Bad results in further German state elections may threaten Friedrich Merz's coalition, analyst says

• The White House launched a six-month review to shift the responsibility for European security toward a European-led defense model. • A senior Pentagon official told Reuters the process is designed to be rigorous, consultative, and empirical.

• Russian diplomat Dmitry Polyansky stated that European politicians are ignoring Ukraine's fate while attempting to undermine efforts to address the root causes of the conflict. • Polyansky claimed that European leaders are prioritizing the goal of hurting Russia over finding a sustainable resolution to the war.

• Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang stated yesterday at the Dreamforce conference in San Francisco that the artificial intelligence industry does not require new laws. • The comments were made during the annual megaconference, a major gathering for technology and software leaders.

• Democratic candidates James Talarico in Texas and Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan hold narrow leads in their respective US Senate races according to a new poll from Emerson College and The Hill. • The poll describes the margins of victory for both candidates as razor-thin.

• The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Thursday alongside reports of a Russian murder plot within the United States. • A lesbian pastor publicly affirmed that Talarico is a fraud.

• German states have called on the European Union and the German government to provide urgent support to protect the domestic car industry from historic disruption. • State leaders warned that without swift action, the automotive sector faces the risk of irreversible damage.

• Donald Trump threatened to impose serious tariffs on Europe if Canada becomes an associate member of the European Union. • The threat follows Canada's efforts to strengthen ties with European nations as its relationship with the United States worsens.

• The center-right CDU party is facing internal conflict and political pressure ahead of regional elections this Sunday. • The rival SPD party is gaining popularity by promising robust rent controls and the forced buy-back of corporate apartment holdings.

• Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh agreed with a majority ruling that the United States Postal Service cannot implement specific mail ballot rules before the 2026 midterm elections. • Kavanaugh indicated in his opinion that he is not closing the door on the USPS enacting these rules at a later date.

• Pew Research Center released a report explaining the methods and limitations of weighting political polls by party affiliation and past voting behavior. • Nearly 70% of national election polls in 2024 now use weighting based on a respondent's political party or their reported vote in a previous election.

• Government Railway Police arrested a man at Ballabgarh station who was attempting to smuggle liquor to Telangana. • Officers discovered 82 bottles of alcohol hidden in the suspect's bags while he was posing as an oil trader.