American Federation of Teachers sues over what it says are unconstitutional investigations into social media comments

A major Texas teachers’ union filed a federal lawsuit against the state on Tuesday challenging what it describes as unconstitutional investigations into hundreds of educators who posted comments on social media following the September killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.

The Texas American Federation of Teachers, which represents approximately 66,000 public school employees, is asking a federal court to block the Texas Education Agency and its commissioner, Mike Morath, from continuing investigations that the union argues violate teachers’ free speech protections.

LaMalfa’s death cuts the House Republican majority to 218-213, tightening GOP control for passing bills

Doug LaMalfa, a California Republican who represented the state’s rural northern region in the House of Representatives and was known for his work on water and forestry policy, has died at age 65, according to statements from Republican officials.

LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer who previously served in the California state legislature, was in his seventh term representing California’s first congressional district. He sat on the House agriculture, natural resources, and transportation and infrastructure committees.

Pushback from Susan Collins and Thom Tillis is striking amid tepid response from most other Republican senators

Two senior Republican senators on Monday openly opposed Pentagon secretary Pete Hegseth’s attempt to punish their fellow Senator Mark Kelly by demoting him and cutting his pension after he released a video telling active-duty military to follow the law.

Susan Collins of Maine, who chairs the Senate appropriations committee with jurisdiction over the Pentagon’s budget, said she believed it was wrong to target Kelly’s military benefits because of a political video.