The political rivalry between President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom has dominated headlines this year, most recently over the issue of congressional redistricting, also known as gerrymandering.

The Republican Party of Texas (RPT) is suing Secretary of State Jane Nelson in an effort to close the state’s primary elections to party members only – a move that the Democratic Party of Hawaii (DPH) tried back in 2013 in its state and failed. 

Tensions boiled over when U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testified before the Senate Finance Committee Thursday in the wake of turmoil at the Center for Disease Control [CDC], including his firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez.

A new nonpartisan group launched this week in Indiana with a single goal in mind: Take on Indiana’s entrenched two-party system by encouraging more candidates to give voters a third option free of a party label -- and calling Hoosiers to support these candidates. 

When Americans overestimate the threat posed by people in the other major political party, the consequences can be dangerous. Research shows it fuels support for candidates who prefer fighting over legislating, increases tendencies toward authoritarianism, normalizes the use of disinformation and misinformation, and even raises tolerance for breaking democratic norms or resorting to political violence.

On a hot August morning, state and local leaders gathered in Fresno to cut the ribbon on California’s newest community reentry facility. The site, run in partnership with TURN Behavioral Health Services, is designed to help people finishing prison sentences adjust to life on the outside. For Jorge Moreno of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), it’s about giving people a chance to breathe. “(It’s) like a phase down from the institutions,” he said. “(They) can decompress from the pressures and politics of prison and start acclimating back into the community.”

The White House touted a big announcement Tuesday, only for it to be reported early that President Donald Trump plans to re-locate U.S. Space Command headquarters from Colorado to Alabama – which is not as big of deal as the reason for the decision.

California U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R) says the current redistricting war that threatens to escalate after Texas and California approved mid-decade gerrymanders is “bad for the country, bad for representation, and bad for democracy.”

A massive fistfight broke out on the floor of the Mexican Senate on August 27 as lawmakers clashed over whether the United States should step in to confront Mexico’s drug cartels. The chaos in Mexico comes just as President Donald Trump is preparing to make news of his own. With a single announcement, he could deal a financial blow to the cartels without firing a shot.

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social, claiming he was going to “lead a movement to get rid of mail-in ballots,” adding that he would sign an executive order ahead of the 2026 midterms. However, Trump has yet to sign such an order.