Ex-Dem lobbyist for company that promoted addictive opioid clears key gubernatorial hurdle
Cinde Warmington secured the Democratic nomination in New Hampshire’s gubernatorial primary on Tuesday evening after running unopposed. Her nomination marks the second time she’s pursued the office as Warmington continues to face attacks over her work as an attorney for Purdue Pharma — the company that became notorious in the early 2000s for the development and marketing of OxyContin. The Republican Governors Association (RGA) called her connection to the drug disqualifying. NEW HAMPSHIRE CANDIDATE JOHN SUNUNU BLASTS DEMS FOR NOVING ‘FIRST IN THE NATION PRIMARY’ ON RUTHLESS “Based on her role in fueling the opioid epidemic and calling OxyContin a ‘miracle drug,’ Cinde Warmington is completely disqualified from being governor. Warmington chose a payday over protecting New Hampshire families,” the RGA told local outlets. Purdue faced public outrage, investigations and lawsuits over how it pushed OxyContin as a non-addictive drug while knowingly concealing its high potential for abuse. After years of lawfare, the company was required to pay a $7.4 billion settlement in May. Warmington, for her part, has called the attacks unfounded and said that she had only a limited association with Perdue. In a video titled “setting the record straight,” she addressed it head on. “My dad, who I loved very, very much, struggled with addiction,” she said. “We did not escape the opioid crisis.” “In 2001, when, as an attorney, I was assigned a case by a partner to represent Purdue Pharma … I was fighting for patients to get access to the healthcare that their doctors thought that they needed. What I did not know at the time was that Purdue Pharma was engaged in this massive criminal fraud — something that would only be exposed over years of litigation.” In the past, Warmington served on the New Hampshire Executive Council, representing the state’s 2nd district from 2021 to 2025. LIZ PEEK: DEMOCRATS’ AFFORDABILITY SCAM COLLAPSES IN STATES THEY ACTUALLY RUN She’s run for governor once before in 2024, losing out to Joyce Craig, the eventual nominee, in a 47.9% to 41.8% contest. Craig herself would go on to lose to Gov. Kelly Ayotte, the Republican in the race. In her 2026 campaign, Warmington has pitched herself as a foil to rising costs of living. Like many Democratic candidates in the 2026 primaries, Warmington has put pressure on Republicans for not doing enough on affordability. “The prices of houses, groceries, electricity and property taxes are crushing working families. And Kelly Ayotte is making your life more expensive. I know we can do better,” Warmington said in a campaign video. She shares some platform similarities with other Democrats. In addition to championing priorities like pushing back on Trump’s immigration crackdown through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), implementing guardrails for data center construction, and preventing investor groups from purchasing housing, Warmington has also appealed to voters across the aisle with promises to slash taxes. “I’ll make sure we don’t have a sales or income tax,” Warmington said. TRUMP SCORES MAJOR WIN AS CONGRESS PASSES HOUSING CRACKDOWN ON WALL STREET INVESTORS Having secured the party nomination, Warmington will face off against Ayotte in the state’s general election for governor on Nov. 3. Ayotte won election in 2024, defeating Craig 53.6% to 44.3%.
Wife of top ex-Biden advisor easily advances to House showdown in November
Rep. Maggie Goodlander, D-N.H., won her primary to advance to a general election showdown in a Democrat-leaning seat comprising generally the western half of New Hampshire from Massachusetts to the Canadian border. Goodlander is the wife of former Biden National Security Adviser Jacob Sullivan, and won her first race for the seat in 2024 – succeeding the retiring Rep. Ann Kuster, D-N.H. While Republicans have dominated the governor’s office in New Hampshire in recent years, Democrats have been largely successful at the congressional level. The district has been in Democratic hands since 2013 and, prior to that, largely held by Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., who served two lengthy tenures interrupted by a Democrat in the mid-1990s. TRUMP SAYS US MAY RECOVER ALL THE EQUIPMENT LEFT BEHIND IN AFGHANISTAN BY BIDEN ADMIN Goodlander faced New Hampshire State Rep. Paige Beauchemin, D-Hillsborough, and there is also an independent running in the general election. The winner of a four-way Republican primary Tuesday night was Goodlander’s last opponent, Lily Tang Williams. Goodlander’s husband’s role in the White House was prominent, as Sullivan was front-and-center during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal in 2021, had a role in foreign relations during the early part of the Russia-Ukraine War and helped manage the U.S. relationship with China. ONE OF CONGRESS’ MOST POWERFUL DEMOCRATS JUST SURVIVED A PROGRESSIVE PRIMARY REVOLT SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER Beauchemin ran against Goodlander from the left, arguing the incumbent has not been sufficiently progressive or effective during her first term. The district is the more rural of the two, and includes cities like Pittsburg in the forests of northern New Hampshire. With neighboring Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., giving up his House seat to run for the Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., the political landscape in the Granite State will look much different no matter what come January.
Trump-backed candidate wins high-stakes GOP primary for New Hampshire battleground district
President Donald Trump scored a key victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday night, with his chosen candidate winning the GOP primary for one of the state’s two battleground congressional districts. Businessman Anthony DiLorenzo defeated Novel Iron Works owner Hollie Noveletsky and state Rep. Brian Cole to clinch the Republican nomination for the Granite State’s 1st U.S. House district. EX-NFL STAR BACKED BY TRUMP WINS BATTLEGROUND STATE PRIMARY: ‘TRUE AMERICA FIRST CONSERVATIVE’ The race has been contentious on both sides of the aisle for the open seat, which is currently occupied by Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., who is running for the U.S. Senate. STATE OF PLAY: DEMS BATTLE FOR SHOT AT CRUCIAL ARIZONA HOUSE SEAT AMID GOP’S RAZOR-THIN MAJORITY As a result of his U.S. Senate run, Pappas is leaving the House, opening a moderately blue seat that the nonpartisan Cook Partisan Voting Index rates D+2. That means it does lean in favor of Democrats, but the right Republican candidate could sweep come November. New Hampshire only has two congressional districts, with the 1st being the smaller of the two geographically. It includes part of southern New Hampshire, including Manchester, the state’s most populous city. New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District is notably a seat that former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ran for in 2022. Pappas defeated her by just under 10%. The three candidates running for the GOP nomination in New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District largely overlapped on most issues during their debates. But the most recent face-off, hosted by local station WMUR earlier this month, saw DiLorenzo become a target over his stance on illegal immigration. Noveletsky and Cole both seized on DiLorenzo’s comments on “The Granite Discourse” podcast in which he suggested that deporting illegal immigrants should focus on felons and violent criminals over those who did not commit crimes since getting to the U.S., according to NHJournal. “Unlike Anthony, who is on record on Granite Discourse saying that if somebody came here illegally and was working that they should have a path, I disagree,” Noveletsky said during the debate. TRUMP KEEPS WINNING REPUBLICAN PRIMARIES; HIS LOSSES MAY BE MORE REVEALING DiLorenzo said he supported deporting people who came to the U.S. illegally and added, “I would start with the dangerous people, the criminals, the drug dealers, the human traffickers. The law is clear, and I support law enforcement and the enforcement of our laws.” Trump endorsed DiLorenzo in July, writing on Truth Social, “As a very successful Businessman and Entrepreneur, Anthony understands the America First Policies required to Create GREAT Jobs, Cut Taxes and Regulations, Unleash American Energy DOMINANCE, Promote MADE IN THE U.S.A., and Champion our Nation’s Golden Age.” DiLorenzo was also endorsed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., and Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn. Noveletsky, meanwhile, was endorsed by a slew of New Hampshire state officials as well as House Rules Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., according to her campaign website.
Establishment Dem defeats socialist challenger in crucial battleground Senate primary
Rep. Chris Pappas on Tuesday won the Democratic Senate nomination in swing state New Hampshire, in a key race that is a must-hold for the Democrats in the midterm elections. Pappas defeated socialist rival and first-time candidate Karishma Manzur, the Associated Press reports, in the showdown to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected governor and senator. Republicans haven’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they view the open Democrat-held seat as a top flip opportunity in the fight to hold their slim majority in the midterms. The race between Pappas and Manzur was one of the final fights in a six-month primary season that saw the far-left score a slew of high-profile victories over centrists in what’s been framed as a battle for the Democrats’ ideological future. THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE Manzur, who saw a surge in support in recent weeks, took the fight to Pappas. “All he wants to do is just get his little cushy job and go to D.C. Go to all these parties and these restaurants and just do whatever the bare minimum is,” she charged in a Fox News Digital interview. The first-time candidate, scientist with a Ph.D. in biochemistry, and nonprofit leader who is a member of a local Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) group, pushed for universal health care, raising the minimum wage to at least $20 per hour, abolishing ICE, and ending all military aid to Israel for what she argues is the Israeli government’s “genocide” against the Palestinian people in their war against Hamas in Gaza. Manzur argued that Pappas, who has been supported over the years by the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC, is a “genocide enabler.” “Chris Pappas has had his turn and has not been able to serve this state honorably. He hasn’t done a good job in serving his corporate donors, his AIPAC foreign-aligned lobbies,” she claimed. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Pappas, in an interview with Fox News Digital, said, “Israel’s a historic ally of the United States, the only democracy in the region. And you can say that while you have vehement disagreements with the Netanyahu government as I’ve expressed.” And referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Pappas said, “I think Netanyahu’s being incredibly reckless right now. He faces voters in a matter of weeks and could lose his election. And I think that would be important to set a new tone for the U.S.-Israel relationship.” Pappas, who was the frontrunner for his party’s nomination ever since Shaheen announced early last year that she wouldn’t seek re-election, enjoys strong establishment and union backing. And for over a year, as he runs for the Senate, Pappas also takes aim at what he calls a political system “rigged for billionaires.” Regardless, Manzur charged that Pappas took a page from her playbook. “It’s really embarrassing and insulting to the people of New Hampshire. He’s been there for eight years. He has not provided any of that sort of populist messages, and now he’s realizing, wait, he’s dropping in the polls, and now he has to catch up,” Manzur charged. “That’s another one of those deceptions that… Chris Pappas always engages in.” CHECK OUT THE LATEST FOX NEWS POLLING IN THE MIDTERM ELECTIONS Pappas defended his record, noting “I’ve been fighting to change Washington to get big money out of our political system since I got elected to Congress in 2018.” And Pappas emphasized he’s “appealing to those voters between the 20 and 80-yard line on the political playing field, and there are a lot of them in New Hampshire. This is not a left-wing or a right -wing state. It’s a state of voters who are pragmatic.” Pappas will face off in the general election against either former Sen. John E. Sununu, who topped former Sen. Scott Brown. Asked how he’ll unify his party after a primary showdown that turned heated, Pappas said, “I’ve always been able to bring people together, and that’s how you do things in New Hampshire.” Pointing to the high-stakes head, Pappas said, “Democrats are coming together regardless of how these primaries are shaking out because they understand where the real fight is. This is an election here in New Hampshire that’s going to determine the balance of power in the United States Senate. And Democrats won’t be able to take the majority back in the US Senate if they don’t hold this specific seat here in New Hampshire.”
GOP voters rally around businesswoman as they try to flip crucial House seat red
Businesswoman Lily Tang Williams pulled out a win in New Hampshire’s 2nd Congressional District primary against three other Republican candidates. Four GOP candidates sought to earn the opportunity to flip red the district that spans the entire western part of the state north to south. Tang Williams, who was also the 2024 nominee for the seat, emerged victorious over the rest of the field. An entrepreneur and co-chair of the New Hampshire Asian American Coalition from the town of Weare, Tang Williams dominated the race from a fundraising perspective. She hauled in nearly $1.2 million, while second place finisher Victor Orlando raised $175,000. Tang Williams is a Chinese immigrant who describes herself as a survivor of communism — she pitched herself as an “open-minded” and “independent” person in an April interview with WMUR, signaling her willingness to oppose President Donald Trump when appropriate for her would-be constituents. Asked specifically about the conflict in Iran, she denounced oppressive regimes and said she would like Trump to provide a plan for ending the war and reaching a peace agreement. She also denounced politicians she said used their offices to enrich themselves. TRUMP-BACKED NOMINEES DOMINATE PRIMARY CONTESTS AS PRESIDENT TIGHTENS PARTY VICE GRIP Tang Williams formerly chaired the state’s Libertarian Party. Two other candidates in the race, Dan Nicholson and Michael Anthony Callis, captured only tiny percentages of the vote. $50 TRILLION IN DEBT IS NOT A DISTANT THREAT. AMERICA IS SPEEDING TOWARDS IT Both Tang Williams and Orlando pitched themselves as only center-right, in a state heavily controlled by Democrats. New Hampshire, which has only one other congressional district, is a reliably blue state, though in her 2024 run, Tang Williams earned 47% of the vote. The district is currently represented by Rep. Maggie Goodlander (D-N.H.).
Incumbent GOP governor rolls to primary victory after keeping Trump at a distance
First-term Republican Governor Kelly Ayotte easily handled her primary opponents Tuesday, setting up a high-stakes general election battle against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Cinde Warmington, who ran unopposed for her party’s nomination. Ayotte defeated Republican challengers Shaun Fife and Bob Wayne McClory as she seeks a second two-year term leading the Granite State. The former senator and state Attorney General entered Tuesday’s primary as the incumbent after winning the governor’s mansion in 2024, when Ayotte defeated former Manchester Mayor Joyce Craig and kept the office in Republican hands following the retirement of four-term GOP Gov. Chris Sununu. KEY SWING STATE VOTERS TO SETTLE DUELING SENATE PRIMARY FIGHTS IN CRUCIAL OPEN-SEAT RACE Ayotte previously served as New Hampshire‘s attorney general from 2004 to 2009 before winning election to the U.S. Senate in 2010. She served one term before narrowly losing her 2016 reelection campaign to Democrat Maggie Hassan. In 2024, following Sununu’s decision not to seek a fifth two-year term, Ayotte mounted a political comeback with the outgoing governor’s endorsement. In her first term, Ayotte successfully pushed to roll back portions of the state’s bail reform law, arguing the existing system was too lenient on criminal suspects awaiting trial, signed legislation requiring public schools to restrict student cellphone use and pushed penalties for motorists who refuse Breathalyzer tests. TRUMP-BACKED JOHN E. SUNUNU BREAKS WITH PRESIDENT ON KEY ISSUE AHEAD OF HIGH-STAKES NEW-HAMPSHIRE PRIMARY Meanwhile, her tenure has faced criticism from the left over a state budget that included cuts to state agencies. Ayotte will take on Warmington, who served on New Hampshire’s five-member Executive Council for two terms, during which she was the lone Democrat on the body that works with the governor to approve state measures and helps consider gubernatorial appointments, among its duties. Tuesday marked her second campaign for governor after Warmington lost the 2024 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Warmington has attacked Ayotte for failing to adequately stand up to President Donald Trump, citing healthcare cuts, tariffs and the war in Iran. The Concord Monitor reported in June that Ayotte “steered clear of all things Trump” for much of her first term, noting that, when asked whether she would stand with Trump if he visited New Hampshire, Ayotte responded, “I’m standing with the people of New Hampshire.”
Ex-GOP senator clears hurdle in crucial comeback bid as Republicans try to flip key Senate seat
Former Sen. John E. Sununu on Tuesday won the GOP Senate nomination in swing state New Hampshire, in a race that may determine if Republicans keep control of the chamber in the midterm elections. Sununu defeated former Sen. Scott Brown, the Associated Press reports, in the showdown to succeed retiring longtime Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the first woman in the nation’s history elected governor and senator. Republicans haven’t won a Senate election in New Hampshire in 16 years, but they view the open Democrat-held seat as a top flip opportunity in the fight to hold their slim majority in the midterms. Sununu will now face off in the general election against four-term Rep. Chris Pappas, who topped socialist candidate and scientist Karishma Manzur, for the Democratic nomination. THESE 12 MIDTERM RACES WILL DECIDE WHICH PARTY CONTROLS THE SENATE “When it comes to standing up for New Hampshire, I take a back seat to no one. I’m not worried about reelection. I don’t — I’m not running for any other job. I don’t want to make anyone in Washington happy. I know that as your senator, I’ll have one job: stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day,” Sununu told supporters at his victory celebration at the McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, N.H. Sununu, the son of former Gov. John H. Sununu and older brother to former Gov. Chris Sununu, is a former congressman and senator who is aiming to return to the Senate. President Donald Trump in February endorsed Sununu, a longtime GOP Trump critic, over Brown, one of Trump’s first-term ambassadors. Sununu was also backed by Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Brown charged in a Fox News Digital interview that Sununu’s “got 70 endorsements on his website, but he doesn’t have the president’s. He never talks about it. He’s embarrassed by it.” “I’ve had the MAGA base and a lot of those so-called traditional Republicans for almost over a year,” Brown highlighted. “Johnny came lately, and he’s here, and now he thinks everyone’s going to just vote for him. That’s not how it works. You got to go earn it.” DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB Brown claimed that Sununu is “beholden” to Trump, Thune, the Senate leadership, and outside groups. “He owes them everything. He doesn’t work for the people of New Hampshire,” Brown charged. But Sununu told Fox News Digital, “I’ll have one job stand up for the people of New Hampshire every single day… I don’t need to make anyone in Washington happy. It’s all about our state, our communities, our economy, and our small businesses.” Asked by about Trump’s endorsement, Sununu didn’t mention the president’s name but highlighted his local endorsements, saying “we’ve received tremendous support in New Hampshire… we’ve got great momentum at the grassroots level.” Trump last week said he’d be heading out on the campaign trail to help fellow Republicans running in the midterms. Asked if he’d like Trump to join him on the Granite State campaign trail, Sununu answered, “I don’t need anyone from outside New Hampshire to campaign for me. I’ve said that from the very beginning.” SIGN UP TO GET THE POLITICS NEWSLETTER The former senator also disagreed with the Trump administration’s trade war with neighboring Canada, saying “I don’t think it’s the right thing to pick a trade war with Canada. They’re a great trading partner for New Hampshire.” Republicans are facing a rough political climate heading into the midterms, due persistent inflation, high gas prices fueled by what polls indicate is an unpopular war with Iran, and Trump’s underwater approval ratings. But Sununu, who defeated Shaheen in 2002 to win election to the Senate but lost a rematch to her six years later, said he’s “focused on the right things, affordability, bringing down the cost of living on housing, health care, and energy, a reform agenda.”
ICE launches CDL fraud tipline as DHS highlights deadly crashes involving illegal immigrants
FIRST ON FOX — Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is launching a new tipline for Americans to report suspected commercial driver’s license (CDL) fraud as the Trump administration ramps up its crackdown on unqualified truckers following a series of deadly crashes involving illegal immigrants. ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations announced the official CDL fraud tipline Tuesday, Fox News Digital learned. Americans can report suspected fraud by calling 866-347-2423. The new tipline comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have expanded efforts to identify illegal immigrants and other unqualified drivers operating commercial vehicles on American roads. OUT OF CONTROL, UNQUALIFIED ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCKERS ENDANGERING KIDS ON US ROADS, INSIDER WARNS: ‘JUST MADNESS’ DHS pointed Fox News Digital to cases involving illegal immigrants who received CDLs from states including California, Massachusetts, New York and Pennsylvania before later being involved in fatal crashes or arrested in connection with other alleged crimes. “Too many American lives have been lost or permanently changed because illegal aliens who have no business being on our roads have been granted CDLs,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said. TRUMP ADMINISTRATION’S IMMIGRATION PUSH FUELS ICE’S BIGGEST ARREST MONTH IN AGENCY HISTORY “ICE and our federal partners, including the Department of Transportation, will be cracking down on CDL fraud so that not one more American life is lost to a reckless illegal alien behind the wheel of a semi-truck. You can help save American lives and make our roads safer by dialing ICE’s new CDL fraud tipline today.” DHS also shared details behind several deadly crashes that officials say point to the concerns behind the Trump administration’s crackdown. DEADLY ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT TRUCK CRASH EXPOSED FAILURES ON THE ROAD AND AT THE BORDER: KEY SENATOR In July, Michael Bon, an illegal immigrant from Haiti who DHS says had been granted a CDL by Massachusetts, allegedly caused a semi-truck crash that killed a Pennsylvania State Trooper. Another case cited by the department left four people dead in Indiana. ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT ACCUSED OF KILLING NEWLYWED COUPLE IN OREGON CRASH ARRESTED BY ICE AFTER JAIL RELEASE Bekzhan Beishekeev, an illegal immigrant from Kyrgyzstan, swerved into oncoming traffic in February and caused a head-on collision that killed four people, according to DHS. The department said Pennsylvania had granted Beishekeev a commercial driver’s license before the crash. ICE arrested him that month. In Oregon, Rajinder Kumar, an illegal immigrant from India, jackknifed his trailer in November 2025 in a crash that killed a newlywed couple, according to DHS. The department said Kumar had been granted a CDL by California and was arrested by ICE in April 2026. REP. BRIAN MAST: I WANT UNSAFE TRUCKERS OFF OUR HIGHWAYS — AND AMERICA’S VETERANS IN THEIR SEATS And in Florida, Harjinder Singh, an illegal immigrant from India, made an illegal U-turn in a tractor-trailer in August 2025, causing a crash that killed three people, according to DHS. The department said California had granted Singh a CDL. The tipline is the latest step in a broader federal crackdown on commercial trucking fraud and unqualified drivers. DOZENS OF ILLEGAL ALIEN TRUCK DRIVERS BUSTED WITH LICENSES FROM DEEP BLUE STATES In August, DHS said the second wave of Operation Highway Shield removed more than 800 truckers from U.S. roads, including 51 illegal immigrants, during a three-day operation. A separate three-day operation in Oklahoma in October 2025 resulted in the arrests of 120 illegal immigrants, including 91 who were operating commercial vehicles with CDLs, according to DHS. DHS and DOT have also targeted fraudulent and illegal practices at CDL schools nationwide as part of the Trump administration’s broader crackdown.
Rival court rulings leave Missouri’s congressional maps in limbo
Conflicting court rulings Tuesday left Missouri’s congressional map in legal limbo less than two months before the November general election, with litigation continuing over which districts will govern the state’s races. Earlier Tuesday, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh denied Missouri’s emergency appeal seeking to revive the state’s revised Republican-backed congressional map, leaving in place the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling blocking the map from being used in November. Kavanaugh acted alone and did not refer the application to the full Supreme Court. Later Tuesday, however, Chief U.S. District Judge Stephen Clark issued a 14-day temporary restraining order directing Missouri officials to use the revised congressional map while the federal case proceeds, setting up competing court orders over which districts should govern the November election. The Missouri Supreme Court had ruled last week that the revised map never legally took effect because a voter-backed referendum petition suspended the law pending a statewide vote, leaving the congressional districts adopted in 2022 in place for the November election. MISSOURI AG FILES PETITION ASKING SUPREME COURT TO REVIVE TRUMP-BACKED REDISTRICTING MAP Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway had asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after the state Supreme Court’s ruling, arguing that the state faced an unprecedented situation after administering its primary election under one set of districts only to be ordered to use another for the general election. The revised map, backed by President Donald Trump and Missouri Republicans, was designed to make Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver’s Kansas City-area district more favorable to Republicans, with the goal of expanding the GOP’s congressional delegation from 6-2 to 7-1. The Missouri Supreme Court ruled the referendum petition prevented the revised map from taking effect unless voters approve it, leaving the state’s 2022 congressional districts in place for the November election. In its emergency filing, the state told the Supreme Court only it could prevent “hundreds of thousands of voters” from being disenfranchised and ensure Missouri could hold “a timely and lawful federal congressional election.” Hanaway called the Missouri Supreme Court’s ruling “catastrophic” after filing the emergency appeal. MISSOURI HIGH COURT BLOCKS GOP-BACKED CONGRESSIONAL MAPS AHEAD OF MIDTERMS; TRUMP BLASTS ‘RIDICULOUS’ RULING Opponents urged the justices to reject the request, arguing Missouri officials created the timing problem by waiting until after implementing the revised map in the primary to challenge the referendum. Calling the application “not a real emergency,” they argued the Supreme Court should not “reward the Secretary’s scheme to outsmart Missouri voters, Missouri law, and the Missouri Supreme Court” by allowing use of a map the state’s highest court concluded “is not the law and has never been the law.” Clark ruled that requiring Missouri to use different congressional maps for the primary and general elections “would wreak havoc on the fairness and orderliness of Missouri’s congressional elections,” calling into question the candidates nominated in the primary and the votes already cast. He said “widespread voter confusion would inevitably follow” if different maps were used. The temporary restraining order remains in effect for 14 days while the federal case proceeds. Despite the competing rulings, Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe and Hanaway said Tuesday evening the state would move forward using the revised congressional map. “Missouri is prepared to follow and comply with the federal district court’s order, which binds the state to using the map enacted by the General Assembly and signed into law by Governor Kehoe,” Hanaway wrote on X. GEORGIA REDISTRICTING BATTLE REVIVED AFTER APPEALS COURT OVERTURNS FEDERAL COURT DECISION Kehoe said the administration was “grateful for Chief Judge Clark’s decision to provide much-needed clarity for Missouri voters and the election process.” “With today marking the deadline for changes to the November ballot, the Missouri First Map will be used in the general election,” Kehoe wrote on X. “Voters and candidates deserve consistency, certainty, and not to have the rules changed between elections.” Attorneys representing the referendum supporters, however, appealed Clark’s temporary restraining order to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, leaving the legal status of Missouri’s congressional districts unresolved as the litigation continues ahead of the November election.
Mamdani drops massive 9/11 records trove as old claims about Ground Zero come under fire
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani released more than 170,000 pages of records Tuesday that call into question public claims that the air around Ground Zero was safe to breathe following the 9/11 attacks. Mamdani’s office released an initial trove of approximately 170,000 pages of records, including documents found in 68 boxes at the Department of Environmental Protection in 2025 that date back to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. The records release comes just days before the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks in which 2,977 people were killed. Thousands of people exposed to the toxic dust and debris after 9/11 have since died from illnesses associated with the attacks, while many more continue to suffer from health conditions, according to the World Trade Center Health Program and other health authorities. AMERICA’S HEARTLAND COMES FACE-TO-FACE WITH 9/11 HISTORY AS 25TH ANNIVERSARY NEARS Then-EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman said in a Sept. 18, 2001, press release that monitoring results indicated the air near the World Trade Center was safe to breathe, following EPA assurances about environmental hazards dating to Sept. 13. “People got sick because the leaders they trusted lied and told them they were safe to breathe in toxic air,” Mamdani shared during a Tuesday press conference. The documents revealed that ten months after the terrorist attacks, traces of asbestos were found on the roof of a building located at 15 John Street, less than a mile from where the World Trade Center once stood. The records show that asbestos was detected at some locations at levels below applicable cleanup or exposure benchmarks and at others at levels that appeared to exceed them; health authorities have said there is no known safe level of asbestos exposure. Among the approximately 170,000 pages released through the online portal is a Feb. 28, 2002, memo from then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg‘s senior policy adviser, summarizing Rep. Jerrold Nadler’s concerns about indoor air quality in Lower Manhattan and warning that the city could face public-relations and legal problems over the cleanup. The memo laid out Nadler’s concerns that the Environmental Protection Agency had “handed over responsibility for measuring indoor air quality to the City” without putting in place oversight measures. The memo said the city had passed responsibility for indoor monitoring to property owners and noted that the Health Department had instructed residents to clean buildings with wet mops and rags. “If Nadler’s concerns are justified, we are not Informing people of the real health risks In lower Manhattan, the City may face major public relations problems and Is leaving Itself open to a barrage of lawsuits,” the memo, dated Feb. 28, 2002, stated. “At the least we should discontinue telling people to clean their apartments with wet mops and rags. We should be asking FEMA for funds to support Indoor cleanup.” AS AMERICAN PRIDE HITS A 25-YEAR LOW, A NEW 9/11 EDUCATION PLATFORM URGES THE NATION TO NEVER FORGET Among the clearest evidence of lingering asbestos contamination near Ground Zero was a finding at Stuyvesant High School, where testing later revealed elevated asbestos in auditorium carpeting. The school, located less than half a mile north of the World Trade Center, recorded what concerned parents described as “extremely high levels of asbestos” in its auditorium during testing in August 2002. Nearly a year after the attacks, testing of a carpet sample from the school’s auditorium using an EPA-recognized ultrasonication method found asbestos concentrations measured at roughly 2.5 million structures per square centimeter. For comparison, the EPA’s Lower Manhattan Test and Clean Program later called for professional cleaning when settled dust exceeded 5,000 asbestos structures per square centimeter. The Stuyvesant sample was roughly 500 times higher than that cleanup benchmark. I LOST MY WIFE ON 9/11. PLEASE LET THIS 25TH ANNIVERSARY BELONG TO THE FAMILIES The parents’ findings also reached city officials. A copy of the press release announcing the asbestos results was transmitted through the NYC Department of Environmental Protection’s Bureau of Public Affairs on Aug. 7, 2002. In July 2002, more than 10 months after the attacks, the Independence Plaza North Tenant Association (IPNTA) wrote to the EPA arguing the agency’s cleanup of two Tribeca residential buildings had not gone far enough, while also urging broader environmental testing.” The work on this project has thus far been done in an unprotected, hence possibly dangerous manner, allowing the dust from the old carpet being torn up to seep into tenants’ apartments, under and around their doors,” Diane Lapson, the tenant association’s environmental chair, wrote in the letter. Lapson also criticized what she described as the EPA’s and New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection’s reliance on visual inspections to assess conditions at Independence Plaza’s buildings, including 310 Greenwich St. and 80 North Moore St., arguing the agencies should instead conduct more comprehensive testing. She urged officials to use ultrasonication to more reliably measure the amount of asbestos still in the buildings.” Based on the illnesses that have plagued IPN residents since 9/11 (constant respiratory, sinus, bronchial, skin rashes, eye infections, headaches, etc.), we believe there is a need to do a thorough cleaning of the entire complex. CBC CAVES ON 9/11 ‘TERRORISM’ GUIDANCE AS US, CANADIAN OFFICIALS UNLEASH CROSS-BORDER BACKLASH By September 2002, about two months after Lapson’s letter, the EPA announced that eight contracts had been awarded for asbestos cleanup throughout the downtown area including the ZIP code encompassing Independence Plaza North. But EPA litigation records show that asbestos contamination remained in some Lower Manhattan apartments months after the cleanup work began. Lori Mogol and Richard Zimbler, a couple who lived at Independence Plaza North, still had elevated levels of asbestos in their apartment as late as February 2003. Specifically, their dining room had more than double the EPA’s risk-based clearance level for asbestos, according to tests performed by their assigned contractor.