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Center-Left Study Ties Strong Teacher Unions to Weaker State Reading Results
A Progressive Policy Institute analysis found states with stronger teachers’ unions tend to have weaker early literacy and fewer of the 18 recommended reading policies. Eight of the 10 worst-scoring states had powerful unions. Mississippi, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, and Indiana, Republican-leaning states with weaker unions, ranked among the best. Maine, New York, Illinois, Hawaii, Washington and Rhode Island ranked among the worst. Democrat-led states adopted an average of nine of the 18 policies. Red and purple states adopted 13.5. Maryland was a blue-state exception. South Dakota was a red-state exception. Author Rachel Canter said Democrats often ask whether Mississippi-style reforms are possible given union power.
Editor’s Note: So, in actuality, teachers’ unions are bad for education. Gotcha.
🏛️ News & Politics
USDA Ends Checkoff Funding for Dairy ESG and Net-Zero Projects
The Agriculture Department on Thursday ended Dairy Checkoff support for environmental, social and governance projects, including greenhouse-gas and net-zero targets at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy. Farmers pay 15 cents per hundredweight of milk. Importers pay 7.5 cents. Secretary Brooke Rollins told National Dairy Board Chair Lolly Lesher to list all current and planned ESG work, citing the U.S. Dairy Net Zero Initiative, Greener Cattle Initiative, Pathways to Dairy Net Zero and mandatory FARM Environmental Stewardship. Rollins said producer dollars should build demand, not fund climate mandates that raise costs. The Agricultural Marketing Service was directed to apply the same limit to other commodity checkoffs. The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty had sued over the practice.
Netflix Founder and Wife Put $2.5 Million Against California Voter ID Measure
Reed Hastings donated $1 million on Sept. 3 to oppose California Proposition 39. His wife, Patty Quillin, donated $1.5 million on Aug. 31. The November measure would require proof of citizenship and personal identification to vote. Assemblyman Carl DeMaio said special interests are bankrolling a smear campaign and that voters will still approve the measure. A Public Policy Institute of California poll found that 55% of likely voters were opposed and 43% were in favor. Richard Uihlein and Nicole Shanahan are among major donors backing the initiative. Hastings gave $3 million in 2022 to block the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Michigan Sheriff Warns SOS Supervisors of Obstruction Charges in Noncitizen Voter Probe
Barry County Sheriff Dar Leaf said he tried to interview two Michigan Secretary of State supervisors as part of his investigation into alleged automatic voter registration of noncitizens, and that both gave a scripted refusal to cooperate. He said he received physical evidence that officials higher in Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s office told employees not to speak with his office. Leaf called that obstruction of justice, witness intimidation, and interference with a criminal investigation and said he may refer those individuals to the federal government. He offered recommended immunity if they cooperate. A confidential informant had earlier alleged the CARS system congratulates noncitizens as registered voters when they change addresses. Leaf referred that claim to the Justice Department.
Convicted Connecticut Budget Official Skips Sentencing and Goes to Greece
Konstantinos “Kosta” Diamantis, 70, a former Connecticut deputy budget director convicted on 21 federal bribery and extortion counts, did not appear Thursday for sentencing after telling his lawyer he was in Greece and would not return. Prosecutors said he traveled by boat from Florida to the Bahamas, then flew to London after obtaining a Greek passport while his U.S. passport was surrendered. He faced a requested 10- to 12-year sentence for shaking down school-construction contractors. Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong condemned the flight. The state halted his pension. Sentencing is reset for Sept. 30, with or without him.
Feds Arrest LA Homeless-Aid Nonprofit Operators Over Millions in Diverted Taxpayer Funds
Federal agents arrested Michael Young, 46, founder of Culver City nonprofit Home At Last, and Lakiya Malone, 48, of Special Service for Groups, on Wednesday in Los Angeles-area raids over alleged homelessness-aid fraud. Prosecutors say Young’s group took in more than $118 million in public contracts and that he diverted more than $7.5 million through sham vendors toward a nightclub, bingo hall, real estate and luxury travel. Malone is charged with taking more than $180,000 in bribes and kickbacks and referring “ghost” clients. Donye Mitchell, 55, is charged with wire fraud over more than $1.2 million and was described as a fugitive. Alexander Soofer has agreed to plead guilty in a related case.
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📢 The American Fifth Column
Schumer-Aligned Super PAC Adds $10 Million Behind El-Sayed in Michigan
Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), is investing another $10 million in Michigan for Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, bringing its total there to $30 million, with TV ads set to start Tuesday. El-Sayed told senators after a DSCC gathering that all paths to a Senate majority run through Michigan. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) called him a great candidate and said Democrats are united. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) said he will campaign with him next month. Senate Leadership Fund has committed $51 million on the Republican side. A MAGA-aligned super PAC is preparing $18 million. The Detroit News endorsed US Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI).
Editor’s Note: Proof that Schumer is a nihilist. El-Sayed is a devout antisemite.
New York DSA Nominee Says She Will Carry Mexico’s Independence Fight to Congress
Democratic Socialists of America member Claire Valdez, the Democrat nominee for New York’s 7th Congressional District, posted on Mexico’s Independence Day that Mexicans fought an empire 215 years ago and won. She said she would carry that fight to Congress as New York’s first Mexican American representative. She wrote that she met comrades in Mexico’s Morena Party last month who are standing up to empires and corporations and building a government for the working class. She closed with “¡Viva la Independencia, Viva México!” US Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) replied that she would be representing the United States in Congress, not Mexico. US Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) also questioned which Congress she meant.
Dana Bash Calls Michigan Reluctance to Elect a Muslim Just Gross
CNN anchor Dana Bash on Thursday branded as “just gross” a Washington Post-Schar School finding that 45 percent of Michigan likely voters would not consider a Muslim presidential candidate, repeating the label after a panelist asked about the 20 percent who said the same of a Jewish candidate. The Sept. 10-14 survey also found 46 percent would reject an atheist and 7 percent a Christian, while putting Democrat Abdul El-Sayed at 48 percent and Mike Rogers (R-MI) at 45 percent in the Senate race, a dead heat even though 53 percent preferred Democrat Senate control. Bash said the 45 percent figure is what El-Sayed is contending with and noted Rogers is highlighting El-Sayed’s past appearance with streamer Hasan Piker.
Washington Democrats Tell Gender-Critical Party Members There Is No Place for Them
Washington State Democrat Party Chair Shasti Conrad said there is “no place for hate” in the state and condemned Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender, which opposes males in women’s sports and medical transitions for minors. Conrad accused the group of a “hate-filled agenda” and demanded chapters drop the word Democrat from their names. Two November initiatives are on the ballot: IL26-001 on parental notice and curriculum review, and IL26-638 barring males from women’s school sports. DIAG said most Democrat voters back those limits and asked whether those voters should be excluded. Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) on Thursday urged a no vote on I-001.
Editor’s Note: And therein lies the problem with the Democrat Party in general. The freedom to criticize anything is guaranteed in the First Amendment.
Judge Boasberg Hosted CUSEF Law Exchange Nine Times, Six While on FISA Court
Investigative reporter Natalie Winters published documents on Thursday listing U.S. District Judge James Boasberg as a nine-time host for a China-United States Exchange Foundation-backed law student program run in partnership with the U.S.-Asia Institute. Six of those years overlapped with his service on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, including 2020, when he was the presiding judge. Program materials called him a “9X host.” House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) wrote in November 2025 that CUSEF is part of the Chinese Communist Party’s United Front system. The group was founded by Tung Chee-hwa, a vice chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Justices Alito, Kavanaugh, and Jackson also hosted while on lower courts.
ON THIS DAY IN 1947:
The National Security Act went into effect, officially establishing the U.S. Air Force as an independent military branch and creating the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
🌐 International
US Drops Venezuela From Failed Drug-Control List After Two Decades
President Trump said Venezuela should no longer be designated as having failed demonstrably to meet its drug-control commitments. The country had been on that list since 2005. Trump cited cooperation with interim President Delcy Rodriguez after the January capture of Nicolas Maduro and the killing of Tren de Aragua leader Nino Guerrero. He said he expects continued measurable progress against narcoterrorist groups. Afghanistan, Bolivia, Burma and Colombia remain on the failed list. Trump said he may lift Colombia’s status if President Abelardo de la Espriella advances coca eradication. Venezuela remains on the broader list of 23 major transit and producing countries.
Major Progress Made Toward a Permanent US Army Base in Poland
President Trump said Thursday that Washington and Warsaw have made major progress toward a U.S. Army base in Poland and that a location would be announced soon if the plan proceeds. Polish President Karol Nawrocki said his government would work to provide the best possible site. About 10,000 U.S. troops are already in Poland, mostly on rotations. Poland announced last week a $4 billion Pentagon weapons agreement, and U.S. officials have been reviewing potential sites. Former President Andrzej Duda had floated a “Fort Trump” base in Trump’s first term.
IRGC Says It Hit Togo-Flagged Tanker Trend in the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy said it struck the Togo-flagged oil tanker Trend after the vessel tried what Tehran called an illegal passage through the Strait of Hormuz. Rear Adm. Ali Ozmaei said the ship was hit, caught fire, and was stopped, and he blamed U.S. military “instigation.” The Guards warned that unauthorized transit would end in the vessel’s destruction. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations separately reported a security incident about 16 nautical miles northeast of Khasab, Oman, and later said a ship was hit by an unknown projectile and that the fire was extinguished.
Drone Hits Cooling Tower at Russia’s Operating Kursk Nuclear Plant
The International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday a drone struck a cooling tower at a reactor unit of Russia’s Kursk Nuclear Power Plant early Thursday. The unit was running at the time. Its operating mode did not change, and no fire broke out. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said attacks on nuclear facilities are unacceptable and called for maximum military restraint to prevent a nuclear accident. The plant sits about 25 miles west of Kursk, near the Ukraine border, and has been hit before. The strike came days after President Donald Trump said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop targeting each other’s energy infrastructure.
Takaichi Gains Room After Okinawa Win and Opposition Split
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s Liberal Democratic Party backed Genta Koja, who won Okinawa’s governorship Sunday with 59% over two-term Gov. Denny Tamaki. Koja supports the move of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma from Ginowan to Henoko. Tamaki wanted the base off the island. The Constitutional Democratic Party and Komeito formally split Wednesday, widening Takaichi’s room in the Diet. She kept key ministers in a Thursday cabinet reshuffle. China has pressed her to retract last November’s statement that a Taiwan attack would be an existential threat to Japan. She has not. Russia held missile drills near the Kurils after President Vladimir Putin visited the disputed islands in August.
