Donald Trump

Donald stamped his face on U.S. passports issued in D.C this year — but now, they’re coming to every passport agency in the nation. - Transcend

Newsworthy News -  President Trump told rally-goers that today’s higher gas prices are “a very inexpensive price to pay,” even as national averages top $4 a gallon...

ICE

Daily Beast - Thousands of ICE detainees’ whereabouts have been scrubbed from an online federal database after the agency instituted an unannounced change to its deportation process.  ICE quietly removed detainees who were subject to final deportation orders from its online detainee locator system last week, three current and former ICE officials told the Associated Press

The move has made it increasingly difficult for these detainees, who had received final orders of removal from an immigration court, to be traced or contacted by attorneys or family members.….ICE, which didn’t publicize the change, did not confirm or deny it in a statement to the AP.

Trump vs. TV news

1440 - ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox yesterday suspended TV coverage of presidential events in response to President Donald Trump barring CNN, MS NOW, and Politico from the White House over reporting he characterized as fake news.

The move came shortly after CNN, MS NOW, and Politico filed a lawsuit against Trump, arguing his decision violates the First Amendment. The three banned outlets are members of the White House press pool, alongside ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and others. The pool was established in 1937 and has covered every president's daily activities since Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Outlets rotate traveling with the president, sharing footage, photos, and quotes with one another. The White House Correspondents' Association has historically selected the pool, but the Trump administration began exerting greater control last year, restricting wire services such as the Associated Press and adding startup media outlets.

Best cities for vegetarians

To determine the best and cheapest places for a plant-based diet, WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 17 key indicators of vegan- and vegetarian-friendliness. The data set ranges from the share of restaurants serving meatless options to the cost of groceries for vegetarians to the number of salad shops per capita.
 

Top 20 Cities for Vegans & Vegetarians
1. Portland, OR	11. Cincinnati, OH
2. Los Angeles, CA	12. Miami, FL
3. Austin, TX	13. Atlanta, GA
4. San Francisco, CA	14. Chicago, IL
5. Oakland, CA	15. New York, NY
6. Seattle, WA	16. Lexington-Fayette, KY
7. Orlando, FL	17. Pittsburgh, PA
8. San Diego, CA	18. Birmingham, AL
9. Madison, WI	19. Washington, DC
10. Tampa, FL	20. Phoenix, AZ

 
Best vs. Worst

• Scottsdale, Arizona, has the highest share of restaurants serving vegetarian options, which is 12.4 times higher than in Laredo, Texas, the city with the lowest.
   
• Scottsdale, Arizona, has the highest share of restaurants serving vegan options, which is 59.7 times higher than in North Las Vegas, Nevada, the city with the lowest.
   
• San Francisco has the most community-supported agriculture programs (per square root of population), which is 26.8 times more than in Houston, Texas, the city with the fewest.
   
• Atlanta, Georgia has the most salad shops (per square root of population), which is 17.15 times more than in Santa Ana, California, the city with the fewest.

To view the full report and your city’s rank

Middle East

The Guardian - Gaza’s health ministry said in its latest update that at least 1,399 people have been killed by Israeli attacks since a supposed ‘ceasefire’ was signed between Israel and Hamas last October...Gaza’s health ministry said on Tuesday that 73,919 people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks across Gaza since October 2023, when Israel launched its assault on the territory following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people, mostly Israeli civilians, were killed.

The Guardian  - Five Stanford University students who faced prison sentences in connection to a campus protest against Israel’s war on Gaza have had all charges dropped. Meanwhile, a jury has convicted a Vermont man of attempted murder in the shootings of three Palestinian college students who were walking near his home.

Diesel prices hit $6.50 a gallon

Bloomberg - US retail diesel prices topped $6.50 a gallon for the first time, extending a war-driven rally that’s rippling through the economy. Average nationwide prices rose to $6.505 as of Saturday, according to the American Automobile Association. The pace of increases has accelerated in September — gaining more than 87 cents so far this month — with prices rising almost every day and surging beyond the peak set in 2022.

Polls

Newsweek - President Donald Trump's approval rating dropped below 30 percent for the first time across both his White House terms Monday, as the midterms draw closer.

The new poll, from American Research Group, conducted September 16-20 among 1,100 American adults, showed the president with a 29 percent overall approval rating, with positive views on the economy at 26 percent.

Overall, 72 percent of those surveyed said they felt the U.S. economy was getting worse amid rising gas and grocery prices despite the Trump administration's insistence that those pressures are still largely down to the previous administration.

Hartmann Report- A new Economist/YouGov poll of registered voters that just came out this week found that the top two words that Americans across the board endorse to describe Donald Trump are “corrupt” (53%) and “dangerous” (51%). Not even half of registered Republican voters were willing to call him “honest.”

This is consistent with Gallup’s finding earlier this month that fully 89 percent of Americans now believe that corruption in our government is widespread, the highest number in the two decades the polling company has been asking, and a higher number than in any other advanced, industrialized democracy. 

Record city temperatures

Independent - This summer was America’s hottest yet — and a new troubling analysis reveals several cities have seen more triple-digit temperature days than ever in 2026.

It may come as little surprise that the top five cities were mainly in the South, according to forecaster AccuWeather, with Dallas, Texas, taking the top slot at 52 days with sizzling temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s more than double the city’s historical average and a far cry from the seven seen in 2025.

And the Lone Star State’s capital of Austin was a close second, with 48 scorching days. Last year, the city saw fewer than half that total.

Historic heat was also felt in Oklahoma and Kansas with Oklahoma City ranking third, Tulsa coming in fourth and Wichita taking fifth.

Oklahoma City only had one day at or over 100 degrees in 2025 — but 35 this year, per data.

…“Lander, Wyoming, has tied its record of three 100-plus-degree days, as has New York City's Kennedy Airport. Atlantic City has tied its record with four days. Miami tied its all-time record high of 100 degrees this summer, a feat that has only happened once before,” AccuWeather said.

Best and worst cities for women

WalletHub - The personal-finance company WalletHub today released its report on the Best & Worst Cities for Women in 2026....WalletHub compared 182 cities across 15 key metrics. The data set ranges from the median earnings and unemployment rate for women to the quality of women’s hospitals and access to preventative healthcare.

 

Best Cities for Women	Worst Cities for Women
1. Columbia, MD	173. Tulsa, OK
2. Seattle, WA	174. Augusta, GA
3. Fremont, CA	175. Laredo, TX
4. South Burlington, VT	176. Baton Rouge, LA
5. Washington, DC	177. Fort Smith, AR
6. San Francisco, CA	178. Brownsville, TX
7. Overland Park, KS	179. Gulfport, MS
8. Raleigh, NC	180. Shreveport, LA
9. Gilbert, AZ	181. Huntington, WV
10. Santa Clarita, CA	182. Jackson, MS

 
Best vs. Worst

• Columbia, Maryland, has the highest median earnings for female workers (adjusted for cost of living), three times higher than in Santa Ana, California, the city with the lowest.
   
• Gilbert, Arizona, has the lowest share of women living in poverty, six times lower than in Detroit, Michigan, the city with the highest. 
   
• Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Newport News, and Norfolk, Virginia, have the highest share of women-owned businesses, 2.2 times higher than Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the city with the lowest.
   
• Boston, Massachusetts, Fremont, California and Pearl, Hawaii, have the lowest female uninsured rate, 11.6 times lower than Laredo, Texas, the city with the highest.
   
• Bismark, North Dakota, has the lowest unemployment rate for women, 8.4 times lower than Detroit, Michigan, the city with the highest.

 To view the full report and your city’s rank

Nearly 119 million people globally forced to leave their homes

UN Refugee Agency

Of those, 46 million are children — roughly equivalent to the number of students enrolled in every U.S. public school from kindergarten to senior year of high school. While over 14.7 million refugees and internally displaced people were able to return home, particularly in Afghanistan, Syria and Sudan, many did so involuntarily and under fragile conditions.

Today, one in every 70 people worldwide is forcibly displaced. Behind those numbers are parents doing everything they can to keep their loved ones safe, children with big dreams missing out on school, families just trying to rebuild their lives — families like yours and mine.

Key questions about artificial intelligence

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Environment

Free & Fair Democracy - The Trump administration wants to allow 15,000 square foot mansions for the rich to be built in Georgia’s Cumberland Island National Seashore, threatening one of America’s most important sea turtle nesting sites....Cumberland Island is home to more endangered loggerhead sea turtle nests than anywhere else in Georgia. Once those nests are gone, they don’t come back. And it’s not just Cumberland Island. The Trump administration is deploying the same tactic to give wealthy interests pieces of Yosemite National Park.

Trump regime

Trump denies ‘assault’ on free press as three outlets plan to sue over White House ban

Happiest states

WalletHub

Our brief life on earth

Sam Smith – With my 89^th birthday less than two months away, I’ve been thinking about how many of my life’s experiences are soon to disappear. Fortunately, I’ve been a writer so many will still be somewhere online or in print  but I’ve come to think of life as much like the scores of jazz gigs I played when I was younger but now can’t remember at all.  And I started journalism as a radio reporter often writing nine newscasts a day, telling tales that would within hours no longer considered worth remembering.

It’s a part of life’s story – our temporary nature - that doesn’t get as much attention as it should.  We are all temporary on this earth.

I’m married to a historian so I’ve learned not to ignore this. I go from day to day trying to remember important things that no longer qualify as news but help tell the story of our lives. I’ve also kept account of how many friends, relatives, news makers, or just good folk I knew  who have passed away and the number has passed 200.

Some days, weeks, months or years ahead, I will also have passed away but I’ve at least left some tales and experiences where they can still be found. I feel good about this and urge you to tell your own stories while there is still time.

• Tales from your editor's past
• Multitudes: The unauthorized memoirs of the editor (More in left column)

Environment

Democratic Conservation Alliance - For nearly 50 years, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) has been a nonpartisan, conservation-first effort to save America’s most treasured and vulnerable species — but now Trump has ended ALL protections other than outright physical harm for grizzly bears, bison, sea turtles, and so many more beloved species.  What's that mean? It means habitats that keep these animals alive can be destroyed for profits, their food supplies can be poisoned with hazardous waste, and more. And no one is coming to save these species... unless we act for them.

Mail ballot voting

Newsworthy News - On August 24, 2026, the Supreme Court issued an emergency order that let the administration proceed, for now, with parts of its mail-ballot policy while lawsuits continue. The order did not decide the final legality of the rule. It lifted one block but left other limits in place around the country. The mixed result created a patchwork. Some states faced new steps. Other states continued under injunctions from lower courts that viewed the policy as unlawful.

The administration’s legal theory frames the United States Postal Service as a gatekeeper for secure ballot mail. Supporters say postal rules on lists and barcodes help detect fraud and protect chain of custody. Two justices argued the Postal Service has broad mail security powers that can include ballot handling standards. They said there is a strong interest in enforcing the rule while cases move ahead. That view did not control the Court but signals a serious legal debate. More

Reading scores starting to improve

The Hill -  Reading scores are starting to see an increase across the board after years of stagnation following COVID-19, a new study says, a hopeful sign in the long battle to improve literacy among U.S. students. Reading scores in grades K through 8 cut the gap from pre-pandemic levels by one-third in the past year, according to data from NWEA, an education research group.

While an encouraging sign that experts think can be attributed to some new reading policies implemented at the state level, more progress is needed before students get back to pre-COVID success rates.

….Experts believe the improvements are a sign that efforts by states to implement the science of reading and add more literacy tutoring were not in vain.  Since the pandemic, around half of states have adopted laws or requirements for schools to align their literacy teaching with the science of reading, a practice that focuses on phonics, the ability of students to sound out words and understanding how letters sound together. It also has a greater emphasis on vocabulary and comprehension.

….The NWEA data showed the biggest improvements in the past year were among Black students, Hispanic students and those in high-poverty areas, aligning with the groups that saw the biggest hits to their reading scores during the pandemic… According to the NWEA data, there is still a two-thirds gap between where students are now in reading and where they were before the pandemic.

Things you may not know about the Declaration of Independence

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Data Centers

Saturday Wrapup - The Bureau of Land Management is reviewing proposals to build 12 new data centers on federal public land in a half-dozen western states, according to a Friday report from the Washington Sun. The sites are located in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.

The BLM claims its review process will “protect natural resources while enabling responsible infrastructure development” that delivers benefits like “expanded broadband capacity, improved electrical reliability, and support for growing technology-driven economies.”

Interior Department leadership had given state BLM directors just three days to compile lists of land suitable for the projects. Local leaders said they had no idea the proposals even existed before the story broke.

Mary Jo Rugwell, president of the Public Lands Foundation and a former BLM state director, said that the administration was “bending knee to the tech oligarchs and letting them do whatever they need to do."

Life expectancy

Guide Kiwi - Life expectancy has changed dramatically over time. In 1900, the average American lived only about 47 years. By 2000, this had increased to about 77 years. This improvement came from better sanitation, antibiotics, vaccines, safer working conditions, and improved nutrition. However, life expectancy can also decrease, as happened in the United States between 2014 and 2021, when rates dropped due to factors including drug overdoses, suicide, and disease.

The other problem climate change hit countries face

Inside Climate News - The countries most vulnerable to climate change are spending nearly 25 times more on repaying debt than on climate action, according to a new ActionAid report released Wednesday.  The report, “Debt Fuels the Climate Crisis: How the Finance Flows,” is “really unpacking the narrative about how the climate and debt crises are supercharging each other,” said Teresa Anderson, one of the authors and global lead on climate justice for ActionAid International, a nonprofit global federation focused on poverty eradication and social justice.

Across 65 highly climate-vulnerable countries analyzed, debt servicing is expected to consume 65 percent of government revenue in 2026. “They are only getting to keep one third of the money that they are actually raising, but that’s for climate, healthcare, education and public services,” said Anderson.

The imbalance comes as many of those countries are already struggling with both mounting debt and intensifying climate impacts. More than 93 percent of the climate-vulnerable countries are either in debt crisis or at significant risk of one, according to the report. “A lot of that debt was taken on very unfair, illegitimate terms and shouldn’t really be part of the economic picture today,” said Anderson.

Reporters from MS NOW and CNN banned from White House

The Independent - Reporters for MS NOW and CNN said the White House turned them away Saturday morning, a day after President Donald Trump announced plans to block the network and other news outlets from the complex. “CNN reporter Betsy Klein w as denied access at the White House on Saturday morning and her press pass was seized,” the organization said.

Meanwhile. . .

Alternet - A new Economist/YouGov poll of registered voters that just came out this week found that the top two words that Americans across the board endorse to describe Donald Trump are “corrupt” (53%) and “dangerous” (51%). Not even half of registered Republican voters were willing to call him “honest.” 

This is consistent with Gallup’s finding earlier this month that fully 89 percent of Americans now believe that corruption in our government is widespread, the highest number in the two decades the polling company has been asking, and a higher number than in any other advanced, industrialized democracy.

Appeals Court Restricts Trump Administration Deportation Effort

World Economy Becoming Wary of the U.S.

NY Times - Global investors are balking at U.S. bonds. Talk of the dollar’s dwindling power is getting louder. Foreign governments are hauling their gold out of American vaults. Almost two years into President Trump’s second term, the world economy is increasingly looking for ways to distance itself from America. Concerns about a $40 trillion debt burden, the excessive use of sanctions to solve foreign policy problems and Mr. Trump’s penchant for pushing the limits of the rule of law are raising questions about the appeal of the United States as a haven for global investment.

Despite pledges by foreign companies and nations to invest in the United States — in many cases to curry favor with the White House — capital is starting to seek alternative destinations.

“Geopolitical factors and U.S. weaponization of the dollar through financial sanctions are causing central banks and other official investors to attempt to diversify away from dollar assets,” said Eswar Prasad, the former head of the International Monetary Fund’s China division.

Artficial intelligence and jobs

Pew Research - In 34 of 37 countries Pew Research Center surveyed earlier this year, people tend to believe AI will lead to fewer jobs rather than more jobs. …. Worries tend to run particularly high in countries with higher gross domestic product per capita. For example, in some wealthy nations like Australia, South Korea and the United States, around seven-in-ten adults or more say AI will result in job loss over the next 20 years. In the U.S. – the only country where we have asked this question before – the share who hold this view has increased 7 percentage points in two years.

Air improvements help toddlers

The Guardian -  Improvements in air pollution are leading to brighter, smarter toddlers, according to a new study from Columbia University in New York….

Over the course of the study, air pollution in central New York improved massively. Clean-air legislation reduced some pollutants from the city’s yellow taxis by as much as 80%. Heavy fuel oils are being phased out for heating the city’s buildings and cleaner fuels are being used in the city’s buses. Fine particle pollution and levels of nitrogen dioxide halved between 1998 and 2016….

The good news is that the toddlers’ scores improved as the air pollution improved. This was especially clear when the children were two and three years old, and during times of sharper falls in air pollution. The researchers were also able to take into account the effects of other factors that may have affected the children’s development. These included rapid declines in the proportion of children who lived with a tobacco smoker, which fell from 34% to 18%, and increases in maternal education, with a nine percentage-point increase in the proportion of mothers who had successfully graduated from high school.

Singles stats

Study Finds

1. Nearly half of single Americans went on zero dates last year, yet most say they feel happier and less stressed than they did in past relationships.
2. About one in four singles said they would still choose to stay single even if their perfect match appeared tomorrow. 
3. About 47% of respondents say they’ve experienced love at first sight. 
4. Almost 1 in 3 respondents admit they’ve flown solo for at least 5 years

Meanwhile. . . .

Study Finds - 35 percent of U.S. adults can’t name all three branches of government, a figure statistically unchanged from 2024 and 2025.

Decline of word use

BBC - Two academics — Matthias Mehl and Valeria Pfeifer [found] there was a theory that women, on average, spoke more than men. So Matthias and his colleagues strapped listening devices to hundreds of people and found the theory was wrong: men and women both spoke about 16,000 words a day.

But recently, they went back and looked at a bigger pool of recordings over a longer timeframe and found something else: everyone is now speaking less. Between 2005 and 2019, the average person experienced a 28% drop in how many words they spoke in an average day.