Good morning, it's Saturday, August 29. A federal judge blocked the Postal Service's new mail-in voting rule for a second time — three days after the Supreme Court cleared it.

Also in today's issue: Patriot missile stocks "beyond critical," U.S.-born children deported to Haiti, $10 million diverted from children's health insurance, Stars and Stripes journalists sue the Pentagon.

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If you voted by mail in the last election, your right to do so just got caught in a legal fight moving faster than most courts ever do.

Late Thursday night, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston issued a 14-day temporary restraining order blocking the U.S. Postal Service from enforcing its new mail-in voting rule. The rule would require states to submit voter names and addresses to a federal portal, use approved envelope designs with special barcodes, and get USPS sign-off before mailing any ballots. Any ballot that didn't comply? USPS said it simply wouldn't deliver it.

Here's why the timing matters to you directly. About 30% of American voters — roughly 100 million people — cast their ballots by mail in 2024. Some states must begin mailing ballots for the November 3 midterms as early as next week. And Judge Talwani found that meeting these new requirements before Election Day is, in her words, "practically impossible." If you're a voter who relies on mail-in ballots — because you're elderly, rural, or a service member overseas — this fight is about whether your ballot arrives at all.

Now here's what makes this story unusual. This is the second time a federal judge has blocked this rule. The first block came earlier this month. Then, just three days ago, the Supreme Court lifted that earlier block — clearing the way for the rule to take effect. USPS said within hours that the rule was live. And then Judge Talwani issued a brand-new block from a different court.

Twenty-three states plus Washington, D.C. filed the challenge. Their argument: the federal government can't set conditions on how states run their own elections, and USPS can't decide which ballots get delivered based on rules Congress never passed. Judge Talwani agreed — writing that the states are likely to succeed in proving the rule violates the Constitution.

The administration says the rule is about election security — making sure only verified voters receive mail-in ballots. That's a goal most Americans would support. But the question isn't whether election security matters. It's whether USPS — a mail delivery service — should be the one making those calls, and whether rolling it out 67 days before a national election with no time for states to comply is a serious policy effort or something else entirely.

Here's the thing worth watching. The Supreme Court already showed it's willing to let this rule stand. So whatever Judge Talwani decides at the September 3 hearing will almost certainly be appealed — fast. And the higher courts may not agree with her a second time.

Reasonable people disagree about how much federal oversight mail-in voting needs. But serious policy doesn't arrive 67 days before an election with deadlines the court itself called impossible. When the timeline doesn't give states an actual path to comply, the rule starts to look less like security and more like a filter. And if it survives, the next five weeks will decide whether 100 million Americans can vote the way they did last time.

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Patriot missiles "beyond critical" in Europe, the AP reported Thursday, as the six-month-old Iran war drains American weapons stocks. A U.S. defense official said forces in Europe "definitely" lack enough interceptors to stop a sustained Russian missile attack — a blunt statement about NATO readiness at a moment when deterrence matters most. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the shortage claims "false." The war hits its six-month mark Friday. Its domestic toll keeps climbing: gas has reached $4.09 a gallon, inflation holds at 3.7% — nearly double the Fed's 2% target — and real consumer spending was flat in July. About 20% of the world's traded oil normally passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran says will stay closed until the U.S. meets its conditions. The U.N. says at least 6,000 sailors remain stranded in the Persian Gulf, with 19 killed since fighting began February 28 (Fox News).

Fifty-seven people deported to Haiti on Thursday — the second flight in eight days — including U.S.-born children. The youngest was a one-year-old American citizen. The ICE charter landed in Cap-Haïtien because armed groups have fired on aircraft at Haiti's main airport since September 2025. The parents of the infant called the deportation "scandalous." The U.N. reports more than 3,050 people were killed by violence across Haiti in the first half of 2026 — the country these families are being sent to. Nationwide, 330,000 Haitians had temporary legal protection before it was revoked on July 27. In Springfield, Ohio — a city Trump repeatedly targeted during the 2024 campaign — where 12,000 Haitians live, at least 29 people have been detained since, including a well-known pastor arrested at a gas station. The administration is shifting from monthly deportation flights to weekly (WYSO/NPR).

A Florida grand jury found that Gov. Ron DeSantis's administration "misappropriated" $10 million from a state Medicaid settlement — money meant to provide health insurance for low-income children. The funds were channeled through a charity tied to first lady Casey DeSantis and into political committees that fought Florida's 2024 marijuana ballot measure. The grand jury called it "a sophisticated scheme" but said there was "insufficient evidence" for criminal charges because no official would take responsibility. Sen. Ashley Moody, Florida's attorney general at the time, was aware of the plan but was not called to testify. DeSantis did not dispute the report but said no laws were broken — and threatened "consequences" for whoever leaked the sealed document (The Hill).

Three fired Stars and Stripes journalists sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and two Pentagon officials Thursday, alleging they were terminated for reporting on poor conditions and low morale aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln during its Middle East deployment. The Pentagon called it "insubordination." Stars and Stripes has served as an editorially independent military newspaper since the Civil War — a tradition older than most of the institutions it covers. A Pentagon directive issued the same week stated the paper's editorial operations should remain "free from censorship or propaganda," a standard the lawsuit says the firings directly violated. President Trump called the Lincoln reporting "fake news." The carrier's deployment as part of the Iran war has been the longest in recent Navy history (NOTUS).

The average price of a gallon of gas this week — up 46% from roughly $2.80 before the Iran war began six months ago Friday. Inflation sits at 3.7%, nearly double the Fed's 2% target. Real consumer spending was flat in July. The war's price tag doesn't show up in the defense budget first. It shows up at the gas station.

P.S. Should USPS have the power to block mail-in ballots? Hit Reply — one word is enough.