September 11 marks 25 years since the attacks that changed the country and thousands of families. The anniversary deserves a pause before the churn of rules, campaigns and court orders. America is bigger than its government. On that morning, the country revealed itself through people: firefighters climbing stairs, public servants staying at their posts and strangers helping one another through smoke and fear.

In the days after the attacks, Americans could feel what the “United” in United States meant. Whatever divisions have followed, we would do well to remember how that unity felt and build on what we share instead of dwelling on where we differ.

The policy debates that followed still shape American life. The courage and loss at the center of the day require no partisan interpretation. We remember them first. Then we return to the record and the work of building a more perfect, more united union.

- Teddy Brosevelt

The Census Bureau proposed excluding undocumented immigrants and noncitizens with less durable legal status from the apportionment base, the population used to divide the 435 House seats among states. Citizens and lawful permanent residents would remain. The bureau is considering government records or a legal-status question to classify other noncitizens.

A separate part of the proposal would bar race, ethnicity and sexual-orientation questions from questionnaires used to conduct the population count. It would not restrict the American Community Survey or the bureau's use of government records. Comments close October 13, 2026, before a final rule for the 2030 Census.

Supporters argue that apportionment should reflect people with an enduring legal tie to the country. The bureau says its approach better matches that principle and that fewer sensitive questions could improve response rates and reduce disclosure risk. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier made the case for excluding undocumented immigrants in April. Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit seeking to exclude undocumented immigrants and temporary visa holders in January.

Opponents point to the Fourteenth Amendment's instruction to count the whole number of persons in each state. Population researcher Beth Jarosz told the Associated Press that sample surveys cannot replace a complete count for neighborhood-level data. Manjusha Kulkarni of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California told the same outlet that removing race and ethnicity questions would weaken the government's ability to assess whether communities are safe, healthy and fairly represented.

A narrower path would keep the usual-resident count for representation, publish separate legal-status estimates and retain the minimum demographic fields needed for redistricting. No party has endorsed that package, but it separates political membership from accurate local statistics.

Read Deep Reason for the history, mechanics and strongest arguments on each side.

What Is Loud: President Trump used the Republican midterm convention in Dallas to promise a $5,000 payment to American adults if Republicans retain Congress. He did not identify legislation or explain how Congress would authorize the payment. The Constitution gives Congress control of federal spending.

What Is Missing: The campaign mechanism was already moving. Federal Election Commission records identify No Going Back and Make America Great Again (MAGA) Inc. as independent-expenditure committees. Reuters reported that No Going Back booked $24.9 million in television advertising across six states, while MAGA Inc. and Elon Musk's committee directed $12.4 million toward the Texas Senate race.

What Matters: The convention exposed the balance Republicans are trying to strike: use Trump to excite supporters who may stay home when he is not on the ballot while giving candidates in competitive states room to build their own coalitions. That helps explain why several candidates in important races skipped Dallas even as Trump-aligned groups spent millions supporting Republicans in battleground states. The balance becomes harder to maintain when Trump asks voters to treat the midterms as a referendum on him.

The House is expected to consider H.R. 9430, the Ratepayer Protection Act, which addresses how utilities assign the grid costs created by large data centers. Reuters reported that a vote is planned for the week beginning September 14.

President Trump ordered agencies to develop a single digital entry point for veterans' benefits and expand pathways into federal jobs. The order sets deadlines for an implementation plan, so the test is whether veterans see fewer handoffs between agencies rather than another portal.

The Department of Homeland Security proposed removing an up-to-60-day grace period for workers in eight temporary visa classifications after qualifying employment ends. The rule would return to the pre-2017 system, under which losing a job generally meant losing the status tied to that job.

The Supreme Court blocked Missouri from using its 2025 congressional map for the November election. The unsigned order leaves the 2022 map in place after state and federal courts issued conflicting directions.

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit held in Lopez Garcia v. Guadian that many immigrants arrested inside the country cannot be detained for their entire removal case without a chance to seek bond. The 2-1 decision deepens a split among federal appeals courts, nine of which have now rejected the administration's position while two have upheld it.

President Trump shifted several Defense Production Act responsibilities among cabinet officials. The order changes who can act when the government directs industry to prioritize contracts or expand production capacity. The paperwork is technical, but those delegations decide which official can move first during a supply shortage.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) barred equipment authorization for devices containing logic-bearing hardware supplied by an entity on its Covered List. The rule takes effect October 13, 2026, and later requires online marketplaces to display a device's FCC identification number, giving buyers a way to check whether a wireless product passed the federal authorization process.

3.9%: Gasoline prices rose that much in August and drove much of the month's inflation increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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