The Afternoon Brief: Germany votes on far-right; US envoys in Moscow; diesel at record high

Sunday's Saxony-Anhalt election will determine whether the far-right Alternative for Germany becomes the first far-right party to lead a German state government since World War II. Polling shows the AfD at 41 percent, nearly double the Christian Democratic Union's 23 percent. The party's campaign has centered on "remigration" and forced deportations, positions shaped partly by a 35-year-old former marketing professional, Ulrich Siegmund, whose social media following rivals the state's eligible voter population. Yet all mainstream German parties maintain a firewall against coalition with the AfD; if it wins Sunday but falls short of an absolute majority, the pattern from Thuringia's 2024 election may repeat, with other parties forming a government without it.

In Ukraine, US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner arrived in Moscow on Saturday carrying what Trump described as a fresh proposal to end the five-year conflict. They are scheduled to visit Kyiv on Sunday before returning to the US. Russia announced a three-day halt to strikes on Kyiv effective immediately, and Ukraine's military was ordered to cease fire through September 8. The announced pause did not hold: Russian forces struck the city of Kamianske in Dnipropetrovsk on Saturday, killing at least five people, and continued overnight attacks on Kyiv and airports despite the ceasefire order. Zelenskyy said the Russian strikes on airports were a reaction to the envoys' expected aircraft arrival, and he pledged to guarantee the envoys' safe passage through Russian airspace if Russia reciprocates for Ukraine. The substance of Trump's proposal remains undisclosed.

Domestically, diesel prices reached an all-time record of $5.85 per gallon on September 4, driven by the six-month Iran conflict and closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world's oil normally passes. Brent crude traded above $95 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war began. The price spike ripples through food, shipping, and agriculture sectors; commercial vehicles, trains, and farming equipment all depend on diesel, and fuel accounts for roughly 15 to 30 percent of food costs according to the Independent Grocers Alliance. Supply chains have already begun adjusting: Amazon imposed temporary fuel surcharges in April 2026, and FedEx, UPS, and USPS added fees to some shipments. Food price increases delayed by existing freight contracts may reach store shelves in coming weeks before the November midterms.

The August jobs report showed the US economy added 162,000 jobs, more than double economists' consensus forecast of 53,000 to 65,000, while the unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent. Wage growth, however, remained at 3.1 percent year-over-year, trailing the 3.4 percent inflation rate recorded in July. Private companies added only 38,000 jobs, the lowest monthly gain since January. Trump cited the strong payroll number to demand the Federal Reserve cut interest rates, posting on Truth Social on September 4: "LOWER THE RATE OR I'LL STOP TRADING WITH COUNTRIES WITH WHICH WE HAVE A DEFICIT." Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh, Trump's appointee, separately signaled in Jackson Hole that rate hikes remain possible if underlying inflation does not move "clearly" toward the 2 percent target "at sufficient speed." The Fed's September 15-16 meeting will clarify whether Warsh yields to Trump's trade threat or holds firm on policy independence.

Other significant developments: A federal judge denied a restraining order and cleared the Pentagon to fire three Stars and Stripes journalists, publisher Max Lederer, editor-in-chief Erik Slavin, and reporter Lara Korte, after they gave CBS News interviews about problems aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. Judge Trevor McFadden found the government likely did not violate the journalists' First Amendment rights. Two other lawsuits against the Pentagon on Stars and Stripes remain pending. A Department of Labor Office of Inspector General report released September 4 documented allegations that former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer drank alcohol during working hours on federal property, misused agency funds, directed employees to perform personal tasks at her residence, and presided over a toxic work environment; Chavez-DeRemer denied breaking any laws. The Pentagon subjected approximately 50 members of the Joint Staff to polygraph tests in an unprecedented leak investigation focused on classified disclosures about dwindling US ammunition reserves and Iran operations. The Trump administration announced five voter fraud prosecutions filed in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Wisconsin ahead of the midterms, involving alleged noncitizen voting and aiding and abetting; charging documents were not yet available. Missouri's state Supreme Court blocked a Republican-drawn congressional map from November elections, ruling unanimously that a citizen referendum petition with over 300,000 signatures was valid and must go to voters. The ruling returns the state to its post-2020 district lines for the fall election and upends GOP strategy to flip at least one seat. The Trump administration proposed a regulation that would revoke tax-exempt status from private schools and colleges offering targeted aid to students based on race, affecting up to 18,000 institutions, with the rule taking effect after May 2027 pending notice-and-comment period. A jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder trial deadlocked 11-1 after seven days of deliberation, forcing Judge William Sullivan to declare a mistrial on September 4; the case centered on whether postpartum psychosis made Clancy unable to tell right from wrong when she killed her three young children. Two workers trapped in a Nepal hydropower tunnel were rescued alive on September 4, nine days after devastating floods; mechanical foreman Sanjay Sah and supervisor Kabir Maharjan were pulled from the Trishuli 3A facility, with about 500 workers still believed trapped across multiple projects.