Monday, Sept. 1
Chicago targeted in Trump’s immigration efforts
The city of Chicago, like other major cities in the U.S., has become a target for President Donald Trump’s military crackdown on crime, The Associated Press said. On Aug. 30, Trump announced his plan to send federal officers to Chicago, and Mayor Brandon Johnson has already pushed back.
Johnson signed an executive order stating the Chicago Police Department would not aid these national troops in immigration enforcement or any other executive actions. He also directed city departments to protect the constitutional rights of Chicago citizens over any military action, the AP mentioned.
“Yeah, and I don’t take orders from the federal government,” Johnson said, preluding to a potential showdown between the national government and Chicago. The federal presence in Chicago is estimated to last about 30 days, according to the AP.
Tuesday, Sept. 2
Federal judge rules on Google monopoly
U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C. ruled Sept. 2 that Google’s search engine was an illegal monopoly. Mehta’s decision was influenced by some of the multi-billion-dollar deals Google has made to secure a spot as the default search engine on smartphones and other devices, the AP reported.
Though Mehta acknowledged Google’s fault, he did not agree with the federal government’s attempt to force Google to sell its Chrome browser, the AP said. However, Mehta ordered Google to give its competitors access to some of its data that helped improve the quality of its search results.
Skeptics of this decision argue it is still a victory for Google, as the company can continue to make those default search engine deals that generate more than $26 billion annually, according to the AP.
The Department of Justice, though, felt the decision was a positive step for the antitrust cause. Gail Slater, the department’s antitrust chief, said the decision was a “major win for the American people,” according to the AP.
Wednesday, Sept. 3
Bipartisan effort to ban stock trading
In a rare display of bipartisan agreement Wednesday, lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives have agreed to support a bill that would ban members of Congress from engaging in stock market trading, the AP reported.
The bill has been positively received by House members on both sides of the aisle and has been popular among voters as well, according to the AP. The legislation, if passed, would prevent members of Congress and their families from owning and trading stock while in office.
This has been an ongoing issue on Capitol Hill due to concerns about lawmakers' personal stock trading interfering with their ability to create legislation for their constituents, the AP said.
There have also been discussions in the Senate to extend this stock ban to presidents and vice presidents as well. The current legislation does not mention the executive branch, but sponsors are open to revisions if enough support emerges, according to the AP.
Thursday, Sept. 4
RFK hearing in U.S. Senate
On Thursday, the head of the Department of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., went before the U.S. Senate for an intense three-hour hearing, the AP reported. The Senate Finance Committee questioned Kennedy about his changes to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and his changes to vaccine offerings.
Senators questioned whether Kennedy would make it more difficult for Americans who wanted vaccines to get them, and Kennedy denied this but expressed concerns about vaccine safety and effectiveness, the AP said.
Kennedy also claimed the facts and statistics surrounding COVID-19 were unreliable when asked if he knew how many Americans died from the virus. He said government data about the pandemic is lacking, but the CDC and World Health Organization both reported about 1.2 million Americans have died from the virus, according to the AP.
Both Republicans and Democrats were concerned about the future of vaccines under Kennedy. Republican Sen. John Barrasso stated he was “deeply concerned” if Americans would be able to get certain vaccines after Kennedy cut research funding and made attempts to limit access, according to the AP.
