Happy 5786 to all those celebrating! Shana tova!

BIG at SCOTUS: Court grants Trump's request to immediately fire Rebecca Slaughter from the FTC **AND** announces it will consider overruling the 90-year precedent that (along with a statute) otherwise protect her from being sacked. Justice Kagan writes a dissent, joined by Sotomayor & Jackson.

This list seems at once both massive and under-inclusive. ‘Prince’ but not ‘Princess’? And no noble titles (Earl, Duke, Lord, etc.)

Ahead of a redraw of Utah’s congressional map, a GOP effort to adopt a new partisan fairness standard. www.abc4.com/news/politic...

To watch this week: On Wednesday, 9/24, amicus briefs come in from parties supporting the Callais plaintiffs on the question of the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which is when we could get a brief from the Trump DOJ.

“SpaceX’s lunar lander project is now so far behind schedule that there are increasing doubts the United States will beat China, which has its own plan with a targeted landing date of 2030, back to the moon.” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...

60 years ago today, the Senate passed the Immigration Nationality Act of 1965 by a vote of 76-18. 16 of the 18 ‘no’ votes came from the South.

Some wow stats in this piece on the struggle of Broadway musicals. Only 3 musicals since the pandemic have recouped their investments. Even Gypsy and Sunset Blvd. lost money. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/22/t...

The Utah redistricting committee has put five congressional maps on its meeting agenda for tomorrow, 9/22. le.utah.gov/interim/2025...

Happy UN Week! www.cbsnews.com/newyork/vide...

Photosynthesis gets today's Google Doodle.

This new Kerry James Marshall exhibit at the Royal Academy in London looks amazing.

Over the next 15 months, we can expect a coordinated campaign — backed by the full power of the executive branch — to undermine confidence in our election system. Here’s what to expect, and how key actors can be ready to respond: bit.ly/4fRIqtA

It’s still (a bit) warm for a sweater yet, but very happy with my new Lingua Franca purchase.

NEW: North Dakota has filed its opposition to cert. in Turtle Mountain (Native tribes' appeal of the 8th Circuit decision holding that only the federal government can bring an action to enforce the Voting Rights Act). www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25...

Commerce Department official George Cook has been named new acting director of the Census Bureau. www.npr.org/2025/09/19/n...

Lots of people seeming to want to be part of argument in the big Voting Rights Act case at SCOTUS on Oct. 15. In addition to the Callais plaintiffs & Louisiana, this email attached to a filing suggests LA SoS Nancy Landry also wants argument time.

It’s not every day you see a Rule 8 dismissal (at least in non-pro se cases).

Gov. Kelly Ayotte doesn’t seem too interested, but pressure from the White House for New Hampshire to do a mid-decade redistricting. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

83% of US adults haven't paid for news in the last year. About half (49%) say their main reason is they can find plenty of free news elsewhere. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

The fading of cart service dim sum in Hong Kong. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/w...

The Utah legislature’s landing page for the congressional map redraw is up. Map proposal(s) due September 25 for public comment. redistricting.utah.gov/2025-legisla...

Los tribunales, quienes son responsables de defender la ley y proteger la integridad de nuestro sistema democrático, deben permanecer escépticos, y listos para desestimar rápidamente declaraciones sin fundamento que ataquen a funcionarios electorales, personas votantes o los equipos electorales.

This came in the mail today, but unlike most years, it’s going to need a big update. Already out of date for Texas, Missouri, and Utah. And more states to come.

NEW: The Supreme Court has set the tariff cases for argument on November 5.

State Sen. Daniel Thatcher, the Utah legislature's only member of the Utah Forward Party, has posted a draft congressional map available here: www.utahforwardparty.org/fairmapdebate

2019: SCOTUS says in Rucho that state courts can address partisan gerrymandering so its okay if federal courts don't get involved. 2025: Chief Judge Kittredge of the South Carolina Supreme Court says SCOTUS needs to step in and provide a national solution.

NEW: The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that state-law partisan gerrymandering claims are non-justiciable. Case had challenged South Carolina’s congressional map. Opinion starts on page 23: www.sccourts.org/media/opinio...

NEW: The Callais plaintiffs have filed their supplemental brief at SCOTUS on the constitutionality of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24...

Andrew White, son of former Texas Gov. Mark White, has filed paperwork to seek the Democratic nomination for Texas governor in 2026. #txlege #TXGov www.houstonchronicle.com/politics/tex...

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will enter the GOP primary for governor. #GAGov apnews.com/article/secr...

Xp Lee, who was born in a refugee camp in Thailand, has won the special election to replace slain Minnesota Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

NEW from @pewresearch.org: How religious is your state? This interactive feature will tell you where your state falls on four key measures of religiousness. It's based on the 2023-2024 Religious Landscape Study (n=36,908).

Since the 2020 census, 54% of the country’s Latino population growth has been in the South, with Texas and Florida each adding over a million Latinos. By contrast, California - which has the country’s largest Latino population - saw its Latino population grow by just 485k in this same period.

Ah, suburban Long Island. “'I don’t want to sound racist or anything,' Ms. Storey said. 'But there’s been a big influx of, I don’t want to call them Indian, but I don’t know where they’re from.'” www.nytimes.com/2025/09/07/n...

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum becomes the first woman to lead the Grito de Delores. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/w...

The great Robert Redford has passed away at age 89. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/m...

Now add Marist to mix, too. Also broadly in line with other recent polling. maristpoll.marist.edu/polls/nyc-ma...

Former Georgia Lt. Gov. (and former Republican) Geoff Duncan is running for governor as a Democrat. www.ajc.com/politics/202...

🚨NEW: The Utah Supreme Court has denied the state defendants' request to stay redrawing of Utah's congressional map. legacy.utcourts.gov/opinions/sup...

Another NYC mayoral poll (broadly consistent with other recent polls): www.cbsnews.com/news/cbs-new...

The Yemenite soup at 12 Chairs never fails to disappoint.

NEW: The NAACP Legal Defense & Education Fund and various Black and good government groups have filed an amicus brief in the Texas redistricting cases in support of preliminary injunction blocking the new congressional map. www.naacpldf.org/wp-content/u... #txlege

NEW: 77% of Americans say the US political system needs major changes or complete reform. Those who say the same about their country Nigeria 91% Brazil 87% S Korea 86% Greece 83% Kenya 80% France 74% UK 58% Germany 48% Canada 47% Sweden 29% www.pewresearch.org/global/2025/...

Dreamgirls returning to Broadway in 2026. nbcnewyork.app.link/DSQmEjOGGWb

Arthur Sze (施家彰) has been named the next Poet Laureate of the United States. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/15/b...

As Hispanic Heritage Month kicks off, here's a look at how the U.S. population has changed since the 2020 census.

The federal government’s bid to gather voter records from across the country is yet another attempt to undermine U.S. elections. bit.ly/4mK6qSe

Another sign of Fall - the NYT cultural season listings.

GOP congressman Mike McCaul says he will not seek re-election in 2026. #txlege abcnews.go.com/Politics/rep...