Missouri Congressional Map Returns To Supreme Court For Third Time

Authored by Aldgra Fredly via The Epoch Times,

The dispute over Missouri's new congressional map returned to the Supreme Court for the third time, with justices considering whether the state can use the GOP-backed map in the midterm elections.

The new map could help Republicans gain an additional U.S. House seat in the Nov. 3 elections.

The Supreme Court has twice prevented the state from using the redrawn congressional map, most recently on Sept. 10, when it granted the opponents' bid to stay a federal judge's order allowing the state to use the map in the midterm elections.

People Not Politicians, the group opposing the redrawn congressional map, filed an emergency motion with the U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 22 after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that using the 2022 map in the Nov. 3 general elections would be unconstitutional, as the state had already used the redrawn 2025 map in the August 2026 primaries.

In a Sept. 21 ruling, the Eighth Circuit ordered U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark to enter a permanent injunction barring Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins from using any congressional map other than the one the Legislature approved in 2025.

The federal appeals court stayed its ruling until Sept. 28 to allow time for a Supreme Court review.

Opponents asked the Supreme Court to block the ruling, saying it undermined the court's previous injunction blocking the use of the 2025 congressional map.

"The Eighth Circuit's order does not merely undermine this court's stay order; it requires the district court to issue a permanent injunction granting the exact same relief this court stayed in the exact same case," the motion stated.

The motion asks the Supreme Court to clarify that its Sept. 10 stay "precludes enforcement of the replacement injunction - or any additional federal court injunctions contrary to the stay order - so long as that stay remains in effect."

Opponents also argued that the Eighth Circuit lacked jurisdiction to enter the ruling.

"The Eighth Circuit cannot disrupt an imminent election after ballots have been cast by issuing relief that this court has already foreclosed and that it lacked jurisdiction to grant, all based on a merits theory of the panel's own invention," they said.

The Supreme Court gave supporters of the new map until midday on Wednesday to respond to the latest appeal.

The 2022 map, drawn by the General Assembly after the 2020 census, was designed to give Republicans a 6-2 edge. The 2025 map, drawn as part of a mid-decade redistricting, was designed to give them a 7-1 advantage.

Missouri held primary elections on Aug. 4 using the 2025 Missouri First map approved by the Republican-controlled General Assembly. President Donald Trump supported the redrawn map.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 17:40

Senate Panel Rejects Immunity For Ex-Fauci Aide

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs rejected on Sept. 23 a bid to seek immunity for a longtime special assistant to Dr. Anthony Fauci.

The vote on a resolution authorizing an application for a court order compelling testimony under immunity from the assistant, who was not identified, fell short of the required two-thirds of members.

All eight Republicans, but no Democrats, voted in favor. Two Democrats would have had to cross the aisle for the resolution to be approved.

Fauci, 85, headed the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases from 1984 to 2022.

He refused to answer questions before the panel earlier in the year, citing the Fifth Amendment, prompting the committee to refer him for contempt of Congress to federal prosecutors.

The Department of Justice has not charged Fauci with any crimes.

As Zachary Stieber reports for The Epoch Times, the female assistant worked for Fauci from 2007 to 2022, according to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), the committee's chairman.

He said her position "placed her in the flow of communications directly relevant to our investigation" into Fauci.

She recently appeared behind closed doors before the committee and invoked the Fifth Amendment, or her right against self-incrimination.

The questions senators want answered primarily deal with the destruction of government records, Paul said. A doctor who was a longtime adviser to Fauci recently pleaded guilty to conspiring to delete government records. Fauci has directed subordinates to delete emails.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), who voted against the resolution, said before the vote that senators should pursue a "good-faith bipartisan approach to obtain this information" rather than rush to approve the resolution.

Republicans expressed frustration and anger that only Hassan among Democratic panel members was present during the meeting.

"I come from the private sector. To not show up to a meeting, to say 'I refuse to do my job,' is something that only happens in politics," Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) said.

"That is outrageous."

After the vote, Paul said:

"A majority of the committee voted to seek the truth. All Republicans voted to seek the truth. We voted to protect this witness and hear her story. All we needed was two Democrats who wanted to hear her story, but not a single one of them is interested in the investigation or the truth about destruction of federal records."

Hassan said that was a mischaracterization of the Democrats' position.

Paul said he would be sending a letter to the Department of Justice requesting pursuit of the matter, and said his committee's investigation into government record destruction will continue.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 17:20

Trump Meets Venezuela's Rodriguez In New York

Authored by Kimberly Hayek via The Epoch Times,

President Donald Trump and Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez met Tuesday night on the sidelines of a United Nations reception, their first face-to-face talks since American forces seized then-President Nicolas Maduro in January.

Venezuela's Interim President Delcy Rodriguez and U.S. President Donald Trump (R) meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 22, 2026. Venezuela Presidential Palace Handout via Reuters

The pull-aside was booked for 7:40 p.m. at a gathering Trump is hosting during the U.N. General Assembly. No joint appearance was planned nor a detailed agenda released.

Participants in the pull-aside meeting with Rodriguez included State Secretary Marco Rubio, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller.

"We held a historic meeting with the President of the United States, Donald Trump, during which we discussed strengthening the bilateral relationship between our countries and advancing a cooperation agenda in strategic areas such as energy, mining, security, and other matters of mutual interest," Rodriguez said in a statement on Telegram.

"We expressed our gratitude to President Trump and his administration for the steadfast support provided during the emergency caused by the earthquakes of June 24, as well as for their backing of our country's reintegration into multilateral forums," she wrote, according to a translation. "Venezuela and the United States share a historic relationship that, in this new phase, we are called upon to steer through dialogue. We will continue to pursue a diplomacy that serves the national interest, aimed at achieving concrete results and collective benefits for the Venezuelan people."

Rodriguez landed Monday for what is her first trip to the United States since taking office. She is scheduled to address the General Assembly on Wednesday afternoon.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told reporters about the upcoming meeting on a call.

"The president will host a U.N. General Assembly leaders' reception. There, he'll participate in a pull-aside with the acting president Rodriguez of Venezuela," Waltz said. He did not say what they would discuss.

Trump spoke to the General Assembly on Tuesday morning, hours before the reception, where he called Maduro an "outlaw dictator," adding that hundreds of political prisoners had been freed since the capture. Trump pointed to the January raid as proof Washington would use its "unmatched military might" to protect its interests in the Western Hemisphere.

"To the victor belong the spoils," he said, calling an oil deal his administration signed with Caracas last month "perhaps the biggest deal ever made."

He has said he wants $100 billion in investment to flow into Venezuela's oil industry.

On Sept. 16, Trump removed Venezuela from the U.S. list of countries that have failed to combat drug trafficking. The country had been on that list since 2005.

"Given the positive steps taken under interim President Delcy Rodríguez, I have determined Venezuela should no longer be designated as having failed demonstrably to fulfill its drug control commitments," the presidential determination said. "I expect to see continued, measurable progress from the interim government in dismantling narcoterrorist groups and stopping drug trafficking through Venezuela to the United States."

Last month the two governments signed an energy agreement covering 65 billion barrels of reserves. Trump called it in a Truth Social post "the biggest oil deal in world history."

Rodriguez said the pact is meant to last 25 years and to develop 17 strategic oil fields with a production target of more than 1.5 million barrels a day.

"This deal is a huge win for both the American and Venezuelan people," Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X.

Rodriguez, 56, was born in Caracas and trained as a lawyer. Maduro named her vice president in 2018. U.S. forces captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Jan. 3 and flew them to the United States on narcoterrorism and drug charges. Venezuela's high court then designated Rodriguez interim president. Maduro has pleaded not guilty.

Reuters contributed to this report

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 17:00

Iran Vows To 'Paralyze' Regional Airports Which Prevent Its Flights From Landing

Facing crippling US sanctions against its aviation sector as part of the Trump/Bessent Economic D-Day initiative, Iran is warning that if regional countries join the sanctions action, their own airports could be targeted.

Iran's Supreme National Security Council has on Wednesday put neighboring states who are allies of Washington on notice. The statement warned their airports will be "paralyzed" if they cooperate with US attempts to prevent the landing of Iranian airliners. 

Source: Government of Kuwait

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent declared on Monday that by Wednesday. Sept. 23, "all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world."

He warned that any airports or companies providing fuel, landing, and ticketing for sanctioned Iranian entities risk dollar-system exclusion.

Already Turkey has taken the dramatic action of canceling all flights in the foreseeable future for various Iranian carriers.

According to more of the Iranian Supreme National Security Council statement, delivered via its chief, Mohsen Rezaei, "We ask all the countries of the region not to join America’s adventure. If they do not allow Iranian aircraft to travel, their own airports will not be able to have flights either."

"You are our friends, but you should not join America’s ranks. You should prevent the war from spreading," he added. Throughout the prior seven months of war with the US, Iran has shown a willingness to target major civilian hubs, particularly in neighboring Kuwait.

Iran is defiantly planning to press forward with its commercial airline operations. While some countries are complying with the US order, China is clearly not...

An Iranian Mahan Air flight from Tehran landed in Guangzhou, China today, Sept. 23 as new U.S. aviation sanctions took effect, flight Radar shows.

China is clearly not caring about US sanctions. pic.twitter.com/g990JZ4SLz

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) September 23, 2026

As for the heavily sanctioned Iranian aviation industry, in recent years the Islamic Republic has suffered some significant aerial disasters, which included the May 19, 2024 death of President Ebrahim Raisi. His military helicopter went down in a rugged, mountainous area of northwestern Iran.

Some speculate that lack of airline parts and aging aircraft, due to the long-standing US targeting of the industry, has only served to increase the chances of aviation disasters.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 16:40

Shareholders Sue New York Times Over 'Biased' Israel Coverage

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

Shareholders sued The New York Times on Sept. 23, alleging the company has failed to prevent false reporting about Israel and other topics.

The State Board of Administration of Florida, representing the Florida Retirement System Trust Fund and National Center for Public Policy Research, filed the lawsuit in a New York court.

"The Company's repeated publication of materially false or baseless factual assertions, many later admitted internally or disproven externally, supports a reasonable inference that the Board has not only failed in its obligation to monitor the Company's internal controls, but it has allowed such flagrantly selective application of the internal controls to support the conclusion that in the absence of any Board-level oversight, journalistic standards have been weaponized within the Company to serve the personal agendas of unchecked editors," the 48-page filing says.

Shareholders said that a whistleblower reported problems to the company's internal channel for such issues in November 2023.

"I feel that I'm on a desk that is particularly biased against Israel ... I can't tell if the Masthead does not see that our desk is biased, does not see it as a problem to be resolved, or just hasn't figured out how to get a handle on it," the whistleblower was quoted as saying.

The person later presented 26 slides to a standards editor that described how the paper had rejected footage from a source because the source was "pro-Israel" and how a freelancer's praise of Hitler was downplayed as "just some jokes."

The whistleblower's concerns, later expanded to include questions about the lack of a promised training on anti-Semitism, and the hiring of a freelancer who said he "supports the Palestinian struggle against occupation," did not prompt any changes, according to the filing.

One incident outlined by shareholders was how The New York Times included a photograph of a child in its 2025 article, "Gazans Are Dying of Starvation," without disclosing that the child had pre-existing health conditions, as Getty Images had noted days prior in captions of pictures of the child.

The paper later updated the photo's information and said that "after publication of the article, The Times learned from his doctor that Mohammed also had pre-existing health problems."

Evidence shows that controls the company promotes to the public, including standards review before content is published, are not working, as that and other incidents show, the lawsuit says.

It requests the court order The New York Times to show shareholders materials they requested to see in August, including all versions of the paper's editorial standards since Jan. 1, 2020.

"This lawsuit has no merit and was brought for an improper purpose," a spokesperson for the paper told The Epoch Times in an email.

"Although it is positioned as a corporate governance petition to inspect the company's books and records, it is a transparent attempt to exert agenda-driven pressure against an independent media organization, level false allegations of bias and chill journalism protected by the First Amendment. We will defend against the suit vigorously."

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 16:20

Only 7% Of Voters Rank Data Centers As A Top Political Issue; New Survey Finds

Authored by Bryan Hyde via American Greatness,

A new poll from the Rainey Center for Public Policy shows just 7 percent of registered voters view data centers as a top-three national political issue, confirming that fewer than 10 percent prioritize them at the federal level.

The Washington Examiner reports that the survey of 1,004 registered voters found that found that national concern over data centers remains low with artificial intelligence itself drawing just 12 percent support as a top issue.

The poll was conducted between Sept. 10 and 14, after former Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon quit his role and warned of the existential threat of AI, sparking a nationwide conversation about AI regulation.

Voters have a clear ask: build it right. 71% support requiring data-center operators to sign community benefits agreements - covering things like jobs, tax revenue, and grid upgrades - before construction begins. Read our September Policy Survey: Summary of Findings - link in... pic.twitter.com/gb1O7nDMUx

— Rainey Center (@RaineyCenter) September 20, 2026

Fifty-seven percent of survey respondents listed "grocery prices, gas and household utilities" as the most salient issue, followed by 30 percent listing jobs and the economy, and 20 percent listing affordable housing.

The poll showed AI as the 13th-most salient issue, directly following energy costs and transgender issues in schools and sports, with data centers being built in communities coming in as the 15th-most salient issue, behind cybersecurity.

According to PBS Newshour , while voters do not rank data centers high on national political agendas, opposition spikes dramatically when facilities are planned nearby.

Fifrt-eight percent of voters say new tech data centers have a mostly negative effect on the country and 65 percent of voters oppose building these facilities in their own communities.

Meanwhile 25 percent of voters say they support local data center construction.

The polling results follow a week of federal and state lawmakers debating how and whether to proceed with additional AI regulations in the face of calls for guardrails on their own industry from frontier AI lab leaders , according to the Washington Examiner.

When questioned on what specifically should be the top three priorities for lawmakers on data centers and AI, 48 percent of survey respondents responded "holding AI companies liable for harms," while 38 percent answered that "data centers pay their own electricity."

National leaders remain largely divided on the issue, with President Donald Trump calling on people to ignore the calls for new guardrails because of the United States' AI race with China.

Tyler Durden Wed, 09/23/2026 - 15:40