“The Texas House of Representatives gave final passage on Wednesday to House Bill 4, a controversial Republican-backed proposal to redraw the state’s congressional maps and potentially add up to five new GOP-leaning districts. Entering Wednesday, the bill needed to pass two votes in the House to advance to the Senate. Each vote passed 88-52. … The Texas Senate, which approved a similar version of the redistricting legislation earlier this week, is scheduled to take up the House-passed bill when it convenes this Thursday at 7 p.m.” (08/20/25)
“Russia launched 614 air attack munitions into Ukraine overnight into Thursday, the air force in Kyiv reported, in what the country’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called a ‘massive combined air strike’ on targets around the country. The air force said Russia launched 574 drones and 40 missiles in its overnight barrage, of which 546 drones and 31 missiles were intercepted or otherwise suppressed. Impacts were reported across 11 locations, the air force said. … Russia’s latest attack was its largest since July 12, according to data published by Ukraine’s air force and analyzed by ABC News, and breaks with the trend so far in August of smaller-scale nightly barrages when compared to figures from June and July.” (08/21/25)
“Chinese leader Xi Jinping made a rare visit to Tibet on Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the consolidation of Beijing’s long-contested rule over the Himalayan territory. … Communist forces occupied Tibet in 1951. In 1965, Mao Zedong’s single-party dictatorship established the Tibet autonomous region. Decades of political repression followed, including the demolition of some Buddhist monasteries and the imprisonment of monks. Recent years have seen the large-scale migration of majority Han Chinese to the high-altitude region, the virtual closure of Tibet to journalists and foreigners, the removal of Tibetan children from their families to boarding schools where they are taught in Mandarin, and the repression of all forms of political or cultural expression outside Communist Party control.” (08/20/25)
“A panel of federal appellate judges ruled Tuesday that New Mexico’s seven-day waiting period on gun purchases likely [sic] infringes on citizens’ Second Amendment rights, putting the law on hold pending a legal challenge. The ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sends the case back to a lower court. New Mexico’s waiting period went into effect in May 2024, and does hold an exception for concealed permit holders. … Since 2019, [governor Michelle] Lujan Grisham has signed a raft of legislation restricting access to guns, including a ‘red flag’ law allowing a court to temporarily remove guns from people who [supposedly] might hurt themselves or others and restrictions on guns near polling places.” (08/19/25)
“The state of Minnesota sued TikTok, alleging the app’s algorithm violates its consumer protection laws. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison on Tuesday accused TikTok of engaging in deceptive and unfair business practices that violate state consumer protection laws by snaring ‘young users in cycles of excessive use through app design features that prey on young people’s neurodevelopmental vulnerabilities.’ … The suit further stated that Minnesota has observed an increase in anxiety and depression among young Minnesotans, and claimed several studies show overuse of social media platforms like TikTok has harmed the mental health of young people.” (08/20/25)
“Rwanda-backed rebels killed at least 140 people in farming communities in eastern Congo in July, a human rights group said in a report Wednesday, describing the killings as ‘summary executions.’ Human Rights Watch said 141 people, predominantly Hutus, were feared dead or missing after the attacks near Virunga National Park in North Kivu province, citing local experts and witness accounts. It said the killings appeared to be part of a military campaign by the M23 group, the most prominent of more than 100 armed groups fighting for control in eastern Congo, against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR), a mostly Hutu armed group.” (08/20/25)
“Their new diets bite! A bizarre, life-threatening tick-borne illness has made hundreds residents of Martha’s Vineyard allergic to red meat and dairy — turning many of them into forced vegans and ‘social pariahs’ at the height of BBQ season on the ritzy island. Skyrocketing cases of alpha-gal syndrome — a disease spread by bites from the Lone Star Tick — have ripped through the scenic summer hotspot with a total of 523 reported last year, according to the Times of London.” (08/20/25)
“Federal housing finance regulator Bill Pulte accused Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud and referred her for criminal prosecution. It comes as the president seeks to clean house at the Fed and install governors more to his liking. Pulte, chairman of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, posted on X a letter to the attorney general stating that it appears Cook ‘has falsified bank documents and property records to acquire more favorable loan terms, potentially committing mortgage fraud under the criminal statutes.’ … President Trump appears to be building a case to fire Fed governors for cause as he seeks leadership of the central bank that will cut interest rates and be more responsive to his instincts.” (08/20/25)
“The rural Kentucky judge gunned down in his own chambers last year ran a twisted sex ring in which young women were coaxed into performing sexual favors just to get out of trouble, one of the alleged victims claims. Tya Adams alleges she was among those caught up in Judge Kevin Mullins’[s] apparent sex-for-favors scheme that saw him and others in the tiny town of Whitesburg demand sex in exchange for cash, or to get offenders off the hook. Adams told NewsNation’s ‘Banfield’ that Mullins — who was shot execution-style in his Letcher County chambers, allegedly by his longtime sheriff pal Shawn Stines, last September — had warned her to keep quiet about the so-called depraved ring.” (08/20/25)
“Residents of Washington, DC are getting increasingly fed up with US President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and other federal law enforcement officials in their city. Zeteo journalist Prem Thakker reported on Tuesday that residents in Columbia Heights jeered and shouted at masked federal agents in their local Metro station who were apparently there to assist transit police in holding train fare evaders accountable. While at the station, Thakker observed agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) standing around an alleged fare evader alongside the transit police. This led Thakker to ask a police officer on the scene whether it was really the best use of HSI and FBI’s time to have them tackling petty crimes.” (08/20/25)
