Parties' Midterm Priorities, RIP Gloria Steinem & Personality Genetics - Friday, September 4, 2026

**Erica Mandy** (0:00)
Today is Friday, September 4th. We'll tell you why the fight over new mail-in ballot rules is back at the US. Supreme Court just as the first ballots start going out, and how the midterms are already reshaping what's happening in Congress.
Also, the potential impact of three hurricanes now spinning across the Pacific at the same time.
Plus, what a massive new study found about the genes behind our personalities. Which college football teams are ranked highest before they take the field for the first time? And a 98-year-old who's already planning his next summer reading challenge. Those stories and more news to know coming up.
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.
With less than two months before the midterms, it's still not clear what's going to happen with mail-in voting. And the time to figure it out is now. North Carolina is actually scheduled to begin sending mail ballots to voters today.
It will be the first state to send out absentee ballots for the November election. Other states will soon follow. But yesterday, for the second time in a matter of weeks, the Trump administration asked the US. Supreme Court to let it move forward with new postal service rules for mail-in ballots. Remember, these are the rules that say states have to give voter information to the postal service and use special envelopes with unique barcodes and other design features. The idea is for the USPS to reject ballots that don't meet new requirements. And the administration is arguing the restrictions are necessary to prevent voter fraud. While opponents say they could create confusion for election officials and lead to legitimate ballots being rejected. The US Supreme Court already allowed parts of Trump's plan to move forward last month. But lower courts are still considering whether these new postal service rules are legal. The last update was that a federal judge blocked the rules from taking effect. And the Trump administration is not waiting to find out what a federal appeals court will decide next. It now wants the Supreme Court to lift the block immediately. Stay tuned.
The midterms are top of mind in Congress, too, where lawmakers are thinking about how to win re-election and what they'll prioritize if they do. For example, Democrats are talking up their agenda, highlighting everything they plan to do if they're able to take control of Congress next session. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is promising a broad agenda focused on lowering costs along with more oversight of the Trump administration, and health care is at the top of the list. Democrats say they want to reverse Republican cuts to Medicaid and restore Affordable Care Act subsidies, with some also pushing to expand Medicare. The party only needs to flip a handful of House seats to take control. But of course, Republicans are working to make sure that does not happen. This week, President Trump told Republicans facing tough re-election races to run on his record, pointing to economic investment, lower drug prices and reduced border crossings, while making the case that Democrats would move the country too far to the left. The GOP-led House just canceled two weeks of votes to give members more time to go home and campaign. The House had already been scheduled to be out next week for the Labor Day break, so members are now expected to return for just one more week of regular session this month instead of three. Then it's six more weeks of campaigning.
While President Trump is promising to help with campaigning in 35 competitive House and Senate races, he's, so far, kept most of his Super PAC money out of the midterms. At last check, that Super PAC had more than $400 million on hand, and the president must personally approve how that money is spent. But so far, he hasn't said anything about his plans. Granted, Republicans and their allied groups have a huge fundraising advantage over Democrats right now. And one of the GOP's biggest donors is the world's richest person, Elon Musk. The Washington Post reports, Musk has already given more than $90 million for midterm election spending, and he's authorized his America PAC to spend up to $120 million more to help Republicans. Just this week, his PAC reported its first round of midterm spending, with almost all of it going to Senate races. There are now just 60 days until the general election, and the first early voters will cast ballots in just 46 days.
For the first time in more than a decade, three hurricanes are spinning across the Pacific right now. Hurricanes Lowell, Carina and Marie are all churning at the same time. Lowell is the biggest concern right now. It briefly reached Category 5 strength, meaning winds topped 160 miles per hour. As of last check, it's a Category 4, which is still considered extremely powerful. It's south of Hawaii, and forecasters say it's still too early to know how close it could get to the islands. But a turn to the north could bring it uncomfortably close within the next week. Carina is also a major hurricane, but it's expected to weaken as it moves northwest away from Hawaii. And Marie is expected to stay well offshore, though it could still bring high waves and rip currents to Southern California along with some rain to the West Coast.