleged misconduct. 16 days later, he submitted a retirement relocation request. Bovino claimed the investigations were weaponized to force him out, while CBP said he “voluntarily retired.” (CBS News / The Hill / Chicago Tribune)

5/ The CDC excluded Pennsylvania’s two measles-associated deaths from its national count. Despite Pennsylvania providing the CDC with the required epidemiological data and that both unvaccinated residents tested positive for measles, the agency said the “available information does not establish whether measles caused or contributed to the deaths.” Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., meanwhile, suggested without evidence that the deaths may have been “fabricated.” (Washington Post / Philadelphia Inquirer / The Guardian / New York Times)

The 2026 midterms are in 63 days; the 2028 presidential election is in 798 days.