The congressional mess in Texas
👋 How's it going? Rebecca Morin here. Let's get going to Wednesday's news!
But first: A dark night sky. A rare black moon is set to occur this week – even if you can't see it.
Texas' congressional map may soon look different
Let the debate begin. Texas House Republicans on Wednesday are expected to vote on redistricting plans aimed at flipping five Democratic-held U.S. House seats in the 2026 midterm elections. Lawmakers began debating the proposed map, but it's unclear how quickly Republicans could approve it. The move follows a two-week walkout by Texas Democrats that temporarily delayed the bill. The rare mid-decade redistricting comes at Trump's urging as the president seeks to boost Republican chances of preserving their narrow U.S. House majority next year. Follow for the latest on the vote.
Democrats still protesting: In an effort to ensure lawmakers remain in Texas, Republican House leaders have assigned state law enforcement officers to monitor them. Several Democrats slept in the Capitol building in protest and publicly tore up permission slips required by Republicans for members to leave the chamber. How one state lawmaker, Rep. Nicole Collier, started the protest by sleeping at the statehouse.
Towering waves threaten North Carolina
Less than 300 miles from North Carolina's Outer Banks, the center of Hurricane Erin will roar by – setting up the vulnerable region for an intense battering of waves and storm surge. The effects of the massive storm could destroy dunes, threaten beachfront houses and flood roads. Powerful waves of 15 to 20 feet are expected to slam beaches, especially in North Carolina, for 48 hours or more as the hurricane crawls northward offshore through at least Thursday. The National Hurricane Center said Wednesday afternoon that conditions are expected to 'deteriorate' in the Outer Banks and strongly discouraged swimming at most East Coast beaches. See Hurricane Erin's projected path.
Real quick
Double-check your luggage
Magic 8 ball? Sure. Antlers? You're good to go. But don't you dare think about packing this one item in your checked luggage. The Transportation Security Administration banned three new items from checked bags: cordless curling irons or flat irons containing gas cartridges, butane-fueled curling irons or flat irons, and gas refills (spare cartridges) for curling irons or flat irons. These items are allowed in your carry-on bags as long as they have safety covers to prevent activation. Check out these weird TSA approved items.
Your bank and your love life
When looking for a relationship, what's more important: love or money? For many Americans, they don't want "no scrub." Although the median U.S. annual salary is about $62,192, Americans on average expect their ideal partner to earn six figures, a new survey found. Women on average want their ideal partner to earn $110,000, and men expect theirs to earn $90,000, according to a Tawkify survey of 1,000 Americans. Some responses were contradictory: More than 6 in 10 Americans (63%) said they would marry for love, even if it meant a lifelong financial struggle. But if forced to decide between love and money, 46% said they would pick the latter. How income could be a dealbreaker for some.
A break from the news
Rebecca Morin is a newsletter writer at USA TODAY. Got thoughts or feedback? Reach out to her at rdmorin@usatoday.com.
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California lawmakers approve Newsom's redistricting plan to counter Texas Republicans
California lawmakers approved Democratic-led redistricting maps for voters to decide in a special election, a day after Texas House Republicans passed new redistricting plans. The California Legislature on Aug. 21 approved Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposal on a ballot measure to suspend the state's current congressional districts, drawn by an independent commission, and replace them with maps that could give Democrats five U.S. House seats. The redistricting effort in California is in response to Texas, where Republican lawmakers are pushing new redistricting maps at President Donald Trump's request. The Texas Senate could pass its new redistricting plans on Aug. 21, which Republicans hope will give the state GOP an additional five U.S. House seats. But Newsom said Texas "fired the first shot," and that California is "neutralizing" what happened and giving American voters "a fair chance." "We got here because the President of the United States is struggling, we got here because the President of the United States is one of the most unpopular presidents in US history, we got here because he recognizes that he will lose the election," Newsom said before signing his redistricting plan into law. "He's trying to rig the elections. He's trying to set up the conditions where he can claim that the elections were not won fair and square. Open your eyes to what is going on in the United States of America in 2025." Meanwhile, California Republican Party chairwoman Corrin Rankin called Newsom's actions gerrymandering, adding that her party will fight the "corruption" in court and at the ballot box. "Governor Newsom has signed into law a blatant power grab, rushed through in secret by Democrats in the very kind of backroom process Californians voted to abolish when they created the independent Citizens Redistricting Commission," Rankin said in a statement. "Voters established the Commission to guarantee fairness and transparency, and Democrats just shredded it to protect their own power." California wants to thwart Trump, Texas' efforts California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said after the vote that Trump doesn't believe in the nation's democratic system. "And it's clear that he will do whatever it takes to hold on to power," Rivas said. "Donald Trump and Republicans don't want to be held accountable by voters. Not in California, not anywhere, actually, in this country." California's proposed redistricting would be temporary as the ballot measure going before voters during a special election on Nov. 4 requires the state to return to nonpartisan map-drawing following the 2030 U.S. Census. But while the Texas redistricting map will take effect once Gov. Greg Abbott signs the bill into law, the proposed California maps could still be rejected by voters. "This special election will waste hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars on a rushed special election at a time when Californians are struggling with the cost of living, crime, and homelessness," Rankin, the California GOP chair, said. "It's an abuse of taxpayer money and a direct attack on democracy in our state." But Newsom is confident that California voters can help level the playing field. Currently, California Democrats hold 43 of the state's 52 congressional seats. The Newsom-backed maps would convert five Republican seats into districts that would heavily favor Democrats. "When all things are equal and we're all playing by the same set of rules, there's no question that the Republican party will be the minority party in the House of Representatives next year," Newsom said. "I couldn't be more proud of the extraordinary leaders who are standing up for the rule of law by standing up for the principles and the enduring values of the Founding Fathers."
