Major Stories
Chicago Mayor Seeks to Curb Health and Environmental Impacts of Data Centers
Corpus Christi Puts Industrial Water Charge on November Ballot
US Senate fundraising committee leaves Mississippi, Colom out of $40-million push
Newsom makes last-minute push to help California utilities facing wildfire bills
Michigan Voters Just Sent a Resounding Message About Data Centers
With Federal Environmental Justice Programs Gutted, a Scholar Makes the Case for a More Confrontational Path
Texas’ mail ballot ID requirements restored by federal appeals court
Baby at center of surrogacy rights case is born in Dallas
As Big Bend wall outcry builds, Paxton does not say whether construction should proceed
Trump's Ballroom Fight Could Make Courts Rethink 'National Security' Deference
Will Tucker Carlson Run for President? Don't Bet on It.
Hong's Swan Song
Today in Supreme Court History: August 12, 1795
The Texas Tribune is investing in coverage of education and Houston
Trial lawyers, once a force for Democrats, reclaim political clout in Texas GOP’s MAGA wing
Open Thread
Wisconsin Democrats choose David Crowley over Francesca Hong’s progressive vision
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Empleados temporales mexicanos de la granja Battle Fish denuncian abusos laborales
Texas ICE Jail Has Held Migrant Kids 5 Times Longer Than Legally Allowed
Airports Are ICE's Latest Target, Raising 4th Amendment Concerns From Airlines
ICE Is Buying Up to $20 Million Worth of Electric Shock Gloves
Border Patrol Saves America From Canadian Trucker Delivering Goods in New Mexico
Migrant kids are often being held in a South Texas detention center five times longer than a court order allows
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Mississippi insurance commissioner pushes short-term plans as healthcare costs climb
Weapons Maker Was Paid $533M in Taxpayer Funds to Produce Shells. It Made None.
Report: US Burned Through $200M of Munitions in 1 Day After Trump Restarted War
Censorship in LA School District Could Become National Norm, Educators Warn
Trump Admin Ends Anti-Corruption Rule Requiring Shell Companies Report Ownership
Mike Lindell Revives Election Fraud Rhetoric After Losing MN GOP Primary
Pentagon Admits US Killed 150+ Yemeni Civilians in Airstrikes in 2025
White House Reportedly Asks DOJ to Revive Reflecting Pool Vandalism Charges
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NPR12d
Photos: See the best photos from the solar eclipse
Millions of people in Europe stepped outside this evening to watch a spectacular sunset with a solar eclipse. The path of totality passed through portions of Greenland, Iceland and Spain,
Reason Magazine12d
Donald Trump's Unsustainable Presidential Administration
The second Trump Administration has pursued an aggressive deregulatory agenda, with a particular focus on environmental regulation. From day one the Administration has sought to roll back regulatory b
The Center Square12d
WATCH: Creator defends drug diversion program amid conflicting success claims
(The Center Square) - New analysis from Washington Policy Center’s Director of Public Safety Solutions is casting doubt on the success claims of a program to reduce arrests, prosecutions and incarcera
The Center Square12d
Lawmakers hear update on health of California’s downtowns
(The Center Square) – As lawmakers grapple with the declining health of downtown neighborhoods in California's big cities, urban planning and public transit officials spoke about what the state can do
The Real News Network12d
ICE funding approved by Susan Collins and Trump GOP to deliver electric shock gloves to agents nationwide
This story originally appeared in Common Dreams on Aug. 12, 2026. It is shared here under a Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) license.
Common Dreams12d
Working Families Feel the Heat of Trump’s Recklessness with Consumer Prices on the Rise in July
Today’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) report shows prices rose 0.1% in July and are up 3.4% over the past year. July’s price increase reverses the disinflation seen in June, which was built on a short-li
Democracy Now!12d
Gaza Tribunal Co-Chairs MP Jeremy Corbyn, Neve Gordon & Shahd Hammouri on U.K. Complicity in Genocide
From London, we revisit the Gaza Tribunal, an independent, nongovernmental inquiry into the United Kingdom’s complicity in the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. The tribunal, held nearly
Democracy Now!12d
Headlines for August 12, 2026
Death Toll from Colombia Earthquake Tops 250 as Rescue Crews Scramble to Reach SurvivorsIran Nears Deal with Oman over Control of Strait of HormuzTrump Hid in Catering Truck to Sneak Off Air Force One
Reason Magazine12d
What You Need to Know About the Social Media 'Addiction' Trial Starting This Week
The Metaverse may have flopped, but Meta is still on trial for supposedly altering reality.
Reason Magazine12d
Court Rejects Ghislaine Maxwell's Constitutional Challenge to Epstein Files Transparency Act
From Judge Loretta Preska (S.D.N.Y.) in yesterday's Giuffre v. Maxwell:
Reason Magazine12d
Journal of Free Speech Law: "Milton, Mill, and (Maybe) Aristotle on Why Hearing Horrible Speech Makes You a Better Person," by Andrew Koppelman
The article is here; here's the part of the Introduction that summarizes the core of the argument:
Reason Magazine12d
No Second Amendment Right to Export Guns (Including to Haiti)
An excerpt from the longish decision in Monday's U.S. v. Clerfe, written by Third Circuit Judge David Porter, joined by Chief Judge Michael Chagares and Judge Jane Roth:
The Conversation12d
Michigan’s local election officials are confident in voting integrity ahead of November’s midterm election
Local officials across Michigan are highly confident in their ability to administer an accurate election this November, according to a report on election integrity my team published on Aug. 12, 2026.
Reason Magazine12d
Government Regulations Are Keeping Drone Delivery Grounded
There's a new delivery system in town.
Reason Magazine12d
What if the Future Is Actually Good?
Today's guest is Jason Silva, author of The Ecstatic States of America: A Manifesto for a New Country of the Mind, which fuses AI and psychedelics into a techno-optimistic update of themes and ideas t
TorrentFreak12d
Hollywood’s UK “Omnibus” Pirate Site Blocking Order Surfaces Through Cloudflare
When the Motion Picture Association (MPA) described its new UK blocking order to WIPO in May, it was presented as a key step in the fight against online piracy.
Mongabay12d
Indigenous groups renew legal challenge to Indonesian conservation law
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Indigenous groups in Indonesia have made a legal challenge to parts of a new conservation law. The groups say it could allow the government to designate their ancestral lands as c
Mongabay12d
Urban heat islands have solutions; many tropical cities can’t afford them
Urban heat islands pose a growing global health threat. But in tropical cities, the peril is surging. Already burdened by hot-humid equatorial weather, global warming, intense poverty, rapid urbanizat
Mongabay12d
Brazil Supreme Court upholds laws that led to downfall of Amazon soy moratorium
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Brazil’s Supreme Court has upheld state laws denying tax incentives to farmers who adhered to the country’s soy moratorium. The court also affirmed the constitutionality of
Yale Climate Connections12d
PTC One-C heads toward Hawaii; life-threatening floods possible
Plus: Cristobal forms as the Atlantic awakens, with two tropical waves heading toward the Caribbean.
Texas Tribune12d
Corpus Christi voters to decide if industry should pay sharply higher water fees during droughts
“The powerful industry [doesn’t] want people to recognize their power, and people are recognizing their power,” said Isabel Araiza, an organizer of the petition drive who spoke to the Corpus Christi C
Texas Tribune12d
Broadband grants paused as critics allege favoritism toward Elon Musk’s Starlink
Texas lawmakers have focused on developing the state’s broadband availability in recent years, as an estimated seven million residents don’t have internet access.
Capital B12d
Trump Ordered to Release Billions in Climate Grants Meant for Black Communities
Dominika Parry never stopped fighting for Jackson, Mississippi, residents even after the Trump administration terminated a multibillion-dollar program last year meant to help the Black city still reel
Outlier Media12d
Get ready to learn and get involved in Detroit
Detroit Documenters will discuss leveraging your civic experience for jobs and other opportunities at a workshop on Friday.
Chalkbeat12d
Rift widens between City Hall and teachers union as UFT threatens literacy curriculum pushback
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Chalkbeat12d
Indianapolis Public Education Corporation to pay executive director $285,000 salary
Sign up for Chalkbeat Indiana’s free daily newsletter to keep up with Indianapolis Public Schools, Marion County’s township districts, and statewide education news.
Chalkbeat12d
The Chicago Board of Education voted to reverse layoffs, but CPS says not all positions can be restored
Sign up for Chalkbeat Chicago’s free daily newsletter to keep up with the latest news on Chicago Public Schools.
Chalkbeat12d
Colorado school board involved in ‘public Christian school’ drama violated open meetings law, judge rules
Sign up for Chalkbeat Colorado’s free daily newsletter to get the latest reporting from us, plus curated news from other Colorado outlets, delivered to your inbox.
Reason Magazine12d
Second Amendment Roundup: The Militia of the Sea
Jonathan Goldstein, Adjunct Professor at University of Pennsylvania Law School, has published a comprehensive analysis of the power of Congress to "grant letters of marque and reprisal, and make rules
Reason Magazine12d
Trump Administration Claims Executive Privilege Over White House Conversations With Private Advisers
The Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) released a memo Monday extending the president's "executive privilege" to claim confidentiality over White House communications with private advise
Global Voices12d
What it is like to run a business as a woman in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan
No area of women's lives is safe from the Taliban restrictions
Reason Magazine12d
Do Colleges Owe Partial Refunds for Online-Only COVID Transition?
From yesterday's opinion in Becerra-Paez v. Syracuse Univ., written yesterday by Second Circuit Judge Beth Robinson, joined by Judges Dennis Jacobs and Debra Ann Livingston: