Voters have a blunt message for Trump about his idea to dole out $5,000 checks
Amanda Macias
Tue, September 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM CDT
Voters aren’t convinced that President Donald Trump will make good on his new promise to send eligible Americans $5,000 dividend checks if Republicans maintain their majorities in the House and Senate this midterm cycle.
The proposal, which Trump unveiled during the Republican National Committee’s midterm convention in Dallas last week, has ignited a national debate over whether the payments are financially feasible — and whether they’ll ever become reality.
Democrats and activist groups plan to push back if Trump tries to interfere in midterm elections
NICHOLAS RICCARDI and MATT BROWN
Updated Mon, September 14, 2026 at 6:09 AM CDT
Democratic state parties announced Monday that they are launching an operation for the midterm elections they’re calling the “New Battlefield Project,” intended to recruit 10,000 volunteers to guard polling places in case armed federal officers show up.
Activists are planning mass protests if the Trump administration tries to interfere with voting or ballot counting. And legal scholars are distributing white papers advising judges what they should do if the government tries to seize ballots.
Millions dropped from SNAP food assistance as funding faces September uncertainty
NATHAN LEE
Sat, September 12, 2026 at 4:13 PM CDT
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) funding could face a major shake-up at the end of September unless Congress passes a resolution to delay major changes included in H.R. 1, commonly known as the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
Starting Oct. 1, states will have to pick up 75% of the administrative costs of running the program, with the funding burden of providing benefits to participants set to shift from the federal to state level over the next few years.
Vance says 870K people suspected of COVID-era U.S. fraud barred from federal loans
Nicole Sganga
Updated Mon, September 14, 2026 at 8:20 PM CDT
Vice President JD Vance announced Monday the Trump administration will suspend roughly 870,000 people suspected of defrauding pandemic-era small business programs from receiving future federal loans.
Noncitizens accused of illegal US voting challenge Trump’s authority to prosecute them
By Tom Hals
Tue, September 15, 2026 at 5:03 AM CDT
As U.S. President Donald Trump seeks to crack down on what he says is widespread illegal voting by noncitizens, several people charged with that crime are trying a novel strategy to get their cases dropped.
New York City leads lawsuit against Trump’s ‘public charge’ immigration rule
Joe Anuta
Mon, September 14, 2026 at 11:05 AM CDT
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and mayors around the country filed a joint lawsuit Monday seeking to stop President Donald Trump from making it harder for lawful immigrants to receive green cards or visas. New York State Attorney General Letitia James is leading a separate coalition that filed a concurrent suit.
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How a gun and a traffic stop led to new Missouri law
Jenna Ebbers
Mon, September 14, 2026 at 5:05 PM CDT
Mason Ott, who has autism, was driving home to his Northland apartment when flashing red and blue lights came on behind him. The 21-year-old did what his parents said to do — he pulled over. But later, his mom realized they had forgotten a key instruction: Stay stopped.
Newsom says he won’t run for president if Harris does
Justine McDaniel
Mon, September 14, 2026 at 5:58 PM CDT
Gov. Gavin Newsom said he would not run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 if Kamala Harris does so, appearing to offer deference to the former vice president ahead of a race that could draw a historically crowded field of candidates.
