➡️ Another Republican got busted for sending racist and Nazi-liking texts to colleagues - this time Trump's nominee for the Office of Special Counsel. Meanwhile, a bar in Alabama had its liquor license denied after advertising a drag show, and LGBTQ+ college students in Texas are reporting more harassment and mistreatment under Gov. Greg Abbott's policies. Independent journalist Erin Reed reports on a federal judge ruling in favor of public schools refusing to comply with Trump's trans ban; and we spoke to transgender entertainer Ts Madison who says that the Trump administration should "pack it up."
But even as the youth-including twenty- and thirtysomething podcasters and social media influencers, as well as student members of the late Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA- brought a high-energy vibe, stalwart members got a new assignment. Where past Moms for Liberty attendees were urged to run for school boards, this year they were encouraged to turn their grievances into legal challenges.
We couldn't tell if it was day or night, said one former detainee who spent 10 months at the facility and whom the Guardian is not naming for fear of retaliation from US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (Ice) and the Geo Group, the private company that operates the detention center. The lights were on 24/7. We maybe saw the sun twice a week. Windows were coated in dark paint, and people made eye masks with their socks, he recalled.
US Customs and Border Protection implemented a rule this week that will require airlines to disregard X sex markers on passports and input an M or F marker instead, sending those people with an X marker into panic. X markers became available to US passport holders in 2022, in an effort to allow people with gender identities other than male and female to obtain more accurate travel documents.
When a Texas oil company first announced controversial plans to reactivate three drilling rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara County, investor presentations boasted that the venture had "massive resource potential" and was "primed for cash flow generation." But now, less than two years later, mounting legal setbacks and regulatory issues are casting increasing doubt on the project's future. Most recently, the California attorney general filed suit against Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp., accusing it of repeatedly putting "profits over environmental protections."
Things escalated in June, when Trump sent troops to L.A.: Trump said he was responding to "out-of-control" immigration protests when he seized control of the California National Guard from Gov. Gavin Newsom and deployed Guard members - and eventually 700 U.S. Marines - to the nation's second largest city. State and local officials disputed that the protests were beyond their control and quickly sued, asking a court to remove the troops from the streets.
Some business owners in West Berkeley say RV outposts, like this one on Dwight Way, have driven down business. Amber Whitson, who lives in one of the RVs, acknowledged that some troubling folks have come and gone, but said she tries to keep her part of the neighborhood tidy. Credit: Alex N. Gecan/Berkeleyside A Berkeley councilmember wants to make it easier for the city to tow RVs and other large vehicles off local roads, especially if they pose environmental hazards or are blocking roadways.
But the industry sued and, for now, has sidelined the prohibition on advertising to children. The law also required platforms to obtain parental consent when minors signup for service. The age verification mandate forces everyone to share identifying information to prove their age, placing what a federal judge called "severe burdens" on adults, leading to her decision in June to issue a preliminary injunction against enforcement.
Trump has threatened to do so in multiple other cities, including Chicago. The president vowed earlier this week to send troops into Chicago, calling it an obligation. 'When I watch television last night, and I'm watching the news and I see that nine people were killed in Chicago and 54 were badly wounded with bullets, I say, That's not our country. We have to do something,' he said, referring to shootings in the city over Labor Day weekend.
This week's dramatic court ruling that Donald Trump's sweeping trade tariffs, which he has used to upend global trade, were in fact illegal is the latest in a series of losses for the president's radical agenda that are ultimately heading for a final showdown in the US supreme court. Trump has already asked the supreme court to overturn the lower court ruling in the tariffs case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They say we don't need them. Freedom. Freedom. He's a dictator. He's a dictator. A lot of people are saying, maybe we'd like a dictator. So the line is that I'm a dictator, but I stopped crime. So a lot of people say, you know, if that's the case, I'd rather have a dictator. (END VIDEO CLIP) MELBER: Do you take it seriously? How would you fight that?
The seven countries are Afghanistan, Haiti, Venezuela, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal and Cameroon, plunging many TPS holders in those US immigrant communities into confusion and fear and prompting groups of individuals and advocacy organizations to head for the courts to shield them, with varying degrees of success so far. On Wednesday, a federal appeals court sided with the Trump administration and halted, for now, a lower court's order that had kept in place temporary protections for 60,000 migrants from Central America and Nepal.
In a ruling that potentially sets a precedent, Judge James Selna decided that the NCAA's Five-Year Rule governing athletic eligibility is not subject to antitrust laws, dismissing claims from players seeking extended eligibility.
The president attempted for the first time since the Civil War to rewrite the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution in a way that said babies born on U.S. soil were not in fact entitled to the rights and privileges of United States citizenship.
Commissioners Andrew N. Ferguson, Melissa Holyoak and Mark R. Meador said in a statement, "This case, which we inherited from the previous administration, was filed nearly two years ago and has suffered losses in two motions to dismiss." They cited GCU's "victory" over the Department of Education in its bid for nonprofit status, the department rescinding the $37.7 million fine and the Internal Revenue Service confirming GCU's nonprofit designation.
The Investigatory Powers Tribunal will hear five legal challenges regarding a secret Home Office order requiring Apple to grant access to encrypted iCloud data.
Saint Augustine's University lost its accreditation from SACS due to financial and governance issues. Despite this setback, the university is fighting to maintain its status.
Bill Aleshire, a Texas-based attorney specializing in public records law, was appalled that the governor is claiming that months of emails between his office and one of the world's richest people are all private. "Right now, it appears they've charged you $244 for records they have no intention of giving you," Aleshire said. "That is shocking."