States can again check voter rolls against the expanded citizenship database
The Supreme Court, 6 to 3, let states resume checking voter rolls against the administration's expanded citizenship database. The majority wrote that a 1996 immigration law expressly authorized Homeland Security to request citizenship information from other agencies. This is a stay pending appeal, not a final ruling, and the case returns to the D.C. Circuit. Because the National Voter Registration Act bars systematic purges in the 90 days before an election, it is expected to matter mostly for individual checks until November.
Missouri votes on its 2022 map this fall, not the 2025 redraw
The Supreme Court stopped lower federal courts from forcing Missouri back to its 2025 congressional map. The state votes this fall on the 2022 map its own Supreme Court ordered, drawn six Republican to two Democratic, not seven to one. The Court's September 10 stay had already put that map in place, and this order confirms it.
A trade pact labor case targets Yokohama's Mexican tire plant
The United States will hold final duty assessment on all imports from Yokohama's plant in Coahuila, Mexico, until further notice. A Mexican union and a workers' lawyers network petitioned on August 26, alleging the plant retaliated against union supporters. The Labor Department noted the case follows Yokohama's closure of its Salem, Virginia plant and nearly 600 layoffs.
Transportation finalizes the end of race and sex presumptions in contracting and airport concessions
The department finalized what an October 2025 interim rule began, ending the presumption that women and listed racial and ethnic groups are disadvantaged. Every firm seeking disadvantaged business status must prove it individually. The presumptions are in statute, so the department acted on its own constitutional judgment, citing a 2024 district court injunction limited to two plaintiffs.
$1.9 billion to squeeze more power from lines already built
The Energy Department selected 31 projects in 26 states to rebuild or upgrade existing transmission lines, which it says will add over 23 gigawatts of capacity. The money comes from the existing Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program, and these are selections, not signed awards. The department gives no estimate of bill savings.
- Initial jobless claims were 197,000 (seasonally adjusted) for the week ending September 19. Last week's was revised up 2,000. Labor Department release →