Tau Zero

BREAKING: Nearly 3000 voters in one Georgia county haven't received their absentee ballots yet, putting them at risk of missing the Election Day deadline to vote by mail. They're asking a judge to order the county to overnight their ballots to avoid being disenfranchised.

Every Texas bar has that one guy. He’s loud. He’s obnoxious. He makes all the women feel uncomfortable. He adds his drink to your tab when you’re not looking. That’s Ken Paxton — and I don’t know about y’all, but I’m done picking up his tab.

A Palestinian won the Nobel Prize last year

In 2020, Ken Paxton’s office spent more than 22,000 hours on voter fraud cases. The result was 16 prosecutions. “That’s 16 cases in a state of 17 million registered voters,” Marc Elias says. The rules for voting keep changing. Follow us so nothing catches you off guard.

My second essay on how under Trump we’ve already gotten used to a level of fascism, authoritarianism, and corruption that would be unthinkable to us just years ago. Today: The corruption of the Justice Dept and *EIGHT* scandals on par with Watergate: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/trump-s-ty...

“My Catholic Latina opponent wants to impose Sharia Law” is a hilariously desperate closing message. thehill.com/homenews/617...

This is true. Qatar is widely believed to be the biggest financial backer of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Latest Texas run this afternoon has the early vote at 50% of 2022 turnout. First state to cross this threshold election.lab.ufl.edu/early-vote/2...

“You were not made free merely to be allowed to vote, but in order to enjoy an equality of opportunity in the race of life, and to stand equal before the law.” ~Presidential candidate James A. Garfield to a group of Black veterans of the Civil War (photo) OTD in 1880. Image: National Park Service.

In a world that is constantly changing, Lawfare is a reliable, independent, nonpartisan resource to keep you informed about the complex national security, legal, and policy considerations we face. This is made possible with the support for our readers and listeners:

Out today: People with no vote in the white primaries that decided Texas elections of the time, no seat on the boards that ran their schools, and no authority over public education, built 527 public buildings and made the state keep them. Nothing they used was given to them.=

Early this year, I visited Ingram, a TX town of ~1,900, to check out a tip. The area was starting to recover from its worst flood in a century. But as Latino workers drove to jobsites to help rebuild, the tipster said, a cop in a black Dodge Charger kept stopping them ... 🧵

“.. AI bubble across the entire infrastructure stack.” - FEDWATCH

Here's the NYT story about how Trump is inviting Russia into AK to drill for oil. Literally selling out Alaska to Russia. www.ft.com/content/e9cf...

Researchers who track online influence operations say Kremlin-backed groups are renewing tactics they've used to sow distrust and discord in previous elections in the U.S. and around the world. n.pr/4snxJFv

Starlinked /ˈstɑːlɪŋkt/ adjective Held back, restricted, slowed down or controlled by someone you were paying to support you. Usage: “We were making good progress, then we got Starlinked.”

This is a confession to treason. Elon Musk, a private individual and not an elected official, hijacked U.S. national defence policy to harm partner Ukraine and help enemy Russia. www.cbc.ca/news/world/u...

NEW: “In Texas, we fight fraud head-on,” Ken Paxton said last year. Yet records show his trust gave $600K to a convicted fraudster’s new company in 2020, which later wired the trust tens of thousands of dollars before and during his 2023 impeachment. with @texastribune.org

Online betting is rotting our brains. Amy Acton doesn't have an 80% chance of winning because a Kalshi market is betting at that rate.

"The past two years are all the proof you need that sitting out an election because the better candidate happens to not be perfectly to your liking is completely stupid and self-destructive."

A Russian drone strike sank the cargo ship Khoryv off Romania’s coast, killing one crew member and leaving three missing. Bucharest condemned the attack as a deliberate escalation, with seven ships targeted in the Black Sea this month. www.kyivpost.com/post/88003

MAJOR SCOOP: Ken Paxton Says He’s Tough on Crime. His Trust Invested $600,000 in a Convicted Fraudster’s Company. w/ @texastribune.org

BREAKING: The Trump Justice Department has moved to preemptively block certification of the results of Alaska's Senate race if Republican incumbent Sen. Dan S. Sullivan loses.

Texas gardening expert Neil Sperry explains what to plant instead of St. Augustine in deep shade and answers questions about junipers, oaks and maples.

Technically, a dictionary is a book of spells.

NEW: A ProPublica data analysis shows that delays resulting from USPS’ cost-cutting measures have endangered the validity of ballots mailed in rural areas. Counties that voted for Trump in 2024 have been most affected.

Another Trump self-own

“Every American citizen must have an equal right to vote. There is no reason which can excuse the denial of that right. There is no duty which weighs more heavily on us than the duty we have to ensure that right.” ~President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965. Image: LBJ Presidential Library and Museum.

This is cool

Billionaires throw a fit at the idea of an annual wealth tax... but literally everyone else already pays one via property taxes (either directly as a homeowner or secondarily as a renter). The only reason securities aren't taxed the same is because that's where the rich keep most of their wealth.

NEW: The Trump administration committed the U.S. to taking a large stake in a Venezuelan company, some of whose owners and investors are shielded from public view. The exact details of the agreement over oil fields had remained unclear — until now.

Talarico: "We just found out that [Elon Musk] is almost single-handedly bankrolling this effort to install Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate and defeat this movement...Elon Musk wants our land. He wants our water. He wants his very own personal United States senator. He is trying to buy Texas."

Also noteworthy: Trump's love of Putin is not complicated or strategic. @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes, "Trump is a weak man who is intimidated by stronger and smarter men," & similarly, @maxboot.bsky.social concludes, via Zelensky, "Trump simply has a fondness for autocrats and the uber-wealthy"

I honestly don’t know much about El-Sayed, but this is a perfect answer from him. It’s also hilarious that Tommy used to work for Josh Hawley and was paid 250k for influencer marketing AGAINST El-Sayed. They might want to get a refund. What a spectacular backfire. The walk of shame at the end. 🤣

In which @radiofreetom.bsky.social writes with great clarity: www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

Humiliating and dangerous: Trump has now finally just made America an ally of the Kremlin and is aiding Putin in his war against an American friend and partner. Shameful betrayal of a US friend, and pathetic submission to a US enemy. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/1...

This is Tommy. Tommy had a question about my allegiances. Listen to the end to hear about his.

New in PN: Who wants to visit an authoritarian America? "Data shows the US on its way to being as unpopular a tourist destination as Russia, & for roughly the same reasons. In both countries, a tourist who runs afoul of the govt might spend months in a freezing warehouse without no legal counsel."

Just sayin' ers.usda.gov/data-product...

Saturn and rings, with Iapetus, Titan, Rhea, Dione, Tethys, Enceladus, and Mimas.

We scoured social media, court records and local stories for instances of immigration agents holding citizens against their will. The administration doesn’t track these cases. So we have. We’re sharing our database with you.

Our analysis found that from 2020 to 2025, the rate of deaths involving ectopic pregnancies nearly doubled compared with the previous six-year period. The uptick was steeper in states with abortion bans.

When Ukraine destroys Russian data centers, hoards of aggressive right-wing bots disappear & the internet becomes friendlier. So much of politics is driven by the internet & so much of the internet is driven by Russians who want to hurt us. Shouldn’t we do something about that, given that we know it