Why Trump is throwing a midterm convention

Plus: How does America really feel about data centers?  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Olivia-Anne Cleary | September 09, 2026     Hello, readers. You’ve made it to the middle of the week and we’re here to push you along this final stretch! If, like me, you’ve been having trouble getting to sleep recently, then be sure to read on for the exercise our Health desk recommends trying. It only takes five to 10 minutes, but could help you drift off faster. (You can thank us later.) In today’s The Brief, we’re also looking at how legal efforts to ban superintelligent AI are gaining momentum on both sides of the Atlantic. And we’re closing out with footage of an inspiring rescue from the Nepal floods. IN TODAY’S BRIEF Republicans gather in Dallas Access to 9/11 documents How to catch those Zzzs Concerns over superintelligent AI systems Public sentiment toward data centers The power of human will         READ THIS FIRST How Trump hopes to pull his party out of a tailspin Roberto Schmidt—Getty Images President Donald Trump’s Republican Convention for the midterms is set to begin Wednesday in Dallas, where the cheap seats start at $25,000. The GOP has a total of 12 hours of programming scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday nights—the vast majority of it set to be speeches by Republican candidates and incumbents about what’s at stake in these upcoming elections. Almost every aspect of the convention has been designed by Trump and the first night will end with a keynote address from the President. The following night is to conclude with Vice President J.D. Vance’s address—and closing remarks from Trump. This sort of halftime extravaganza by a political party is not normal in midterm election years and even political diehards aren’t conditioned for it. The fact that it’s coming as Trump is deeply unpopular and Democrats are enjoying tremendous tailwinds suggests the President is chasing a dopamine hit more than staging a useful rally. —Philip Elliott         SPONSORED Never worry about roaming again Stay connected on every trip with Saily eSIM plans. From beach vacations to business travel, access data in 200+ destinations. VIP perks available. Activate instantly upon arrival. Download SAILY in your app store and use code newsletter15 at checkout to get an exclusive 15% off your first purchase. Get 15% off now Chat support available 24/7. Get a full refund if your device isn’t eSIM compatible.         IN THE NEWS Mamdani launches public portal with 170,000 pages of 9/11 records Michael M. Santiago—Getty Images As the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York City approaches, Mayor Zohran Mamdani has launched a portal giving the public access to about 170,000 pages of documents concerning air quality, health hazards, and the government’s response following 9/11. The long-sought documents, which had previously been kept out of the public eye, show that New York City leaders were aware of the dangers posed by toxic contamination around Ground Zero following the attacks, even while they continued to tell New Yorkers that the air was safe to breathe. The new portal was announced Tuesday morning at a press conference that was also attended by longtime advocate Jon Stewart and others involved in the yearslong legal effort to obtain the records. In June, the mayor allocated $34.2 million from the city’s $125.8 billion fiscal year 2027 budget to create and maintain the portal. —Chad de Guzman         HEALTH CHECK Want to fall asleep faster? Try this Photo-Illustration by TIME (Source Image: pixelshot via Canva) Nothing deters sleep like a nighttime mental ambush. Just as your head hits the pillow, tomorrow’s to-do list crawls out from under the bed. You’re suddenly answering emails in your mind, crafting meeting agendas, and ruminating over the appointment you still need to schedule. Try this instead: Write down tomorrow’s to-do list tonight. “One of the most common things I hear from patients with insomnia is, ‘I’m tired and exhausted, but my mind won’t shut off,’” says Dr. M. Taruj Ali, medical director of sleep medicine at Mary Washington Healthcare in Fredericksburg, Va. His patients often describe “a running mental inventory of unfinished tasks and what needs to happen tomorrow.”  Spending a few minutes putting those thoughts on paper can give your brain permission to set them aside for the night. Experts recommend spending five to 10 minutes on the exercise during the evening, when you wrap up your structured tasks. —Angela Haupt         SPONSORED 2 minutes. Your URL. A customer profile worth using. Most founders can describe their product. They can't describe their customer. Not in a way that actually changes how they sell. HubSpot for Startups built a free tool to fix that. Paste in your URL, answer a few quick questions, and it generates a structured profile of your best-fit customer. Firmographics, buying triggers, the works. Takes 2 minutes. No spreadsheet required. Build Your Free ICP.         IN FOCUS The growing push to ban superintelligent AI Graeme Sloan—Getty Images After a summer of cyberattacks sent AI rocketing up the political agenda, bills seeking to ban so-called superintelligent AI are gaining momentum on both sides of the Atlantic. Last week, Sen. Bernie Sanders announced plans to introduce the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act, which would prohibit the development of smarter-than-human AI systems and temporarily pause all other advanced AI research until new safety rules can be established.  And on Tuesday, British lawmaker Alex Sobel stood up in the House of Commons and introduced what he said was the first bill seeking to ban superintelligence in any G7 parliament. The bill defines superintelligent AI as a system that could disempower state authorities, and seeks to give the state new powers to monitor and restrict systems that may be “precursors” to superintelligence. Both the U.S. and U.K. bills additionally seek to compel each government to pursue a global treaty banning the development of superintelligent AI anywhere in the world. “A national bill does not solve the international problem where superintelligence can be developed somewhere else,” says Andrea Miotti, the founder of ControlAI, a campaign group that wrote the U.K. bill and consulted on the U.S. one. “The only way to address that is via international agreements between countries.” Though the two bills appear to be the first to address the specific possibility of superintelligence, other bills in both legislatures seek to address AI risks in different ways. In July, Republican and Democratic lawmakers co-sponsored the AI Kill Switch Act, which seeks to require AI companies to maintain the capability of shutting down their increasingly autonomous AI systems. In the U.K., lawmakers recently attempted to amend a cybersecurity bill to include similar requirements. The efforts reflect a growing awareness among some lawmakers of what they see as the severe national security risks of AI companies developing superintelligent AI systems, particularly in light of the July disclosure of the Hugging Face incident, in which a swarm of OpenAI agents hacked a separate company without humans telling them to do so, or initially even being aware of their actions. —Billy Perrigo         ONE NUMBER 63% Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Americans would somewhat or strongly oppose a new data center being built in their community, according to an Economist / YouGov poll conducted between Aug. 28-31. SOURCE: YOUGOV         A VIRAL MOMENT Human resilience Footage dated Sept. 5 shows the moment a woman was rescued alive from her partially-buried home, 10 days after major flash floods devastated Nepal.         SPONSORED Your identity deserves 24/7 protection Identity theft can happen to anyone. Coveron monitors your credit, dark web, and financial activity to catch fraud before it costs you. One scam can cost you everything, protect yourself now, the first 100 users get 20% off with code beehiivenewsletter. Get Fraud Coverage Now! 30-day money-back guarantee. Terms and conditions apply.       Linked In this addictive word-association game, find the steps that will unite two seemingly unrelated words in just four moves. PLAY NOW       ALSO WORTH YOUR TIME WORLD Yes, There Has Been an Uptick in High-Profile Art Heists IDEAS  We Must Defend the Refugee Convention     EMAIL US: thebrief@time.com More Newsletters from Click to sign up. D.C. BRIEF +FUTURE PROOF +HEALTH MATTERS +INSIDE TIME +IN THE LOOP +WORTH YOUR TIME + Connect with TIME   PRIVACY POLICY     © 2026 TIME USA, LLC. All rights reserved. TIME Customer Service, P.O. Box 37508 Boone, IA 50037-0508, United States Unsubscribe