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66%
A new Economist/YouGov poll finds 66% of Americans disapprove and 15% approve of the pardon of Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) and his wife, who had been charged with accepting $600,000 in bribes. And 66% disapprove and 13% approve of the pardon of former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez, who in 2024 was convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
70%
A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 70% of Americans said they believe the Trump administration is hiding information about people tied to Jeffrey Epstein’s victimization of young women.
$40 million
“The National Rifle Association is burning through its investment portfolio to pay its bills as legal perils increase and revenue from membership dues decline,” NOTUS reports. “In 2024, the 154-year-old gun rights organization liquidated nearly $40 million worth of stock, fixed-income securities and other holdings. By the end of 2024, the NRA’s investment portfolio had shrunk to less than $33 million, down from more than $72 million the year before.”
$35 million
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration diverted more than $35 million in taxpayer funds — an amount far greater than previously known — as part of a brazen agenda last year to defeat two ballot amendments he staunchly opposed, a Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald investigation has found. Much of the state money was intended to assist needy Floridians, including children. Instead, it paid for political consultants, lawyers and thousands of advertisements that helped DeSantis and his supporters win at the ballot box.
111
The South Carolina measles outbreak is “accelerating.” At least 111 people have contracted the contagious viral infection in South Carolina since October, and more than 250 people are quarantined, according to the state’s public health department. Officials blamed the outbreak on “lower-than-hoped-for” vaccination rates: Of the 111 cases, 105 were unvaccinated, the health department said. Measles, which is most common among unvaccinated children, was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, but declining vaccination rates have led to outbreaks in Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, and Arizona this year.
31%
A new AP-NORC poll finds just 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how President Trump is handling the economy. That is down from 40% in March and marks the lowest economic approval he’s registered in an AP-NORC poll in his first or second term. Overall, 36% of Americans approve of the way he’s handling his job as president, which is down slightly from 42% in March.
45%
Forty-five percent of small-business owners in the U.S. said inflation was their biggest challenge, according to a survey by the Chamber of Commerce, Axios reports.
45 Minutes
The Intercept: Two survivors clung to the wreckage of a vessel attacked by the U.S. military for roughly 45 minutes before a second strike killed them on September 2. After about three quarters of an hour, Adm. Frank Bradley, then head of Joint Special Operations Command, ordered a follow-up strike that killed the shipwrecked men.
17%
A new Pew Research poll finds just 17% of Americans now say they trust the federal government to do what is right “just about always” (2%) or “most of the time” (15%). Frustration has long been Americans’ dominant emotion toward the federal government and 49% say they feel frustrated. Another 26% say they are angry, and 23% say they are basically content.
11.6 Million Voters
LAist.com: Voters notoriously do not show up for off-year elections in the same numbers, as say, a presidential election. But given how consequential Prop. 50 was, there was a lot of curiosity about how many voters would participate. The answer? About 11.6 million people — a turnout of 50% statewide. It’s not as high as California’s last special election in 2021 on whether to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom — turnout then was 58.4%. But it’s a solid showing for California, especially for an off-year special election. In fact, it’s on par with California’s 2022 midterm elections, which saw 50.8% turnout.
