September 23, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT
Kamala Harris for President Again?

Kamala Harris for President Again? The other day, California's lame-duck Gov. Gavin Newsom made what looked like a high-minded promise in an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper. If Kamala Harris ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028, Newsom said, he would not run.

September 23, 2026 at 2:08 PM EDT
ICE Is Trying to Ignore Court's Decision Striking Down Third-Country Removals

ICE Is Trying to Ignore Court's Decision Striking Down Third-Country Removals Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials are trying to expel at least one immigrant to a country he's never been to, despite a federal appeals court smacking down the Trump administration's "third-country removal program" last week, new court documents show.

September 23, 2026 at 5:30 AM EDT
AI Safety Needs More Evidence and Less Speculation

AI Safety Needs More Evidence and Less Speculation A lot of rich and influential people have suddenly become very worried about artificial intelligence models' danger to humanity, thanks to several recent episodes in which various AI "agents" carried out hacks of other websites and systems. OpenAI's Sam Altman, Anthropic's Dario Amodei, and xAI's Elon Musk all now agree that the government needs to help them set up a cartel in violation of antitrust law""er, I mean, "pace the frontier."

September 23, 2026 at 5:15 AM EDT
Republicans Running Scared in the Rio Grande Valley

Republicans Running Scared in the Rio Grande Valley Big Bend is one of the National Park system's finest jewels, a hiker's paradise where the stratified cliffs tell of the last billion years. There are cacti and pastel sunsets, kit foxes and petroglyphs. There is the Rio Grande flowing through the canyon, and tiny plants that push up through mud cracks. You can still find untouched land in this part of Texas, where the spotty cell reception can either gum up your day or offer welcome solace, depending on your schedule. The beauty here is the best part of Texas District 23, says former teacher and attorney for children in foster care Katy Padilla Stout, the Democratic nominee running to represent it. The only thing better is the people, whose genuineness "will absolutely take your breath away," she told the Prospect. That extends to how they view political parties. "Our big thing has always been people over party," she said.

September 23, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
Rideshare Drivers Want a Fair Hearing Before Losing Their Jobs

Rideshare Drivers Want a Fair Hearing Before Losing Their Jobs This article was produced by Capital & Main, an award-winning publication that reports from California on economic, political, and social issues. It is co-published here with permission. After burning out in corporate call center and health insurance jobs, Gregory Hardin wanted a change.

September 22, 2026 at 3:00 PM EDT
Money Can't Buy Me Votes

Money Can't Buy Me Votes Having exhausted the possibilities of "doing a good job" and "making Americans happy," Republicans have resorted to swamping the opposition with cash in a bid to salvage what is shaping up to be a disastrous midterm election. This has become most apparent in Senate races, where the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) outspent its Democratic counterpart (the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, or DSCC) in August by 46-to-1. If you add up the ten most competitive Senate races, the Republican lead in outside spending is $269 million, an almost unthinkable number. Republicans were way behind in spending for Ken Paxton in Texas, and now they have a $102 million lead in money deployed. That money's going to go further thanks to a Supreme Court ruling that gives joint campaign ads between a candidate and an outside committee the lowest unit rate.

September 22, 2026 at 12:09 PM EDT
Organized Money: What Do AI Giants Really Want?

Organized Money: What Do AI Giants Really Want? Whether or not you buy into the argument that AI will kill all humanity, it's inarguable that there's suddenly a rush to find a regulatory framework for AI in D.C. with the support of the AI companies themselves. But until recently, Anthropic and OpenAI were full steam ahead""what gives? What if this is actually about something much more mundane? What are they really afraid of?

September 22, 2026 at 5:30 AM EDT
War Has Never Been More Irrational

War Has Never Been More Irrational Read the top story of the day in your inbox. Sign up for the Daily Prospect newsletter here. In 1910, the British journalist Norman Angell published a book called The Great Illusion, in which he argued that recent economic developments had made war a senseless proposition. Economic relationships were so delicate and easily disrupted, and modern militaries were so expensive and destructive, that any war between major powers was certain to be an enormous net cost for both combatants. There was simply no way to make a big profit, ? la Julius Caesar, by conquering some other nation and coming back home with some tigers and a big sack of booty. It followed, Angell reasoned, that if a war did break out, it would likely not last very long.

September 22, 2026 at 5:15 AM EDT
Can the States Stop the Corporate Domination of Our Politics?

Can the States Stop the Corporate Domination of Our Politics? This article appears in theOctober 2026issue ofThe American Prospectmagazine.If you'd like to receive our next issue in your mailbox, pleasesubscribe here. By the time this year's primary season was winding down, corporations had already shelled out more than half a billion dollars in support of congressional candidates, exceeding the previous record of $461 million set during the 2024 election cycle. The flood of campaign contributions was driven in large part by the artificial intelligence, crypto, and online gambling industries. And independent expenditures""not to the candidates but on (or against) their behalf""also surged to record levels this year.

September 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM EDT
This Office Was the Best Defense Against Discrimination in Schools. Trump Destroyed It.

This Office Was the Best Defense Against Discrimination in Schools. Trump Destroyed It. The Revolving Door Project, a Prospect partner, scrutinizes the executive branch and presidential power. Follow them at therevolvingdoorproject.org. Decades after Jim Crow battles over legal school desegregation, students continue to encounter discrimination that interferes with their ability to learn. The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration has frozen active student civil rights investigations. The Post highlighted one instance in Michigan where a Black fifth grader endured racial slurs like "monkey," the N-word, and hearing her skin was "burnt like a piece of chicken." As the Biden administration was winding down, the student's parents filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the division of the Department of Education tasked with protecting the civil rights of students. But after the Trump administration took charge, the investigation was frozen, along with over 30 others, according to the Post.

September 21, 2026 at 12:17 PM EDT
Bonta Gives Up on the Paramount Case

Bonta Gives Up on the Paramount Case California Attorney General Rob Bonta has settled the challenge that he brought with 11 other state AGs to the merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. The deal to settle the suit is both improbable and outrageous.

September 21, 2026 at 5:30 AM EDT
The Brownback Brushback in Kansas

The Brownback Brushback in Kansas Read the top story of the day in your inbox. Sign up for the Daily Prospect newsletter here. In Kansas, data centers and the fiscal pressures posed by the Kansas City Chiefs stadium deal raised voters' collective blood pressure in the governor's race between the two candidates, who are both state senators: Democrat Cindy Holscher and MAGA Republican Ty Masterson.