Justice Department’s Protester Cases Reach The Jury Portion
An AP review found that fewer than half of defendants charged with assault were convicted and that all 12 completed felony trials ended without a conviction.
Central Drainage Planning
The Swamp
65 stories on fileField notes from the long, heroic, very-nearly-finished project to drain it. Any day now.
Local News Cuts Continue Producing Less Local News
McClatchy eliminated more than 90 unionized positions across 17 publications, including substantial reductions at the Miami Herald.
Texas Supreme Court Returns Galveston Voters To Their March Map
County officials redrew precincts after the primary, but the court ruled that the primary and general election use one consistent set of lines.
Court Finds Michigan Coal Emergency Lacked An Emergency
A unanimous panel ruled that the Energy Department’s last-resort authority did not cover a long-planned power-plant retirement.
Justice Department Preserves The 2024 Election For Further Inspection
Letters to 29 states and the District of Columbia ordered litigation holds on records that election officials say federal law already requires them to retain.
Appeals Court Leaves Mail Ballots In The Mail
A three-judge panel kept a block on federal rules that required states to preclear envelopes and upload voter lists to a portal not yet operating.
Texas Protects Medicaid Accuracy While 211,000 Applications Wait To Be Checked
Only 65 percent of applications were processed on time in July as new federal rules added work to an eligibility system the state says is not struggling.
Texas Finds $298 Million Of Progress Inside A $1.5 Billion Prison Heat Problem
The prison agency asked lawmakers to cool 15,700 beds while a federal judge considers what the Constitution requires for the rest.
West Point’s Faculty Speech Rules Meet A Subject They Cannot Silence
A federal judge permanently blocked the academy’s approval system for professors’ public writing and its restriction on classroom opinions.
Abbott Promises Cheaper Power By Breaking Up Two Lower-Cost Texas Utilities
Austin and San Antonio say the governor’s competition plan would cost customers more than $1 billion to implement and remove hundreds of millions from city services.
New Mexico Successfully Remains New Mexico
The president proposed ‘New America’ in a series of posts, while the state constitution continued using the name it already has.
Schools Reported Gender-Based Bullying. The Education Department Hid The Numbers.
The federal civil-rights survey now protects students from troubling information by replacing every relevant figure with an executive-order suppression code.
Campaign Committees Win Affordable Television Before Voters Do
The Supreme Court cleared party-coordinated ads for candidate discounts just as the midterm spending season began.
Pentagon Preserves An Independent Stars And Stripes By Firing The People Who Discussed It
A judge declined to pause the dismissals after newsroom leaders gave an approved interview about keeping military journalism free of military control.
Whistleblower Says ICE Put Job Offers Ahead Of Fingerprints
The agency hired 12,000 officers in under a year while basic identity, credit and criminal checks struggled to keep their place in line.
White House Protects Americans From Forever Chemicals By Studying Them Later
A national wastewater survey designed to identify major PFAS dischargers has waited nearly two years for a review that usually takes about 60 days.
Ken Paxton Reports Seven Homes, No Rental Income And Three Missing Mortgages
The Senate nominee's federal disclosure places his net worth between $1 million and $27 million while leaving voters considerable room to locate the rest.
Texas Stops Buying Flock Cameras While DPS Keeps 940 Of Them Watching
The governor blocked new state spending. The existing network averaged one search every four seconds and will remain available for legitimate public safety.
Labor Department Finds Hostile Working Conditions Inside The Labor Department
The agency responsible for workplace standards documented harassment, personal errands, travel violations and unreported gifts in its own leadership suite.
Dan Patrick’s THC Fight Has Plenty Of Government Left In It
The blanket ban Abbott vetoed is not the rulebook Texas has now. Delta-8 restrictions, licensing fees and another testing dispute are keeping the state busy.
Texas A&M Broadens Education By Narrowing What Counts Toward It
Regents removed more than 200 courses from core requirements across 11 universities. The classes may still be offered, just with less help toward the required checklist.
Tarrant County Finds 92 Polling Places It Can Do Without
The approved November plan has 224 Election Day sites, down from 316 in 2022. Officials say the remaining locations can handle the task.
Great Lakes Protection Resumes After Completing Presidential Phone-Call Requirement
The Brandon Road carp barrier's stop-work order was lifted after Whitmer called Trump. The administration had halted the work in July.
To Repair Google's Ad Monopoly, Court Leaves Google In Charge Of The Parts
A judge rejected the forced sale of AdX while accepting most proposed behavioral remedies. Ownership survives the correction.
Missouri's Voters Granted Unexpected Role In Choosing Their Congressional Map
The state Supreme Court ordered a referendum and restored the 2022 districts for November. The attorney general plans to ask Washington to intervene.
State Department Proves Old Anti-Disinformation Office Was Wasteful By Planning An $11 Million Replacement
The new proposal would counter Chinese propaganda with paid influencers after the old center was dismantled as a censorship machine.
Pentagon Laser Shoots Down Three Cartel-Linked Drones After Earlier Shooting Down A Customs Drone
The directed-energy program has now demonstrated that it can defeat hostile aircraft once the owner is correctly identified.
Five Small Planes Enter Presidential No-Fly Zone, Receive F-16 Orientation Flights
NORAD safely escorted every aircraft away while reminding pilots that a notice is easier to read before takeoff.
Treasury Opens The G20 To Nearly 300 Journalists After Selecting Which Treasury Reporters May Attend
The department denied credentials to reporters from three major financial newsrooms and explained that the choices had nothing to do with point of view.
FBI Expands Applicant Pool To Candidates Who Kept Certain Misconduct Below The New Limits
Past prostitution and employer theft are no longer automatic bars in some cases as the bureau works to replenish its ranks.
Park Service Finds Trump's Arch Harms Historic Views, Concludes That Is Why It Belongs There
A 133-page assessment says the 250-foot structure would adversely affect dozens of landmarks while endorsing its chosen site.
DHS Finds 250,000 Possible Noncitizen Voters, Tells States It Is Not Confident They Are Noncitizens
The administration is promoting a national election-security case while state officials wait for evidence and a reproducible method.
Military Promises $86,665 Severance; Veteran Gets $10,000 After Sleeping In Her Car
A Texas National Guard veteran accepted an honorable discharge and enhanced separation pay. The discharge arrived first.
White House Construction Disrupts Marine One Radio; Fix Fails Again
An antenna was moved after the president's helicopter came too close to a passenger jet. Controllers lost contact again the day the repair was announced.
Teleprompter Operator Bets On President's Next Words After Reading Them First
A White House aide made $107,539 trading prediction contracts on phrases in speeches he could see before the public.
Court Reopens Visas For 75 Countries; State Department Pauses The World
A judge rejected a nationality-based suspension. Days later, immigrant visa appointments everywhere stopped for staff training.
American Diplomacy Arrives In Italy With Two Helipads And Four Hot Tubs
Ambassador Tilman Fertitta is touring Italy aboard his $450 million yacht. The republic's message now comes with a scuba room.
President Asks FCC To Punish The Phrase 'Mixed Results' After Mixed Results
Kristen Welker described a primary record that included wins and losses. The White House identified the missing third result: federal punishment.
The Gas Was Cheap Because The Fuel Bill Wasn't Paid, Supplier Alleges
Trump praised a network selling gas 40 cents below market. A lawsuit says a distributor behind some of those gallons left nearly $4 million unpaid.
Texas Discovers Its Car-Insurance Fee Bought 3,200 Surveillance Cameras
A $1 fee approved to fight catalytic-converter theft funded an AI license-plate network. The governor paused state money as the investigation arrived.
Space Academy Opens With No School, Campus, Curriculum, Or Authority
The executive order announced a federal academy. Its operative achievement is a commission with 120 days to propose what establishing one would require.
Court Restores Free Speech To People Who Might Use It Wrong
A federal judge struck down deportation provisions used against noncitizens for protected political speech after student journalists stopped covering protests out of fear.
Golf-Course Renovation Starts With 60 Trees And No Renovation Plan
The administration says the cutting is routine maintenance. The public-course redesign still lacks a final plan, schedule, disclosed cost, and required approvals.
ICE Sets Second-Term Arrest Record After Expanding Beyond People With Criminal Records
The agency arrested 49,571 people in July. More than half had no criminal conviction and no pending criminal charge.
Canceled Wind Deal Produces $900 Million Tailwind For Trump Donor
A federal settlement reimburses RWE for abandoning offshore wind, then directs most of the money into a gas investment purchased from a donor-led fund.
Border Security Pauses At Big Bend To Protect The Park From Border Security
Bulldozers began clearing land before officials finalized what they planned to build. A court agreement stops the work until September 15.
Wyoming Investigates Federal Election Monitors For Monitoring Too Aggressively
Two Justice Department officials tried to interview voters and examine tabulators after their notice may have gone to the wrong email address.
President's Conviction Survives A Third Federal Rescue Attempt
A judge found that paying and concealing hush money did not become an official presidential act when discussed inside the White House.
ICE Buys $16.7 Million Of Electric Gloves To Make De-Escalation Hurt On Contact
The no-bid order covers 6,000 pairs designed to gain compliance from detainees and protesters through painful electrical pulses.
Court Finds Pentagon Blacklisted Anthropic For Criticizing The Pentagon, Not For Endangering It
A judge said the supply-chain designation was designed to make a public example of an AI company that resisted unrestricted military use.
Border Wall Crews Cross Tribal Land Past No-Trespassing Signs To Stop Unauthorized Crossings
The Tohono O'odham Nation says masked federal agents blocked tribal police while contractors drilled at three sites.
White House Honors Departing Press Secretary's Command Of Facts By Reprinting Her Insults
The official farewell praised Karoline Leavitt's clarity and preserved remarks including 'What a stupid question' and 'You're kidding, right?'
Letter Clarifies RFK Jr.'s Vaccine-Free Samoa Trip By Mentioning Vaccines Eight Times
The health secretary told senators his 2019 visit had nothing to do with vaccines. His advance letter proposed studying Samoa's MMR program.
Saudi Nuclear Deal Goes To Congress While It Waits For Saudi Arabia To Recognize Israel
The civilian energy agreement has entered a 90-day review tied to a separate diplomatic breakthrough that has not happened.
Political Outsider Wins Senate Nomination With A Famous Name, An Appointment And The President
Darline Graham defeated a five-term congressman after entering the race as the sitting senator and the late senator's sister.
Without President's Name, Justice Department Warns Kennedy Center May Have To Be Demolished
Internal projections show revenue deteriorated after the name appeared. Government lawyers say removing it could leave the building with no choice but to come down.
Court Blocks $100,000 Visa Fee; Administration Returns With A $103,265 Visa Fee
A judge said the executive branch could not impose the original charge without Congress. The proposed replacement adds $3,265 and a public comment period.
Judge Strikes Down The Ban On Immigrants Who Might One Day Need Help, A Standard Few Citizens Could Meet Either
The State Department suspended visas for 75 countries to keep out people who could someday need public benefits. A court found the theory nowhere in the law.
Justice Department To Send A Record 1,000 Monitors To Watch The People Voting
The department will deploy more election observers than any administration on record. Officials emphasize the monitors will watch the process, which this year prominently includes the voters.
Judge Rules The Government Cannot Simply Move The FBI To A Building It Likes Better
A federal judge blocked the plan to relocate FBI headquarters to a Washington office building, finding the administration illegally diverted money Congress had set aside for a new Maryland campus.
Trump Family Crypto Firm Discovers How To Make Money From The Chinese AI Its Own Government Calls A Threat
World Liberty Financial, 38 percent owned by the family, is helping sell access to models built by firms the Pentagon lists as military-affiliated. Customers can pay in the family's own coin.
Senate Finds the Votes to Go Home, Not to Pass Election Integrity
The chamber confirmed an attorney general, advanced Russia sanctions and approved stopgap funding. Elements of the proof-of-citizenship proposal were deferred until September.
Truth Social's $100,000-a-Month Fast Lane Draws Federal Lawsuit
The service sells traders access to presidential policy posts milliseconds before the public. The company calls that an industry standard; plaintiffs call it unconstitutional.
After Firing 17 Federal Watchdogs, President Replaces Oversight With Mirror
The termination emails said 'changing priorities.' The new priority appears to be flattering angles.
WINNING: Florida Taxpayers Spend $5.5 Million Renaming Airport After President Whose Family Just Trademarked His Name On Umbrellas
The Trump Organization says it will take no royalty on the renaming, and has chosen a dignified silence on the flight suits.