California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom departs after speaking about the Election Rigging Response Act at a news conference earlier this month in Los Angeles. California Democrats promised to retaliate if Texas gerrymanders its congressional map, and approved a new map that will go before voters in November. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

When California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled his plan to retaliate if Republican-led Texas redrew its congressional districts to favor the GOP, he affirmed his support for less partisan maps — and then promised to “meet fire with fire.”

“We’re doing it mindful that we want to model better behavior,” Newsom told reporters in Los Angeles earlier this month, nodding to the independent system his state currently uses to draw districts. “ … But we cannot unilaterally disarm. We can’t stand back and watch this democracy disappear.”

President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to redraw U.S. House districts so the party can win more seats in the 2026 midterm elections — to gerrymander them — has triggered a redistricting frenzy this summer that also threatens to prompt moves by Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and New York, among others. Ohio was already set to redraw its lines, even before the current fracas.

The battle for partisan advantage is placing Democratic politicians, advocates of less partisan maps and others who support curbs on gerrymandering in an uncomfortable position, pitting their desire for change against fears that Trump will take advantage of their scruples to wring more GOP seats out of a handful of key states. Some say they accept that Democratic states need to respond, while others warn retaliation will only yield short-term gains.

The Texas House passed a new map on Wednesday, clearing the way for a final vote in the state Senate and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature. In California, lawmakers passed their own map on Thursday, setting up a statewide vote in November over the new districts.

Other states are now likely to follow, as Republicans and Democrats scramble for a political leg up.

But gerrymandering opponents say the current moment has the potential to produce new energy for their movement. More people are paying attention to gerrymandering, they say, and new polls show the public opposes the practice. The rush to redraw maps demonstrates the need for Congress to set national limits, they say.

“I think that the gerrymandering wildfire that we’re seeing across the country right now calls real attention to the urgent need for a national standard,” said David Daley, an author of books on gerrymandering and a senior fellow at FairVote, a Maryland-based nonpartisan group that supports ranked choice voting and multimember House districts to end the practice. “We will never have reform if a handful of states can act on their own.”

At the same time, some gerrymandering opponents fear states will unravel hard-fought victories. They wonder whether temporary measures, such as California potentially setting aside the independent commission it uses to redraw maps, could become permanent.

‘An unprecedented time’

State legislatures exercise primary control over congressional redistricting in 39 states, according to All About Redistricting, a compendium of information on map-drawing hosted by Loyola Law School in California. While some states use other methods, only nine states rely on independent commissions, which typically limit participation by elected officials and are favored by many gerrymandering opponents.

Most states draw maps once a decade after the census, making the mid-decade maneuvers and counter-maneuvers highly unusual (six states currently have only one representative, eliminating the need to draw district lines). But just a few seats could determine who controls the U.S. House. Republicans currently hold 219 seats to Democrats’ 212, with four vacancies.

“We affirm that gerrymandering, both racial and political, disenfranchises voters,” Virginia Kase Solomón, president and CEO of Common Cause, an organization that has long advocated for changes to the redistricting process, said during a press call the day before Newsom’s announcement.

“But this is an unprecedented time of political upheaval,” she said. People don’t want to see a situation develop where maps are redrawn every two years, she added.

The new Texas map could ease the path for Republicans to win an additional five seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas lawmakers rapidly advanced the redraw this week once Democratic state lawmakers returned to the state. They had traveled to other states to deny Texas House leaders the quorum required to approve the map, but returned after Newsom outlined California’s response.

Gerrymandering typically involves “packing” and “cracking.” “Packing” refers to the concentration of opposition party voters in a small number of districts to reduce competition elsewhere. “Cracking” means diluting the voting power of the opposing party’s supporters across many districts.

Texas Republicans have been frank that they are pursuing the redraw for partisan advantage. But they emphasize that no prohibition exists, in Texas or nationally, against mid-decade redistricting and that a 2019 U.S. Supreme Court decision cleared the way for states to draw maps for partisan purposes, removing the power of federal courts to police political gerrymandering.

The new maps give Republicans a chance of winning additional districts but doesn’t guarantee victories, they add.

“The underlying goal of this plan is straightforward: improve Republican political performance,” Texas state Rep. Todd Hunter, a Republican who carried the bill in the Texas House, said during floor debate on Wednesday. He added a short time later: “According to the U.S. Supreme Court, you can use political performance, and that is what we’ve done.”

Tricky terrain

As Texas moves forward and California prepares to respond, Common Cause illustrates the tricky terrain anti-gerrymandering advocates are now navigating.

The group, headquartered in Washington, D.C., fought to enact the California Citizens Redistricting Commission in 2008. But earlier this month, Common Cause declined to condemn California’s retaliation, saying it will judge the effort by whether the maps are a proportional response to gerrymanders in other states, whether the process includes meaningful public participation, and whether the maps expire and are replaced after the 2030 census through the state’s regular redistricting process, among other criteria.

Newsom’s proposal, the Election Rigging Response Act, will ask California voters in November to temporarily set aside the state’s redistricting commission and approve the new map drawn by the legislature. The commission would resume drawing maps following the census.

Recent polling shows widespread public opposition to gerrymandering. A YouGov poll of 1,116 Americans conducted in early August found 69% believe it should be illegal to draw districts in a way that makes it harder for members of a particular political party to elect their preferred candidates. The poll’s margin of error was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The number of Americans who say gerrymandering is a big problem has jumped in recent years. In the YouGov poll, 75% of respondents said it is a major problem when districts are intentionally drawn to favor one party, up from 66% in a 2022 survey.

Some California Republicans have responded to Newsom’s proposal by defending the commission system. A group of Republicans sued in state court to block the plan, but the California Supreme Court on Wednesday denied a request to temporarily halt the effort.

‘Is this bad for reform?’

While members of the public might say they favor citizen-led commissions, they may not care deeply about the issue, said David Hopkins, a political science professor at Boston College who has written on polarization in American politics. He called gerrymandering a “classic process subject” that comes off as “inside baseball” to many people.

“The legislators in states that haven’t adopted commissions clearly don’t feel any particular political pressure to do so,” Hopkins said.

Some Republicans in states weighing a mid-decade gerrymander also discount the risk of a public backlash.

In Missouri, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe may call a special session this fall to redraw the state’s map in hopes of gaining an additional GOP seat in the U.S. House. James Harris, a Missouri Republican consultant with close ties to GOP officials in the state, said he wasn’t concerned redistricting would create momentum to change the process.

Missouri voters in recent years have approved ballot measures favored by Democrats, including one in 2018 that empowered a nonpartisan demographer to draw state legislative districts, though not congressional districts. But Republicans led a successful campaign to convince voters to repeal the changes two years later.

Harris painted any new potential map as part of a national effort to help Trump — who received 58.5% of the vote in Missouri last November.

“I think the lens is wanting to make sure the president has a majority in Congress so he can actually govern for the last two years versus two years of investigations, gridlock,” Harris said.

Advocates of less partisan maps said lawmakers aren’t likely to surrender their own role in mapmaking. While some state courts may limit redistricting excesses, federal courts stopped policing partisan gerrymandering following the Supreme Court’s 2019 decision. And the high court may soon weaken the judiciary’s power to block race-based gerrymandering.

Samuel Wang, director of the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which supports eliminating partisan gerrymandering, said the “one good thing” about the redistricting battle is that it’s prompted voters to pay attention to an arcane and technical issue. That could be a positive in the long run, he said, “if people can keep a cool head.”

Wang has written online that any response to Texas should remain measured and proportionate. California offers Democrats the only clean option to strike back, Wang wrote. Five Democratic seats could be added by redrawing the state.

“Is this bad for reform? I mean, I’m torn,” Wang told Stateline. “Because on the other hand, Democrats have been, over the last few decades, vocal in their advocacy for voting rights in various forms and now that advocacy is in question because they find a need to fight fire with fire.”

“So I guess the way I would characterize it is if they can hold it in check and not do it in every single state and just engage in whatever they’re doing where it will make a difference,” he said, “then we might not lose all the progress that’s been made.”

Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org.

Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org.

A member of the National Guard stands alongside a military vehicle parked in front of Union Station, near the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Aug. 18, 2025. (Photo by Jane Norman/States Newsroom)

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing state National Guard units to be ready to assist local, state and federal law enforcement, a potential step toward a dramatic expansion of Trump’s use of military personnel for domestic policing.

The order calls for Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure troops in the National Guard of every state “are resourced, trained, organized, and available to assist Federal, State, and local law enforcement in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety” and directs the secretary to establish “a standing National Guard quick reaction force” for “nationwide deployment.”

Hegseth will also work with adjutant generals to decide a number of each state’s Guard “to be reasonably available for rapid mobilization for such purposes,” the order said.

State National Guard units are generally controlled by the state’s governor, except in emergencies. 

In comments in the Oval Office on Monday, Trump said the Guard deployment could rapidly “solve” crime in some major cities, but left doubt about his desire to overrule governors who do not want Guard troops in their cities.

Trump mobilized the District of Columbia National Guard, which he is able to do because the district is not a state, to assist local law enforcement this month. Guard troops from West Virginia, Louisiana, Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee and South Carolina also have sent troops to the nation’s capital.

Free DC, a group that advocates for district self-governance, issued a lengthy statement calling the move dictatorial. 

“Trump is laying the groundwork to quell all public dissent to his agenda. If he is successful, it would spell the end of American democracy,” the group said. “We refuse to allow that to happen.”

Chicago next?

Following the deployment to Washington, D.C., Trump said “Chicago should be next.”

Democratic governors, such as Illinois’ J.B. Pritzker, should request National Guard assistance, Trump said. But if they would not, Trump said he may not send troops.

Asked if he would send troops into cities over governors’ objections, Trump complained that governors could be ungrateful for federal deployment.

“We may wait,” he continued. “We may or may not. We may just go in and do it, which is probably what we should do. The problem is it’s not nice when you go in and do it, and somebody else is standing there saying, as we give great results, say, ‘Well, we don’t want the military.’”

Pritzker slammed Trump on social media and said he would not accept Trump sending troops to his state’s largest city.

“I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again and again: We don’t have kings or wannabe dictators in America, and I don’t intend to bend the knee to one,” he posted with a link to Trump’s comments.

The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits federal military forces from engaging in domestic law enforcement. 

‘I’m not a dictator’

Trump dismissed criticism that deploying the military for law enforcement purposes is antidemocratic, saying that most people agree with extreme measures to crack down on urban crime.

“They say, ‘We don’t need ‘em. Freedom, freedom. He’s a dictator, he’s a dictator,’” Trump said of his critics. “A lot of people are saying, ‘Maybe we like a dictator.’ I don’t like a dictator. I’m not a dictator. I’m a man with great common sense and a smart person. And when I see what’s happening to our cities, and then you send in troops, instead of being praised, they’re saying, ‘You’re trying to take over the republic.’ These people are sick.”

Trump earlier this summer called up the California National Guard to quell protests over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, setting the stage for his actions in the district. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has challenged the president’s authority in a case that is still in court.

Trump over the weekend also fought with Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, also a Democrat, on social media and threatened to send in troops to Baltimore.

Former Dane County Judge James Troupis appears in court on Dec. 12. He faces felony forgery charges for his role in developing the 2020 false elector scheme to overturn the election results for Donald Trump. (Screenshot | WisEye)

A Dane County judge ruled last week that the criminal cases will be allowed to continue against two former attorneys and a campaign staff member of President Donald Trump for orchestrating the scheme to have Wisconsin Republicans cast false Electoral College votes for Trump in 2020. 

John D. Hyland denied the motion to dismiss in an Aug. 22 order. Last year, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed criminal charges against Kenneth Cheseboro, Jim Troupis and Mike Roman. 

Cheseboro, a Wisconsin native, was one of the main planners of the false elector scheme. The scheme led to Electoral College votes being cast for Trump in seven states and began the series of events that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Troupis, a former Dane County judge, worked as an attorney for the Trump campaign. Roman allegedly delivered the false paperwork from Wisconsin Republicans to the staff member of a Pennsylvania congressman in order to get them to Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6. 

The three men each face 11 criminal charges related to felony forgery. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a $10,000 fine. 

“Troupis does not show that the First Amendment protects the right to commit forgery, does not show that the government violated his right to due process by entrapping him into that forgery, and does not show prosecutors must exercise discretion to charge an accused of his preferred offense,” Hyland wrote in his order denying the motion to dismiss.

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President Donald Trump and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott hold hands during a roundtable event at the Hill Country Youth Event Center in Kerrville, Texas, on July 11, 2025. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s push to bolster the GOP’s narrow congressional majority in next year’s elections has prompted a rare nationwide mid-decade redistricting battle that has rapidly taken shape over the past weeks. 

Indiana GOP lawmakers’ White House visit this week highlights how the race to redraw congressional districts for partisan advantage may soon expand beyond Texas and California — two states that have reached new stages in their dueling redistricting efforts. Missouri could also be on its way to redrawing its map to favor Republicans.

“Drawing districts to put your thumb on the scale is almost as old as the country,” said David Niven, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati who conducts research on gerrymandering, elections and voting rights.

“The revolutionary twist is: Almost all of the history of gerrymandering has been about personal gain and about advancing your friends’ interests — this is a real dramatic turn toward using gerrymandering for national political control.”

The national scuffle originated with Trump urging Texas to draw a new congressional map to defend the GOP’s razor-thin control of the U.S. House. The map could give Republicans five new congressional seats in the 2026 midterms.

The GOP has 219 U.S. House seats, with Democrats holding 212 spots and four current vacancies — a slim margin that has created hurdles for U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, as he tries to enact Trump’s agenda and cater to both the demands of the president and the GOP conference’s factions. 

As Republicans in the Hoosier State face mounting pressure to join in on the redistricting fight, Indiana GOP state lawmakers are headed to the White House on Tuesday.

The meeting was scheduled before Vice President JD Vance’s Aug. 7 meeting with Indiana GOP leadership as part of the administration’s redistricting push but after redistricting was added to Texas’ special legislative session agenda in July, according to the Indiana Capital Chronicle. 

As of last week, Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun remained noncommittal about whether he would call a special session to redraw the state’s lines, per the Capital Chronicle. 

California, Texas redistricting battle heats up 

The Indiana lawmakers’ visit to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. comes as Lone Star State Republicans inch closer to adopting a new congressional map and California Democrats fight back with their own effort. 

The Texas Senate on Saturday approved the new map, which Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would “swiftly” sign into law.

Texas lawmakers approved the new congressional map after two weeks of delays following widespread opposition from Texas’ Democratic legislators. 

But the Golden State is ramping up its retaliatory efforts against Texas Republicans.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a legislative package Aug. 21 that calls for a special election, in which voters will decide the fate of a new congressional map that could give Democrats five more seats in the U.S. House. 

Newsom has framed the effort as pushing back against political hardball by Trump. 

“We got here because the president of the United States is struggling,” Newsom said shortly before signing the legislative package. 

“We got here because the president of the United States is one of the most unpopular presidents in U.S. history. We got here because he recognizes that he will lose the election. Congress will go back into the hands of the Democratic Party next November. We got here because of his failed policies,” he said. 

The California governor added that Texas “fired the first shot.”

“We wouldn’t be here if Texas had not done what they just did, Donald Trump didn’t do what he just did.” 

Meanwhile, Trump said Monday that the Department of Justice will file a lawsuit over Newsom’s redistricting efforts.

More states could follow 

Missouri could also soon follow in Texas’ redistricting footsteps to give the GOP more of an advantage in the upcoming midterms. 

Trump took to social media Aug. 21 saying “the Great State of Missouri is now IN,” adding that “we’re going to win the Midterms in Missouri again, bigger and better than ever before!”

The administration has put pressure on Missouri in recent weeks to redraw their lines to help defend Republicans’ majority in the U.S. House by eliminating one of two Democratic districts in the state.

Though Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe said no decisions about calling a special legislative session had been made, a spokesperson for the Republican said he “continues to have conversations with House and Senate leadership to assess options for a special session that would allow the General Assembly to provide congressional districts that best represent Missourians,” according to the Missouri Independent.

Maryland Democratic Gov. Wes Moore said Sunday he is considering redistricting efforts in the state, where the GOP currently holds just one of eight congressional seats. 

“I want to make sure that we have fair lines and fair seats, where we don’t have situations where politicians are choosing voters, but that voters actually have a chance to choose their elected officials,” Moore told CBS’ “Face the Nation.” 

“We need to be able to have fair maps, and we also need to make sure that if the president of the United States is putting his finger on the scale to try to manipulate elections because he knows that his policies cannot win in a ballot box, then it behooves each and every one of us to be able to keep all options on the table to ensure that the voters’ voices can actually be heard, and we can have maps.”

President Donald Trump waved and pointed to the crowd as he exited the stage following his remarks at the Iowa State Fairgrounds July 3, 2025 at an event kicking off a yearlong celebration leading up to America’s 250th anniversary. (Photo by Robin Opsahl/Iowa Capital Dispatch)

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump and Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley are sparring on social media over whether the Judiciary Committee chairman should abandon a century-old tradition that allows senators to block the advancement of judicial nominees who would serve in the senators’ home states.

The practice, referred to as “blue slips,” has irked Trump, who has had some of his picks for the federal bench opposed by Democratic senators. 

Trump posted on social media over the weekend that he wanted GOP Senate leaders to move his judicial nominees through, regardless of the level of opposition from Democrats, and said Monday he would sue over the practice, which he called “unconstitutional.” 

“We’re also going to be filing a lawsuit on blue slipping,” he said in the Oval Office Monday morning. “You know, blue slips make it impossible for me as president to appoint a judge or a U.S. attorney, because they have a gentleman’s agreement — nothing memorialized.”

The White House comments came after Trump slammed the practice on social media over the weekend and told Grassley how to proceed.

“I have a Constitutional Right to appoint Judges and U.S. Attorneys, but that RIGHT has been completely taken away from me in States that have just one Democrat United States Senator,” Trump posted on social media. 

“This is because of an old and outdated ‘custom’ known as a BLUE SLIP, that Senator Chuck Grassley, of the Great State of Iowa, refuses to overturn, even though the Democrats, including Crooked Joe Biden (Twice!), have done so on numerous occasions,” he added. “Therefore, the only candidates that I can get confirmed for these most important positions are, believe it or not, Democrats! Chuck Grassley should allow strong Republican candidates to ascend to these very vital and powerful roles, and tell the Democrats, as they often tell us, to go to HELL!”

Grassley won’t end blue slips

Grassley responded on Monday morning that he wouldn’t be ending the blue slip tradition. 

“A U.S. Atty/district judge nominee without a blue slip does not hv the votes to get confirmed on the Senate floor & they don’t hv the votes to get out of cmte As chairman I set Pres Trump noms up for SUCCESS NOT FAILURE,” Grassley wrote. 

He wrote in a separate post that Alina “Habba was withdrawn as the President’s nominee for New Jersey U.S. Atty on July 24 &the Judic cmte never received any of the paperwork needed for the Senate to vet her nomination.” 

A federal judge on Thursday said Habba has no lawful authority to be New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney.

Grassley was reelected in November 2022, for a six-year term that will end in January 2029. 

Tradition since 1917

The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service writes in a report on the process that since “at least 1917, the committee’s use of the blue slip has been a feature of its consideration of such nominations.”

“After a President selects a nominee for a U.S. circuit or district court judgeship, the chairman sends a blue-colored form to the two Senators representing the home state of the nominee,” the report explains.

“The form seeks the home state Senators’ assessment of the nominee. If a home state Senator has no objection to a nominee, the blue slip is returned to the chairman with a positive response. If, however, a home state Senator objects to a nominee, the blue slip is either withheld or returned with a negative response. For the purposes of this report, any instance of a blue slip being withheld is treated the same as if a blue slip were returned with a negative response—that is, both instances indicate a nominee lacked the support of at least one home state Senator.”

Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.

Kilmar Abrego Garcia speaks to protesters who held a prayer vigil and rally on his behalf outside of the ICE office in Baltimore, Maryland, on Monday,  Aug. 25, 2025. Lydia Walther Rodriguez with CASA interprets for him. (Photo by William J. Ford/Maryland Matters)

BALTIMORE — Hundreds of protesters gathered at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore early Monday for a prayer vigil for the wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego Garcia, whom the Trump administration aims to re-deport to Uganda unless he pleads guilty to Justice Department charges.

As Abrego Garcia arrived for his Monday ICE check-in at the office, he was arrested and detained, one of his immigration lawyers, Simon Y. Sandoval-Moshenberg, told the crowd. 

The crowd shouted “Shame!”

Sandoval-Moshenberg added that the ICE officials  at the time would not answer questions about where Abrego Garcia would be detained. 

“The only reason that they’ve chosen to take him into detention is to punish him,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said outside the office. 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement to States Newsroom that “ICE law enforcement arrested Kilmar Abrego Garcia and are processing him for deportation.”

DHS said that ICE has placed Abrego Garcia in removal proceedings to Uganda, which has agreed to accept deportees from the United States.

Abrego Garcia’s attorneys quickly filed a habeas corpus petition suit in a Maryland district court, where Judge Paula Xinis, who also ordered the Trump administration to return Abrego Garica after his wrongful deportation, has barred immigration officials from removing Abrego Garcia from the United States until 4 p.m. Eastern Wednesday. A habeas corpus petition allows immigrants to challenge their detention.

In a Monday afternoon emergency hearing with Xinis, the attorneys for Abrego Garcia, including Sandoval-Moshenberg, said he was being held in Virginia.

Sandoval-Moshenberg asked Xinis if she could order that Abrego Garcia not be moved from Virginia because he was concerned that Abrego Garcia could be moved. Xinis agreed, saying the order would give Abrego Garcia access to his legal counsel in his criminal case and habeas one.

Sandoval-Moshenberg said Abrego Garcia would accept refugee status that has been offered by Costa Rica’s government, but would not plead guilty to the charges. 

‘I am free and have been reunited with my family’

As Abrego Garcia walked into his ICE check-in with his wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, he was greeted by cheers from hundreds of protesters. 

In Spanish, Abrego Garcia thanked those who attended.

“I always want you to remember that today, I can say with pride, that I am free and have been reunited with my family,” he said. 

Immigrant rights activists from the advocacy group CASA shielded the family and the attorneys as they entered the field office. 

Over the weekend, attorneys for Abrego Garcia’s criminal case in Nashville said in court filings that the Trump administration is trying to force the Maryland man to plead guilty to human smuggling charges by promising to remove him to Costa Rica if he does so, and threatening to deport him to Uganda if he refuses. 

Abrego Garcia pleaded not guilty and was released Friday to await trial in January on charges he took part in a long-running conspiracy to smuggle immigrants without legal status across the United States. 

His attorneys received a letter from ICE that informed them of his pending deportation to Uganda and instructed him to report to the ICE facility in Baltimore for a check-in. 

Sandoval-Moshenberg said that Monday’s check-in with ICE was supposed to be an interview but “clearly that was false.”

Sandoval-Moshenberg said the new lawsuit was filed early Monday in the District Court for the District of Maryland challenging Abrego Garcia’s potential removal to the East African country, or any third country, while his immigration case is pending. 

“The fact that they’re holding Costa Rica as a carrot and using Uganda as a stick to try to coerce him to plead guilty to a crime is such clear evidence that they’re weaponizing the immigration system in a matter that is completely unconstitutional,” Sandoval-Moshenberg said. 

Trump mass deportations in spotlight

The Supreme Court in April ordered the Trump administration to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia, who was unlawfully deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador, his home country.  An immigration judge had granted him removal protections in 2019 because it was likely he would face violence if returned. 

The case has put the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation tactics in the national spotlight as well as the White House’s clash with the judicial branch as the president aims to carry out his plans of mass deportation. 

On Friday, Abrego Garcia’s attorneys moved to dismiss the case against him because of the coordination from Homeland Security and the Justice Department to force a guilty plea from him. 

“There can be only one interpretation of these events,” the lawyers wrote. “The (Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security) and ICE are using their collective powers to force Mr. Abrego (Garcia) to choose between a guilty plea followed by relative safety, or rendition to Uganda, where his safety and liberty would be under threat.”

Another judge in Maryland had earlier ruled that ICE must give Abrego Garcia 72 hours of notice before removing him to a third country.  

Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who traveled to El Salvador to meet with Abrego Garcia while he was detained there, criticized the move by the Trump administration to re-deport him to Uganda. 

“The federal courts and public outcry forced the Administration to bring Ábrego García back to Maryland, but Trump’s cronies continue to lie about the facts in his case and they are engaged in a malicious abuse of power as they threaten to deport him to Uganda – to block his chance to defend himself against the new charges they brought,” he said in a Sunday statement. “As I told Kilmar and his wife Jennifer, we will stay in this fight for justice and due process because if his rights are denied, the rights of everyone else are put at risk.”

Maryland Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey, who represents the district where Abrego Garcia’s family lives, attended Monday’s rally. He slammed the Trump administration for moving to again deport Abrego Garcia.

“This started with a mistake,” he said. “They knew it was illegal. Instead of acknowledging it and bringing him back, they said, ‘We can’t bring him back.’ They lied.”

The Trump administration repeatedly stated in court that because Abrego Garica was in El Salvador, he was no longer in U.S. custody and could not be brought back despite court orders.

Wrongly deported in March

Abrego Garcia was wrongly deported in March and returned to the U.S. in June to face the charges filed by the Justice Department in May.

While Abrego Garica was at the notorious prison in El Salvador known as El Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, he detailed how he was beaten and psychologically tortured.

Because of his 2019 deportation protections, the Trump administration either had to challenge the withholding of removal or deport Abrego Garcia to a third country that would accept him. 

His attorneys in the Tennessee case attached the agreement with the government of Costa Rica to accept Abrego Garcia’s removal in Saturday court filings. 

“The Government of Costa Rica intends to provide refugee status or residency to Mr. Abrego Garcia upon his transfer to Costa Rica,” according to the agreement. “The Government of Costa Rica assures the Government of the United States of America that, consistent with that lawful immigration status and Costa Rican law, it does not intend to detain Mr. Abrego Garcia upon his arrival in Costa Rica.”

In that filing, the Trump administration late Thursday agreed to remove Abrego Garcia to Costa Rica if he remained in custody until Monday, pleaded guilty to the DOJ charges and served the sentence imposed.

Selah Torralba, an advocacy manager for the Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition, said at Monday’s rally outside the ICE facility that she pushed for Abrego Garcia’s release while he was detained in Tennessee.

“After spending close to three months brutalized in a place that he should never have been sent to begin with, and another three months imprisoned in a state that is not his own, Kilmar was joyfully reunited with his family and children this weekend,” she said. “But it is impossible to celebrate that joy without acknowledging the cruel reality that our communities have known for far too long.”

Beer vendor Ryan Strnad points to Amerinca Family Field at his campaign announcement last week. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)

Ryan Strnad of Mukwonago knows he might be a “polarizing” candidate for governor, but he says it could work in his favor. A beer vendor for over 25 years, Strnad works three jobs, has never served in elected office and has broad political positions: he’s pro-labor, opposed COVID-19 restrictions, supports allowing access to abortion and is pro-cop.

The retirement of Gov. Tony Evers has made the 2026 race the first since 2010 to open a lane for anyone from either party to get in without having to challenge a popular incumbent. Most of the Democrats preparing for or considering a run for Wisconsin’s top executive office are current or former elected officials.

Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez was the first Democrat to announce a bid to succeed Evers. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who also once served in the state Assembly, has announced plans to run; Sen. Kelda Roys, Attorney General Josh Kaul, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes and state Rep. Francesca Hong are all potential Democratic contestants.

On the Republican side, Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrien is so far the only candidate officially running who hasn’t held elected office before — something that he is using to compare himself to President Donald Trump and as an argument for his candidacy.

Strnad, who officially launched his campaign last week, tells the Wisconsin Examiner that even his mom told him that he should “run for something smaller.” He sees the governor’s office as the place where he could have the most influence, however. 

“It’s a job I would love to have… I love state politics more than anything else,” Strnad says. “I would have a unique say of things. I can propose the budget. I can make some executive orders. And I can also sign and veto bills.”

For his campaign kick-off, in which he made good on his 2023 vow to run, Strnad stood at Mitchell Boulevard Park across the street from American Family Field where he has worked as a beer vendor for over 25 years. 

Strnad says that he’s not making “hands over fist” as a vendor, but it helps him afford his expenses. He also works two other jobs including third shift at a factory (he won’t say where)  and at a dry cleaning business.

He also loves the environment of the stadium. “Just walk into that ballpark and… being in the sun when the roof’s open or dealing with the fans… and listening to the music and going along with the crowd,” Strnad says. “Being part of the experience, that’s half of it right there.”

This will be Strnad’s first time running for office as a Democrat. As a Republican he ran unsuccessfully for the state Assembly in 2000 while living near the south shore in Milwaukee County. He sayst he switched parties because his labor beliefs align better with Democrats: He was introduced to unions when he started working as a beer vendor in 1998, after previously working as a stadium food vendor.

“There was no union with the food vendors,” Strnad says. “I had some real good union stewards who introduced me to the job, and I experienced how labor works.” Seeing the money being made at the stadium has made him want to ensure that employees benefit enough, too. 

In 2017, Strnad started “Drinks in Seats” — a political action committee and lobbying group to advocate on behalf of drink vendors — in part because the stadium’s management was  trying to grow the number of places where beer was sold on the premises, and he was concerned about the competition vendors would face. His group hasn’t been registered to lobby since the 2023-24 legislative session. 

In his campaign, Strnad says he would focus on labor issues, including repealing Act 10, which restricted the collective bargaining rights of most public sector employees, and getting rid of “right to work” policies, which make it illegal to require employees to join a union or pay dues as a condition of employment. He also wants to make it harder for employers to fire employees.

“Workers are doing their employers a favor by choosing to go and work for them and stay with them. It really hurts a lot when you go and tell an employee that they’re no longer working there,” Strnad said at his announcement press conference. 

Strnad said he would seek more bipartisanship as governor. He’s bothered that politics has “become a lot of us against them,” he said. 

He told reporters that he would be “trying to garner some support from the right as well” as Democrats. He was critical of Democrats’ supporting COVID-19 restrictions, which he blamed for Democrats’  struggle to win support from working class voters. 

“I cannot think of another Democrat who was vocal about coronavirus restrictions,” Strnad said. “I was rather vocal about how it was not fair to us to lose our jobs or work because of coronavirus restrictions.”

On abortion, Strnad said “any pregnant mother to be or mother who wants an abortion can have an abortion.” When it comes to the environment, he was critical of activists who are trying to to shut down oil and gas pipelines. “We do enough to support the environment anyway,” he said, and the fight against pipelines  is “costing people’s jobs.” 

Strnad lifted up a recycling bin. “Go to a store, get yourself one of these,” he said. “Just buy yourself one of these, $15 at your local hardware store, start recycling — Boom! You’re helping the environment right there.” 

Strnad also emphasizes his support for law enforcement and firearms,  including Wisconsin’s concealed carry law. 

“I back the police and I want to make it that every block in this country is a livable one,” Strnad tells the Examiner. 

While not a traditional candidate, Strnad says he hopes people are able to see themselves in him. “He’s one of us” is one of his campaign slogans. 

“I’m doing three jobs. I live in a rented apartment. I know what it’s like, you know, to be where they’re at,” Strnad says. “It’s been really now more than ever that decisions made at the Legislature, especially from a governor or especially from a president, have a direct impact on the everyday person’s life, especially those in the working class and the middle class.”

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Correction: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Mukwonago.

From left, Republican state Reps. David Steffen and Ben Franklin and Democratic state Sen. Jamie Wall plans for closing Green Bay Correctional Institution at an Allouez Village Board meeting Tuesday, Aug. 19. (Photo by Andrew Kennard/Wisconsin Examiner)

Now that the Wisconsin budget has called for closing the aging Green Bay Correctional Institution, lawmakers, the governor’s office and the Department of Corrections are having to grapple with how to carry it out. 

“For the first time in ever, we finally have agreements in the Legislature and with the executive branch on how to move forward,” said state Rep. David Steffen (R-Howard) after an Allouez village board meeting last week.

There are unresolved details that will need time to work out, Steffen said, but “we’re moving in the right direction.”

Steffen, state Rep. Ben Franklin (R-De Pere) and state Sen. Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay) spoke to the village board Aug. 19 about plans to close the prison, located in the village adjacent to the city of Green Bay. Gov Tony Evers and DOC Secretary Jared Hoy were invited to the meeting but were unable to come, Allouez Village Board President Jim Rafter said. 

The 2025-27 Wisconsin budget includes money for preliminary plans to  revamp Wisconsin’s prison system and close the Green Bay prison. But what Evers originally proposed and what the document looked like when it reached his desk were far apart.

Pushing for a deadline

Evers originally called for $325 million for a series of projects that would enable the state to close the Green Bay prison in 2029 and transform Waupun Correctional Institution. 

What the Legislature passed — largely written by the GOP majority on the powerful Joint Finance Committee — includes $15 million for prison system construction planning related to the corrections department’s realignment, including closing the Green Bay prison.

When he signed the budget July 3, Evers vetoed the 2029 closing  deadline, arguing in his veto message that the Legislature had rejected his own plan for closing the prison, which also aimed for closure in 2029. The Legislature, he wrote, provided “virtually no real, meaningful or concrete plan” in place of his.

Republican lawmakers criticized Evers’ veto.  In a statement the day that the budget was signed, Steffen said that “only in government would four and a half years be too short of a deadline to finalize the closure of a crumbling building.” 

Republican lawmakers want to restore the deadline. Franklin said at last week’s meeting that he will introduce a bill in the fall to set a closing deadline and wants it to be Dec. 31, 2029. The bill should specify that the deadline could only be extended with approval from the Legislature, he said. 

Wall gave less weight to the impact of  setting a deadline. He pointed to Lincoln Hills, which houses male juvenile offenders. The facility has remained open for years after the original deadline to close it, Wall said, because the Legislature did not take the steps needed to meet that target date.

He also expressed concern that people might leave because of a deadline “that may or may not become real,” exacerbating ongoing staffing problems in the system. 

While the shortage of correctional officers improved after pay increased, vacancies have started rising again. The DOC and prisons across the country have experienced staffing troubles, which can lead to more restrictive conditions for incarcerated people. 

Vacancy rates published by the DOC for correctional officers and sergeant positions in adult prisons climbed to 35% in August 2023. The vacancy rate declined to about 11% in fall 2024, but it has since increased to 17%. At Green Bay and Waupun, it’s over 25%.  

“Historically speaking, from the time that I started there to the time that I left… if 10 new people would start at one point, usually half would quit,” former Green Bay corrections officer Jeff Hoffman told the Examiner last year. “Because they didn’t want to work in that environment.” 

Differences over prison system planning

Franklin said his proposed deadline bill will more specifically state how the $15 million will be spent.

Wall said the DOC is already developing a plan for spending the money, which will go through the state building commission. The plan is to direct the money to the  kind of facility changes that Evers proposed originally, he said.  

Franklin said Republicans will have to be flexible in adopting some of Evers’ proposals to restructure juvenile centers and medium and maximum security adult prisons. He said he doesn’t think everything will be adopted as Evers originally proposed, however. 

Franklin said he also wants to set milestone dates, for actions such as transfers of incarcerated people, which would provide “a barometer of where we’re at” ahead of the closing deadline. 

He said he also wants quarterly progress reports to the Joint Finance Committee.

Steffen said the committee and the Legislature should have the opportunity to see and understand plans and ask questions more than once and have time to deal thoughtfully with the situation instead of “in a pressure cooker budget environment.” 

Wall cautioned against moving too slowly, however. DOC has some projects that could go up for approval early in 2026, he said.

“And time is not necessarily on our side here when it comes to the state budget,” Wall said, noting that if the economy softens, that could affect the state budget. 

According to the Wisconsin Policy Forum, the state could be facing a more difficult budget in 2027 than it has seen in recent years, with recently approved spending and tax cuts using up most of the surplus.

Speaking to reporters after the Allouez meeting, Steffen said that “we are generally in agreement on what to do with the buildings, the expansions at the other facilities and the closure” at Green Bay. 

But he said there will be incarcerated people who need somewhere to go. Republicans and Democrats differ on whether to expand the earned release program — releasing some people before their sentence is completed — or “find the space within the system” to move them, Steffen said. He raised the possibility of having local jails take in prisoners, a tactic the Department of Corrections has used to reduce overcrowding. 

Funding remains uncertain, Steffen added. 

Aging prison system

A 2020 draft report on the Department of Corrections’ website includes information about problems created by the infrastructure inside the aging prisons in Green Bay and Waupun. 

“There are a lot of issues with running facilities that are that old,” Hoy said in April about the Green Bay facility. “We shouldn’t be running prisons in that manner in 2025… We want to do more with our population than what those facilities can afford us to do.”

Prison reform advocates hold vigils outside the prison. Wisconsin Department of Corrections data shows that on average, prisoners at GBCI spend an average of 48.5 days in disciplinary separation, where an incarcerated person may be sent for committing a violation — the most of any prison listed.

While lawmakers push to close the Green Bay prison, it’s unclear what will become of Waupun, the state’s oldest prison, which has attracted scrutiny for a string of prisoner deaths, a lockdown and living conditions. 

The governor’s proposal in February aimed to close the prison temporarily and convert it to a medium-security institution and “vocational village” emphasizing job training and readiness at an  estimated cost of $245.3 million. The provision did not pass the Legislature. 

While Allouez’s Rafter wants to close the Green Bay prison, Waupun mayor Rohn Bishop has called for keeping Waupun Correctional Institution open. 

Bishop has pointed to the economic impact on Waupun and to the city’s history and heritage. In a column in December, he said the city donated the land to bring the prison there, generations of people in Waupun have worked at the prison and local churches have had outreach to incarcerated people.

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A nationwide study found that recent colds caused by rhinoviruses can give short-term protection against COVID-19. Children benefit most, as their immune systems react strongly with antiviral defenses, helping explain their lower rates of severe illness.

Australian teachers are in crisis, with 9 in 10 experiencing severe stress and nearly 70% saying their workload is unmanageable. A major UNSW Sydney study found teachers suffer depression, anxiety, and stress at rates three to four times higher than the national average, largely driven by excessive administrative tasks. These mental health struggles are pushing many to consider leaving the profession, worsening the teacher shortage.

Painkillers we often trust — ibuprofen and acetaminophen — may be quietly accelerating one of the world’s greatest health crises: antibiotic resistance. Researchers discovered that these drugs not only fuel bacterial resistance on their own but make it far worse when combined with antibiotics. The findings are especially troubling for aged care settings, where residents commonly take multiple medications, creating perfect conditions for resistant bacteria to thrive.

Researchers uncovered that the Maui wildfires caused a spike in deaths far higher than reported, with hidden fatalities linked to fire, smoke, and lack of medical access. They warn that prevention rooted in Native Hawaiian ecological knowledge is critical to avoiding another tragedy.

A stunning discovery in North Greenland has reclassified strange squid-like fossils, revealing that nectocaridids were not early cephalopods but ancestors of arrow worms. Preserved nervous systems and unique anatomical features provided the breakthrough, showing these creatures once ruled as stealthy predators of the Cambrian seas. With complex eyes, streamlined bodies, and evidence of prey in their stomachs, they reveal a surprising past where arrow worms were far more fearsome than their modern descendants.

Living near the ocean may actually help you live longer. A new nationwide study found that people in coastal regions enjoy life expectancies a year or more above the U.S. average, while city dwellers near inland rivers and lakes may face shorter lifespans. Researchers suggest the difference comes from environmental and social factors—cleaner air, cooler summers, recreation opportunities, and higher incomes near the coasts versus pollution, poverty, and flood risks inland. The findings reveal that not all “blue spaces” are equal, challenging assumptions that any water view brings health benefits.

A chance glance at a museum display has led to the first-ever discovery of an ichthyosaur fossil in western Japan, dating back around 220 million years. Initially mistaken for a common bivalve fossil, the specimen was revealed to contain 21 bone fragments, including ribs and vertebrae, belonging to a rare Late Triassic ichthyosaur. Experts say this find could reshape understanding of ichthyosaur evolution and their ability to cross the vast Panthalassic Ocean.

Scientists at CERN’s ATLAS experiment have uncovered compelling evidence of Higgs bosons decaying into muons, an incredibly rare event that could deepen our understanding of how particles acquire mass. They also sharpened their ability to detect the even rarer Higgs decay into a Z boson and a photon—a process that might reveal hidden physics beyond the Standard Model.

Scientists using Google’s quantum processor have taken a major step toward unraveling the deepest mysteries of the universe. By simulating fundamental interactions described by gauge theories, the team showed how particles and the invisible “strings” connecting them behave, fluctuate, and even break. This breakthrough opens the door to probing particle physics, exotic quantum materials, and perhaps even the structure of space and time itself.

Physicists have built a novel superconducting platform that mimics hidden vortex states once thought unobservable. Their "backdoor" method overcomes experimental limits, letting them control quantum behavior on demand. The discovery could pave the way for powerful quantum simulators.

Nissan celebrates the end of the line for the R35 GT-R and its legacy as the final example rolled off the production line at the Tochigi factory in Japan. During this bittersweet moment, the brand’s CEO said that this isn’t goodbye to GT-R as the nameplate will “one day make a return”.

An Incredibly Long Run

The Japanese automaker produced approximately 48,000 units of the R35 GT-R over the past 18 years. A team of nine master craftsmen, known as Takumi, assembled all GT-R engines by hand at the Yokohama factory. Each one’s name can be found on a special plaque attached to the respective powertrain.

More: Nissan’s New CEO Pledges Four Or More Sports Cars To Reignite Enthusiast Passion

The last example of the R35 is a GT-R Premium Edition T-Spec finished in the signature Midnight purple shade. It is destined for a customer in Japan, which is the final sales region for the model. Nissan stopped accepting orders in its home market last February, which gave them enough time to clear the backlog.

The Legacy Of The Godzilla

The R35 GT-R was introduced at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show and immediately earned the reputation of a “supercar killer”. Nissan says that the model was designed as the ultimate Grand Tourer, combining performance with “a comfortable ride, high levels of refinement, and benchmark fit and finish”. The GT-R received numerous updates over its 18-year-old lifecycle, including facelifts in 2010, 2016, and 2023.

Nissan

All variants of the R35 GT-R were powered by the non-electrified VR38DETT 3.8-liter twin-turbo V6 mated to the advanced Attesa ET-S all-wheel-drive system. The engine gradually evolved from producing 473 hp (353 kW / 480 PS) in the initial model to generating 562 hp (419 kW / 570 PS) after the latest update, and up to 600 hp (447 kW / 608 PS) in the hardcore Nismo.

Over the years, the lap record of the GT-R at the Nurburgring was slashed from 7:38 (2007) to 7:08.679 (2013). Nissan’s supercar killer also appeared in motorsports, achieving victories at the GT500 and GT300 classes of Japan’s Super GT Championship, the Blancpain GT Series Pro-Am class, the 12-hours of Bathurst, and the Super Taikyu endurance racing series.

Goodbye R35, Hello R36 (sort of)

Ivan Espinosa, President and CEO of Nissan, issued the following statement:

“After 18 remarkable years, the R35 GT-R has left an enduring mark on automotive history. Its legacy is a testament to the passion of our team and the loyalty of our customers around the globe. Thank you for being part of this extraordinary journey.”

Nissan’s boss didn’t stop there, as he gave a few hints about the future of the nameplate:

“To the many fans of the GT-R worldwide, I would like to tell you this isn’t a goodbye to the GT-R forever. It’s our goal for the GT-R nameplate to one day make a return. We understand the expectations are high, the GT-R badge is not something that can be applied to just any vehicle. It is reserved for something truly special and the R35 set the bar high. So all I can ask is for your patience. While we don’t have a precise plan finalized today, the GT-R will evolve and reemerge in the future.”

At a time of financial uncertainty, it is clear that Nissan is not ready to commit to a release date for the successor of the GT-R. This probably means that development, while underway, still has some way to go and strategic decisions need to be made before things proceed as they should.

As hinted at by the 2023 Nissan Hyper Force concept, the R36 was expected with a high-performance electric powertrain and solid state batteries. However, recent comments by the R35 product planner – Hiroshi Tamura – suggest that the EV future is not fixed. Instead, it may as well adopt a hybrid setup, if this is what customers really want.

More: The Next GT-R Might Not Be What You Expect

According to the official announcement, “learnings from the R35 will be integral to the next-generation GT-R, ensuring its legacy evolves while raising the performance benchmark”.

In any case, it is good that the Japanese automaker hasn’t abandoned plans for a performance flagship that will eventually continue the legacy of the previous GT-R generations. Let’s hope we’ll lay eyes on it before the end of the decade.

Mercedes-AMG is no stranger to chasing records, yet it might have just outdone even itself. The Concept AMG GT XX just circled the globe virtually in just over a week. In the process of setting that record, it smashed 24 others as well. There’s no doubt about it. The AMG.EA platform just proved that it’s not just good for short bursts. It’s capable of long-haul dominance.

At the heart of the GT XX is a trio of axial-flux motors paired with a directly cooled high-performance battery. This is the same kind of tech that AMG says will underpin production cars starting next year. The concept delivers more than 1,360 hp (1,000 kW) and can sustain triple-digit speeds for days. That’s not hyperbole – it’s a certified fact now.

More: Only Two Of These Ferraris Exist And One Just Shattered Records

Essentially, this car circled Germany’s Nardo circuit for 7.5 straight days, only stopping to charge back up. Mercedes brought two GT XX prototypes, and the pair racked up 3,177 laps of the 7.87-mile (12.68 km) track during the record attempt. In the process, they set records for the furthest distance traveled by an EV over 12-168 hours and the fastest EV to go 2,000-40,075 km.

Key EV Distance Records

Inspired by Jules Verne’s “Around the World in Eight Days,” Mercedes actually beat that figure. 40,075 km is the distance around the globe at the equator. The AMG GT XX went that far in just 7 days, 13 hours, and 24 minutes. That means that on average, during that time, it was going 137 mph, including when it was stopped to charge.

Of course, that was only possible because of the engineering on tap here. Charging at 850 kW is something only concept cars can do right now, but it enabled the AMG GT XX to add 249 miles (400 km) of range in five minutes.

The axial motors also provide more power density, and Mercedes used F1-inspired direct battery cooling to ensure nothing got too hot. That’s key because Mercedes reports track conditions of 35°C (95°F) at times. While we don’t expect to see EVs keeping up with ICE cars in endurance races anytime soon, this is a big step in that direction.

Time-Based Records – Distance Covered