Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution

Three men U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace named as "predators" in a 2025 House floor speech — financier John Douglas Osborne, her ex-fiancé Brendan Patrick Bryant, and former soccer club owner Eric Bernard Bowman — were arrested Oct. 14 in connection with the alleged 2018 sexual assault of an intoxicated woman on Sullivan's Island, South Carolina. Osborne faces assault and criminal sexual conduct charges; Bryant is charged with voyeurism; Bowman is accused of voyeurism, obstructing justice and naming a sexual assault victim.

A fourth man Mace publicly branded a predator, Brian Musgrave, will not be charged. Ninth Circuit Solicitor Scarlett Wilson wrote to the State Law Enforcement Division that "not a scintilla of evidence" supports Mace's allegations against him, warning her credibility would be undermined if called as a trial witness. Two other prosecutors who reviewed the probe similarly called her claims baseless. A federal judge dismissed Musgrave's defamation suit against Mace in August 2025, citing congressional immunity under the Westfall Act. Musgrave's attorney says Mace has never apologized.

CNN, MS NOW and Politico filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington seeking to restore White House access after their reporters were denied entry and had press credentials revoked following Trump's announcement banning the outlets over what he called "fake news" coverage. The suit, naming Trump, aide Steven Cheung, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and Secret Service Director Sean Curran, argues the ban violates First Amendment press freedoms and 14th Amendment due-process rights, calling it unconstitutional "viewpoint discrimination." It cites the 1977 Sherrill v. Knight precedent barring arbitrary denial of press passes based on coverage content, as well as the earlier Jim Acosta case.

Trump denied targeting a free press, calling it instead an "assault on the FAKE News." The White House Correspondents' Association backed the outlets, warning the standard could be applied to any news organization. Separately, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News said they would no longer supply camera crews for White House pool coverage after CNN was removed from pool duties, leaving no television crews traveling with Trump to the UN General Assembly.

Texas' rapidly growing Muslim population, estimated between 300,000 and 500,000 (up from about 140,000 in 1990), has become a flashpoint among Republicans, drawing national attention during the RNC's Midterm Convention in Dallas. GOP officials including Reps. Keith Self, Chip Roy, and Brandon Gill, congressional candidate Brandon Herrera, and state Rep. Brian Harrison are calling for legislative and congressional action against what they describe as Islamism and Sharia law, citing new mosque construction and Islamic development projects across the state.

Specific controversies include the EPIC City development in Josephine, which Attorney General Ken Paxton's office says is linked to alleged securities law violations, prompting Gov. Greg Abbott to halt construction; a McKinney mosque relocation approved by the city council that spurred a recall effort against local officials; and a planned Islamic campus expansion near Camp Bullis military base in San Antonio, which Roy wants federal officials to investigate. Advocacy groups and RNC attendees echoed concerns about assimilation and Western values, while some attendees pushed back, saying local voters should decide the issue.

U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill ruled that Idaho's "Defense of Life Act" and "Fetal Heartbeat Act" violate the due process and equal protection clauses of the 14th Amendment by barring doctors from performing abortions to protect a pregnant patient's health or prevent self-harm. The laws had allowed prosecution of physicians, with penalties including loss of license and up to five years in prison, with narrow exceptions for cases where the mother's life is at risk or in some rape and incest cases.

Winmill found the state cannot force a pregnant person to suffer serious, non-lethal harm—including mental health crises—for the sake of a fetus, and highlighted testimony that patients had to be sent out of state for care. Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador said he will appeal. The ruling comes as Idaho voters prepare to decide a ballot initiative this fall on rolling back the state's abortion ban, alongside related abortion measures in Virginia, Nevada, and Missouri.