“A federal appeals court reinstated the Missouri GOP’s 7-1 House map to be used in time for the November elections, delivering a boost for several Republican candidates who wanted a more favorable map for the party to be used in the midterm elections. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that using an older set of maps that gives Republicans a 6-2 advantage in the House instead of newer ones the party passed last year and used in this year’s primaries was unconstitutional. … The issue is now likely headed back to the U.S. Supreme Court for a third time in as many weeks.” (09/21/26)
“Russian anti-war party Yabloko has surprisingly managed to win a seat in a regional parliament, despite being largely banned from elections across the country. The liberal opposition party secured 6.38% of the vote in the Nizhny Novgorod region on the Volga, gaining a seat in the regional Duma on Monday for the first time. The result caused a stir across Russia because the party was barred from standing across almost the entire country after a ruling by the Surpeme Court. … Experts said the party was likely excluded from the national election because the Kremlin judged it could actually win seats in parliament. Yabloko leader Nikolai Rybakov has positioned the party as the only force campaigning for a ceasefire in Russia’s war against Ukraine. All other parties support the invasion, which has been ongoing for more than four and a half years.” 909/21/26)
“The United States has threatened to effectively ground Iranian airlines worldwide from Wednesday (23 September), warning foreign companies that provide services to the carriers that they could face secondary sanctions, reports Al Jazeera. … The warning extends beyond the airlines themselves to airports, fuel suppliers, ticketing companies and other businesses that support their international operations.” [editor’s note: All those entities should respond affirmatively: “Fine, we won’t do business with Iranian airlines. Or with US airlines.” – TLK] (09/21/26)
“Major television networks suspended their White House pool coverage and will no longer send camera crews to cover President Donald Trump’s pool events, standing in solidarity with CNN after Trump denied White House access to reporters for three outlets. The move from the five networks that make up the television pool ‒ ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News, in addition to CNN ‒ means a broadcast television feed that is distributed widely for media won’t be carried for most of Trump’s events. Bryan Boughton, D.C. bureau chief of Fox News and chair of the television pool, relayed the decision in a Sept. 21 email to pool members. … The White House pool, which rotates daily, is composed of a small group of reporters given close face-to-face access to the president during events. The pool includes one network camera crew, which broadcasts a television feed that is shared with other networks.” (09/21/26)
“Former presidential candidate Călin Georgescu was detained Monday on suspicion of fraud by Romanian police and the Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT). The ultranationalist politician shot to prominence when he unexpectedly won the first round of the November 2024 presidential election, snapping up 23% of the vote. But the Constitutional Court annulled the election in December that year and barred Georgescu from running again due to his campaign’s links to a Russian influence operation. Romanian authorities are investigating Georgescu for committing fraud and forming an organized criminal group that prosecutors say defrauded a Romanian businessman by promising access to multimillion-euro foreign bank financing in exchange for cash guarantees.” (09/21/26)
“After three years of negotiations, lawsuits and appeals, the Illinois Supreme Court this week will hear arguments from attorneys for the city of Chicago and the Fraternal Order of Police in a case that will determine the future of serious misconduct cases involving Chicago Police Department officers and the public’s right of access. The crux of the dispute is whether officers accused of severe wrongdoing may have their disciplinary cases heard and decided by a third-party arbitrator — as is the case for other municipal employees represented by labor unions — instead of the Chicago Police Board, which has been the city’s practice since 1961. … Also at issue is whether or not officers who face termination from CPD should be paid while their cases are adjudicated.” (09/21/26)
“A UN report has concluded that recent US airstrikes on vessels allegedly trafficking drugs breached international law and could constitute crimes against humanity. The report by Special Rapporteur Ben Saul said since September last year there had been at least 68 US strikes in the Caribbean and Pacific, outside US territorial waters, which [murdered] more than 220 people. Saul said that even if targets could be identified as members of designated terrorist groups, they had not staged an armed attack on the US which would trigger a right to self-defence under international law. The report comes two days after the US military said it [murdered] four people in a strike on a vessel in the Caribbean.” (09/21/26)
“Google has been fined 403 million euros ($463 million) for breaching the European Union’s strict privacy rules because it mishandled users’ location data, the bloc’s data privacy watchdog said Monday. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission said its investigation found Google did not lawfully or fairly process location data in users’ Web & App Activity, a Google setting that tracks browsing and search history, and in their Location History, a service that maps places they’ve been with their mobile phones. Regulators also found the company failed to be lawful, fair and transparent when it processed personal data in its Location Accuracy feature in the Android mobile operating system. Ireland is the lead regulator for Google in the 27-nation EU because the U.S. tech giant’s European headquarters is based in Dublin.” (09/21/26)
“Conservatives are pushing back after Rep. Ilhan Omar. D-Minn., introduced legislation that would redirect over $100 billion in funds previously allocated to immigration enforcement and ‘invest it into communities across the country that have been impacted by the Department of Homeland Security’s heinous operations’. Omar explained in a press release Thursday that her Make ICE Pay Act is a response to ‘Operation Metro Surge’ in Minnesota and that it would send nearly $140 billion of ICE and Border Patrol funding from Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act toward ‘local recovery efforts’ from immigration enforcement that has taken place across the country. Omar says the funding will be used by local jurisdictions to provide economic relief and distribute money through the states to nonprofits, small businesses and other impacted entities to support schools, healthcare and psychological services, increased local-government expenses, investigations and memorialization efforts.” (09/21/26)
“Florida has reported its first dengue fever death of 2026 as the mosquito-borne disease spreads across parts of the United States, with nearly 2,000 cases recorded nationwide this year. The death comes amid one of Florida’s most significant dengue outbreaks in recent years and as health officials monitor rising case numbers in several U.S. jurisdictions. … Florida’s 332 reported cases are the highest among U.S. states. State health officials have also reported more than 150 locally acquired infections this year, meaning residents were infected within Florida rather than during travel abroad.” (09/21/26)
