Great Depression

The Gellert Global Group, a New Jersey-based importer of Canadian cheese, has filed suit in the U.S. Court of International Trade challenging President Trump's use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930 to impose 50% tariffs on roughly $20 billion in Canadian goods. The dormant, Depression-era statute had never before been used in a trade dispute. Trump invoked it in August over alleged Canadian discrimination against U.S. dairy, auto, and alcohol exports, triggering retaliatory tariffs from Ottawa and a later outright ban on nearly $1 billion in Canadian products. The Liberty Justice Center, representing Gellert, argues newer trade laws superseded this authority, following its earlier Supreme Court win against other Trump tariffs. The White House says it will vigorously defend the measure.

A retrospective on Pittsburgh's political history draws parallels between economic unrest of the 1890s and today's political landscape ahead of the 2026 midterms. The piece recalls the 1894 march of Coxey's Army, a column of unemployed workers who were barred from entering Pittsburgh during the country's worst economic depression at the time. Months later, voters delivered a historic rebuke to the governing party, with Democrats losing 125 House seats, still the largest swing in the chamber's history, as Republicans swept Pennsylvania and other industrial states.

The analysis uses this episode to frame questions about how economic anxiety and regional political identity could shape the next House majority. For prediction markets tracking the 2026 midterm cycle, the piece underscores how localized economic conditions and historical voting patterns in swing regions like Pennsylvania remain relevant to forecasting potential wave elections and shifts in congressional control.

Tennessee voters will decide in November whether to constitutionally prohibit the state from ever levying a property tax, even though the state hasn't collected one since 1949. The measure is one of three proposed constitutional amendments on the November ballot and would amend Article II, Section 28 of the state constitution to bar the legislature from imposing a state property tax on real, personal, or mixed property.

Supporters, including Tennessee Association of Realtors president Chris Garrett and Republican lawmakers, argue the ban would protect homeowners from a future tax that only requires a simple legislative majority to enact, and note the amendment mirrors the state's 2014 constitutional ban on income taxes. Opponents, including Democratic Sen. Jeff Yarbro, call the measure unnecessary given the tax's 77-year dormancy and warn it could limit lawmakers' options during future fiscal crises. Others worry it could complicate taxation tied to business property values. Because amendments require approval from two consecutive General Assemblies before reaching voters, final passage now rests with the electorate.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency for 25 counties ahead of a strengthening storm system in the Gulf of Mexico. The order covers counties across the Panhandle and North Florida, including Baker, Columbia, Bay, Escambia, Leon, Santa Rosa and Walton, among others.

The National Hurricane Center expects the system, now a Category 3 hurricane, to make landfall along the central Gulf Coast as early as Friday night, with impacts extending well beyond the landfall point, including heavy rainfall, strong winds, coastal flooding and isolated tornadoes across North Florida. Some counties are not expected to be seriously impacted directly but are already contending with separate flooding from days of heavy rain, with three to six inches reported in Columbia County; additional rain could further saturate soils and raise flash flooding risk. The state has staged more than 1,000 generators, half a million gallons of gasoline, a million gallons of diesel and over a million bottles of water, mobilized 5,000 National Guard troops, and pre-positioned more than 16,000 linemen for power restoration. DeSantis urged residents to finalize plans and stock supplies for at least 72 hours.

Kansas, which has not elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932, is emerging as an unexpectedly competitive race ahead of the November 3 election. Pastor Adam Hamilton, a moderate Democrat with a large congregation and significant name recognition, is challenging incumbent Republican Senator Roger Marshall, a close ally of President Trump.

Democrats see an opening driven by rural frustration with Trump's tariffs and economic policies that have disproportionately affected farming communities, along with broader unease over the Iran conflict. Trump carried Kansas with 57% of the vote just two years ago, underscoring how significant an upset would be if Hamilton were to win. The race is being watched closely as a potential bellwether for midterm sentiment in traditionally red, agriculture-heavy states, and as a test of whether economic discontent can overcome a century of Republican dominance in Kansas Senate contests.