National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard startled CIA leaders last week by revealing the identity of a covert CIA officer on a list of individuals she had removed from security clearances, according to several current and former intelligence officials.

This action, which caused concern among agency staff, is seen by insiders as another instance of the ongoing friction and miscommunication between Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Their conflicts have surfaced before, such as earlier this month when Gabbard publicly released a minimally censored document about Russian interference in elections.

Two ex-government officials believe that Gabbard is feeling pressured to win back President Donald Trump’s trust. She lost favor with Trump and his associates this year after sharing a video and giving testimony on Iran’s nuclear program.

The strain, however, seems to have eased for now. During a televised Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Trump commended Gabbard, stating, “You’ve uncovered some fascinating information, Tulsi,” and added, “She’s becoming more prominent every day.”

Trump faces a hurdle in banning mail-in voting: His own party

Trump has continued his long-running calls to do away with mail-in voting, but people inside his own party aren’t so sure that’s a good idea.

In at least 14 states and the District of Columbia, mail-in voter turnout surpassed 30%, based on the most recent data. Trump was victorious in half of these states, many governed by Republicans, although Arizona and Michigan, which have Democratic election overseers, are key electoral hot spots.

Michigan’s state House Majority Leader Bryan Posthumus, a Republican supporter of Trump from last year, shares some unease about discontinuing mail-in voting, despite suggesting changes to the state constitution to mandate proof of citizenship for voter registration and a photo ID for voting.

In South Dakota, a state with high vote-by-mail turnout, GOP Chair Jim Eschenbaum expressed concern that a ban could unfairly disenfranchise military personnel.

“If anybody deserves a vote in our elections, it’s the people that are willing to die for us,” Eschenbaum said. “So we can’t ban it, but I think it should be limited in the respect that it is somewhat ripe for fraud.”

Meet the Press

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook should release her mortgage documents but accused Trump of “following Richard Nixon’s playbook to interfere with” the Fed.

Khanna made the remarks Sunday in an interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” Trump moved to fire Cook last week, pointing to allegations of mortgage fraud; she is challenging the move in a lawsuit.

Khanna was referring to President Richard Nixon’s pressuring the Fed chair to keep interest rates lower before the 1972 election, which Nixon won. He resigned two years later because of the Watergate scandal.

Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., declined Sunday to say he had 100% confidence in Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., saying instead that Kennedy has not “gone a wrong direction” on vaccines.

Politics in brief

• Deportations paused: A federal judge temporarily blocked the deportation of a group of Guatemalan children who had crossed the border without their families.
• Summer showdowns: Trump and the Republicans may have full control of Washington, but protesters spared neither party boos, jeers and tense confrontations at congressional town halls this summer.
• VOA cuts: Kari Lake announced more than 500 people have been cut from Voice of America and its parent agency, which could ratchet up a monthslong legal challenge over the news outlets’ fate.
• Tariff effects: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting China for the first time in seven years in an effort to mend ties, days after the Trump administration raised tariffs on Indian imports to 50%.

Bullet fragment found in neck of boy who went viral for saying friend shielded him from school shooting

Doctors discovered a bullet fragment in the neck of a 10-year-old boy who went viral for recounting how his friend jumped on top of him to shield him during a mass shooting that killed two at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis.

Weston Halsne, a fifth grade student, described running under a pew and covering his head during the attack and said his friend Victor was shot while as he was shielding him.

“I think I got, like, gunpowder on my neck,” he said. But doctors later discovered it was a bullet fragment. Weston’s father told NBC News that the fragment was just shy of his carotid artery, which a doctor described as a “miracle.”

More on the shooting:

• Young survivors Pablo and Pilar Maldonado are leaning on faith and friends as they navigate healing.

• An art teacher who had the Minneapolis church shooter in her class in 2017 said she saw signs of self-harm on her then-student.
• The Rev. Dennis Zehren wept during the first Mass since the attack as he recalled the congregation being told to stay down as rounds rang out.
• Pope Leo XIV called for an end to the “pandemic of arms, large and small,” as he prayed publicly for the victims.

Humans are being hired to punch up AI slop

The same artificial intelligence technology that was supposed to replace content creators is now giving some of them new jobs.

Writers are asked to spruce up ChatGPT’s writing. Artists are being hired to patch up wonky AI images. Even software developers are tasked with fixing buggy apps coded by AI assistants.

New technology means anyone can generate content. The problem is it’s not always good. A recent MIT report found that 95% of businesses’ generative AI pilots are getting zero return on investment. The issue lies in AI’s inability to “retain feedback, adapt to context, or improve over time” the way a human can, the report says.

Half of freelance writer Kiesha Richardson’s jobs nowadays come from clients who hire her to tweak or rewrite AI-generated articles that “don’t look remotely human at all.” And while fixing AI’s mistakes isn’t an ideal job for some, she said, it helps pay the bills.

Notable quote

We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has signed an executive order aimed at curbing the power of federal law enforcement officers and National Guard troops Trump has threatened to deploy to the city.

In case you missed it

• Israel’s latest assault on Gaza killed at least 70 people across the strip Saturday, 47 of them in Gaza City alone, a spokesman for Gaza’s Health Ministry told NBC News.
• Dominican artists and activists are telling the stories of women who’ve died from high-risk pregnancies in a push to change the Dominican Republic’s total abortion ban.
• Jeremy Lin, who sparked a global craze when he led the New York Knicks to a career-defining winning streak, announced his retirement from basketball.
• British celebrity chef and restaurateur Gordon Ramsay disclosed that he was diagnosed with skin cancer.
• A silent heart disease risk factor may explain why some women end up having heart attacks and strokes despite appearing healthy, a new study suggests.
• The English flag is popping up across the country as part of a new grassroots campaign, which some critics say is rooted in anti-immigration sentiment instead of patriotism.
• Lil Nas X’s father opened up about the pressures his son faces and visiting him in jail after the singer’s arrest in Los Angeles.

• Outbreaks of rabies seem to be rising across the United States, CDC surveillance shows, with six deaths reported over the last 12 months.