Henderson, Nevada

Chicago voters head to the polls Nov. 3 to elect the city's first fully elected school board, including its first elected board president. Three candidates are running: Hilario Dominguez, a former CPS special education teacher backed by the Chicago Teachers Union and Mayor Brandon Johnson, who prioritizes universal pre-K and opposes school closures; Jessica Biggs, a current board member and former principal, who emphasizes student outcomes and equitable, community-driven budget decisions; and Victor Henderson, an attorney and former Chicago Bar Association president, who wants a forensic audit of CPS contracts and a balanced budget. All three candidates say addressing the district's financial challenges is a top priority, though they differ on how to approach closures and spending.

Testimony has begun in the murder trial of Rodney Hinton Jr., accused of intentionally driving into and killing Hamilton County sheriff's Deputy Larry Henderson on May 2, 2025, near the University of Cincinnati. The crash occurred the day after a Cincinnati police officer fatally shot Hinton's 18-year-old son, Ryan Hinton, and hours after Rodney Hinton viewed body camera footage of his son's death. Hinton faces five felony counts, including aggravated murder, and his defense is seeking a not-guilty verdict by reason of insanity, citing years of documented mental illness worsened by his son's death. Prosecutors contend Hinton knowingly and deliberately struck Henderson, who was working a traffic detail.

A 12-person jury, seated after more than two days of selection, visited the crash scene before opening statements. The defense raised a Batson challenge over the removal of Black prospective jurors, though the final jury includes no Black men. Early witnesses included Henderson's widow and Hinton's aunt, who testified to following him before the crash. Testimony is expected to continue as both sides debate Hinton's state of mind.

Chicago voters on Nov. 3 will decide the city's first-ever fully elected school board, a change enabled by a 2021 state law that shifts governance away from a mayor-appointed seven-member board. The new board will have 21 members: one board president elected citywide, and 20 members representing geographic districts across the city. The Chicago Teachers Union and other community groups pushed for the change following the 2013 closure of 50 schools under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Three candidates are running for board president: Hilario Dominguez, backed by the Chicago Teachers Union; Jessica Biggs, backed by SEIU; and attorney Victor Henderson. Every registered Chicago voter can participate, regardless of whether they have children in the school system, since property taxes citywide fund more than half of Chicago Public Schools' budget. The board will oversee major decisions including hiring the superintendent, setting the budget and tax levy, and shaping policies on school calendars and bullying.

Utah GOP Rep. Mike Kennedy, in an interview with the Deseret News, called Trump's second term historic but gave mixed marks on specific policies. He credited the administration with sharply reducing border crossings but said the effects of mass deportations have been "good and bad," backing removal of convicted criminals while urging case-by-case review for others.

On election security, Kennedy echoed concerns about noncitizen voting ahead of the midterms, citing a New Jersey registration error that added thousands of noncitizens to voter rolls. He supported the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections, though it has stalled in the Senate.

Kennedy also sided with Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in her standoff with the Department of Justice, which sued Utah after Henderson declined to turn over voters' Social Security numbers and birth dates. Kennedy said he wants voter records kept confidential and expects the dispute to be resolved in court. The remarks came after Kennedy hosted a meeting of top Utah officials on energy, water, and data center policy.

Judith "Judy" G. Bainbridge, the longtime Furman University English professor widely regarded as Greenville, South Carolina's foremost historian, died Sept. 17, 2026, two weeks short of her 90th birthday. A service is planned for Oct. 17 at the Garden Room at Furman Chapel.

Bainbridge joined Furman in 1976 after teaching in Charlotte, later retiring in 2007 but continuing to write. For 22 years she authored a biweekly history column for The Greenville News, producing more than 500 installments between 1999 and 2022, and wrote seven books, including "Greenville's Heritage" and "A Short History of Greenville." Her work frequently linked the city's past to present-day issues, from a 2019 column on the 1918 Spanish flu republished during the COVID-19 pandemic to reporting on the historically Black New Washington Heights neighborhood. Colleagues and former students, including South Carolina Supreme Court Justice Letitia Verdin, credited Bainbridge with shaping careers and correcting long-held myths about Greenville's founding figures and institutions. Mayor Knox White opened a Sept. 28 City Council meeting with a moment of silence in her honor.

The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement has ordered the police department in Trinidad, a city of about 860 people southeast of Dallas, to close effective Sept. 18 after an investigation found it provided no public benefit to the community and failed to meet minimum standards. Law enforcement duties will shift to the Henderson County Sheriff's Office pending a permanent solution.

The order follows the arrest of Jennifer Combs, who was jailed after a Facebook post alleging residents were hospitalized due to bacteria in discolored tap water. Charges were later dropped and a grand jury declined to indict her, but the case triggered scrutiny of the department, which lacked basic resources like bulletproof vests and an evidence room. The police chief resigned in June, followed by the city manager, city clerk and municipal judge in July.

A separate state investigation into Trinidad's water found equipment issues and inadequate testing. Mayor Dennis Haws said the closure was expected and that the city council will discuss next steps, including a possible appeal.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has drawn support from Gov. Spencer Cox and former Gov. Gary Herbert after refusing a Justice Department request for the state's full voter registration list, including sensitive personal data. The DOJ's Civil Rights Division has opened an investigation into Henderson over the refusal, arguing it violates federal law. Henderson's office maintains that neither state nor federal law entitles the DOJ to collect private information on citizens, and Cox has publicly criticized the investigation as improper.

The dispute comes as the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a Trump administration plan requiring the Postal Service to screen mailed ballots against a federal citizen registry before delivery, upholding an injunction against the rule. Henderson said the ruling ensures Utah's 2026 election will proceed normally. Utah relies heavily on vote-by-mail, which state officials credit with boosting turnout from among the lowest in the nation to among the highest since 2018. A recent state audit found only a small number of confirmed noncitizens among Utah's more than 2 million registered voters, underscoring officials' argument that state-run election oversight is working effectively.

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson says she has received a letter from the U.S. Department of Justice notifying her that she is under investigation and facing litigation over alleged failures to comply with her election-related duties. The letter directs Henderson to preserve all records related to the 2024 election, extending beyond the standard 22-month retention requirement. Henderson responded on social media, saying she had been unaware of the investigation and criticized the DOJ for what she called "baselessly harassing election officials" instead of addressing substantive problems.

The letter follows Henderson's refusal to hand over sensitive voter data to federal authorities. She has also joined dozens of current and former election officials from ten states in an amicus brief before the Supreme Court, arguing against implementing a rule restricting mail-in voting before the 2026 midterms, citing logistical concerns rather than taking a position on its constitutionality. Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero praised Henderson's stance, citing state audit data showing over 99% of Utah's registered voters are verified U.S. citizens.