NATIONAL

The U.S. economy grew more than thought in the second quarter: Data released Thursday reflect the resilience of the U.S. economy, even as concerns about the job market and inflation persist. U.S. economic growth, or the gross domestic product (GDP), reached 3.8% in the second quarter. That was higher than the most recent estimate of 3.3% and the strongest reading since the third quarter of 2024. NBC

DEMOCRACY IN DANGER

Trump fires US attorney who told border agents to follow law on immigration raids: Donald Trump fired a top federal prosecutor in Sacramento just hours after she warned immigration agents they could not indiscriminately detain people in her district. GUARDIAN

Trump orders deployment of troops to Portland and authorises 'full force': President Donald Trump said Saturday that he will send troops to Portland, “authorizing Full Force, if necessary” to handle “domestic terrorists” as he expands his deployments to more American cities. BBC

Supreme Court lets Trump withhold $4 billion in foreign aid approved by Congress: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed President Donald Trump to freeze $4 billion in foreign aid payments, handing the White House a significant victory in its monthslong quest to claw back spending that was approved by Congress last year. CNN

Former FBI Director James Comey indicted days after Trump demanded his DOJ move 'now' to prosecute enemies: Comey was indicted Thursday on charges of making a false statement and obstruction related to his testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2020, just days after President Donald Trump issued a public demand for his Justice Department to act "now" to bring prosecutions against Comey and other political foes. ABC

DOJ Sues Six States, Escalating Campaign to Seize Private Voter Data: The U.S. Department of Justice Thursday sued six states — California, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania — over their refusal to hand over sensitive voter registration data. Several of the states fired back within hours, calling the DOJ’s move overreach and stressing the importance of protecting voters’ sensitive data. DEMOCRACY DOCKET

IMMIGRATION

The mysterious disappearance of hundreds of immigrants detained at Alligator Alcatraz: Lawyers and family members report that they have been unable to locate the inmates at the infamous Florida prison after they disappeared from the ICE database. EL PAIS

SCIENCE, HEALTH, AND SAFETY

Fact check: What you need to know about Trump’s misinformation about vaccines, autism and hepatitis B: President Donald Trump’s Monday comments about autism and public health were filled with misinformation that left many doctors aghast – and not just about Tylenol. CNN

How ICE Raids Are Making It Easier for Civilian Men to Assault Immigrant Women: A North Carolina man has been accused of posing as an ICE agent, threatening to deport an immigrant woman, then kidnapping and raping her; police in New York are searching for a man suspected of posing as an ICE agent, assaulting and trying to rape a woman, before robbing her and fleeing the scene in broad daylight. TEEN VOGUE

Gabbard eliminates Global Trends intelligence report, breaking decades-old precedent: Since the late 1990s, the U.S. intelligence community has published Global Trends, a public report that forecasts global and domestic challenges in the approaching decades. It includes threats such as climate change and pandemics while also highlighting migration trends. However, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced her office is scrapping the team that compiles the findings and the 2025 report itself. STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS

DESI NEWS

Grandmother Who Lived in US for 3 Decades Deported to India: A Sikh grandmother who had lived in the US for more than 30 years, was deported to New Delhi, India Sept. 23, after spending a week in what her attorney called “barbaric” conditions at a private ICE detention center in Georgia. ”There was no rationale to detain Bibi Harjit Kaur,” Deepak Ahluwalia, Kaur’s attorney, told American Community Media in a Sept. 24 interview. “It’s all part of their effort to fill beds.” AMERICAN COMMUNITY MEDIA

After 30 years in the US, an Indian-origin, green-card holder man with brain tumor detained for using pay phone without paying in past: On 30 July, as Singh returned from one of his regular trips to India, he was stopped at Chicago O’Hare Airport. What should have been another routine entry turned into a nightmare. Instead of heading home, he was detained by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). His offence? An old case from years ago, when he once used a pay phone without paying. ECONOMIC TIMES

CORRUPTION ALERT

Billions in Taxpayer Dollars Have Become Virtually Untraceable: The Trump administration’s aggressive approach to overhauling the executive branch has obscured how federal dollars are actually being spent — even for the members of Congress. NOTUS

WHAT ARE DEMOCRATS DOING?

While national Democrats as a bloc may not be very visible for their opposition to Trump’s authoritarianism, individually, nearly every Democrat at the federal, state, and local levels is fighting back. These incidents don’t get media oxygen, but they are being observed and written about in an excellent Substack account run by an Indivisible member. Here is the link - https://substack.com/@ariellaelm. I invite you all to read this account regularly to see what Democrats around the country and in Washington are doing to fight back every day.

GOOD NEWS FOR PROGRESSIVES

Jimmy Kimmel Returns as ABC Lifts Suspension: Two major TV station owners, Sinclair Broadcasting and Nexstar Media Group, announced on Friday that they are returning "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to their ABC stations. CBS

JUST THE HEADLINES

Kristi Noem Fast-Tracked Millions in Disaster Aid to Florida Tourist Attraction After Campaign Donor Intervened. 

Trump administration rehires hundreds of federal employees laid off by DOGE

Governor Newsom signs laws to protect school children and hospital patients, and limit fear tactics used by Trump’s secret police force to terrorize communities

California bans most law enforcement officers from wearing masks during operations

Border czar Tom Homan was investigated for accepting $50,000 from undercover FBI agents. Trump's DOJ shut it down.

THE EPSTEIN FILES STILL HAVE NOT BEEN RELEASED

TAKE ACTION

Local and state elections are a great way to combat the forces of fascism and authoritarianism at the federal level. See how you can help at https://www.theyseeblue.org/victory-in-2025