May 14, 2026
Gerrymandering Explained, Hantavirus--a Climate Story, a Unanimous(!) Senate Vote, Neanderthal Dentists.
Gerrymandering Explained
Gerrymandering — the process of manipulating election maps in ways that favor particular outcomes — has long been a problem in the United States. Now, largely due to a series of Supreme Court rulings, it’s getting worse — and more frequent.
Elections are supposed to produce results that reflect the preferences of voters. But when maps are gerrymandered, politicians and the powerful choose voters instead of voters choosing politicians. The result is skewed, unrepresentative maps where electoral outcomes are virtually guaranteed, even when voters’ preferences at the polls shift dramatically. In extreme cases, the party drawing the maps may even be able to win a majority of seats even though it wins only a minority of the vote.
After the 2020 census, Republicans controlled redistricting in far more states and used that advantage aggressively. The Brennan Center estimates maps used in 2024 had a net 16 fewer Democratic-leaning districts than fair maps would have produced.
In 2022, the House passed the Freedom to Vote Act, a landmark piece of federal democracy reform legislation that would have prohibited mid-decade redistricting and banned partisan gerrymandering in congressional map drawing. It also would have improved legal protections for voters of color in redistricting, required greater transparency in the map-drawing process, and improved voters’ ability to challenge gerrymandered maps in court and win timely relief. However, while the bill had enough votes to pass in the Senate, it failed because the body fell two votes short of changing filibuster rules to allow a floor vote.
The vote split along party lines, with every Democrat in support and every Republican opposing.
Brennan Center for Justice ~ Michael Li
Democrats dominate list of biggest Senate fundraisers
When we tallied Senate candidates’ fundraising receipts at the end of the first quarter, a clear picture emerged – one covered in blue.
Nine of the 10 candidates who have raised the most money this cycle are Democrats. The lone Republican on the list – Sen. Susan Collins (Maine) – just snuck in, having raised $10.3 million. That’s a far cry from Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who led with $57 million and also tops the field with $31.7 million left in his campaign account.
The top 10 includes six non-incumbents, but two of them are already out of their respective races. In March, Rep. Jasmine Crockett lost the Democratic Senate primary in Texas to James Talarico (second on the list) and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi lost the Democratic Senate primary in Illinois. Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton defeated Krishnamoorthi despite raising just $4.7 million.
Unauthorized ICE ‘wellness checks’ by police at Ohio schools draw outrage
Community members and rights groups criticize police arriving at Cincinnati schools on behalf of ICE
At all three locations, the officers, whose sidearms were visible to school staff at the time and who neglected to tell administrators they were working on behalf of ICE, were denied access to children they sought after failing to produce warrants or papers.
Immigrants Detained in Chicago Military-Style Raid Seek Millions in Damages
New accounts from 17 men, women and children taken in a midnight raid paint a violent, terrifying portrait of the federal agents’ alleged actions. These descriptions form the basis of claims filed this week against DHS and other federal agencies.
Hantavirus is a climate story
Scientists tell HEATED the hantavirus outbreak is a warning that climate change is scrambling the boundaries between humans, wildlife, and disease.
As far as infectious diseases are concerned, they are here forever... We're just another member of an exceptionally complex interdependent ecosystem.
~ Dr. James Shepherd
Global Confidence in Institutions: A 20-Year Review
Although institutions are under pressure, many worldwide continue to have confidence in them.
Electoral Democracy
Citizens participate in elections to choose their leaders.
May lack full civil liberties and protections for individual rights.
Focuses primarily on the electoral process.
Liberal Democracy
Includes all features of electoral democracy.
Emphasizes the rule of law, individual rights, and civil liberties.
Features a separation of powers to limit government authority.
Senate unanimously advances resolution suspending senators’ pay during shutdown
The resolution could give lawmakers a powerful incentive not to shutter federal departments because of funding disputes in future years.
The resolution only applies to members of the Senate and does not need to be approved by the House or signed by President Trump.
It would take effect after the midterm election, so it would not apply to a possible government shutdown this fall, which Republicans think is likely to happen because of the deep animosity between Trump and Democratic senators.
The President May Settle His Own Lawsuit With Your Money
The DOJ—led by Trump’s former personal defense attorney—is reportedly negotiating a $10 billion payout for Trump from the IRS.
It’s awfully strange to make a decision where I’m paying myself.
~ Donald J. Trump
Neanderthal Dentists
Neanderthals had the know-how to identify a tooth infection and the motor skills to drill out the damage, according to a study published May 13, 2026, in the open-access journal PLOS One by Alisa Zubova of Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, Russian Academy of Sciences (Kunstkamera), St. Petersburg, and colleagues.
Phys.org~ Robert Egan
Residents oppose drone manufacturer’s presence during town hall at Fayetteville, Arkansas library
The chief executive officer of a drone manufacturer that recently opened near Drake Field said during a town hall held Wednesday that he wanted to hear concerns and feedback regarding his company’s operation in the city.
He got it.
Fayetteville Flyer~ Stacy Ryburn
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