Who Will Advance in France’s Presidential Election

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday on Missouri's congressional map, a week after the Supreme Court blocked a lower court ruling that would have kept a 2025 GOP-favored map in place. The suit, filed by Rep. Bob Onder (R-Mo.), centers on whether Missouri reverts to its 2022 district lines so close to the upcoming elections, which lawmakers warn could create administrative chaos.

Separately, the Kennedy Center's board closed the performing arts venue, prompting ex-officio board member Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) to seek an emergency federal hearing demanding an explanation, with the Justice Department ordered to respond. President Trump, after a North Carolina rally with Senate candidate Michael Whatley, returned to the White House to sign executive orders and host a Rose Garden dinner. The Senate is voting on the Protect College Sports Act, while House Speaker Mike Johnson sent members home early for a seven-week recess extending past Election Day.

A recent Berkeley IGS/Los Angeles Times poll shows Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton with support from 37% of California voters, trailing Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, who holds 55%. About 7% remain undecided. The two are set to meet in their first debate on September 30 in Los Angeles, televised on CNN, which could shift the current standing.

Hilton, a former strategist for ex-British Prime Minister David Cameron and a Brexit supporter, has never held elected office and only became a U.S. citizen in 2021 after relocating to California in 2012. He has received an endorsement from President Donald Trump, whose immigration policies contrast with Hilton's own background as the son of Hungarian refugees. Despite trailing significantly, Hilton is seen as outperforming typical Republican prospects in heavily Democratic California, where registered Republicans make up about 25% of voters compared to 45% who are Democrats. Polling could shift meaningfully once debate performances are factored in.

Israel's late-December 2025 recognition of Somaliland as an independent state drew sharp condemnation from the Arab League, African Union, European Union, and governments including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, and Sudan, all citing Somalia's territorial integrity and international law. Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 after a civil war and has functioned as a de facto independent state since, with its own currency, government, and, in 2024, a peaceful transfer of power to President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi ("Irro").

Analysts argue the opposition to Israel's move reflects regional geopolitical rivalries more than principled concern for sovereignty, noting precedents like Turkey's recognition of Northern Cyprus and past support for divided Yemen and Syria's Idlib. Somaliland has avoided ties with China, courted U.S. and Israeli partnership, and pledged interest in joining the Abraham Accords. Its Berbera port and location on the Gulf of Aden are seen as strategically valuable for monitoring Houthi threats to Red Sea shipping. U.S. Africa Command officials have visited Hargeisa, though Washington has not extended formal recognition, wary of straining relations with Turkey, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia.

California lawmakers are considering a proposed 5 percent wealth tax on billionaires ahead of a vote, a measure that critics argue could drive out wealthy residents and ultimately cost the state tens of billions in lost revenue, according to a Hoover Institution study. Gov. Gavin Newsom has opposed the proposal. Commentators have drawn comparisons to France, where high taxes and expansive welfare and pension commitments have fueled unrest and economic stagnation, raising questions for other jurisdictions considering similar tax-the-rich policies as a long-term revenue strategy.

The debate comes as prediction markets watch California's fiscal policy and the broader 2026 midterm landscape, where tariffs, foreign policy, and corruption allegations could shape control of Congress.

As Texas rolls out its new Texas Education Freedom Account (TEFA) program, Arizona's decade-plus of experience with universal Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) offers a preview of what's ahead. Arizona expanded its voucher-style program statewide in 2022 after starting narrowly in 2011, growing from roughly 11,000 to 108,000 participants without a proportional increase in state oversight staff.

Supporters, including microschool operators like Phoenix's School to Purpose, say ESAs let families find alternatives that fit children who struggled in traditional classrooms. Critics, including advocacy group Save Our Schools Arizona and Deer Valley superintendent Curtis Finch, point to fraud and misuse concerns, weak academic accountability for private schools and microschools, and enrollment losses draining public school funding. State superintendent Tom Horne disputes the scale of fraud, calling it minimal, and argues parental choice itself serves as the accountability mechanism.

The debate matters for Texas as its own program scales up: whether existing oversight capacity and accountability requirements can keep pace with rapid enrollment growth, and how public school districts absorb the financial impact of departing students.
Arizona's years-long ESA experiment offers Texas a preview of the tradeoffs between school choice, oversight and public school funding.

Connecticut's inaugural citizens' assembly is set to release its conclusions on September 28, capping six weeks of deliberation by 100 randomly selected, representative residents tasked with tackling property tax reform. Participants heard from experts, debated among themselves, and will vote on a preferred solution, following a model used in Ireland, France, Belgium, and Mongolia to address contentious policy questions outside traditional electoral politics.

Organizers plan to extend the process after November's election by moving the assembly's findings onto an open-source deliberation platform called "Frankly," inviting the broader public to review and discuss the group's conclusions online. The approach is designed to address the central legitimacy challenge facing citizens' assemblies — since members aren't elected — by opening the results to wider public scrutiny rather than reducing them to a simple referendum. Advocates, including Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig, argue the model could offer a template for reducing partisan gridlock in future policymaking efforts elsewhere if the Connecticut experiment proves successful.