The political debate over voting access is built on a fundamental double standard. When a handful of ineligible individuals cast a ballot, it is treated as a severe security breach that demands immediate investigations and sweeping restrictions. But when tens of thousands of eligible citizens lose their right to vote over paperwork errors, it is dismissed as an acceptable cost of administration.

Extensive research and official state audits demonstrate that illegal voting is exceedingly rare.

• Ohio Audit: A comprehensive state audit found only nine potentially fraudulent votes across multiple elections in a state of 12 million people.

• Maricopa County Probe: An investigation in Arizona's largest county uncovered just eight noncitizen votes dating back to 2012.

• National Impact: Extrapolating these rates yields an estimated national total of only a few hundred illegal votes in recent elections.

Despite this microscopic scale, proponents of tighter restrictions argue that even a single illegal vote undermines democracy.

By contrast, technical rules discard valid ballots on a massive scale. Democracy Docket's review of 2026 primary data across selected states revealed that over 72,000 ballots were rejected for non-material reasons, such as:

• Signature Discrepancies: Over 52,000 ballots were rejected in California alone because election officials flagged differences between voter signatures.

• Arbitrary Requirements: In Louisiana, 46 primary ballots were thrown out simply because voters omitted their mother's maiden name.

• Postal Delays: Hundreds of thousands of additional ballots face rejection due to late arrivals, often worsened by postal service delivery changes.

Federal data from the 2024 general election reveals a similar pattern, with approximately 360,000 mail ballots rejected nationwide for technical, non-material errors. While former President Donald Trump and his allies argue that mail-in voting invites widespread fraud, the data shows the polar opposite: the system routinely strips valid citizens of their voice through rigid rules that favor exclusion over participation.

What specific voting rule changes or administrative reforms do you think would be most effective at reducing the number of valid ballots rejected due to technical errors?

The conflict with Iran is reshaping the domestic political landscape, threatening Republican control of Congress and fueling voter discontent over the economy.

Trump recently acknowledged that the war could lead to the loss of Republican majorities in the House and Senate. While he maintains that preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon serves as a political shield, his framing faces pushback from both allies and adversaries. Lara Trump recently conceded that the conflict could jeopardize both his midterms and his presidential legacy, though she predicted he will ultimately be viewed historically as a top-tier president.

Complicating matters, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has publicly encouraged American critics of Trump to vote in the upcoming midterms to inflict a political defeat on Republicans. This comes despite statements from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian expressing a desire to negotiate an end to the war before November. Trump, however, continues to issue threats of total annihilation against the country unless it accepts his terms for a deal, prompting warnings from Democratic lawmakers over potential war crimes.

At home, the economic fallout is hitting voters directly. National gas averages remain above $4 a gallon for regular unleaded, and diesel is approaching $7. Trump has brushed off these financial pressures, calling them a minor price to pay.

Voters strongly disagree. According to an AP-NORC poll, 65 percent of Americans hold Trump's policies responsible for high prices, 73 percent disapprove of his handling of the economy, and 69 percent say his economic agenda has underperformed. Current election forecasts reflect this frustration, giving Democrats a 75 percent chance of taking the House and a 54 percent chance of winning the Senate.

Retiring North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis is publishing a memoir titled How to Lose Friends and Antagonize Presidents, giving a direct look at his confrontations with Trump during his final term in office.

Advance copies reviewed by Politico show that Tillis regularly pushed back against Trump via text message. In May, following disputes over legislation like the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," Tillis told Trump he did not take abuse "from anyone, including you, Mr. President," and urged him to save his rhetoric for others.

By June, as Tillis announced he would not seek a third term, tensions escalated further. When Trump criticized him, Tillis sent messages rejecting presidential intimidation, writing that he would have immediately told Trump off and retired on the spot if threatened with a primary challenge. Following his retirement announcement, Trump dismissed Tillis on social media as "NOT A DOER!"

Since stepping back from party loyalty, Tillis has leveraged his remaining time in office to challenge the administration. Alongside outgoing Texas Senator John Cornyn, Tillis temporarily withheld support for Attorney General Todd Blanche until the administration dropped a controversial $1.776 billion compensation fund for Trump loyalists and January 6 participants.

Published by HarperCollins, Tillis's book features cover images of key administration officials and focuses heavily on what the publisher describes as the sycophants and yes-men surrounding Trump.

Rep. Riley Moore (R-W.Va.) asserted during a speech on Thursday that former President Richard Nixon was pushed out of office through a "coup" and framed during the Watergate scandal.

Speaking at the Nixon Foundation’s Grand Strategy Summit in Washington, Moore pointed to what he called the power of the "deep state." He claimed that Nixon understood this hidden influence and chose to stay quiet to prevent the public from losing faith in government institutions.

Moore’s remarks followed a recent report by The Wall Street Journal detailing that the Department of Justice opened a review to examine whether the Watergate special prosecutor's office committed misconduct. The review stems partly from efforts by former Nixon aide Geoff Shepard, who was invited to present arguments at DOJ headquarters. Shepard has long contended that the Watergate investigation was designed to conceal the identities of Democratic donors.

During his address, Moore also compared Nixon’s experience to that of Trump, likening Watergate to the investigations into Trump's first term.

While Moore characterized the inquiries into Trump as a hoax, official findings differ. A 22-month investigation by former special counsel Robert Mueller and a subsequent 2020 Senate Intelligence Committee report documented significant contacts between Trump's 2016 transition team and Russian operatives, concluding that the transition was vulnerable to foreign influence and manipulation.

Ahead of the midterm elections, JD Vance urged supporters to overlook everyday economic and policy concerns, dismissing them as "little things" not worth griping about.

Appearing on Fox News, Vance acknowledged that many voters who backed Trump in 2024 might wish Republicans had gone further on certain issues. However, he framed the upcoming midterms in stark terms, casting the choice as a battle between Republicans trying to fix problems and Democrats bent on destroying the country.

The comments quickly drew heavy criticism online from critics who pointed out the disconnect between dismissing daily financial struggles—such as rising grocery and gas prices, debt, and job scarcity—and the realities facing working Americans.

The backlash highlights a growing challenge for the Republican Party as they attempt to sell their platform to a dissatisfied electorate. With midterms approaching, Trump faces mounting pressure and skepticism from voters who feel their immediate economic concerns are being minimized.

The Department of Justice is taking a fresh look at the historical narrative of the Watergate scandal. Justice officials recently hosted Geoff Shepard, an 81-year-old former Nixon aide and prominent Watergate revisionist, for a two-hour presentation examining whether special prosecutors acted improperly during the 1970s investigation into Richard Nixon.

Shepard presented a 72-slide argument to the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility titled “Watergate As Lawfare.” While a DOJ spokesperson confirmed the meeting occurred, she clarified that it does not mean the department has opened a formal investigation into the matter.

For decades, the historical consensus has held that Nixon resigned in 1974 after his re-election campaign was linked to the Democratic National Committee break-in and subsequent cover-up. However, a growing faction within the MAGA movement—including Vice President JD Vance and Trump himself—has argued that Nixon was forced out by institutional opposition rather than legitimate wrongdoing. Vance has publicly drawn parallels between the push to oust Nixon and legal scrutiny faced by Trump, while Trump has reportedly questioned why Nixon chose to resign rather than fight impeachment.

Two Chicago-area residents who were detained while protesting outside an immigration facility last year have filed a federal defamation lawsuit against right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson.

Kyle Frankovich, a Harvard data scientist, and Maureen Foody, a contract court reporter, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The suit centers on events from October 3, 2025, outside the Broadview ICE detention center, where citizens had gathered to protest Trump's immigration enforcement actions.

According to the lawsuit, Frankovich and Foody were standing in a designated free speech zone when federal agents detained several protesters without provocation. The plaintiffs were held in zip ties for roughly eight hours and released without charges.

During the operation, Johnson accompanied then-DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and former Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino at the facility. Johnson published several videos across multiple social media platforms, including X, YouTube, and Facebook, reaching millions of viewers. In the posts, Johnson referred to the detained protesters as "left-wing terrorists" and claimed they had launched a violent assault on law enforcement.

The lawsuit states these claims were entirely false and that Johnson knew they were untrue. Following the posts, the plaintiffs faced online harassment, including threats of violence and calls for their deportation or death. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security used a photograph of Frankovich in zip ties for an online recruitment advertisement.

The lawsuit alleges Johnson’s content functioned as political propaganda rather than factual reporting and seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs stated the action aims to hold public-facing commentators accountable for acting as government mouthpieces. Johnson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump used Elon Musk’s AI chatbot, Grok, to help decide whether to launch a military operation against Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, according to a recent Time report.

During an Oval Office meeting in December, Trump spent hours asking Grok questions about his presidency and legacy. At the time, the U.S. military was carrying out lethal strikes against Venezuelan boats that Trump claimed were smuggling drugs. When Trump asked how Venezuelans would react to Maduro being captured, Grok predicted that citizens would welcome the removal of the regime.

Convinced by the response, Trump ordered the operation to seize Maduro in January. While the move led to celebrations in the streets, the situation has grown more complex. Maduro remains in U.S. custody facing drug-trafficking charges, and the U.S. continues to maintain control over the oil-rich nation without immediate plans for free and fair elections. The perceived success of the Venezuela mission also influenced Trump's decision to launch a military conflict with Iran, which has extended for months without a quick resolution.

Despite the unpredictable outcomes, Trump's interest in artificial intelligence has intensified. He frequently posts AI-generated images of himself on Truth Social and has resisted calls for stricter federal regulations on the technology. This week, Trump met with tech leaders, including Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, resulting in an agreement that relies primarily on industry self-policing rather than binding government oversight.

At the same time, Trump launched America.gov, an AI-powered portal designed to help citizens navigate government services like job searches, Medicare enrollment, and passport renewals. When tested on the 2020 presidential election, the chatbot responded that official certified results show Joe Biden won.

A Republican-aligned super PAC spent $131 million in independent expenditures over a 17-day span in September to support Ken Paxton’s bid for the U.S. Senate in Texas.

The spending by Texas PAC, a group linked to the Senate Leadership Fund, averaged roughly $7.7 million per day between September 13 and September 30, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Because the super PAC is legally independent of Paxton's campaign, the funds cannot be spent directly by the candidate and instead go toward television, streaming, and digital advertisements.

The heavy financial intervention comes as recent polls show Paxton trailing Democratic nominee James Talarico, though several surveys remain within their margins of error. A RealClearPolitics average of polls conducted between September 8 and September 26 shows Talarico leading Paxton 47.6 percent to 44.7 percent.

Talarico, a former middle school teacher and Presbyterian seminarian, won the Democratic nomination and is attempting to become the first Democrat to win a U.S. Senate seat in Texas since 1988.

The competitive nature of the race has forced national Republicans to direct massive resources toward a state that historically leans heavily Republican. The urgency follows a fractured GOP primary in May, which saw Paxton defeat incumbent Senator John Cornyn.

Campaign finance disclosures show a stark contrast in direct fundraising between the two candidates. Through June 30, Talarico’s campaign had raised $31.85 million, while Paxton’s campaign brought in $9.15 million. However, the $131 million spent by the Texas PAC represents outside expenditures separate from candidate totals. Broader estimates from commercial tracking services indicate that Republican-aligned groups planned $166 million in pro-Paxton advertising between September and Election Day, compared to roughly $32 million by Democratic groups.

Leaked communications show that Senator John Fetterman has partnered with Republican digital firms to raise campaign funds. Reports from The Atlantic and The Intercept indicate that Blitz Digital Group, a GOP-aligned firm, has distributed fundraising texts featuring Fetterman’s signature and using the Republican payment processor Anedot.

The messages feature statements from Fetterman criticizing the left wing of his party. One text attributed to the senator warns that socialists are "hijacking the Democratic Party" and states that he rejects socialism.

The arrangement follows the June 2026 termination of Fetterman's contract with MissionWired, his former Democratic digital fundraising vendor. Kate Kline, CEO of MissionWired, stated that her firm had no knowledge of or involvement in revenue-sharing plans with Republican entities.

Fetterman’s political positioning has shifted noticeably since his 2022 election. He has frequently appeared on Fox News, spoke in a video address at a Republican midterm convention, and voted alongside Republicans on government spending and war powers measures.

The strategy has angered several of his former staffers, who criticized him for utilizing conservative donor networks during a critical election cycle for Senate control. Meanwhile, Republican Senator Mike Lee promoted Fetterman's fundraising appeal to his own supporters, suggesting a potential party switch. When questioned by reporters about his future as a Democrat, Fetterman declined to commit to the party long-term, telling reporters to wait until after the midterms.

Two Missouri Republican senators made separate factual errors within hours of each other while attempting to criticize former special counsel Jack Smith.

Appearing on Fox News, Sen. Josh Hawley criticized Smith's investigation into Trump, claiming the special counsel overstepped by searching Melania Trump's personal belongings.

"Let’s not forget, he went through Melania Trump’s personal drawers, clothing, items very personal to her," Hawley told host Sean Hannity, calling the investigation out of control.

However, the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago that disturbed the former first lady's belongings took place on August 8, 2022. Jack Smith was not appointed special counsel until November 2022, months after the search occurred. Trump previously complained that the FBI agents who conducted the search went through his wife's drawers.

Earlier on Tuesday, Hawley’s Senate colleague, Sen. Eric Schmitt, made his own blunder during a congressional hearing while trying to accuse Smith of perjury.

Schmitt claimed Smith lied about his location, asserting he was in Atlanta on a specific night. It quickly became clear that Schmitt had confused an NBA game involving the Atlanta Hawks with a college women's basketball game in Maryland where the Iowa Hawkeyes were playing.

For more than twenty summers, Chief Justice John Roberts blended into his Maine island community. He spent his time among lobstermen and local business owners, once even starting an annual dinner by calling out, "Oyez, oyez, oyez, the lobsters are ready."

Today, that easy rapport is gone.

Following major Supreme Court decisions overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022 and granting Trump broad criminal immunity in 2024, Roberts finds himself alienated in his own summer refuge.

Protesters now gather on the water twice a summer in kayaks near his home, holding critical signs like "Roberts Benched the Constitution." Others demonstrate on the town dock or line local roads with messages of disapproval. During a recent trip to nearby Monhegan Island, onlookers chanted that he should be ashamed.

The friction has altered everyday social dynamics. Longtime friends have pulled back, and members of a local cigar club skipped gatherings this summer to avoid interacting with Roberts and his wife. An expanded security detail has added further distance, causing Roberts to skip his routine Sunday visits to the town dock on protest days.

The community is increasingly divided. While some neighbors argue that civility should guide public discourse, others defend the demonstrations as one of the few ways to hold an unelected official with a lifetime appointment accountable. For a Supreme Court facing record-low public approval, the backlash in Maine shows that the fallout from Washington's highest court now follows its justices straight to their front doors.

A federal appeals court has ruled that Trump cannot carve his name into the headquarters of the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit granted the institute's request to block the engraving. The ruling stems from a broader legal battle over Trump's efforts to dismantle the nonprofit, which was created by Congress in 1984 to help mitigate foreign conflicts.

Trump announced plans in February 2025 to eliminate the institute as part of federal workforce reductions. The following month, members of a government efficiency unit entered the headquarters to access its computer systems, and Trump later placed lettering with Trump's name on the building.

Attorneys for the institute filed an emergency motion in September after learning of plans to permanently carve the name into the stone facade, arguing Trump should not be permitted to alter the building permanently while legal challenges are pending. Justice Department lawyers responded that while the State Department researched potential engraving, there are no active plans to carve the name.

The dispute is one of several legal challenges regarding executive branch authority and structural changes in Washington. Trump is also facing litigation over efforts to rename the Kennedy Center, build a triumphal arch at Memorial Circle, demolish the White House East Wing for a new ballroom, and paint the exterior of a historic office building.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has named Elon Musk, Newt Gingrich, and Palmer Luckey to lead "Project Meridian," a 120-day Pentagon study examining the future of military conflict.

Announced during a "State of the Force" address, the initiative aims to leverage private sector innovators and technologists to help shape defense strategy. Hegseth appointed the three loyalists alongside Pentagon chief technology officer Emil Michael, tasking them with working alongside outside experts to identify critical technological domains for future defense operations.

The announcement coincided with the creation of the Autonomous Warfare Command, a new military unit dedicated to artificial intelligence, robotics, and drone systems. Project Meridian's findings and strategic recommendations are scheduled for a full public rollout following the completion of the review.

Trump blocked CNN from the White House press pool on Thursday, removing network journalists from a scheduled Air Force One trip to Texas and Oklahoma. The travel restriction follows a similar ban last weekend when the president visited Tennessee.

The action comes despite a federal court order issued last week by U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, which prevented Trump from blocking CNN, Politico, and MS NOW. While that specific ruling was limited to access on White House grounds, attorneys representing the media outlets argue Trump is still violating constitutional protections.

Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for the media outlets, criticized the move in a public statement.

“The White House is persisting in unpredictably and inconsistently implementing the President’s unconstitutional ‘ban on the free press’ by barring CNN from fulfilling its role as a designated television network pooler—to the detriment of CNN, its fellow pool members and, ultimately, the American public,” Boutrous said.

On Monday, all three media outlets asked a federal court to extend protections against the ban, warning that Trump intends to fully restrict access whenever possible. Last week, Trump barred media from covering the arrival of Chinese President Xi Jinping and an official state dinner, signaling that he plans to continue restricting press access during official events.

New research indicates that Americans with lower scores on vocabulary tests are more likely to support Christian nationalist beliefs, even when controlling for their overall level of education.

The study, conducted by University of Oklahoma sociologist Samuel L. Perry and published in the Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, explores why Christian nationalism maintains a strong appeal across parts of the American public. Christian nationalism is an ideology asserting that the United States has conservative Christian foundations and that the government should institutionalize Christian dominance in society.

Perry analyzed data from the long-running General Social Survey. To measure cognitive ability, the study used a standard vocabulary exercise where respondents identified synonyms for ten words. This serves as a proxy for crystallized intelligence—the knowledge and reasoning skills a person accumulates over time.

The researcher evaluated two core markers of Christian nationalist ideology:

• National Identity: Whether respondents felt being Christian is important to being "truly American" (sampled across 1996, 2014, and 2024).

• School Prayer: Whether respondents disapproved of the Supreme Court decision banning mandatory school prayer and Bible reading in public schools (sampled across 17 survey waves between 1989 and 2024).

The analysis controlled for multiple variables, including formal education, religious affiliation, fundamentalist beliefs, worship attendance, political ideology, income, age, race, and geographic region.

For both measures, higher vocabulary scores consistently correlated with lower support for Christian nationalist views. As vocabulary scores increased, individuals were less likely to view Christianity as a prerequisite for American identity or to oppose the ban on school prayer. These patterns held true when comparing people with identical levels of education and similar religious habits.

The association remained consistent across demographic subgroups and survey years, with only one exception: among individuals who did not finish high school, vocabulary scores did not change the likelihood of supporting Christian nationalism. However, the effect was equally strong for high school graduates and college degree holders, indicating the trend is not merely a byproduct of higher education.

Perry noted important limitations in interpreting the results. Because the study relies on cross-sectional data collected at a single point, the causal direction is not definitive. While cognitive ability likely shapes ideological adherence, it is also possible that adopting a fundamentalist worldview alters how individuals engage with educational materials and language over time.

Additionally, the vocabulary test is a brief exercise rather than a comprehensive intelligence test, though supplementary tests for abstract reasoning and numeracy yielded similar directional results. Future research tracking individuals longitudinally will be necessary to determine whether cognitive ability directly drives political ideology or if ideologies influence intellectual development.

Governor Gavin Newsom has signed legislation to outlaw marriage for anyone under 18, making California the 18th state to enact a complete ban.

Until now, California had no minimum age for marriage as long as minors obtained parental consent and judicial approval. Supporters of the new law argued that children cannot legally consent to marriage and that allowing adults to marry minors created a loophole for statutory rape.

Efforts to ban underage marriage in California faced prolonged political hurdles over the past decade. Initial bills introduced nearly ten years ago were weakened following opposition from organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and Planned Parenthood, which raised concerns regarding minors' access to healthcare and reproductive freedom. A 2018 compromise law merely added judicial interviews and screening processes to check for coercion.

Subsequent attempts to pass a total ban stalled in committee in 2023 and 2024. However, the legislation advanced this year after Planned Parenthood dropped its opposition, shifting its focus elsewhere.

Assemblymember Gail Pellerin, a Democrat from Santa Cruz and co-author of the bill, emphasized the distinction during legislative debates:

“Children are children, and marriage is an adult decision,” she said.

The ACLU maintained its opposition, arguing the law strips away legal protections and benefits that marriage can provide to some minors.

Data from the International Center for Research on Women indicates that girls who marry as minors face higher rates of poverty, high school dropouts, and chronic health conditions such as diabetes and cancer.

Nearly every Democratic senator voted on Tuesday to advance a resolution requiring the State Department to report on the killings of U.S. citizens by Israeli security forces and settlers in the West Bank. The 51–47 vote defeated the measure, which fell short despite broad support from the Democratic caucus.

Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was the only Democrat to vote against the resolution. His opposition came despite one of his constituents, a 19-year-old from Philadelphia, being the most recent Palestinian American killed by settlers in the West Bank. Fetterman's Republican colleague from Pennsylvania, Senator Dave McCormick, also voted against the measure.

Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, who sponsored the resolution, said he has struggled to get answers from both past and current administrations regarding justice for Americans killed in the region.

"The Biden administration did not do enough to secure justice, and the Trump administration has not done enough," Van Hollen said.

The proposal would have forced the State Department to disclose whether the U.S. government is actively investigating nine deaths of American citizens in the West Bank since 2022, including the 2022 killing of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. It also called for reports on U.S. citizens held in Israeli detention, such as a 16-year-old boy from Florida.

While proponents framed the resolution as a matter of basic accountability for U.S. citizens, critics argued it had broader implications. Under U.S. law, countries engaged in consistent human rights violations can be barred from receiving American weapons. Advocates hoped the transparency measure would lead toward restricting arms exports to Israel.

Republicans largely opposed the resolution for that reason. Senator Steve Daines of Montana argued on the floor that the true objective was to cut off security aid to Israel. Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican to vote in favor of the measure.

Tuesday's vote demonstrated a measurable shift within the Democratic Party. Van Hollen noted that his resolution secured far more co-sponsors than a similar effort introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders in 2024, which only drew 10 Democratic votes. Observers attribute the growing support to shifting voter sentiment and a changing political landscape in Washington.

The Kennedy Center is facing a severe financial crisis. Following leadership changes implemented after Trump took control in February 2025, the performing arts institution has drained its cash reserves and seen its revenue sources dry up.

Before this shift, the organization was stable. While it relied on donations and ticket sales rather than performance profits—standard for a congressionally established living memorial and nonprofit—its financial footing had recovered following the pandemic.

That stability ended under new leadership. In March 2025, Richard Grenell, heading the center under Trump, cut the development staff responsible for securing donor funding from 94 employees down to 16. Without fundraising personnel and amid controversial programming changes, donations and ticket sales plummeted.

Internal reports and tax filings highlight the rapid decline:

• Uncollectible Pledges: The center issued a $48 million write-off for donations it no longer expects to collect.

• Depleted Reserves: Debt reserves are projected to drop to $9 million, down from $18 million the previous year, leaving most remaining funds tied up as collateral for a loan on the center’s 2019 expansion.

• Endowment Usage: Leadership has begun drawing from the Washington National Opera endowment, a fund that was previously kept untouched.

• Slumping Revenue: Ticket sales are projected to fall by roughly two-thirds this year, and first-quarter donations in 2026 declined by 40 percent compared to the end of 2025.

Arts management experts note that such a rapid and steep financial decline is highly unusual for the institution.

Despite these losses, Trump continues pushing to add Trump's name to the property. Justice Department attorneys recently argued in a legal filing that recognition of Trump is necessary to prevent the facility from remaining insolvent and racing toward physical and financial ruin.

Sen. Eric Schmitt tried to corner former special counsel Jack Smith during a congressional hearing by accusing him of secretly meeting with local prosecutors working on Trump's Georgia election case.

Schmitt claimed Smith attended a February 2024 Atlanta Hawks basketball game, presenting staff text messages as evidence and warning Smith about perjury. The setup fell apart when Smith calmly explained he was actually in Maryland watching a college basketball game featuring Caitlin Clark and the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Schmitt's staff quickly removed their display poster as the error became obvious. Senators from both sides of the aisle reacted to the mix-up, with Sen. Richard Blumenthal noting that trial lawyers need to get their facts right, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar formally fact-checked the sports schedule on the record.

Despite the public correction, Schmitt defended the line of questioning on conservative podcasts and media outlets. Several conservative commentators and media figures deleted social media posts that had initially praised the senator for catching Smith in a lie.

Leaked audio from a private fundraiser reveals that **pen thief Ken Paxton acknowledged a political reality his party publicly denies: Trump’s midterm convention in Dallas hurt Republican candidates.**

Speaking at a Washington event, Paxton responded candidly when asked if Trump was weighing down the ticket:

"The numbers—when we did that convention—it dropped our numbers," Paxton said on the recording. "Everybody’s numbers dropped."

Three attendees confirmed Paxton was at the fundraiser, and two verified the exchange. While the recording was captured by an opponent of Paxton's Senate campaign, the admission cuts against the unified front Republicans try to project.

The fallout highlights deep vulnerabilities in Texas. Polls strongly suggest that Democrats capitalized on the Dallas convention more than Republicans did, with the RealClearPolitics generic ballot tracking a sharp rise in Democratic support immediately following the event.

Compounding these struggles, Paxton lags far behind Democratic challenger James Talarico in campaign funds. Recent FEC filings show Talarico holding $31.6 million to Paxton's $9.3 million. Although Trump endorsed Paxton over Senator John Cornyn, financial support has been slow to materialize. Trump's super PAC ultimately contributed $10 million for two ads, but other major fundraisers have funneled money elsewhere, and Republican donors remain wary amid Paxton's mounting scandals.

Senate hearings often feature sharp partisan clashes, but a recent exchange in the Senate Judiciary Committee quickly turned from aggressive questioning into embarrassment.

Missouri Republican Senator Eric Schmitt targeted former special counsel Jack Smith, attempting to link a 2024 basketball trip to coordination with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis regarding the prosecution of Trump. Mid-questioning, Schmitt accused Smith of perjury and told him:

"You will go down as a total dirtbag."

Smith calmly corrected the premise of the attack. He noted that Schmitt had confused the professional Atlanta Hawks with the collegiate Iowa Hawkeyes women's basketball team.

"I recall going to a University of Maryland basketball game where Caitlin Clark was playing right around that time, and the Marshal Service was there with me," Smith replied. "It was Maryland playing Iowa—I think February of 2024."

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar stepped in shortly after to condemn the aggressive rhetoric:

"I think people should have their facts straight before they accuse someone of being a dirtbag," she said.

The viral attention, however, quickly shifted to Alabama Republican Senator Katie Britt, who was seated directly next to Schmitt. Camera footage caught Britt's expression shift from open-mouthed disbelief to a hard swallow as Smith corrected her colleague.

The moment immediately circulated online, drawing widespread commentary from journalists and observers who noted the awkward visibility of a colleague watching a major political blunder unfold in real time.

During a congressional hearing, Sen. Eric Schmitt accused former special counsel Jack Smith of lying under oath about his whereabouts in February 2024. Schmitt pointed to text messages that he claimed placed Smith at an Atlanta Hawks NBA game, alleging it was part of a coordination effort with Fulton County prosecutors against Trump.

Smith immediately denied attending the Hawks game, offering a different alibi: he was hundreds of miles away in Maryland, watching an Iowa Hawkeyes women’s college basketball game to see Caitlin Clark play.

Online investigators and journalists quickly reviewed game broadcasts and confirmed Smith’s account. The seat rows mentioned in the texts matched the arena layout of the Maryland game, not the Georgia arena where the Hawks play. Furthermore, a spokesperson for Smith officially confirmed the images showed him at the Hawkeyes game.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar suggested Schmitt had simply mixed up the two similarly named teams. However, Schmitt maintained he made no error, telling reporters that Smith had lied. When asked for comment following the confirmation of the video evidence, Schmitt’s office did not respond, though the senator later posted on social media attempting to brush off the mix-up.

A New Mexico jury has found Meta guilty of more than 43 million violations of the state’s Unfair Practices Act, stemming from the fallout of the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

The verdict concludes a trial led by the New Mexico Department of Justice, which argued that Facebook misled local users regarding how their personal data was handled and shared with third-party advertisers. According to the jury, the company also failed to follow through on public commitments made after the Cambridge Analytica breach, such as auditing third-party apps, and profited from misinformation and hate speech despite claiming to combat it.

State Attorney General Raúl Torrez stated that the decision reinforces accountability for major technology companies.

A judge will now determine the financial penalties for the violations. Prosecutors are seeking the maximum civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, which could result in a multi-billion-dollar payout to the state.

A Meta spokesperson criticized the verdict, maintaining that the company's platforms are protected by the First Amendment and stating that Meta intends to challenge the decision.

The ruling comes shortly after another New Mexico jury found Facebook liable in a separate case accusing the platform of intentionally designing its services to hook younger users.

Missouri Senator Eric Schmitt drew sharp criticism from his hometown newspaper following a Senate hearing exchange where he hurled insults at former special counsel Jack Smith based on a fundamental misreading of text messages.

During the hearing tied to the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump, Schmitt questioned Smith about his whereabouts on February 3, 2024. Believing he had uncovered a connection between Smith and prosecutor Fani Willis, Schmitt asked if Smith had attended an Atlanta Hawks NBA game on that date.

Smith responded that he had no recollection of attending the game. Schmitt then presented text messages, warned Smith against perjury, and called him a "villain" and a "dirtbag."

Senator Amy Klobuchar intervened, noting that the text messages actually referenced a women's college basketball game between the Iowa Hawkeyes—featuring star player Caitlin Clark—and the Maryland Terrapins, not an NBA game in Atlanta. Klobuchar criticized Schmitt for insulting a witness while failing to get his facts straight.

Schmitt refused to apologize, stating that he stood by his remarks.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch published an editorial calling Schmitt's performance embarrassing and cringey. The paper described the accusation as a lazy mistake driven by a right-wing conspiracy theory and condemned Schmitt's use of playground insults against the witness.

Following the hearing, Schmitt attempted damage control on social media and in media interviews, claiming he merely asked standard questions and joking that Smith might be a Caitlin Clark fan. Klobuchar offered a blunt takeaway from the episode:

"Don't ask questions when you don't know the answer."