Former Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola is jumping into the race for an Alaska Senate seat. She's likely to face Republican incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan as Democrats look to flip four seats to retake the majority. Molly Ball, an independent political reporter, and Dave Levinthal, senior editor for NOTUS, join to discuss.

Alaska

Former Congresswoman Mary Peltola has entered the race for Alaska's Senate seat, setting up a likely contest against Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan. Her candidacy is seen as a significant recruitment win for Democrats, who are aiming to flip four seats to regain control of the Senate. 

Peltola, a moderate Democrat, is focusing her campaign on local issues and Alaska-first priorities. The panel discussion highlighted the broader Democratic strategy, internal party debates, and the impact of national economic and foreign policy trends on voter sentiment ahead of the 2026 elections.

Democrats look to flip Alaska Senate seat to retake majority

And welcome back to The Takeout. Former Congresswoman Mary Poltola is jumping into the race for the Alaska Senate seat. She's likely to face Republican incumbent Senator Dan Sullivan as Democrats look to flip four seats to retake the majority. Let's bring in our panel. Molly Ball is an independent political reporter and author. David Leventhal is a senior editor for the News of the U.S., and he's also a big Buffalo Bills fan, so congratulations on that. I know affiliation, but like watching Josh Allen play, so I'll give that to you. Cheering for the underdogs always. Dave, I'll start with you. This news of the Alaska Senate race, I mean, Democrats do have an uphill climb in Alaska and kind of across the map, but how important is this race now that she has gotten in? Well, it's important on a couple levels. Number one, it's gonna force Republicans who already at the Senate level, they gotta deal with Ohio, they gotta deal with Maine and North Carolina, places where they're gonna have to spend a lot of resources to run good Senate races there. They're gonna have to focus on Alaska now. And the former representative here, she held statewide office in Alaska in that single district, and she's pretty moderate, too. She's a Blue Dog Democrat and one who's gonna have a message of freedom and fish. She loves to talk about local issues and is even just in her announcement today, she is bringing up the memories of Republicans who served in Alaska saying, hey, you know, remember Alaska first, make Alaska first, and not worry about partisan considerations later. Yeah, we'll see if all politics can be local in that case. Molly, I mean, what's interesting to me about this race is that Democrats did get a big recruiting coup here, and I'm wondering if that signals anything that Democrats might be feeling heading into this midterm election. Is there anything kind of on the board that they're looking at that seems at least at this point to be kind of working in their favor? Absolutely, Mary Peltola does not get in this race unless she feels like the political climate in 2026 is going to substantially improve from 2024, when, of course, she lost her re-election race. And that's important to know. She did lose her re-election race. That's why she's a former congresswoman. And Donald Trump won the state by double digits. So as Dave said, Democrats have to put one of these red states on the board to have any chance of taking back the Senate. And her getting in is a sort of vote of confidence, saying, you see the writing on the wall right now. You see it where the generic ballot is headed. Democrats have pulled ahead in the generic ballot in a lot of national polls at this point. Donald Trump's approval rating is low. The economy is, how people are feeling about the economy seems to be trending downward. So all of those things add up to Democrats feeling like there might be a good enough political climate that a seat like this, although it is uphill, although I think Dan Sullivan is a strong candidate, a seat like this just might be winnable under the right conditions. I mean, it's so interesting, too, because this morning you had Elizabeth Warren giving a speech about how she sees the future of the Democratic Party. And her argument was that Democrats need to lean more into the progressive argument on the economy and stay laser-focused on economic issues. And you have this kind of battle going on about where the party should go. Lots of different ideas. There's kind of a vacuum, because they've not done an official autopsy. I'm curious what you make of Warren's project, or her message here, and whether Democrats take that route. She can definitely put that message out there, but that's not gonna be a winning message all the places that Democrats need to win in the United States. We're just talking about Alaska, mentioned Maine a moment ago. They've got some action there in that state where the only way that they're going to win seats likely is going to be through a moderate Democrat, somebody who is a bit more of a centrist, and certainly not somebody who is on the far, far left. And while all the focus on economic issues, there's a ton of foreign policy news happening. We've talked about it all today, but we haven't mentioned Venezuela yet, which a week ago was the top news. The opposition leader is coming to the White House this week. Molly, I'm curious what you make of how all of that plays politically as she comes here. Well, the politics of all of this foreign policy, I don't think chaos is too strong a word, is that it has been seemingly the main focus of this White House, really, since the beginning of Trump's second term. And what you hear over and over again from swing voters out there in Real America or in focus groups and so on is just that they feel the president is not focused on these economic issues that pretty much everyone agrees are the reason that he won back the White House in 2024. He is busy talking about Venezuela, talking about Greenland, talking about Iran, talking about Cuba. And when he mentions the importance of lowering costs for Americans, it tends to be secondary or sort of a sidelight. So I think the political effect of what's happening in Venezuela is that Americans just wonder why we had to do this and what's in it for them. And that was a winning message for Donald Trump, as well, right? His sort of isolationist message was, why are we spending all of this blood and treasure overseas? Why aren't we focused on the American people? And the Donald Trump of 2024, who was so strong on that message, might have some questions for the Donald Trump of today. The scripts have been flipped. We'll see. Molly and David, thank you very much for your time. We appreciate it.

President Claudia Sheinbaum has sought to safeguard Mexican sovereignty while cooperating with the US on key issues.

Mexico City

Mexico’s Sheinbaum rejects Trump’s threat of strikes on drug cartels

President Donald Trump said that any country which does business with Iran will face a tariff rate of 25% on trade with the U.S., as Washington weighs a response to the situation in Iran which is seeing its biggest anti-government protests in years.

Trump says nations trading with Iran will face 25% U.S. tariffs

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says his country is ready for war but also for dialogue, after US President Donald Trump said the US is considering ‘very strong options’ in response to Iran’s crackdown on antigovernment protests.

Iran FM Araghchi warns ready for war if U.S. wants to ‘test’ it

Britain will bring into effect a law criminalizing the creation of non-consensual intimate images this week, technology minister Liz Kendall told parliament after regulator Ofcom launched an investigation into Elon Musk's X.

London

UK investigates Musk's X over Grok sexual deepfakes

Iran's internet was cut off late last Thursday, apparently in an attempt by government authorities to prevent protesters from organizing and uploading videos for the outside world to see.

Tehran

Iran enforcing nationwide internet blackout amid protests

Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, amid concerns that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.

Malaysia and Indonesia block Musk’s Grok over sexualized AI images

India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has welcomed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who is on a two-day visit. Merz is traveling with a large business delegation as Germany seeks to deepen economic and security ties.

New Delhi

Germany's Merz makes first official visit to India

At the first major awards show of the season, "One Battle After Another" and "Adolescence" both won four awards. In a surprise win, "Hamnet" upset "Sinners" for best motion picture for a drama.

Los Angeles

"One Battle After Another," "Adolescence" win big at Golden Globes

Fallout from the fatal shooting of Renee Good by a U.S. immigration and customs enforcement officer in Minneapolis continues with government officials standing by the action and ordering more ICE officers into the city.

Minneapolis

Hundreds more ICE agents headed to Minneapolis after fatal shooting

Powell said the investigation, linked to a testimony he gave to a Senate committee about renovations to Fed buildings, was an attempt to limit central bank independence.

Washington

U.S. opens criminal investigation into Fed Chair Jerome Powell

Protests continue in Iran amid a violent government crackdown. Activists say hundreds of demonstrators have been killed. President Trump says Iran now wants to negotiate to prevent a U.S. military response.

Trump says Iran 'wants to negotiate' as protests intensify

President Trump says Iranian leaders have reached out to the U.S. to negotiate, as massive protests continue and more deaths are reported by activists.

Trump weighs military option in Iran amid rising death toll

President Trump has been briefed on new military options for a strike against Iran amid widespread protests and a government crackdown on communications for Iranians, a senior U.S. official tells CBS News. "We'll be hitting them very hard where it hurts," he said at the White House.

Trump briefed on new military options for Iran strikes amid protests

Demonstrations in Iran are now entering their third week and the death toll is surging with hundreds killed, according to a human rights group. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei insisted that the Islamic regime will "not back down" in the face of the growing social unrest and calls for regime change.

Protests in Iran intensifying despite threat of death for dissidents

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas showcased a wide array of AI-powered innovations, including paper-thin televisions, interactive Lego, and binoculars that can identify bird species in real time. Notable breakthroughs included .Lumen's AI glasses for the visually impaired and Roborock's Saros Rover, a robotic vacuum cleaner capable of navigating stairs and various surfaces autonomously.

Las Vegas

Rise of AI

AI-powered innovation dominates Consumer Electronics show

Human remains were found in Australia's southeast where bushfires raging for days have razed buildings, cut power to thousands of homes and burned swaths of bushland, police said. The blazes are burning out of control during a summer heat wave in Victoria state.

Victoria

'Gut-wrenching': Australian bushfires expected to burn for weeks

Anti-government protests in Iran show no sign of stopping. Human rights groups are putting the death toll at 116 with 2600 detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has reaffirmed U.S. support for the protesters.

Protests in Iran defy government crackdown

Iran's army is threatening to join the crackdown on protesters as demonstrations against the regime grow and the death toll mounts. Huge crowds have taken to the streets across the Islamic Republic. Iran's Revolutionary Guard calls them "terrorists." Haley Ott has more details.

Iran's army threatens to join crackdown against protesters

President Trump said, "We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not," earlier this week. But Greenland, a territory of Denmark and a NATO ally, is rejecting the threats.

Nuuk

Greenland rejects Trump's threats

Trump, who often cites national security interests as the reason for taking Greenland, said that if the US does not do something, 'Russia or China will take over Greenland'.

Trump says U.S will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

Protests across the U.S., including in Minneapolis, Philadelphia and Miami, are taking place following the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Renee Good by an ICE agent in Minneapolis. Police declared the demonstrations in downtown Minneapolis an 'unlawful assembly'.

Philadelphia

Protests spread across the U.S. over ICE shooting of woman

Internet and phone lines in Iran have been cut off as anti-government protests enter their second week. Reports say at least 65 people have been killed and more than 2,300 others detained. U.S. President Donald Trump has warned of a possible U.S. response to the government crackdown.

Internet blackout in Iran enters second day as protests intensify

Rescue workers are trying to find dozens of people trapped under a collapsed landfill in the Philippines. At least four people have been confirmed dead. The incident took place on Thursday, with more than 100 workers on site at the time.

Cebu City

Philippines: Dozens still missing in landfill collapse

BRICS nations have launched joint naval exercises off the South African coast. Supporters say the drills will strengthen co-operation among emerging economies.  But critics warn they could deepen global divisions.

Simon's Town

South Africa hosts Russia, Iran and China for military exercise

Iran's Revolutionary Guards warned on Saturday that safeguarding security was a "red line" and the military vowed to protect public property, as the clerical establishment stepped up efforts to quell the most widespread protests in years.

Iran authorities signal intensified crackdown as unrest grows

Luigi Mangione was back in court on Friday, where his lawyers worked to block the Justice Department from seeking the death penalty in his federal trial for the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione pleaded not guilty in April 2025.

New York

Luigi Mangione's lawyers fight to block death penalty

Fire crews battle spreading blazes while communities face evacuations and power cuts.

Thousands of firefighters deployed to fight bushfires in Australia

The protest comes amid wider rallies against US immigration enforcement and over the fatal shooting of the 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good.

Several arrested in Minneapolis during anti-ICE protest

Trump says U.S. will act on Greenland, 'whether they like it or not'

U.S. President Donald Trump began a meeting to discuss Venezuela with executives from some of the world's largest oil companies at the White House, saying he wants them to invest $100 billion in the country to vastly expand its production.

Breakdown