August 5 2025

Trump Ignites Mid-Decade Redistricting War for Control of America

Rejecting 'NIMBY'ism, NY Suburb's Building Boom Curbs Housing Costs

AG Bondi Convenes Grand Jury to Probe Obama-Era Russia Investigators

With $100,000 Prize, YouTube Hit Aims to Glamorize Trades

China Launches $167 Billion Mega-Dam in Tibet

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1. Trump Ignites Mid-Decade Redistricting War for Control of America

WASHINGTON—President Trump’s high-stakes push to create more Republican House seats and keep the majority from flipping to Democrats has erupted into a cross-country fight, prompting the exodus of Democratic state lawmakers from Texas and leading blue-state governors to hatch their own plans. Both parties are now racing to remake congressional lines in a slew of mid-decade redistrictings, breaking with traditional once-a-decade changes and injecting further uncertainty into what is expected to be a down-to-the-wire fight for control of the House in 2026.Texas is at the center of GOP gerrymander efforts after Trump successfully lobbied Republican Gov. Greg Abbott to call a special session to redraw the lines of the Lone Star State. While some Texas Republicans initially signaled they were reluctant to consider the idea of even two additional seats, Trump persuaded Abbott to go for a Hail Mary approach by attempting to win five more. State lawmakers moved ahead with a special session Monday, but Democrats’ absence blocked a quorum, putting off a vote on the new maps for now. Trump and his allies are looking at other states as well, including Ohio, Florida, Indiana and Missouri, to squeeze out more seats. Democrats are vowing to retaliate by potentially reshuffling lines in Democratic-run states such as California, New York and Illinois.

WSJ

2. Rejecting 'NIMBY'ism, NY Suburb's Building Boom Curbs Housing Costs

Cities across the U.S. that aim to build new housing often run into fierce community opposition from Nimbys, who object to new development in “my backyard.” But one commuter town outside New York City is slicing through red tape and building thousands of new apartments. New Rochelle has completed more than 4,500 new housing units over the past decade. Another 6,500 units are either in the pipeline or the planning stages for the next several years. Those 11,000 new units would represent a 37% increase in the number of New Rochelle apartments compared with 10 years ago. About a 40-minute train ride to Midtown Manhattan, this suburb of more than 85,000 remains one of the few places offering relative affordability in the notoriously expensive New York City metro area. New Rochelle median rents are only 1.6% higher than in 2020, well below the 25% or higher increases in New York City and outer markets like New Jersey’s Newark, Hoboken and Jersey City, according to Apartment List. New Rochelle’s median rent actually declined 2% from 2020 to 2023, while median rent nationally was surging at a double-digit rate. City officials say they relied on a policy framework that encourages residential building. New Rochelle streamlined environmental reviews, offered developers tax incentives, and created standardized zoning rules to make it easier and cheaper to build homes. Community pushback in New Rochelle doesn’t cause the same delays common in other cities. If a residential project meets certain criteria, New Rochelle officials assure it will get a 90-day approval process. “They set the playbook, then private developers could come and play,” said Scott Rechler, chief executive of RXR. The property developer created a master plan for the city’s redevelopment and has invested more than $1 billion in New Rochelle. At One Clinton Park, a 28-story luxury tower the firm opened downtown in 2022, 92% of the units are occupied.

WSJ

3. AG Bondi Convenes Grand Jury to Probe Obama-Era Russia Investigators

Attorney General Pam Bondi has ordered a grand jury investigation into allegations that Obama administration officials broke federal laws while investigating Russia’s involvement in the 2016 election, according to a person familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the ongoing probe. The Justice Department declined to comment on the investigation, and it remained unclear whether prosecutors had settled on specific targets or crimes they believe occurred. Still, the development marked a significant escalation in the Justice Department’s push to relitigate one of President Donald Trump’s long-standing grievances and comes as critics have argued those efforts are an attempt by the White House to use the department to punish Trump’s political foes.

Washington Post

4. With $100,000 Prize, YouTube Hit Aims to Glamorize Trades

For two years, Wyatt Curry has set his sights on the $100,000 prize in “Clash of Trades,” a YouTube reality show that features aspiring machinists and welders racing the clock, and each other, to fabricate complex mechanical parts. It wasn’t really about the money. “I wanted to prove something,” said Mr. Curry, a 22-year-old community college student. “I knew I was good at what I did, but I wanted something to show it.” “Clash of Trades” uses sports-style competitions, big financial prizes and an addiction to reality TV to boost the appeal of the skilled trades as American manufacturers consistently say one of their top challenges is finding capable workers. At a time when popular shows celebrate bakers who make cakes that look like tennis balls and fashion designers who weep at their sewing machines, the producers of “Clash of Trades” believe that machinists and welders deserve to be celebrated too.

NYT

5. China Launches $167 Billion Mega-Dam in Tibet

Sixty times the cement of the Hoover Dam, more steel than 116 Empire State Buildings and enough concrete to build a two-lane highway around the Earth five times — that’s what will go into China’s new $167 billion hydropower project in Tibet. Construction officially began this month on what is set to become one of the biggest infrastructure projects in history. The project on the Yarlung Tsangpo river is a high-stakes bet on a familiar idea: that big, bold construction can rekindle growth in an economy grappling with deflation, a yearslong property slump and mounting trade and geopolitical pressures. It also gives Xi another tool of state control, aiding his effort to assimilate Tibet through economic integration.

Bloomberg

August 5

1858: First transatlantic telegraph cable completed

1861: Abraham Lincoln imposes first federal income tax

1914: First electric traffic signal installed

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Sources

1. https://www.wsj.com/politics/texas-redistricting-house-representatives-midterm-elections-6b43efc6?mod=hp_lead_pos5
2. https://www.wsj.com/real-estate/nyc-new-rochelle-lower-rent-e7695ded?mod=hp_lead_pos8
3. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/08/04/doj-obama-2016-election-russia-bondi/
4. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/04/business/clash-of-trades-manufacturing.html
5. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-07-29/xi-s-167-billion-tibet-mega-dam-promises-to-spur-china-s-economy

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