The Census Bureau has released the 2020 data that states will use to redraw their congressional maps, which Republicans will use to manipulate elections in their favor for the next 10 years. Let the gerrymandering—or, ideally, the filibuster-abolishing to end gerrymandering—begin.
 

• In a healthy democracy, the newly released data would be terrific news for Democrats. The 2020 Census, imperfect as it may be, shows a country that’s quickly become more diverse and more urbanized. Metro areas grew by nine percent over the last decade, as populations in rural areas declined. Unexpectedly, the report showed that the country’s white population shrank for the first time since 1790, and marked the first time that white people accounted for less than 60 percent of Americans. 
   
• Unfortunately, it’s not at all clear that growing minority populations or dwindling rural numbers will be enough to protect the nation from—sorry if you’re eating—House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in 2022. (His merch game is simply too strong.) Republicans only need to win five House seats to regain the majority, and recent analyses found that they could cheat their way back into power through extreme gerrymandering in just four states: Texas, Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina.
   
• The Census data might not hand Republicans the biggest advantage they could’ve hoped for, but it doesn’t level the playing field, either. Naturally, the people who could ensure a fair redistricting process just dipped out on a month-long vacation. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he wants democracy protections to be the Senate’s “first matter of legislative business” when it returns, but he hasn’t mentioned a plan to reform the filibuster to get it done. Even if he secretly has one, the Republicans now scrambling to their Mapmobiles could have their gerrymanders completed before the bill passes.

That said, the bill could make it easier to challenge those maps, and it would still be extremely worth it to make sure that all of those young, urban, minority voters can actually vote.
 

• Leave it to Texas to provide a timely reminder. The Texas Senate passed the latest version of its voter-suppression bill on Thursday, after a 15-hour filibuster by Democratic state Sen. Carol Alvorado. (Imagine if the Senate Republicans blocking commonsense voting-rights legislation also had to talk nonstop without drinking water or using the bathroom? Could be cool!) Alvorado’s filibuster came a day after the Texas House speaker signed arrest warrants for the 52 Democrats who have yet to return to the House chamber.
   
• It’s worth noting that Republicans’ ability to rig elections is a huge piece of the party’s ongoing radicalization and detachment from reality. A party that doesn’t have to worry about winning over voters with popular appeals—because gerrymandering will win the House for them—can continue its swan dive into conspiracy theories, public-health sabotage, and the ugliest culture war bullshit imaginable. If anything, the demographic shifts reflected in the new Census data give Republicans more of an incentive to gerrymander, and focus solely on riling up an angry, propagandized base. Not great!

There’s still the slimmest window for Senate Democrats to pass the For The People Act in time for the midterms—and lord knows we’ll keep yelling about it—but it should be pretty clear by this point that we can’t count on it. Overcoming gerrymandering in 2022 will be an all-hands-on-deck effort, and it needs to start now. Sign up for No Off Years to get to work: votesaveamerica.com/nooffyears.

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Speaking of culture wars, here’s one that Democrats could win in a walk: New polling shows that vaccinated Americans are increasingly pissed at the unvaccinated—a trend that transcends party lines. While Ron DeSantis & Co. yell their faces off about The Inalienable Right To Spread Coronavirus At Hard Rock Cafe, data shows that large majorities of the vaccinated population—including a good portion of vaxxed Republicans—actualy support stronger measures to prevent the unvaccinated from fucking up progess and adding to their risk, like requiring proof-of-vaccination to fly or go to a restaurant. Happily, Democrats have been moving in that direction: The Biden administration will now require that all health-care workers at Health and Human Services get vaccinated, and San Francisco has announced a strict new vaccine mandate for indoor businesses. The next step would be to recognize that rising anger among vaccinated Americans leaves pro-COVID Republicans vulnerable, and exact a political price for the harm they’ve caused.

• The country’s largest teacher’s union has announced its support for vaccine requirements, after Randi Weingarten, the head of another powerful education union, said on Sunday that she had reconsidered her opposition.
   
• GOP strategist Anton Lazzaro has been arrested on five counts of underage sex trafficking. Lazzaro served as campaign manager for Lacy Johnson, who unsuccessfully tried to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in 2020.
   
• Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) disclosed 16 months late that his wife bought stock in Gilead Sciences, which makes a coronavirus treatment, but in his defense, he’s been super busy with railing against measures to contain the spread of coronavirus. Hold on.
   
• Donald Trump has released a statement valorizing insurrectionist Ashli Babbitt and inciting violence against the officer who shot her.
   
• Britney Spears’s father has agreed to step down as her conservator, eventually, “when the time is right.”
   
• Nearly two in three Americans are currently facing dangerous heat waves, with extreme temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and along the east coast. Also, Sicily may have just experienced Europe’s hottest day on record. 
   
• MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell’s own cybersecurity expert said his team found no evidence of data fraud, which ought to finally put this whole thing to bed. 
   
• A California man killed his two children over QAnon and illuminati conspiracy theories. Time to pull the plug on the internet! We had a good run! Shut it all down!
   
• New dinosaurs just dropped.

The Taliban has captured Kandahar and Herat, the second- and third-largest Afghan cities after Kabul, in an acceleration of its offensive to seize control of the country. The Taliban now controls 12 of Afghanistan’s 34 provincial capitals, and could take over Kabul in a matter of months, according to U.S. intelligence. The Pentagon will send 3,000 troops to help evacuate the U.S. embassy, which will remain open with a core staff, and the U.S. will speed up its effort to fly out Afghan interpreters who worked alongside the military. President Biden said this week that he stands by his decision to withdraw U.S. combat troops: “Afghan leaders have to come together. They've got to fight for themselves, fight for their nation.”

Grab your friends! RESPECT, the Aretha Franklin movie, hits theaters TONIGHT. The musical biopic starring Academy Award Winner Jennifer Hudson as The Queen of Soul is the remarkable true story of Aretha Franklin’s journey to find her voice. The film chronicles the life and career of Aretha Franklin as a child singing in her father’s church to the legendary vocalist, civil rights activist, and international superstar she became. 

Jennifer Hudson was hand selected by Aretha Franklin to play herself and is supported by an all-star cast that includes Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald, Marc Maron, Tituss Burgess, and Mary J. Blige. Hudson performed all of her songs live, and she gives a once-in-a-lifetime performance that you simply need to experience on the biggest screen possible. Get your tickets now to see RESPECT in theaters this weekend at Respect.Movie!

Lancaster University scientists working on a coronavirus vaccine that can be administered through the nose have found that it could be effective against both infection and transmission. 

Everytown for Gun Safety will spend $3 million to train its volunteers to run for office.

U.S. cities that have reduced low-level arrests have also seen a significant reduction in police shootings, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.

Women drove about 70 percent of the job gains in July.