Tuesday 15 September 2026
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US Politics

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US Politics

Secretive DHS ‘Predictive Policing’ Unit Analyzed Financial Data to Target Drivers, Report Finds

Border Patrol has been running secretive predictive policing units that analyze Americans’ financial activity and other data, then feed the intelligence to local police who pull over drivers not suspected of any specific crime, 404 Media reported Tuesday. The units, called Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams (PITT), have operated in the Spokane Sector along the Canadian border and the Laredo Sector along the Mexican border.

9 Sept 2026· 2 sources
US Politics

NYC Releases 170,000 Documents Revealing Asbestos Found ‘Nearly Everywhere’ After 9/11, Mayor Says Officials Lied About Air Safety

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has released a tranche of 170,000 previously unreported documents that show officials detected asbestos 'nearly everywhere' they tested near Ground Zero in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, even as the public was repeatedly told the air was safe to breathe. The release, which resolves a lawsuit brought by the advocacy group 9/11 Health Watch, comes on the 25th anniversary of the attacks and includes air quality reports and internal communications.

9 Sept 2026
US Politics

HHS report linking gender ideology to authoritarianism draws scientific backlash

The US Department of Health and Human Services has released a report connecting 'gender ideology' to left-wing authoritarianism and political violence, a study that scientists say is poorly conducted and 'nakedly political,' likely further politicizing science and health. The report follows the Trump administration's broader efforts to limit access to gender-affirming care, including a recent agreement with a New York hospital to end pediatric gender-affirming services.

8 Sept 2026
US Politics

BBC investigation reveals FBI had videos of 9/11 defendant with extremist links but failed to act

The man at the centre of a trillion-dollar lawsuit against Saudi Arabia over the 9/11 attacks had extensive ties to Saudi officials and went paintballing with a future al-Qaeda leader, according to video evidence obtained by the BBC. The investigation also reveals that the FBI possessed the footage and a plane diagram within days of the attacks but never shared the evidence with British interrogators, some of its own agents, or the 9/11 Commission.

7 Sept 2026· 2 sources
US Politics

US appeals court rejects Trump bid to restrict mail-in voting; administration presses Supreme Court again

A federal appeals court has rejected the Trump administration's latest attempt to restrict mail-in voting ahead of November's midterm elections, dealing a fresh setback to the president's crackdown on postal ballots. The Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declined on Thursday to put on hold an injunction that prevents the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing new limits on mail-in voting. The ruling comes just days after the administration renewed its emergency appeal to the Supreme Court, asking the justices to immediately allow the restrictions.

7 Sept 2026· 4 sources
US Politics

Pentagon subjects staff to polygraph tests in expanded leak hunt following reports of munitions shortages

The Pentagon has subjected roughly 50 members of the Joint Staff to polygraph tests as part of an aggressive leak investigation, asking military officers and civilian employees whether they disclosed classified information — specifically about shortages of long-range missiles and Patriot interceptors — following news reports that emerged as the U.S. continues its military operations against Iran.

6 Sept 2026· 4 sources
US Politics

Mistrial declared in Lindsay Clancy murder case after jury deadlock

A Massachusetts judge has declared a mistrial in the murder case against Lindsay Clancy after jurors told the court they could not reach a unanimous verdict. Clancy, who faced three counts of first-degree murder for the 2023 deaths of her three children, does not deny the killings but pleaded not guilty, with her lawyers arguing she suffered from postpartum psychosis and should not be held criminally responsible. The five-week trial deeply divided public opinion across the United States.

5 Sept 2026
US Politics

Quiet Tennessee retirement shattered by Elon Musk data centre amid national fight over AI infrastructure

A US war veteran who named her Memphis retirement home 'Serenity' says her peace has been destroyed by the noise and fumes from Elon Musk's SpaceXAI data centre Colossus II, built quietly in an abandoned warehouse with minimal oversight. The conflict is one of many flaring across the country as an AI-driven data centre boom overwhelms local regulations and becomes a hot-button issue ahead of the midterm elections, with some Republican candidates breaking party ranks to oppose new developments.

5 Sept 2026· 2 sources
US Politics

ICE Bans Contact Visits at California's Largest Detention Center, Prompting Family Outcry

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has banned contact visits at the California City detention center, the largest immigration facility in California, leaving families like that of Teresa Reyes unable to embrace their loved ones. Reyes drove 300 miles for her son Guillermo's 32nd birthday in May but was only permitted to see him through a thick glass partition, unable to give a gift, share a meal, or even touch him.

4 Sept 2026
US Politics

Judge Refuses to Remove Juror as Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial Deliberations Reach Sixth Day

A judge in Massachusetts has rejected a defence request to remove a juror from the trial of Lindsay Clancy, the former labour and delivery nurse accused of murdering her three children, after the jury forewoman reported that one panel member would not follow instructions on reasonable doubt. The decision came on the sixth day of deliberations, with the jury having previously reported it was deadlocked.

4 Sept 2026
US Politics

Federal judge blocks Trump EPA effort to let Congress overturn California clean car rules

A federal judge late Wednesday temporarily blocked a Trump administration effort to overturn California's clean car rules through Congress, according to reports from The Hill. Judge Beryl Howell, an Obama appointee, halted an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) move that would have allowed Congress and President Trump to undo California's emissions standards for vehicles and lawn equipment.

4 Sept 2026· 2 sources
US Politics

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Lift Block on Mail Voting Restrictions, Also Renews Transgender Military Ban Challenge

The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to lift a lower court’s temporary block on a U.S. Postal Service plan to restrict mail-in voting, part of President Trump’s broader effort to tighten voting rules before the midterm elections. In a separate filing, the administration is also urging the justices to reinstate a ban on transgender troops serving in the military, escalating two contentious legal battles to the nation’s highest court.

4 Sept 2026· 7 sources
US Politics

Lahaina wildfire survivors face bureaucratic nightmare as USPS eliminates mail delivery addresses

Two months after the August 2023 wildfire that destroyed large parts of Lahaina, Hawaii, resident Pam Reader returned to find her turquoise mailbox standing alone among the ruins. Now, more than three years later, Reader and other survivors who rebuilt their homes face a new obstacle: the United States Postal Service has eliminated their addresses, cutting off mail delivery even as houses that did not burn continue to receive mail normally.

4 Sept 2026
US Politics

Federal Judge Blocks Trump's Mail Voting Plan Days Before Midterm Ballots Go Out

A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration's latest attempt to impose new restrictions on mail-in voting, issuing the order just days before ballots are set to go out for the midterm elections. The plan, which two dozen states had challenged as unconstitutional, would have imposed new requirements on who can receive mail ballots. The ruling adds to a string of legal defeats for the administration on voting access, coming after a Supreme Court decision that struck down a separate bid to limit birthright citizenship.

3 Sept 2026· 3 sources
US Politics

Stopgap Spending Deal Blocks Political Control of Scientific Grants Until December

The House of Representatives on Tuesday passed a stopgap spending measure funding the US government through early December, a bill that includes a provision blocking the Office of Management and Budget from implementing new rules granting political appointees control over research funding and the power to cancel grants at any time — a move hailed by scientists as a crucial reprieve for peer-reviewed science.

3 Sept 2026· 2 sources