“For the first time in recent history, Danish conscripts have been deployed to Greenland, as Denmark moves to bolster its presence in the Arctic after U.S. demands to acquire the territory. U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought to acquire the semi-autonomous Danish island, citing national security concerns and accusing Copenhagen of neglecting Arctic defence. Denmark and Greenland have firmly rejected the idea. The conscripts are part of the first cohort under Denmark’s new extended conscription programme, aimed at producing soldiers able to operate in one of the kingdom’s most strategically important and challenging regions. … The conscripts are taking part in Arctic Endurance, a Danish military exercise that trains soldiers for combat and survival in extreme cold-weather conditions.” (09/02/26)
“If Kansas megachurch pastor and Democratic nominee Adam Hamilton manages to pull off an upset victory in his race for a U.S. Senate seat, he’d join a very small group. In the past 100 years, only incumbent Raphael Warnock of Georgia has accomplished what Hamilton aspires to do: serve in the Senate while continuing to lead his congregation. Warnock has continued to preach regularly as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta since his election as Georgia’s first Black senator in 2021. Hamilton has made clear that if he wins, he would like to continue as senior pastor — preaching 12 to 18 times a year — at the Church of the Resurrection. With roughly 25,000 members in the Kansas City area, it’s the nation’s largest United Methodist church. Warnock, in a video on U.S. Senate Democrats’ Facebook page, discusses how he melds his political and pastoral careers. ‘They are both about working for people even as you walk alongside them,’ he said.” (09/02/26)
“A federal judge has delivered a First Amendment victory to a student news outlet at Stanford University. On Friday, U.S. District Judge Noël Wise ruled that immigration provisions that allowed Secretary of State Marco Rubio to revoke student visas had a chilling effect on noncitizen student journalists at the Stanford Daily. Wise wrote that portions of two federal immigration provisions are unconstitutional when used against noncitizens for speech protected by the First Amendment. The Stanford Daily Publishing Corporation brought the lawsuit alongside two anonymous students unaffiliated with Stanford, though one student was later dismissed from the case. The plaintiffs were represented pro bono by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, or FIRE. ‘The reporters in our newsroom shouldn’t have to fear that writing a story will result in their deportation,’ Daily editor-in-chief George Porteous wrote following the ruling. ‘Today’s victory means they won’t have to.'” (08/31/26)
“U.S. Sen. Ed Markey secured the Democratic nomination in Massachusetts’[s] Senate primary Tuesday, once again fending off a push for generational change as he seeks a third term. Markey, 80, defeated U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, 47, who had attempted to argue that it was time to do away with the ‘status quo’ in his pursuit to oust the octogenarian. Yet Markey successfully pointed to Moulton’s more moderate positions to argue that it was Moulton — not the older incumbent — who was out of touch with the state’s voters.” (09/02/26)
“The U.S. and Iran were back on a war footing on Wednesday after the most significant exchange of fire in weeks, with Washington threatening more devastating strikes, while Iran condemned an attack that it said killed five and wounded dozens of civilians at a wedding. The U.S. military’s Central Command said it struck Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air defenses, radar systems, maritime assets, mine-laying capabilities and communications sites on Tuesday, with Iranian media reporting hits on multiple targets near the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway where Tehran has threatened tankers attempting to pass without authorization. Iran said it struck U.S. assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait and Iraq, according to official statements. The IRGC said it killed a large number of U.S. forces in Jordan, but two U.S. officials told Reuters there had not been any casualties, according to initial assessments.” (09/02/26)
“The House on Tuesday voted to send a short-term extension of government funding to President Trump’s desk, avoiding a politically risky shutdown before the midterm elections. The continuing resolution (CR), which funds the government through Dec. 11, passed the House on a 370-48 vote, with 19 Republicans and 29 Democrats voting in opposition. The Senate advanced the measure by a landslide last month. The CR now pushes the spending battle to before the holidays, when the outcome of the midterms will help determine how much leverage each party holds to set the spending agenda.” (09/01/26)
“A Utah judge found on Tuesday that prosecutors had enough evidence to try the man accused of killing the conservative activist Charlie Kirk last year and said they could seek the death penalty. The highly anticipated ruling by Judge Tony Graf was a major step in one of the country’s most scrutinized murder cases. It came nearly a year after Mr. Kirk was assassinated during an open-air speaking event attended by thousands at Utah Valley University in Orem. … [Tyler] Robinson’s lawyers have tried to delay the case with procedural fights and have questioned DNA and ballistic evidence tying Mr. Robinson to the killing on Sept. 10. But they have not offered a concrete defense, apart from arguing that Mr. Robinson should not face the death penalty.” (09/01/26)
“The EU’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, said Wednesday that the thwarted drone attack at Leipzig-Halle Airport bore ‘all the hallmarks of state-sponsored terrorism,’ after Germany blamed Russia for the incident. Speaking as the bloc’s foreign ministers gather in Wicklow, Ireland, Kallas said Germany’s attribution sent a ‘very strong signal’ and praised EU governments for closing ranks behind Berlin. … Berlin formally blamed Moscow on Tuesday for the Aug. 4 incident, in which three explosive-laden drones were detected around Leipzig-Halle Airport. Germany announced retaliatory diplomatic measures and plans to seek fresh EU sanctions. Russia denies any involvement.” (09/02/26)
“Voters in Independence have successfully recalled a councilman after his vote to approve a multibillion-dollar data center. District 1 Councilman John Perkins was recalled during a special election on Tuesday, with unofficial final results showing over 68 percent of voters in the district supported the recall. … Perkins, in March, voted to approve a proposed data center on 400 acres near Missouri 78 and Little Blue Parkway. He was one of five who voted to support the data center. … McKenna Cobb, who filed the recall petition, criticized the council’s decision to approve significant tax incentives for the project. ‘There’s hours of public testimony and they still vote in favor of billions of dollars in tax incentives,’ Cobb said.” [editor’s note: They left the corporate welfare part for the end of the story; it wasn’t just an “anti-data-center” thing – TLK] (09/01/26)
“The White House has published the terms of its Venezuela oil deal, naming the private company at its centre and confirming Washington’s majority control of more than 65 billion barrels, as President Trump vowed the US would be taking ‘all’ of it. … Venezuela’s interim authorities have granted NABEP 100-year concessions over 17 fields with the agreement signed by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth. The Venezuelan reserves dwarf America’s own, as the 65 billion barrels covered by the concessions compare with roughly 46 billion across US territory. Speaking in the Oval Office on Monday, US President Donald Trump called the reserves ‘unbelievable value that was sitting dormant’ and added that the US is ‘going to be taking all of that. We’re going to be taking that oil out.'” (09/01/26)
