Good afternoon. This is the Final NOTUS newsletter for May 29, 2026. You can get it in your inbox every day by signing up here — it’s free!

THE LATEST

The Pentagon is recruiting hundreds of troops to appear as spectators at the White House UFC cage-fighting event. An Air Force memo, whose authenticity was first reported by The Washington Post and confirmed by NOTUS, requires personnel to meet standards for fitness and a waist-to-height ratio.

• Those who attend the June 14 event would also be required to pay their own way and wear their short-sleeve dress uniforms.

• Donald Trump bought stock in UFC’s parent company on March 25, HuffPost reported today.

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi was unwilling to discuss Trump’s connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein with the House Oversight Committee, Democratic lawmakers said after she sat for a transcribed interview today.

Bondi instead repeatedly named acting Attorney General Todd Blanche as the person overseeing the Epstein files’ release, they said. Bondi denied these claims on X, saying she had praised Blanche’s “management of this Herculean task.”

• “I said his ethics are beyond reproach and that he is an incredible Attorney General,” she wrote.

A federal judge ordered that Trump’s name be removed from the Kennedy Center within two weeks and barred the administration from closing the center by July 5.

THE ADMINISTRATION

A federal judge temporarily blocked Trump’s $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund after advocacy group Democracy Forward filed a lawsuit. The order is meant “to ensure that no funds are irreversibly disbursed,” wrote Judge Leonie Brinkema, a Bill Clinton appointee. A court hearing has been scheduled for June 12.

The U.S. Postal Service proposed a new rule that would require states to provide voter-level data on mail-in ballots for general, special and runoff federal elections.

THE STATES

Louisiana lawmakers passed a new congressional map that would add a Republican-leaning seat and remove one of two majority-Black districts that are represented by Democrats.

OH, WE’VE MET

Thank you for reading! Today’s newsletter was produced by Missy Khamvongsa, Kate Nocera and Andrew Burton. If you liked it, please forward it to a friend. If someone shared it with you, please sign up — it’s free! Got a tip or comments to share? Email us at finalnotus@notus.com.