Texas Republicans are advancing a mid-decade redistricting plan to grab five more U.S. House seats—their latest move to further rig the system for the wealthy elite and against the working class.

DRIVING THE NEWS: On Saturday, a Texas House subcommittee approved a plan that could give Republicans five additional seats in Congress.

THE LATEST: And now, in a last-ditch attempt to stop this corrupt deal, 51 Democrats have fled the state in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum they need to pass the legislation.

In response, Abbott is threatening to remove the missing Democrats from House rolls—though he lacks the legal ability to do so.

BIG PICTURE: Republicans currently have a four-seat majority in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Several pundits, including conservative ones, think the GOP could lose upwards of 40 seats next year—just like they did in 2018.

WHAT’S NEXT: The real question is, will Democrats fight fire with fire?

But some Democrats are pushing back, with states like New York and California considering plans to redraw their own maps just like Texas is doing.

Israeli troops AGAIN opened fire on starving Palestinians waiting for aid, killing at least 27 and injuring many more. Six others died from hunger the same day, bringing the starvation death toll to 175—most of them children. Even as Israel forces Gaza into famine, Israel’s far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir escalated tensions by publicly praying at al-Aqsa Mosque (near the Dome of the Rock, one of Islam’s holiest sites), violating decades-old agreements and stoking regional outrage. Full story from The Guardian.

More than 3,000 union workers who build Boeing’s fighter jets just went on strike—demanding a contract that reflects their value to national defense. Boeing says the rejected offer included a 40% wage bump, but workers say it doesn’t go far enough. As the company expands production of its new F-47A fighter, machinists are sending a message: no jets without justice. Full story from Reuters.

A new FEC filing reveals what many suspected: Trump is selling access to the White House. Crypto billionaires, corporate lobbyists, even a mother seeking a pardon for her son, lined up to write six- and seven-figure checks to MAGA Inc. in exchange for face time, favors, and federal appointments. The receipts are damning: pardons, ambassadorships, and even NASA nominations tied directly to campaign cash. Full story from The New York Times.

A new AP poll shows Democrats are deeply disillusioned with their own party, calling it “weak,” “ineffective,” and “spineless” in the face of Trump’s power grabs. While Republicans mostly cheer their party on, a third of Democrats are trashing theirs—and many say it’s not doing enough to stop Trump’s agenda. The biggest danger? Dems may just sit the next election out. Full story from the AP.

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Donald Trump has made what just may be a colossal mistake—Kara Swisher even called “suicide”—in filing a lawsuit against the Wall Street Journal.

If his goal was to stop people from talking about his long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein—this is the exact wrong way to do it.

WHAT’S HAPPENING: In July, our convicted felon president filed a lawsuit against the WSJ claiming the paper slandered him and violated libel laws over a recent story.

Trump dismissed the allegation, saying he’s never drawn anything (which was quickly proven to be a lie), and then filed a $10 billion lawsuit.

WHY THIS IS A BAD MOVE: Swisher and other media analysts see this lawsuit as catastrophically self-defeating. That’s because:

LONG STORY SHORT: All of this could be very bad for Trump, both legally and in the court of public opinion. And that, of course is great news for all of us who love democracy and hate fascism.

On Wednesday we asked, should Democrats try to work with Trump or fight him? Your answer was overwhelming.

Max voted fight and said: “The MAGA train has to be stopped in order to get America back on the right track. Democrats need do a better job selling how they are going to do it. What exactly are we fighting for?”

Tracksnorth also voted fight and said: “‘Nice’ doesn't cut it with Trump/MAGA...we need to not only fight Trump at every move he makes, we need to STOP him. With the power he's accruing, do you really think that he will ALLOW another national election?”

Deatraaadson voted get sh*t done: “Actually, I believe it's both. They need to get sh*t done and that includes fighting Trump at every turn. They/we need to fight like hell to save our democracy. If they only present that as fighting Trump, he'll play the victim.”

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