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Why this matters:

• It provides both a sweeping and an unusually granular look at how the immigration surge — one that peaked during President Joe Biden’s administration and was a major reason voters returned his predecessor, Donald Trump, to the White House — is playing out today. AP’s analysis is based on federal records giving the self-reported destinations of 4.5 million migrants released in the United States after crossing the Mexican border — both legally and illegally — between October 2018 and July 2025.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• How AP obtained and analyzed data on 4.5 million migrants
• Many Venezuelan immigrants shun Florida and turn to smaller cities in Utah, elsewhere 
• African asylum seekers find home in unlikely new American melting pots 
• PHOTO ESSAY: A small town on Cincinnati’s outskirts is among those transformed by immigration surge

POLITICS

Senators from both parties voice criticism about Pentagon briefing on US defense strategy 

Lawmakers said they were left deeply unsettled Thursday after the Pentagon's top policy adviser, Defense Undersecretary Elbridge Colby, failed to provide an expected update on the Trump administration’s National Defense Strategy at a classified briefing. Read more.

Why this matters:

• Tensions are mounting between the Pentagon and Congress over the flow of information to lawmakers about the U.S. military’s priorities. Both Democrats and Republicans accused Colby of being frustratingly opaque. They also say they were unsatisfied with Colby’s answers to questions ranging from inquiries about the Iran war to growing concerns that Trump could deploy troops to polling places during November’s midterm congressional elections.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤

• US approves visas for top Iranian leaders to attend UN high-level meeting even with sides at war 
• Man accused of ties to bin Laden and tortured after 9/11 has 20-year Guantanamo detention reviewed 
• Kennedy tells anti-vaccine activists they have a friend in Trump’s White House 
• Judge strikes down Trump policy that cut millions in teacher-training money 
• Trump withdraws Lance Schroyer, a former Oklahoma state trooper, as his nominee to lead ICE 
• Killing endangered wildlife is legal if they aren’t the target, new Trump rule says 
• Judge orders Kennedy Center to provide 30 days’ notice before making any major physical changes 

POLITICS

Postal Service chief says work stopped on computer system key to Trump effort to limit mail voting 

After the Supreme Court rejected President Donald Trump’s executive order this week, a memo sent to all postal service employees Wednesday said the agency will “not be enforcing any of these new rules in the 2026 federal election.” Read more.

What to know:

• “There’s an injunction so we’re not doing anything,” postmaster general David Steiner told The Associated Press. While the postal service isn’t moving forward on Trump’s order, there are still concerns about postmark delays that could have an impact on this year’s elections. The number of ballots rejected for late postmarks has soared in the vote-by-mail states of Washington and Oregon, according to recently released data highlighting concerns about recent changes in postal service operations.
  
  

• Steiner said there were no plans to alter those operations and encouraged voters who use mail to get their ballots in early. “We say seven days,” he said. “Everything is solved if people vote early.”