As of Thursday morning — less than 24 hours after Texas Republicans passed a new congressional map that could net them five additional seats — California legislators had already begun their retaliation.
The state&#8217;s new redistricting ballot measure legislation, updated Thursday morning, would allow any new map passed by California&#8217;s legislature to stand regardless of new maps passed by other states, according to a report from California Capitol Correspondent Ashley Zavala of KCRA News.
&#8220;California Democrats in Assembly this AM changed the state’s Redistricting ballot measure legislation, which basically now allows new Congressional maps to go into effect NO MATTER what other states do. Even if Texas backtracks or courts strike it down, CA would have new maps,&#8221; Zavala posted along with screenshots of the legislation in question.
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NEW: California Democrats in Assembly this AM changed the state’s Redistricting ballot measure legislation, which basically now allows new Congressional maps to go into effect NO MATTER what other states do.
Even if Texas backtracks or courts strike it down, CA would have new… <a href="https://t.co/eVJ5imy6S3">pic.twitter.com/eVJ5imy6S3</a>
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZavalaA/status/1958586712864825636?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Zavala also noted that Governor Gavin Newsom had said only a month earlier that California would have &#8220;no need&#8221; to move ahead with a retaliatory map if Texas did not pass the new one as planned — but the new plan appeared to be to forge ahead even if the courts put an end to the Texas map.
&#8220;Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom told me if Texas didn’t move forward, California would have &#8216;no need&#8217; to change Congressional maps. Apparently, that’s out the window,&#8221; she posted, sharing video of Newsom&#8217;s previous statement.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom told me if Texas didn’t move forward, California would have “no need” to change Congressional maps.
Apparently, that’s out the window. <a href="https://t.co/K5yGXjlxH7">https://t.co/K5yGXjlxH7</a> <a href="https://t.co/uRy2AWFCsT">pic.twitter.com/uRy2AWFCsT</a>
— Ashley Zavala (@ZavalaA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ZavalaA/status/1958590948881178800?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The Gavin Newsom Press Office account, which appears to exist primarily to troll President Donald Trump, followed with a declaration: &#8220;TODAY WE WILL MAKE THE MAPS GREAT AGAIN!&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
TODAY WE WILL MAKE THE MAPS GREAT AGAIN!
— Governor Newsom Press Office (@GovPressOffice) <a href="https://twitter.com/GovPressOffice/status/1958546900585722362?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
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If California follows through with threats to redraw congressional districts favoring Democrats even more than they already do, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/20/congressional-redistricting-states-midterms/">several other states</a> may also jump into the fray. Among them are: Missouri, Indiana, Ohio, and Florida. Even Illinois — a state that already redistricted Rep. Adam Kinzinger&#8217;s (R-IL) House seat out of existence — might also get involved.

California Governor Newsom Announces Lawsuit Challenging Trump Tariff Authority

‘That’s Out The Window’: California Already Moving To Retaliate Over New Texas Congressional Map

'That's Out The Window': California Already Moving To Retaliate Over New Texas Congressional Map

California

Donald Trump

Gavin Newsom

Politics

Redistricting

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The Trump administration announced Thursday that it will be pulling more than $12 million from California over &#8220;gender ideology&#8221; in its sexual education programs.
The Health and Human Services&#8217; (HHS) Administration for Children and Families (ACF) put out a <a href="https://acf.gov/media/press/2025/hhs-defunds-californias-attempt-indoctrinate-children-gender-ideology">press release</a> announcing this move to stop California&#8217;s Personal Responsibility Education Program (PREP) from receiving a massive amount of federal funding over the next few years.
Acting Assistant Secretary of the ACF Andrew Gradison wrote in the press release, &#8220;California&#8217;s refusal to comply with federal law and remove egregious gender ideology from federally funded sex-ed materials is unacceptable.&#8221;
&#8220;Accountability is coming for every state that uses federal funds to teach children delusional gender ideology,&#8221; Gradison said.
According to the <a href="https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CFH/DMCAH/CA-PREP/Pages/default.aspx">California Department of Public Health</a> (CDPH), the program aims at changing behavior, including delaying sexual activity, increasing condom or contraceptive use for sexually active youth, and reducing the number of sexual partners for youth ages 10-19.
The program receives all of its funding from the Health and Human Services&#8217; ACF and Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB).
Gradison appeared on <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/video/6377188148112">&#8220;America&#8217;s Newsroom&#8221;</a> on Thursday to explain the process that went into this decision.
Gradison pointed to materials that promoted the belief that &#8220;boys could be girls and girls could be boys and that the solution, oftentimes, was mutilating their genitals.&#8221;
&#8220;The American people elected President Trump to restore sanity and common sense in this country,&#8221; Gradison said. &#8220;Part of that is removing gender ideology from state sex-ed curriculum.&#8221;
President Trump also threatened federal funding from any state that chooses to disobey the guidance from HHS in a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-issues-ultimatum-california-schools-must-follow-transgender-policies-or-face-consequences">post</a> to Truth Social on Thursday.
&#8220;Any California school district that doesn&#8217;t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded,&#8221; Trump wrote on Truth Social. &#8220;Thank you for your attention to this matter!&#8221;
This decision to pull all federal funding from California&#8217;s PREP is the product of months of back and forth between the Trump administration and California health officials. The ACF originally requested PREP documents from California in March. In June, it demanded that the state revise its program within 60 days.
California state health officials failed to respond until one day before the deadline, when they denied any medical inaccuracies on the part of the program and said it would not take the recommended corrective measures.
&#8220;In a disturbing and egregious abuse of federal funds, California has been using taxpayer money to teach curricula that could encourage kids to contemplate mutilating their genitals, &#8216;altering their body … through hormone therapy,&#8217; &#8216;adding or removing breast tissue,&#8217; and &#8216;changing their name.&#8217; It instructed teachers to &#8216;remind students that some men are born with female anatomy,'&#8221; HHS said in a Thursday press release of the teachings, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/kennedys-hhs-terminates-california-sex-ed-grant-after-refuses-drop-radical-gender-lessons">according</a> to Fox News.
Previous grant <a href="https://acf.gov/fysb/grant-funding/state-personal-responsibility-education-program-prep-grantees">funding</a> shows California&#8217;s PREP program received just under $6 million from the federal government in fiscal year 2022.
This is the most recent step that the Trump administration is taking against what the president has called woke programs that affect students and young people. The president recently signed an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/u-s-olympic-committee-bans-men-in-womens-sports">executive order</a> to keep men out of women&#8217;s sports.
Trump is also currently in a litigation battle against California for continuing to allow transgender-identifying males to compete in female sports. The suit <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-president-means-business-trump-admin-sues-california-over-transgender-athlete-policy">argued</a> that California was depriving young girls of athletic opportunities.

Diverse people holding transgender flags

HHS Pulls Funding From California Over Failure To Remove ‘Gender Ideology’ In Sex-Ed Program

Department of Health and Human Services

Education

gender ideology

Social Issues

Bed Bath &amp; Beyond will no longer operate in California, with the company’s chairman saying the blue state’s “overregulated” system “makes it nearly impossible for businesses to succeed.”
“This decision isn’t about politics — it’s about reality,” executive chairman Marcus Lemonis said Wednesday in an official <a href="https://x.com/marcuslemonis/status/1958162142651470232/photo/1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on X. “California’s system makes it nearly impossible for businesses to succeed, and I won’t put our company, our employees, or our customers in that position.”
“California has created one of the most overregulated, expensive, and risky environments for businesses in America. It&#8217;s a system that makes it harder to employ people, harder to keep doors open, and harder to deliver value to customers,” the statement read.
Lemonis says that California’s economic policies have resulted in “higher taxes, higher fees, higher wages that many businesses simply cannot sustain.”
Bed Bath &amp; Beyond will still market its products to Californians and offer online ordering. The company says this will eliminate “the inflated costs created by an unsustainable model.”
“We&#8217;re taking a stand because it&#8217;s time for common sense. Businesses deserve the chance to succeed. Employees deserve jobs that last. And customers deserve fair prices. California&#8217;s system delivers the opposite.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press office <a href="https://x.com/GovPressOffice/status/1958226910661767657" target="_blank" rel="noopener">responded</a> to the announcement on X: “After their bankruptcy and closure of every store, like most Americans, we thought Bed, Bath &amp; Beyond no longer existed.”
“We wish them well in their efforts to become relevant again as they try to open a 2nd store.”
Bed Bath &amp; Beyond is attempting a comeback after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2023, when it was forced to liquidate all its assets, including all of its retail stores. It <a href="https://ir.kirklands.com/Kirkland-s-Home-and-Beyond--Inc--to-Revitalize-Bed-Bath-Beyond-Brand-with-Neighborhood-Store-Strategy-Through-New-Strategic-Partnership" target="_blank" rel="noopener">merged</a> with Kirkland’s Home in 2024 and has subsequently rebranded.
The company plans to launch 300 “new smaller format ‘neighborhood’” locations across America, Lemonis told <a href="https://x.com/FoxNews/status/1958229596840587419" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fox News</a> on Wednesday. The first “Bed Bath &amp; Beyond Home” store opened in <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Living/bed-bath-opens-1st-new-store-nashville-new/story?id=124479646" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nashville</a> earlier this month.

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Bed Bath & Beyond Says It Will No Longer Operate In California’s ‘Overregulated’ System

Retail

President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to strip federal funding from California school districts that defy his administration’s transgender policies.
The Trump administration interprets Title IX as requiring schools to maintain separate bathrooms, locker rooms, and sports teams for males and females, a stance that directly conflicts with California state law allowing students to use facilities and join teams based on gender identity.
“Any California school district that doesn’t adhere to our Transgender policies, will not be funded,” Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115066339632774609">wrote</a> on Truth Social early Thursday morning. “Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Trump’s ultimatum comes after the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-president-means-business-trump-admin-sues-california-over-transgender-athlete-policy">sued</a> California last month for continuing to allow transgender-identifying males to compete in female sports. The suit argued that California was depriving young girls of athletic opportunities. 
“Title IX was enacted over half a century ago to protect women and girls from discrimination. The Justice Department will not stand for policies that deprive girls of their hard-earned athletic trophies and ignore their safety on the field and in private spaces,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon. “Young women should not have to sacrifice their rights to compete for scholarships, opportunities, and awards on the altar of woke gender ideology.”
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The California Department of Education was allocated around $44 billion in federal funding for fiscal year 2025.
Aside from California, other school districts across the country could also lose funding over transgender policies, including multiple districts in Northern Virginia. The Education Department <a href="https://www.ed.gov/about/news/press-release/us-department-of-education-places-five-northern-virginia-school-districts-high-risk-status-and-reimbursement-payment-status-violating-title-ix">said</a> this week that the Alexandria City, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Prince William County school districts are all in danger of losing federal funding for violating Title IX. 
“States and school districts cannot openly violate federal law while simultaneously receiving federal funding with no additional scrutiny,” Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said. “The Northern Virginia School Divisions that are choosing to abide by woke gender ideology in place of federal law must now prove they are using every single federal dollar for a legal purpose.”
In February, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/keeping-men-out-of-womens-sports/">executive order</a> saying that “it is the policy of the United States to rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities, which results in the endangerment, humiliation, and silencing of women and girls and deprives them of privacy.”
RELATED: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-vows-large-scale-fines-on-california-after-boy-wins-girls-track-events">Trump Vows &#8216;Large Scale Fines&#8217; On California After Boy Wins Girls&#8217; Track Events</a>

Sir Keir Starmer visit to Washington DC

Trump Issues Ultimatum: California Schools Must Follow Transgender Policies Or Face Consequences

Department of Education

Executive

Sports

Title IX

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Transgender Athletes

Since 2015, President Trump has obviously become very popular because of his stance on illegal immigration.
He said what most people aren&#8217;t willing to say: Illegal immigrants should go home. They don&#8217;t have a place in the country.
And the Left went nuts.
They are still going nuts over the fact that the president of the United States has single-handedly shut the southern border, and this means that apparently he&#8217;s bad and racist and all the rest.
But most Americans don&#8217;t believe that about Trump. Most Americans look at illegal immigrant crime and say President Trump is right.
The latest case in point: According to the Department of Homeland Security, California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom and his continued support for sanctuary policies are to blame for an illegal immigrant trucker who was given a driver&#8217;s license in California, then charged with killing three Americans in Florida when making an illegal U-turn.
Harjinder Singh entered the U.S. illegally in 2018 and then the state of California decided to give him a driver&#8217;s license. He was driving a semi in St. Lucie County, Florida, and he made an illegal U-turn that left three Americans dead.
Newsom was held responsible for Singh getting a driver’s license. He immediately responded that it was the fault of the Trump administration.
The issue is that he only had a commercial driver&#8217;s license despite being an illegal alien, thanks to a law passed in 2013 and then expanded by Gavin Newsom in 2022.
DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin <a href="https://x.com/TriciaOhio/status/1957503043710181746">wrote</a>, “Harjinder Singh is in the United States illegally, and his work authorization was rejected under the Trump administration on September 14, 2020. It was later approved under the Biden administration, June 9th, 2021. The state of California issues commercial driver&#8217;s licenses. There is no national commercial driver&#8217;s license.&#8221;
It turns out that the illegal immigrant trucker allegedly responsible for all of this failed an English language proficiency test and also failed to accurately identify highway traffic signs, according to the Department of Transportation.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-announces-investigation-deadly-florida-truck-crash">said</a>, “If states had followed the rules, his driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us. This crash was a preventable tragedy, directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures. Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles.”
Authoritative estimates have placed California&#8217;s undocumented immigrant population in the range of 2 million. As far as driver&#8217;s licenses, California has, since 2015, allowed illegal immigrants to obtain driver&#8217;s licenses. By 2023, the California Department of Motor Vehicles had issued nearly 1.2 million original <a href="https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-identification-cards/assembly-bill-ab-60-driver-licenses/">AB 60</a> driver&#8217;s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
That&#8217;s crazy. So 1.2 million illegal immigrants are roaming around the United States with California driver&#8217;s licenses.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/ep-2263-the-ben-shapiro-show?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
But this is part and parcel of a broader Democratic policy that suggests that somehow illegal immigration is a positive good for the United States, and you are inhumane or bad if you say that immigrants should not be in the United States.
In essence, this comes down to a question that&#8217;s increasingly being asked online: What ought an American to be? What is an American?
If you go all the way back to the American founding, the definition of an American was to be a natural-born citizen of the United States. There were real holes in the citizenship definition because it didn&#8217;t include, for example, black slaves in the South.
But the basic predicate for citizenship was that you were assimilating to the dominant culture of the United States, an Anglo-American culture, and you abided by the applicable law in your state, and you were not a drain on the people around you.
The history of the United States was successive waves of immigrants who were then assimilated into the dominant majority culture. Those successive waves of immigrants could be welcomed because there was no facilitation of inability to speak English. There was no facilitation of inability or unwillingness to assimilate to the dominant adherence to law.
My great-great grandparents came to the United States in the early 20th century. They spoke Yiddish, but they and their families immediately stopped speaking Yiddish as fast as possible so that they could actually immerse themselves in the American culture. That was true for the Irish, it was true for the Germans, it was true for the Italians, and it was true for many Hispanics.
And then something changed. And what changed was a gigantic welfare system, accompanied by a view of multiculturalism that suggested that not only ought you bring your home foods and some of your home traditions, but that your culture need not in any way mesh or assimilate with dominant traditions of law or believing in things like free speech or private property, or the constitutional government of the United States. The United States was to be the repository of any people who wished to come here, even if those people were just coming here to take advantage of the system itself.
That meant lower rates of assimilation. It also meant that people came here who didn&#8217;t speak English, couldn&#8217;t read road signs, were immediately entered into the stream of commerce, and then sometimes did things like commit crimes.
But if you say no to this, you are the problem.
What you actually want is people coming to the United States and becoming part of the American experiment by accepting the American experiment, by learning the language and becoming part of the culture, by believing in the creed of the Declaration of Independence.
But if you say those things, then many members of the Left will say, that&#8217;s wrong, that&#8217;s bad, that&#8217;s racist, because what you actually need are segmented populations that don&#8217;t actually believe in the American experiment. They don&#8217;t just bring their food and their customs; they also reject the dominant customs and heritage and law and legal framework of the United States.
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That’s led to identity politics on the Left and to a concomitant rise of a new identity politics on the Right, which says, “If we are going to do various ethnic cliques in a ‘multicultural country,’ then what we really ought to do is have a white ethnic clique as a form of identity politics.”
None of this is good.
Until we get back to accepting legal immigrants but demanding that they know our laws, accept our laws and live by them, know our Declaration of Independence and Constitution and live by them, we are headed for the cliff.

California Gov. Newsom Discusses Texas’ Redistricting Plan

Newsom’s Open Borders Vs. Trump’s Immigration Sanity

Ben Shapiro

Democrats

Drivers Licenses

illegal immigrants

Opinion

President Trump

The Menendez brothers are one step closer to walking free as the California parole board prepares to evaluate their cases individually, beginning on Thursday.
Lyle, 57, and Erik, 54, were initially sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in 1996 for murdering their parents, Jose and Kitty Menendez, in 1989 inside their Beverly Hills home. The brothers have justified the fatal shootings, claiming they endured sexual abuse from their father that went on for several years.
A Los Angeles judge <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/menendez-bros-win-resentencing-battle-eligible-for-parole?author=Amanda+Harding&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=4&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Menendez+Bros+Win+Resentencing+Battle%2C+Eligible+For+Parole">resentenced</a> both brothers to 50 years to life in May, making them eligible for parole.
Now, a panel of parole officers will hear each case individually to determine if either of the brothers poses an “unreasonable risk of danger to society.” Depending on the outcome, this could lead to Erik and Lyle being released, but not right away, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/menendez-brothers-parole-hearing-a17f74644b52bbe7c1d1a4157eaab3a0">Associated Press</a>.
Even if the convicted murderers are granted parole, their cases will next be passed to the chief legal counsel, who has 120 days to review them. The next step involves California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom affirming or denying their parole within 30 days. If Newsom affirms it, then the Menendez brothers would be able to leave prison. 
The cases had received renewed interest after several high-profile entertainment projects were released, including a Netflix docuseries.
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Judge Michael Jesic said he had given the case “long thought.” While the judge described Lyle and Erik’s crime as “absolutely horrific,” he added that, in his opinion, they’ve been rehabilitated while incarcerated for the past three decades.
“Life without parole gives an inmate no hope, no reason to do anything good. And I give them a lot of credit. It’s remarkable what they did when they had no hope of getting out,” Jesic said.
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón, often described as “the godfather of progressive prosecutors,” initiated the resentencing process before losing his re-election bid to Nathan Hochman. In March, the new DA filed a motion to withdraw the resentencing petition, saying the self-defense claims were nothing but “lies.” 
“The Menendez brothers have failed to come clean with the full extent of their criminal conduct, their cover-up, their lies and their deceit,” Hochman said in May.
Public opinion is mixed on whether the Menendez brothers should be granted parole, with some arguing that Eric and Lyle have paid their debt to society and others insisting that some of the most incriminating details of the case are being undervalued.

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Parole Board To Weigh Release Of Infamous Menendez Brothers

Parole Board to Weigh Release Of Infamous Menendez Brothers

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The Democratic Party is in a &#8220;deep political hole&#8221; with voter registration, according to an analysis <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/us/politics/democratic-party-voter-registration-crisis.html">published</a> by The New York Times on Wednesday.
Between 2020 and 2024, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in all 30 states that track party affiliation when Americans register to vote, and the Times acknowledged the losses were &#8220;often by a lot.&#8221; In those 30 states, plus the District of Columbia, Democrats shed 2.1 million voters between 2020 and 2024. Republicans, meanwhile, gained 2.4 million voters.
&#8220;That four-year swing toward the Republicans adds up to 4.5 million voters, a deep political hole that could take years for Democrats to climb out from,&#8221; the Times wrote.
The major shift toward the GOP included vital swing states, such as Arizona and Pennsylvania, but Democrats also lost ground in the deep blue states of California, New York, and Massachusetts. In states where Republican voter registration was already blowing past that of the Democrats — such as Florida, Louisiana, Kentucky, and Oklahoma — GOP gains continued to grow.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
New York Times: &#8220;The Democratic Party is hemorrhaging voters long before they even go to the polls.
Of the 30 states that track voter registration by political party, Democrats lost ground to Republicans in every single one between the 2020 and 2024 elections — and often by a… <a href="https://t.co/gx94qL9EVP">pic.twitter.com/gx94qL9EVP</a>
— Tom Bevan (@TomBevanRCP) <a href="https://twitter.com/TomBevanRCP/status/1958153504842801375?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 20, 2025</a></blockquote>
&nbsp;
While Democrats still outnumber Republicans by party registration nationwide, more newly registered voters across the country chose the Republican Party over the Democratic Party for the first time since 2018. The Times also noted that the Democrats&#8217; voter registration numbers are helped by massive blue states like California and New York allowing people to register by party, while the largest Republican state, Texas, and many of the deep-red southern states do not.
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Decision Desk HQ&#8217;s director of data science, Michael Pruser, told the Times that there &#8220;seems to be no end&#8221; to the voter registration crisis for Democrats.
&#8220;There is no silver lining or cavalry coming across the hill. This is month after month, year after year,&#8221; he said.
In recent years, Democrats &#8220;fell asleep at the switch,&#8221; according to longtime Democratic strategist Maria Cardona. Even Tom Bonier, one of the party&#8217;s top voter registration experts, admitted to the Times that he &#8220;was wrong&#8221; after downplaying the Democrats&#8217; registration issues last year.
“Clearly, in retrospect, we can say the Democratic Party had dug itself in too deep a hole in the preceding four years for the Harris campaign to dig itself out in the last few months,” Bonier said.
Republicans, meanwhile, adjusted their strategy following President Donald Trump&#8217;s 2020 election defeat and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2024-election/republicans-ballot-harvesting-fraud-claims-rcna151952">hit the gas</a> on voter registration and ballot harvesting strategies in 2024.
“We don’t like drop boxes, to be clear,” a Republican National Committee official said in May of 2024. “We’re still going to use drop boxes if we have to, if they’re available. Same thing with harvesting: Where it’s a practice that Democrats are partaking in, we’re going to partake in it, too.”
Republicans also benefited from the efforts of activist Scott Presler, who dedicated himself from 2021 to 2024 to registering Republicans in the all-important swing state of Pennsylvania. In the summer of 2024, voter registration in Bucks County, Pennsylvania — a competitive suburb of Philadelphia — shifted to a GOP advantage for the first time since 2007, according to the Times. Trump went on to win Bucks County in the 2024 election, becoming the first Republican presidential candidate to do so in the 21st century.
In Pennsylvania, Democrats held an advantage of more than 517,000 registered voters in 2020, but that lead has now <a href="https://x.com/ScottPresler/status/1954912806911844834">fallen to fewer</a> than 54,000. Much of that shift comes from Democrats switching their party affiliation to Republicans. From 2020 to 2025, around 314,000 registered Democrats flipped to registered Republicans, while just over 160,000 registered Republicans became registered Democrats.
Democrats are also losing support among young voters, who are shifting to the GOP. Last year, Republicans registered nearly twice as many voters under 35 as Democrats did in key states such as Nevada, the Times reported.

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Leftists Panic: Even NYT Says Democrats Face ‘Voter Registration Crisis’

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Washington state violated federal safety rules when it granted a commercial driver’s licence to an illegal immigrant now accused of vehicular homicide in a deadly Florida car crash, and New Mexico State Police did not administer a required English Language Proficiency test during a traffic stop involving the same individual, a preliminary review from the Department of Transportation found.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Tuesday that he had launched an <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-announces-investigation-deadly-florida-truck-crash" target="_blank" rel="noopener">investigation</a> into an August 12 crash on the Florida Turnpike in St. Lucie County, where a semi-truck driver allegedly made an illegal U-turn that caused a fatal collision with a minivan, resulting in the deaths of three individuals. Authorities have identified the driver of the truck as 28-year-old Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India who crossed into the country in 2018. 
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A 37-year-old woman, a 54-year-old man, and a 30-year-old man died in the crash. Singh has been charged with three counts of vehicular homicide. Duffy said the investigation by the feds would support Florida’s criminal investigation. 
“If states had followed the rules, this driver would never have been behind the wheel and three precious lives would still be with us,” Duffy said. “This crash was a preventable tragedy directly caused by reckless decisions and compounded by despicable failures.”
Duffy said that the probe from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration would focus on Singh and White Hawk Carriers, the California-based company that owned the truck involved in the crash, which has a <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article311752619.html">history</a> of safety violations. 
Initial findings from the Department of Transportation indicate that Washington issued Singh a regular full-term Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) on July 15, 2023, even though illegal immigrants and asylum seekers are not eligible for such licenses. 
California also issued Singh a limited-term/non-domiciled CDL on July 23, 2024. Duffy said that the issuance of this license was still under investigation to determine if it was done in accordance with federal law. The Trump administration and California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom have clashed in recent days over responsibility for the fatal crash. 
The investigation also found that Singh was pulled over by New Mexico State Police on July 3, and given a roadside inspection and speeding ticket. Investigators found that law enforcement did not administer an English Language Proficiency test despite being required to under Trump administration guidelines implemented on June 25. 
When the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration interviewed Singh, officials found that he was not proficient in English and did not understand basic road signs. He could only provide correct responses on two out of twelve verbal questions and only identified one out of four highway traffic signs, investigators found. 
“Non-enforcement and radical immigration policies have turned the trucking industry into a lawless frontier, resulting in unqualified foreign drivers improperly acquiring licenses to operate 40-ton vehicles,” Duffy added. “We will use every tool at our disposal to hold these states and bad actors accountable. President Trump and I will restore safety to our roads. The families of the deceased deserve justice.”

MixCollage-20-Aug-2025-07-58-AM-812

‘Preventable Tragedy’: Duffy Blames Multiple States As Illegal Alien Faces Charges In Florida Crash

Crime

Department of Transportation

Illegal Immigation

Sean Duffy

Washington

The latest fundraising campaign for California Governor Gavin Newsom has an interesting target audience: everywhere in the country other than California, fueling speculation that the attention-seeking governor is building support for a 2028 presidential run.
Newsom, who has done his best to thrust himself into the national conversation in recent weeks, is running a series of internet fundraising campaigns this month in support of a proposition to further gerrymander California. The move comes in direct response to the Republican effort to redistrict in Texas, with Newsom positioning himself as the man standing in opposition to President Donald Trump and national Republicans.
&#8220;We’re not gonna watch Donald Trump rig the next election, we’re not just gonna sit back and watch what’s happening in Texas and not respond to it,” Newsom says in one ad. “It&#8217;s time to fight fire with fire. We’re going to the ballot. We’re going to redistrict here in the state of California but we’re going to need your help.”
According to <a href="https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR15817955567202205697/creative/CR06320597481952378881?region=US&amp;topic=political">Google&#8217;s ad transparency center</a>, Newsom&#8217;s team is targeting a series of the ads only at people outside of California, potentially allowing Newsom to build a national donor list and grow his profile across the country.
<div id="attachment_962583" style="width: 719px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-962583" class=" wp-image-962583" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screen-Shot-2025-08-19-at-3.09.45-PM-300x141.png" alt="" width="709" height="333" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screen-Shot-2025-08-19-at-3.09.45-PM-300x141.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screen-Shot-2025-08-19-at-3.09.45-PM-768x361.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/Screen-Shot-2025-08-19-at-3.09.45-PM.png 894w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 709px) 100vw, 709px" />Screenshot of Google ad transparency center</div>
The ad ran in two different forms: one targeting California and another targeting the rest of the country. Another ad, which was also specifically targeted at people outside Newsom&#8217;s state, <a href="https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR15817955567202205697/creative/CR01495135616759758849?region=US&amp;topic=political">claimed</a> that Newsom&#8217;s effort sought to address &#8220;an emergency for our democracy.&#8221;
The ads are an early indicator that Newsom is attempting to build a national donor list and garner wider name recognition ahead of the 2028 presidential election, in which he is widely speculated to be a leading Democratic candidate. Newsom&#8217;s has spent the last couple of weeks posting obsessively on social media in opposition to Trump, attempting to emulate the Republican president&#8217;s manner of writing.
Hannah Milgrom, the spokeswoman for the legislative effort, denied that the ad campaign indicates that Newsom is attempting to build a national donor list ahead of a potential presidential run.
“Total BS,” Milgrom said. “Americans rightfully oppose Trump’s attempt to rig the 2026 midterm elections and steal five house seats before a single person has voted,” she added. “That’s why tens of thousands of small dollar donors across the country are giving $5 and $10 dollars to the our [sic] campaign through these ads.”
It is, however, exactly that fact that fuels the speculation about his intentions with the redistricting ads. These small donors will make up the base of a potential 2028 presidential run, where he will have to build support across the country to emerge from a primary. His potential primary opponents, such as Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, have already amassed the massive lists essential to win a national campaign.
And it isn’t just the new ads that indicate the Democrat governor could be prepping for a presidential run. Newsom has also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/gavin-newsom-south-carolina-democratic-primary-d04d1f313fbe7697aa31785e0e47440b">delivered speeches</a> in South Carolina, a state that holds particular strategic importance in the Democratic primary process.
Newsom is currently the <a href="https://polymarket.com/event/democratic-presidential-nominee-2028?tid=1755618821656">leading</a> Democratic candidate on the betting website Polymarket, which gives him a 24% chance of becoming the Democratic nominee. Newsom ranks ahead of ahead of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
Recent <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/primary-presidential-poll-newsom-surge-2115412">polling</a> shows that Newsom is the second-most popular Democrat candidate behind former Vice President and failed presidential candidate Kamala Harris, but still ahead of Ocasio-Cortez and Buttigieg.

Gavin Newsom Ad Push

Eyes On 2028? Gavin Newsom Launches Fundraising Campaign, Sets Sights Everywhere Except California

Oklahoma will require teachers relocating from California and New York to take a 50-question test aimed at assessing whether they hold leftist political views that might influence their teaching.
Developed by Prager University, the Oklahoma test, according to  Superintendent of Public Instruction Ryan Walters, will have to be approved by the education board before it is administered. Walters <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/prageru-oklahoma-woke-teacher-test">said</a> if applicants do not pass the test, they will not receive a teaching certificate.
“Every teacher that teaches in the state of Oklahoma will have to have a certificate that goes through my office. It has my signature on it. So that those will not move forward until this is done,” he declared.
“One proposed question deals with gender – asking teachers to select from a series of multiple-choice answers which chromosome pairs determine biological sex,” KCCI reported.
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“We will not allow these leftists’ plans and schemes to take place here in Oklahoma,” Walters said, according to <a href="https://www.kcci.com/article/oklahoma-prageru-teacher-test-controversy/65789726?utm_source=chatgpt.com">KCCI</a>. “They are trying to warp the minds of our kids to turn them into social justice warriors, instead of kids that are getting the most of their God-given talents to go get a good job, to go live a fulfilling life.”
“We’re not bringing in woke indoctrinators into the classroom,” Walters told <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/08/19/oklahoma-teachers-california-new-york-test/">The Washington Post</a>. “It’s a very America-first approach.”
“You’re gonna teach that there’s biological differences between males and females, period,” Walters told CNN. “You’re going to teach American history and use primary source documents, not pushing a left-wing agenda on to our kids.” He added that California and New York have required teachers to “do things that are antithetical to our standards and values as a state.”
“Oklahoma already requires new teachers to <a href="https://archive.is/o/wWfjk/https:/oklahoma.gov/education/services/teacher-certification.html">take a U.S. citizenship test</a>, which covers civics topics, to complete their certification,” the Post added.
Some other sample questions include:
<blockquote>
What are the first three words of the Constitution?
Why is freedom of religion important to America’s identity?
What are the two parts of the U.S. Congress?
How many U.S. Senators are there?
Why do some states have more Representatives than others?
</blockquote>

Holland, Goirle, woman weeding

Oklahoma To Require Ideology Test For Incoming Teachers From California And NY To Weed Out Wokeness

Oklahoma

Wokeness

President Trump hosts Ukrainian President Zelensky and European leaders at the White House to push for a peace deal that would require Ukraine to cede territory. An illegal immigrant with a California-issued commercial driver&#8217;s license kills three in a Florida crash, reigniting the battle over sanctuary state policies. Texas Democrats end their standoff and return to the state, paving the way for a new GOP-drawn congressional map as California plans its own gerrymandering in response.
It’s Tuesday, August 19, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
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<h2>Trump Pushes for Peace Deal at White House Summit</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-962105" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH1-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH1-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH1-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH1-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH1-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH1.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: President Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and a delegation of European leaders at the White House on Monday to discuss a framework for ending the war with Russia, emphasizing a peace deal over a ceasefire.
Following his meeting with Vladimir Putin last week, President Trump is now pushing for Ukraine to accept a peace deal that would end the war, but result in significant territorial concessions. The diplomatic balancing act puts Zelensky in a difficult position. If he agrees to the deal, he ends the war and secures a U.S.-backed security guarantee, but he breaks his promise to the Ukrainian people that he would never cede land to Putin. If he refuses, he risks alienating his most important ally.
Trump reiterated on Monday that he wants to move quickly toward a final peace deal, rather than a ceasefire, which he argued could create a &#8220;strategic disadvantage for one side or the other.” While no deal was reached, the meeting was a sign of improving relations between Trump and European leaders, many of whom praised the president for the progress made in recent weeks.
The diplomatic push comes as Ukrainian public opinion has dramatically shifted. A recent <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/693203/ukrainian-support-war-effort-collapses.aspx">Gallup</a> poll shows that 69% of Ukrainians now support an immediate peace, a complete reversal from 2022 when 73% wanted to fight until victory.
<h2>Illegal Immigrant With CA License Kills Three in Florida Crash</h2>
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-large wp-image-962109" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/MRN-8.19.25-SH2.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></div>
Topline: An illegal immigrant who obtained a commercial driver&#8217;s license in the sanctuary state of California has been charged with killing three people in a vehicular homicide in Florida, sparking new outrage over sanctuary policies.
Harjinder Singh, a 28-year-old illegal immigrant from India, was driving a semi-truck on the <a href="https://www.flhsmv.gov/2025/08/16/illegal-u-turn-truck-driver-arrested-for-vehicular-homicide/">Florida</a> turnpike last week when he allegedly attempted an illegal U-turn, causing a collision that killed all three occupants of a minivan. Singh entered the U.S. illegally in California in 2018 and was able to obtain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) in the state.
The incident has reignited the national debate over sanctuary policies. A DHS spokesperson <a href="https://x.com/DHSgov/status/1957433429689020919">said</a> in a statement, &#8220;Three innocent people were killed in Florida because Gavin Newsom’s California DMV issued an illegal alien a Commercial Driver’s License—this state of governance is asinine.” Governor Newsom&#8217;s office has attempted to shift blame, claiming the Trump administration issued Singh a work permit, but DHS says the permit was rejected under Trump and later approved under the Biden administration.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R), who signed a ban on sanctuary city policies in his state, expressed shock that a man who he said doesn&#8217;t even speak English was issued a CDL in California. DHS issued a statement asking, &#8220;How many more innocent people have to die before Gavin Newsom stops playing games with the safety of the American public?”
<h2>Texas Redistricting Resumes as CA Plans Retaliation</h2>
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Topline: The Texas Democrats who fled the state to block a Republican-led redistricting effort have returned, paving the way for the GOP to pass a new map that could net them five House seats.
After fleeing the state for weeks to deny Republicans a quorum, the protesting Democrats have returned to the state capital. Their effort failed to stop the new congressional map, which is now on the agenda for a new special session called by Governor Greg Abbott (R). The returning lawmakers now face hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, at a rate of $500 per day for their absence. Governor Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) are also seeking to have 13 of the lawmakers removed from office.
In response to the Texas GOP&#8217;s move, California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is asking voters in his state to approve a measure in a special election to temporarily suspend California&#8217;s independent redistricting commission. This would allow the state&#8217;s Democrat-supermajority legislature to gerrymander its own map to gain five House seats and &#8220;neuter&#8221; the Republican gains in Texas. Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), who led the effort to create the independent commission, is leading the opposition to Newsom’s plan.

MRN 8.19.25 Thumbnail V1

Morning Brief: Trump Hosts European Leaders For Peace Talks, Sanctuary Outrage, Texas Redistricting

Europe

Illegal Immigration

India

Sanctuary Cities

Ukraine-Russia War

Vladimir Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky

The Texas Democrat representatives who fled the Lone Star State to stop a mid-decade redistricting are returning, according to an announcement by the caucus. This will allow the state to conclude its drawn-out attempt to reshape the 2026 congressional map.
&#8220;We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation– reshaping the entire 2026 landscape,&#8221; said state Representative Gene Wu, who leads Democrats in the Texas House, according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/18/politics/texas-california-redistricting-fight">CNN</a>.
&#8220;We&#8217;re returning to Texas more dangerous to Republicans&#8217; plans than when we left,&#8221; Wu continued. &#8220;Our return allows us to build the legal record necessary to defeat this racist map in court, take our message to communities across the state and country, and inspire legislators across the country how to fight these undemocratic redistricting schemes in their own statehouses.&#8221;
The Texas Democratic legislators chose to leave the state rather than voting in the special session that was called for the redistricting vote, which expired Friday. After it expired, Governor Greg Abbott (R-TX) promptly called a second special session to finish the redistricting effort.
In a <a href="https://x.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1956382209876869610">statement</a> on X announcing the second special session, Abbott said, &#8220;There is critical work that is left undone. Texas will not back down from this fight. That&#8217;s why I am calling them back today to finish the job.&#8221;
The Texas House of Representatives convened at 12 p.m. CT Monday, which enabled the legislature to continue with the special session. The new congressional map could made official by as soon as the end of the week.
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The Texas lawmakers who fled the state have been hiding out in notoriously-gerrymandered <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-dems-cant-win-redistricting-fight-so-they-bravely-turn-tail-and-flee-the-state">Illinois</a> since August 4 while facing threats of fines and arrest for neglecting their duties from the Texas governor.
Abbott threatened to arrest the lawmakers at the start of the quorum break. &#8220;Once they step back into the state, they will be arrested and brought back to the Capitol and we will be conducting business,&#8221; Abbott told Fox News host Laura Ingraham at the time.
Soon after that, Abbott <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/abbott-to-awol-texas-democrats-respect-voters-or-be-removed?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Abbott+To+AWOL+Texas+Democrats%3A+Respect+Voters+Or+Be+Removed">revealed</a> plans to remove the representatives from office. Abbott said that the actions of the Democrats amounted to &#8220;an abandonment or forfeiture of an elected state office&#8221; and that Texas law empowered him to fill the vacancies.
On top of these threats by the state&#8217;s Republican governor, the AWOL Democrats were being slapped with a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ken-paxton-seeks-to-put-democrat-beto-orourke-behind-bars-over-fundraising-for-awol-dems?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Ken+Paxton+Seeks+To+Put+Democrat+Beto+O%E2%80%99Rourke+%E2%80%98Behind+Bars%E2%80%99+Over+Fundraising+For+AWOL+Dems">$500-per-day fine</a> while they missed the special session, which also aimed at lowering property taxes, addressing state education benchmarks, and resolving issues that arose after the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-tours-texas-flood-zone-as-death-toll-reaches-121?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Tours+Texas+Flood+Zone+As+Death+Toll+Reaches+121">July 4 floods</a> that rocked the state.
It is unclear what steps Governor Abbott will take against the representatives who fled the state as they return for the second special session.
The redistricting battle in Texas has since spilled over into blue states like New York and California, with Democratic state governors threatening to gerrymander their congressional districts to combat Texas&#8217; move.
California Governor Gavin Newsom notably responded to the controversy of Texas lawmakers fleeing the state by <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/newsom-threatens-retaliation-says-texas-redistricting-will-trigger-new-california-election-maps">saying</a>, &#8220;[The Republicans] triggered this response and we&#8217;re not going to roll over and we&#8217;re going to fight fire with fire, but we&#8217;re going to do so not just punching with the weight of the fourth largest economy, the most populous state in our union.&#8221;
&#8220;We also will punch above our weight in terms of the impact of what we&#8217;re doing, and I think that should be absorbed by those in the Texas delegation,&#8221; Newsom continued. &#8220;Whatever they are doing will be neutered here in the state of California, and they will pay that price.&#8221;

2024 Republican National Convention: Day 3

Texas Dems Submit To Redistricting Vote After Two Weeks AWOL

Greg Abbott

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