Congress Returns, Google Case, & Boredom Benefits

News without the noise

Adam Rogers
September 03, 2025

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Congress returned to session Tuesday with less than a month to fund the government and avoid a shutdown, but partisan divisions are already threatening progress. Senate GOP leaders want a short-term patch, while conservatives are pushing for a full-year bill that locks in Republican priorities.
Republicans hold slim majorities—219–212 in the House and 53–47 in the Senate—but need Democratic support to pass a funding bill. Democrats are demanding assurances that previously approved funds won’t be unilaterally cut after Trump rolled back $9 billion in foreign aid and public media.
Other issues on the docket include a bipartisan effort to vote on Epstein files and a stock trading ban, Trump urging Republicans to draft a crime bill and expand his influence over D.C. police, and ongoing GOP discussions about rewriting Senate rules to accelerate confirmations.

A federal judge ruled President Trump violated the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act by deploying 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June for civilian law enforcement. The law prohibits using the military as domestic police without congressional approval. The court found that troops conducted arrests, crowd control, and security patrols during immigration enforcement operations.
Trump must stop using the military for civilian law enforcement activities in California by September 12. Several hundred National Guard troops can remain, but cannot perform police functions. The judge rejected Trump's claim that the deployment was necessary to protect federal property during largely peaceful protests.
Meanwhile, Trump threatened federal intervention in Chicago, calling it the 'worst and most dangerous city in the World' after Labor Day weekend violence. Illinois Governor Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Johnson have rejected federal troop deployments. However, Pentagon sources say deployment planning is underway.

Google won't be forced to sell its Chrome browser after federal judge Amit Mehta ruled divestiture a "poor fit" in a major antitrust case. However, it must comply with new restrictions. Google's stock jumped 8% in after-hours trading
The company can continue paying partners like Apple $20 billion annually to be the default search engine, but it cannot block those partners from promoting competitors. Google must also give rivals access to certain search data and advertising services.
The DOJ had sought to break up Google's search business, but Mehta found this wasn't justified even though Google violated antitrust law. The decision preserves the company’s $198 billion search advertising business, though its global market share has fallen below 90% for the first time in a decade under pressure from AI tools and competitors.

US forces killed 11 Venezuelan Tren da Aragua gang members on a drug boat Tuesday. It is the first strike since Trump authorized military action against cartels. (More)

The House Oversight Committee released 33,000 Epstein files on Tuesday, but Democrats say only 3% contain new information about flight logs. (More)

President Trump announced Tuesday that the US Space Command headquarters will move from Colorado Springs to Huntsville, Alabama, reviving his original plan that Biden had scrapped. (More)

Israel launched its ground assault on Gaza City on Tuesday and called up 60,000 reservists. Tel Aviv demands that Hamas release all hostages and give up control or face total destruction. (More)

A landslide killed over 1,000 people in western Sudan after heavy rains flattened an entire village, leaving just one survivor. (More)

Kim Jong Un arrived in Beijing to join Putin and Xi at a World War II anniversary parade, where the three leaders challenge Western influence together. (More)

US stock markets closed lower on Tuesday (S&P -0.69%, Nasdaq -0.82%, Dow -0.55%). US stocks fell as investors worried about trade developments and rising bond yields at the start of what's historically a bad month for stocks. (More)

Kraft Heinz will split into two companies by late 2026, separating global brands like Heinz ketchup from North American products like Oscar Mayer and Lunchables. (More)

Aircraft leasing giant Air Lease will sell itself for $7.4 billion to Japanese investors and go private, continuing consolidation in the plane rental industry. (More)

Novak Djokovic beat the last remaining American, Taylor Fritz, to advance to the semifinals at the US Open. Djokovic's 53 semifinal appearances are the MOST by any player in the Open Era. (More)

A jury cleared Cardi B of assault on Tuesday after a security guard sued for $24 million, claiming the rapper attacked her with fingernails. (More)

Ohio State climbed to No. 1 in the AP college football rankings after beating Texas, while Alabama dropped to its lowest spot in 17 seasons following a loss to Florida State. (More)

Scientists claim Chagas disease, a dangerous infection spread by "kissing bugs," is now endemic across the southern US and can cause heart failure if untreated. (More)

University of Pennsylvania researchers tricked ChatGPT into breaking safety rules by asking harmless questions first, then getting it to insult users and explain drug-making processes. (More)

Archaeologists discovered a 4,000-year-old three-dimensional mural in Peru showing a bird of prey and humans morphing into birds, shedding light on early American civilization beliefs. (More)

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