Today's briefing, ranked.

US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, with plans to travel to Kyiv on Sunday for what would be their first-ever visit to the Ukrainian capital. Russian state media reported that Putin ordered a 72-hour pause in strikes on Kyiv starting at midnight, a move the Kremlin tied directly to preparations for the envoys' trip. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed Putin would meet with Kushner and Witkoff but said there was "no talk of new ideas" to end the conflict.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine would halt its own airstrikes during the visit and called on Russia to reciprocate by securing its airspace. Hours before the envoys landed, Zelensky said Russia struck the Kyiv and Boryspil airports overnight, calling the timing a "reaction" to preparations for a possible US flight into Ukrainian airspace, which has been closed since Russia's 2022 invasion. A separate Russian drone strike Friday hit the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security service; its chief, Oleksandr Poklad, was unharmed.

The visit marks a renewed push after momentum stalled for months while US attention focused on the Iran conflict. Witkoff and Kushner have made multiple trips to Moscow since Trump returned to office, including in January, but had never visited Kyiv. Putin told an economic forum this week that "there are chances" for a deal but reiterated demands for Ukrainian territorial concessions that Kyiv and its European allies call tantamount to capitulation. Russia currently controls roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory more than four years into the invasion.

Both sides have escalated aerial attacks even as diplomacy resumes. Russian strikes killed at least five people and wounded others at an industrial site in the Dnipropetrovsk region over the weekend, while Ukraine has continued long-range strikes on Russian refineries and military facilities. The outcome of the weekend meetings could determine whether the on-again, off-again peace process finally produces a breakthrough or collapses again amid entrenched positions on territory and security guarantees.

The US military said Saturday it struck three Iranian oil tankers after Iranian forces fired missiles at a US aircraft carrier and a guided-missile destroyer patrolling the region. US Central Command said two tankers were "permanently disabled" — one near Kharg Island, another near the Strait of Hormuz — while a third, unladen vessel was "completely destroyed" in the Gulf of Oman. No US personnel were harmed, and the ships "successfully evaded" the Iranian attacks, Centcom said.

Iranian state media had earlier reported that one of its tankers was struck near Kharg Island, but Tehran did not immediately acknowledge that its forces had fired on US ships. Centcom described the targeted vessels as part of a "multibillion-dollar shadow network" funding Iran's Revolutionary Guard and its regional proxies. Centcom commander Adm. Brad Cooper said: "If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours," adding the US would "not hesitate" to further target Iran's oil fleet if necessary.

The strikes come nearly a week after the US and Iran resumed attacks following a month of relative calm in a conflict that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Negotiations between the two sides have collapsed, and both have sought to inflict military and economic damage on one another. The direct exchange of fire — missiles aimed at US warships followed by American strikes on Iranian vessels — marks a sharp escalation beyond the economic pressure campaign that had characterized recent weeks, raising the stakes for further confrontation in the Gulf.

A federal judge on Friday extended her injunction blocking the US Postal Service from implementing President Trump's executive order restricting mail voting, just as North Carolina became the first state to begin distributing midterm ballots. US District Judge Indira Talwani's preliminary injunction replaces a temporary order and comes as the Trump administration has already asked the Supreme Court to lift her earlier ruling; the administration said it will now appeal this latest decision to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.

Talwani, an Obama appointee, cited the tight election timeline in her ruling, writing that states "are unable to pivot this late in the election cycle, nearly guaranteeing significant disenfranchisement for eligible voters." Nearly one-third of US voters cast ballots by mail, and election officials have said they lack time to comply with new Postal Service requirements, including barcoded envelopes and an online portal for submitting voter lists that reportedly remains inactive. No state has yet volunteered to use the new system.

Trump has long sought to curtail mail voting despite using it himself, repeating unproven claims that it contributed to his 2020 election loss. His March executive order has faced multiple legal challenges; the Supreme Court previously overturned an earlier injunction from Talwani on procedural grounds without ruling on the order's legality. North Carolina officials say they are prepared to run a secure election regardless of how the litigation unfolds, but the unresolved legal fight leaves lingering uncertainty for voters and election administrators nationwide as more states begin mailing ballots ahead of the midterms.

US employers added 162,000 jobs in August, a stronger-than-expected showing that has shifted attention back toward inflation risk, according to the AP. The unexpected hiring burst complicates the calculus for the Federal Reserve as it weighs interest rate decisions in the months ahead.

A hotter labor market than anticipated could fuel wage growth and consumer spending, both of which tend to put upward pressure on prices. That creates a dilemma for policymakers balancing employment strength against inflation control, particularly with the midterm elections approaching and economic conditions likely to factor heavily into voter sentiment.

The report arrives as other economic pressures, including elevated beef prices and ongoing trade policy shifts, are already weighing on household budgets. How the Fed responds to the jobs data in coming weeks will be closely watched by markets and could shape the economic backdrop heading into November's vote.

Germany held a pivotal regional election this weekend in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, where the far-right Alternative für Deutschland party is aiming to win an outright majority. A win would mark the first time a far-right party has controlled a state government in Germany's post-war era, a watershed moment that could reshape the country's political landscape.

The AfD's lead candidate in the state, 35-year-old Ulrich Siegmund, has dominated media coverage despite scrutiny over associates with ties to the neo-Nazi scene. The party's platform includes segregating refugee children into separate classes, banning LGBT pride flags at schools, and setting up task forces to detain and deport migrants. Voter frustration over immigration, high energy costs, public safety and Germany's struggling economy has fueled the party's rise, particularly in the former communist east where it remains strongest, though it also leads national polls.

The AfD's pro-Russia sympathies have drawn scrutiny after a Russian army mug was spotted in the office of a leading AfD figure in Saxony-Anhalt, who dismissed it as a souvenir. The controversy comes as Berlin has publicly blamed Moscow for a failed drone attack on Leipzig/Halle Airport, which the Kremlin denies, and as German security officials warn of escalating Russian-backed disinformation campaigns targeting AfD rivals.

A victory would hand the AfD significant control over state-level education, policing and culture, along with a seat in the Bundesrat, Germany's federal upper chamber, amplifying its national voice. The result also poses fresh political risk for embattled Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who pledged to halt the far right's rise but has instead watched it gain ground, with persistent doubts now swirling over whether he can complete his term.

President Trump signed an executive order Friday aimed at removing endangered species protections for gray wolves and the Mexican wolf subspecies, a move that could eventually allow ranchers to kill the animals to protect livestock. The order does not immediately authorize shooting wolves; instead it gives Interior Secretary Doug Burgum 90 days to determine whether wolf populations have recovered sufficiently to be delisted.

The administration's order argues ranchers play a "vital role" in the food supply and American cultural heritage, noting that US livestock herds are at a 75-year low while beef demand has risen 10% over the past decade. There are currently about 18,000 gray wolves and 319 Mexican wolves in the wild, the latter up from just four when reintroduced in 1998, according to US Fish and Wildlife Service figures.

Conservation groups strongly oppose the move, citing studies showing wolf attacks on livestock are rare and have minimal impact on ranchers' income. Ranchers are already eligible for up to 100% compensation for livestock losses caused by wolves under existing state programs. Critics, including the Western Watersheds Project and Grand Canyon Wolf Recovery Project, say the order risks undoing decades of species recovery work and represents a distraction from other administration policies affecting ranchers, such as loosened restrictions on beef imports.