Today's POLITICS story

Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump

What happened
The Texas House yesterday approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping up to five Democratic-held seats to Republican control. The 88-52 party-line vote followed a Democratic walkout that delayed passage of the contentious changes by two weeks. After the Democratic lawmakers returned to Austin on Monday, their GOP colleagues allowed them to leave the House only if they agreed to around-the-clock police escorts; some Democrats refused and slept in the chamber.

Who said what
Texas Republicans are "pursuing the unusual mid-decade redistricting" push "amid pressure" from President Donald Trump "to protect the GOP's slim majority in Congress" in the 2026 midterms, The Texas Tribune said. The new "aggressively partisan" map gives Trump the "gerrymander he requested," The New York Times said, but it also "set off a redistricting fever" that spread first to California but could infect another half-dozen states.

The California Supreme Court yesterday denied an emergency petition from Republicans to halt Gov. Gavin Newsom's (D) countervailing push to temporarily redraw his map's state to flip five GOP-held seats. Former President Barack Obama, a critic of gerrymandering, said Tuesday he approved of Newsom's "smart, measured" and "responsible" response to the GOP's attempt to "rig the game."

What next?
California lawmakers are expected to approve their new map today, sending it to a public referendum in November. The path is "far simpler" for Texas Republicans, "despite sustained Democratic opposition," the Times said. The state Senate will likely clear the Texas map today and "send it by the end of the week to Gov. Greg Abbott for his promised signature."

Today's ePSTEIN Story

Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request

What happened
New York U.S. District Judge Richard Berman yesterday rejected a Justice Department motion to release grand jury transcripts from Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking case, describing the request as a "'diversion' from the breadth and scope of the Epstein files in the government's possession." Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject nearly identical DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material.

Who said what
President Donald Trump, a former longtime friend of Epstein, directed the DOJ to seek the grand jury material in mid-July, amid a "fierce backlash" from supporters and critics alike over his administration's "refusal to release" the "massive trove" of Epstein documents in its possession, The Associated Press said.

The grand jury testimony is "merely a hearsay snippet" of Epstein's alleged crimes and "pales in comparison" to the DOJ's Epstein investigation information, Berman wrote. With some 100,000 pages of material and no grand jury secrecy constraints, the "government is the logical party to make comprehensive disclosure to the public of the Epstein Files."

What next?
The administration could appeal Berman's rejection, "though it has not done so in the other two rulings," The Washington Post said. The DOJ is separately "being forced to disclose the Epstein files" to the GOP-led House Oversight Committee, Politico said. The committee said earlier this week it "plans to publicly release" some of the files after the DOJ starts handing them over tomorrow, The Wall Street Journal said.

It's not all bad

Wanting to help Glasgow's homeless community, 12-year-old Rebecca Young sketched out an idea for a solar-powered blanket that soon became a reality and landed her a spot on Time's 2025 Girls of the Year list. Young teamed up with an engineering firm to make the blanket, which charges a battery during the day so that at night the fabric is heated and provides warmth for up to eight hours. Prototypes are now being distributed through Homeless Project Scotland.

Under the radar

What do heatwaves mean for Scandinavia?

Heatwaves have hit Norway, Sweden, Finland and even the Arctic Circle this summer, with Finland recording a record run of 22 days above 86 degrees Fahrenheit. This year's heatwave has led to toxic algal blooms in lakes and the Baltic Sea, overheated hospitals having to cancel surgeries, and a spate of wildfires. "Tropical nights" are a particular threat to an aging population. A 2018 Nordic heatwave was linked to 750 deaths in Sweden alone.

Climate change has made heatwaves at least 10 times more likely and 3.8 degrees hotter, according to a World Weather Attribution report. That's a problem for Scandinavian homes, which rarely have air conditioning and are designed to retain warmth.

Locals manage the summer heat in low-tech ways, such as by keeping blinds drawn all day. They also take to the water. Clean coastlines, shorter working hours and a culture built around community beach clubs mean it's commonplace for Danes and Swedes to go for a quick dip on the way to and from work.

Animals are also impacted by the heat, both directly and because their altered migration patterns to search for shade and water bring them dangerously close to human settlements. In Lapland, home to Santa's sleigh pullers, a heat-driven increase in the insect population has driven reindeer from their natural grazing grounds and toward towns and roads.

With the Arctic warming four to five times faster than the rest of the Earth, reindeer herds may soon have to be housed in barns, a knock-on blow to the livelihood and seminomadic lifestyle of the Indigenous Sámi herders.

On this day

August 21, 1959

Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state. The Hawaiian Islands had been annexed as a U.S. territory in 1898 after the Hawaiian monarchy was overthrown in a coup backed by U.S. forces. Statehood followed a local referendum and approval by Congress. Hawaii is the newest state, but Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have active statehood movements.

TODAY'S newspaperS

'Russia resists Kyiv security plan'

"Russia resists Kyiv security plan," The Wall Street Journal says on Thursday's front page. "Putin had a good hand. Then it got overplayed," says The Washington Post. "Israel moves on West Bank, Gaza," says The Boston Globe. "Moves by Israel risk imperiling hope for peace," The New York Times says. "Trump war on mail-in ballots gets blowback," says USA Today. "Hurricane Erin churns up seas," says the Arizona Republic. In Texas, "judge blocks Ten Commandments law," says the Houston Chronicle. "The numbers don't lie: Rural Georgia is dying," says The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

► See the newspaper front pages

Tall tale

Jieber believer

A Justin Bieber impersonator scammed his way into XS Nightclub at the Wynn hotel in Las Vegas and performed in front of an unsuspecting crowd. The faux Bieber, identified as 29-year-old Dylan Desclos, duped club headliner DJ Gryffin into thinking he was the real thing and spent five minutes onstage performing the song "Sorry." Desclos was subsequently banned from the property. Gryffin, who learned of the ruse after the show, nicknamed him Bustin Jieber.

Morning Report was written and edited by Genevieve Bates, Nadia Croes, Catherine Garcia, Scott Hocker, Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, Justin Klawans, Rafi Schwartz, Peter Weber and Kari Wilkin, with illustrations by Stephen Kelly and Julia Wytrazek.