California lawmakers pass first bills to counter Texas in nationwide fight over election maps  —  California's Democratic lawmakers want to redraw congressional maps as Texas, led by Republicans, moves toward final approval of its plans.  —  California lawmakers on Thursday began passing …

Appeals court throws out massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump  —  An appeals court has thrown out the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling Thursday in New York state's lawsuit accusing him of exaggerating his wealth.

Transcript: Stephen Miller's Crazed Fascist Rant to Media Is Revealing  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the August 21 episode of the  —  Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.

Judge says former Trump lawyer Alina Habba has been unlawfully serving as US attorney in New Jersey  —  A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Donald Trump's former lawyer, Alina Habba, has been unlawfully serving as the the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey.

Trump administration is reviewing all 55 million foreigners with US visas for any violations  —  The Trump administration said Thursday that it is reviewing more than 55 million people who have valid U.S. visas for any violations that could lead to deportation, marking a growing crackdown …

Trump thanks officers and National guard troops in D.C. stop  —  The move continues his administration's efforts to exert control over the capital city.  —  just now  —  President Donald Trump on Thursday visited law enforcement officers and National Guard troops in D.C. …

Supreme Court lets Trump administration cut $783 million of research funding in anti-DEI push  —  The Trump administration can slash hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of research funding in its push to cut federal diversity, equity and inclusion efforts, the Supreme Court decided Thursday.

ICE is joining D.C. police patrols.  Moped drivers are an early target.  —  D.C. police's efforts to enforce moped laws resulted mostly in food delivery drivers' immediate release.  But ICE has joined in, and now, drivers are being detained.  —  A growing number of delivery drivers …

U.S. Unauthorized Immigrant Population Reached a Record 14 Million in 2023  —  Preliminary data indicates continued growth into 2024 and a decrease in 2025  —  Table of Contents Table of Contents  —  Pew Research Center conducted this research to understand changes in the unauthorized immigrant population in the United States.

How Deeply Trump Has Cut Federal Health Agencies  —  When the Trump administration announced massive cuts to federal health agencies earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he was getting rid of excess administrators who were larding the government with bureaucratic bloat.

I'm a Proud Conservative.  My Disabled Son Needs Medicaid to Live.  —  I'm a registered Republican who just watched her party spend much of the summer pushing through new cuts to Medicaid.  I'm also here to tell you why I'm an unlikely supporter of the program.  My son's life depends on government assistance.

Trump to sign executive order to punish those who burn American flags  —  President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order on Thursday that would direct the Justice Department to try to bring charges against people who burn the American flag, a White House official told CNN.

Eight damning new revelations about Fox's 2020 election lies from the Smartmatic filings  —  Newly available filings in the election technology company Smartmatic's $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News provide fresh insights into the network's egregious and irresponsible promotion …

F.B.I. Plans to Lower Recruiting Standards, Alarming Agents … Instead of spending about 18 weeks training at the academy in Quantico, Va., a new group of agents will receive eight weeks.Eric Lee for The New York Times  —  The Trump administration is preparing to lower the recruitment standards …

FBI association accuses Director Kash Patel of violating due process in high-profile firings  —  The FBI Agents Association is warning lawmakers that recent firings at the agency have “purposely violated” the due process rights of agents, expressly calling out FBI Director Kash Patel …

Rep. Chip Roy, an outspoken fiscal conservative, is running for Texas attorney general  —  Republican Rep. Chip Roy, an outspoken fiscal conservative known for his willingness to challenge party leadership, announced Thursday that he is running for Texas attorney general.

Revealed: Israeli military's own data indicates civilian death rate of 83% in Gaza war  —  Figures from classified IDF database listed 8,900 named fighters as dead or probably dead in May, as overall death toll reached 53,000  —  Emma Graham-Harrison and Yuval Abraham in Jerusalem

Vance Recounts Telling Zelensky to ‘Behave’ in Trump Meeting  —  It was not the first time that the vice president had addressed Ukraine's leader with words more commonly spoken to toddlers than heads of state.  —  As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine headed into a high-stakes meeting …

Wired and Business Insider remove ‘AI-written’ freelance articles  —  Wired and Business Insider have removed news features written by a freelance journalist after concerns they are likely AI-generated works of fiction.  —  Freedom of expression non-profit Index on Censorship is also in the process …

Fed Found Over 22,000 Mortgages Like Those Pulte Is Flagging  —  President Donald Trump and his allies are demanding Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook resign over alleged owner-occupancy fraud — a practice the central bank itself has found to be “broad-based” across the US.

Joint Statement on a United States-European Union Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade  —  The United States and the European Union are pleased to announce that they have agreed on a Framework on an Agreement on Reciprocal, Fair, and Balanced Trade ("Framework Agreement").

How Tiffany Trump's Husband Benefited From Proximity to Power  —  A Times investigation found that Michael Boulos and his family benefited financially from proximity to his in-laws for years.  —  Michael Boulos and his wife, Tiffany Trump, at the Liberty Ball for the inauguration …

Trump and Melania's Crypto Grifts Suffer Catastrophic Plunge  —  ART OF THE $TEAL  —  The $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens have cratered since their January peaks.  —  The man who promised to be the first “crypto president” has seen the value of his own crypto coin collapse faster than his approval ratings.

Israel Is Making Sure There Is No One to Document the Horror of Its War  —  Eleven days ago, Israel assassinated a Pulitzer-prize-winning journalist, a young man who had suddenly become the face and voice of the desperate people of his homeland, Gaza.  —  In gripping dispatches on Al Jazeera …

CDC finalizes roughly 600 layoffs; union says workforce ‘decimated’  —  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued layoff notices to hundreds of employees Wednesday after a federal judge last week shielded some but not all offices within the agency.

State Department can't deny visas based on Trump travel ban, judge rules … Lawyers for the Trump administration asked Sooknanan to accept the “longstanding practice” of the State Department to refuse visas to people whose entry would be blocked by a presidential order.

IRS is canceling its layoff plans, will ask some it fired or pushed out to return  —  The Internal Revenue Service is no longer planning to pursue layoffs as it seeks to rebuild parts of its workforce.  The tax agency is now working to plug staffing holes with hiring, reassignments and rescinding …

Now Riding in the Squad Car: the President  —  Trump's perpetual search for the sugar high of attention doesn't address real problems and isn't necessarily winning him support.  —  This is Bloomberg Opinion Today, the triumphalism of Bloomberg Opinion's opinions.  Sign up here.  —  Today's Agenda

Trump Administration Retracts Instructions on Helping English Learners  —  Officials removed decade-old guidance outlining the rights of students who are still learning English, which could weaken support for immigrant children.  —  The Trump administration has rescinded federal guidance requiring schools …