Today's five.

Karoline Leavitt is leaving the White House press secretary role at the end of the month, citing the birth of her second child. Trump announced it on TruthSocial, called her "one of my most trusted aides," and said she'll stay on as an outside adviser — the Washington soft landing. Bloomberg pointed out the awkward timing: less than three months before midterm elections, when you'd normally want your communications operation at full strength. NPR led with the adviser-retention angle; the rest led with the departure itself. Leavitt is 27, which means she was the youngest press secretary in history and is now a former one.

Truth Social charging hedge funds six figures a month for early access to the president's posts is either a brilliant monetization scheme or a constitutional crisis, possibly both. The Intercept and the Freedom of the Press Foundation sued Trump, two aides, and the executive office of the president on Wednesday, arguing the "Truth API" violates the First and Fifth Amendments by selling priority access to official government communications. TMTG says it has signed up more than ten customers already and called the lawsuit an attempt to "censor the president." The BBC noted no White House comment; NPR noted the posts are "often market-moving," which is the quieter scandal buried inside the louder one.

Sixteen Republican incumbents in competitive races are now holding checks from a colleague facing domestic violence allegations, which is an uncomfortable place to be two months before an election. Miller's Dependable Conservative Leadership PAC distributed over $70,000 total. Minnesota's Brad Finstad returned his $5,000. Pennsylvania's Brian Fitzpatrick is donating his to charity. The rest went quiet when asked — which is its own kind of answer. The Daily Caller led with the charity line; IJR led with the silence. Accepting PAC money is easy. Explaining it in a debate is less so.

Tropical Storm Cristobal is the third named storm of the Atlantic season, which is notable mostly because the season started two weeks ago. AL.com asked the obvious question — will it threaten the US? — and then didn't quite answer it, because nobody can yet. KXAN noted that more tropical development is likely this week, meaning forecasters are already watching two other potential systems form behind Cristobal like cars merging onto a highway. It's early. The storms don't care.

Florida's rarest big cat already lives in one of the most pressured ecosystems in the country, and now some wealthy car enthusiasts would like to add engine noise. A proposal to develop a racetrack near Florida panther habitat is moving through the conversation — the kind of project that arrives dressed in economic-development language and leaves wearing a lawsuit. The Florida Phoenix framed it through the lens of habitat as home, which is either poetic or strategic depending on how you read environmental journalism. There are fewer than 200 Florida panthers left. The racecars are, presumably, more numerous.