National Voter Fraud Search, Schools Ban AI & NBA's Historic Punishment - Thursday, September 3, 2026

**Erica Mandy** (0:00)
Today is Thursday, September 3rd. We'll tell you how the Trump Administration is mounting a nationwide search for voter fraud. Also, how Google avoided a big breakup and what it will have to change instead. Plus, what the nation's largest school district decided to do about AI, what's behind one of the most extraordinary punishments in the history of the NBA, and why some clothing brands are encouraging shoppers to buy less.
Those stories and a lot more news to know next.
Welcome to The NewsWorthy, all the day's news in less than 15 minutes. I'm Erica Mandy. Thanks so much for being here. Let's do this.
Hundreds of federal agents are now being pulled into a nationwide voter fraud investigation. The New York Times reports it got a hold of training materials explaining the process. They reportedly show that Homeland Security agents will be going through state voter rolls to make sure everyone included is a citizen, and that they were a citizen when they registered. To do that, they'll have to cross-check people's information against federal immigration and citizenship records. It's expected to take weeks. And some of those who have been assigned to the task were removed from their normal duties investigating things like human trafficking and terrorism. The Homeland Security Department explained, saying President Trump and DHS Secretary Mullen have made election security a top priority. Though other election officials and investigators have found widespread voter fraud to be exceedingly rare. In fact, the conservative Think Tank Heritage Foundation has documented roughly 100 cases of non-citizens voting going back more than four decades. Still, President Trump calls non-citizen voting a crisis of election security, which is why he's been pushing for voter ID laws, mail-in ballot restrictions, and more. But at this point, many of his efforts have faced roadblocks both in Congress and the courts. So, to be continued.
The Trump Administration is turning to a new tool to help carry out its mass deportation agenda. The Justice Department now says states have to report people they know to be in the US illegally to the federal government, because if they don't, they could lose federal funding meant to help low-income families, elderly people, and people with disabilities. Specifically, we're talking about the temporary assistance for needy families and supplemental security income programs. The programs are massive, and all 50 states participate in them. And in the past, states were required to report when someone who was not a citizen tried to get assistance. But now, that reporting requirement is being expanded to other parts of state government, even if they don't administer these programs. So this isn't a new law. It's the Trump Administration interpreting a law that's been on the books for decades in a new way. But several states have already pushed back against the Trump Administration's efforts to force them to share immigration-related information, so legal challenges are expected here, too.
Google secured a big victory in a major antitrust case. A federal judge rejected the US government's push to break up Google's digital ad business. That business has grown into a major part of Google's empire, including through multi-billion dollar acquisitions. This doesn't change anything about the judge's earlier opinion that Google did illegally monopolize the online advertising markets that deliver ads to websites. But instead of a sell-off, the judge told Google to change some of the ways it does business. Like it now needs to give competitors more access to its ad tech systems. As the Wall Street Journal puts it, the decision effectively closes the book on nearly two decades of antitrust risk for Google. And it's also the third recent attempt by US antitrust enforcers to break up a big tech company that has ended without a breakup. But the government's antitrust battle with big tech is far from over. In fact, there's another trial involving Amazon set for next year.
The largest school district in the country is now banning AI in classrooms, at least for the youngest children. New York City Mayor Zoran Mamdani announced a one-year ban on generative AI tools during the upcoming school year. It applies to all elementary and middle school students up through eighth grade. And at the same time, it's actually teaching high schoolers how to use AI. The city now plans to give all public high school students AI literacy classes twice year, teaching them to think critically about the technology before they rely on it. And some high school students will actually be allowed to use a handful of AI platforms with teachers supervising. The Los Angeles School District actually already decided to temporarily block access to generative AI tools on all student devices, and officials say they'll develop a more long-term student AI policy during the school year. Since these are the two largest school districts, education experts say this could have implications well beyond New York and Los Angeles, with other school districts around the country watching to see whether this approach works.