The Morning Brief: Florida primaries set matchups; Israel confirms killing of child

Florida's Republican primary for governor produced a Trump-aligned candidate in Rep. Byron Donalds, who won the nomination while building a profile as a House Freedom Caucus member and challenger to party leadership. On the Democratic side, former Rep. David Jolly won the primary, positioning himself as a Republican-turned-Democrat in a state where Republican advantage has grown. The match sets up a November test of whether Donalds' Trump backing and Freedom Caucus standing can extend his party's recent dominance in Florida statewide races.

Separately in Florida, Angie Nixon, a progressive state representative and member of the Democratic Socialists of America, won the Democratic Senate primary on August 18, defeating Alex Vindman, a retired lieutenant colonel who had raised more than $16 million for his campaign with backing from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. Nixon raised less than $1 million. She advances to face Republican incumbent Sen. Ashley Moody in a general election that will determine the final two years of Secretary of State Marco Rubio's Senate term.

In Alaska, GOP incumbent Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola both advanced from the state's primary to November's general election under Alaska's ranked-choice voting system. A federal grand jury investigation remains open into a same-named Republican candidate, Dan J. Sullivan, a former teacher, to determine whether his candidacy is part of a conspiracy to confuse voters. Federal subpoenas were issued last week to witnesses related to his campaign, according to law enforcement officials.

Israel's military confirmed on August 19 that its soldiers fired on a car carrying five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab in Gaza in 2024, reversing earlier denials. Rajab died along with six relatives. The military announced it will open a criminal investigation into her death, the deaths of two paramedics sent to retrieve her, Yusuf al-Zeino and Ahmed al-Madhoun, and 15 other deaths in a March 2025 incident. Rajab initially survived the shooting and made a telephone call pleading for help before an ambulance sent to reach her was shelled. Her body was recovered days later. The Hind Rajab Foundation expressed no confidence in the investigation.

A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from relocating FBI headquarters from a Maryland site to the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington on Monday. U.S. District Judge Theodore D. Chuang found that the FBI and General Services Administration decisions to select the Reagan Building were "not in accordance with law" and exceeded their statutory authority, as Congress had previously limited the agency's choice to three specific locations, none of which included the Reagan Building. The court also found the agency's decision to redirect previously appropriated funds toward the move was arbitrary and capricious.

The Federal Reserve released minutes from its July 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting on August 19 at 2:00 p.m. EDT, reflecting the committee's economic assessments and policy discussions from late July, as is standard practice three weeks after regularly scheduled policy meetings.