Headquarters of the United Nations

The U.S. Supreme Court on Sept. 25 ruled that Missouri must use its 2022 congressional map, not the Republican-drawn 2025 version, for the 2026 midterm elections. The decision capped weeks of legal battles that began after Missouri Republicans redrew the state's map to shift a 6-2 GOP advantage to 7-1. A Democrat-led referendum petition challenged the change, and the Missouri Supreme Court ruled the petition valid, holding the new map never took effect. The case bounced between federal courts, with a district judge and later the 8th Circuit siding with Republicans on using the 2025 map since it had already been used in August primaries. The Supreme Court ultimately reversed course, ruling without dissent that it was too late in the election cycle to implement new lines despite their primary-season use.

The ruling reshapes expectations for Missouri's House delegation heading into 2026 and arrives alongside other major news this week, including Trump's state-visit meeting with Xi Jinping in Washington and world leaders convening for the UN General Assembly in New York.

New York City is deploying thousands of NYPD officers this week as world leaders from nearly 200 countries arrive for the United Nations General Assembly. Mayor Zohran Mamdani said there are no credible security threats, but the NYPD is running a full-scale operation, with uniformed officers, heavy weapons teams, aviation and harbor units, K-9 teams, bomb squads, drones and counterterrorism officers stationed around U.N. headquarters. Additional unseen security measures are also in place, according to Commissioner Jessica Tisch, who urged New Yorkers to remain vigilant.

A gridlock alert runs Monday through Friday, with rolling pedestrian and vehicle closures near U.N. headquarters and parts of the FDR Drive as delegations move through the city. Delegations from Iran, Ukraine and Israel are expected, and demonstrations are anticipated throughout the week; police say they will work with protest organizers but have no tolerance for violence or property destruction. President Trump is set to address the Assembly Tuesday, with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking Thursday.