Plus, the Republican who wants to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. |

 

Thursday, September 24, 2026


Ari Bernick: Off campus

When politicians talk about reaching young voters, they typically mean working with college students: campaign events, voter registration drives and debates on university campuses.

But that leaves out many of the young people eligible to vote this year.

Nearly 50 million Americans age 18 to 29 can vote in the 2026 midterms. And 51% of them have no college experience, according to Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, or CIRCLE.

That’s partly because of which young people turn out. In the 2022 midterms, 50% of young people with a bachelor’s degree voted, compared with 20% of those whose highest level of education was a high school diploma, according to Census data compiled by CIRCLE.

Some argue that candidates could turn out more non-college-educated young people if they campaigned at places like job training centers, recreation centers and music festivals in addition to college campuses.

Read Ari Bernick’s analysis here.

 

TODAY’S QUESTION

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Should Ukraine stop attacks on Russian oil refineries?

Amid rising diesel prices, President Donald Trump urged Ukraine to stop attacking Russian oil refineries and other diesel infrastructure. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country would do so only if Russia also stopped striking its energy infrastructure.

VOTE HERE

 

TRUMP’S WEEK IN REVIEW

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Here are some more highlights of the president’s actions over the past seven days:

  • Barred MS NOW, CNN and Politico from the White House, citing coverage that he claims is unfair to him
  • Said the U.S. government would now begin referring to artificial intelligence as “super intelligence” or “SI”
  • Removed 760,000 people enrolled in health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, arguing that not filing a claim or filling a prescription was a sign of fraud
  • Announced a plan to convert a proposed triumphal arch in Washington to a military complex housing drones and snipers 

 

THE CHALLENGERS

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The news can feel overwhelming. But each week, we pause to highlight a person, organization or movement sticking up for their principles or their fellow Americans. This week’s challenger is Utah Sen. John Curtis. 

A conservative Republican from one of the country’s reddest states, Curtis asked the Senate Judiciary Committee to investigate the business dealings of Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr. The request followed reports that a Russian oligarch with ties to Vladimir Putin helped pay for a lavish wedding after-party for Trump Jr. and his wife in the Bahamas. Trump said he understood that his son had repaid the expense. But Curtis argued that Congress should apply the same standard to the Trump family that Republicans applied to President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. “A toaster is a wedding gift,” Curtis wrote in a letter to the Judiciary Committee. “A private-island party paid for by a Putin-connected oligarch is something else.” He called for subpoenas of both Trump Jr. and Hunter Biden over their business dealings, foreign relationships and gifts. Read more.

NUMBER OF THE WEEK

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77%

Diesel prices are at a record high. Compared with a year ago, they’re up almost 77%. The president’s solution: ban U.S. exports. His energy secretary disagrees. On Wednesday Chris Wright said, “The blunt tool of banning diesel exports definitely doesn’t work.” But after growing calls from Republicans, many facing tough re-election fights in states where diesel prices are hitting voters, the president thinks it’s worth considering. “I’ve said, ‘Let’s not send out the diesel,’” he said. The U.S. is the world’s biggest exporter of diesel. Remove that and prices will rise. Furthermore, it’s largely refined in the Gulf of Mexico but demand is greater in the Northeast, which regularly imports diesel. “The U.S. is not short of diesel. The world is,” as Patrick De Haan at GasBuddy said. “A potential export ban treats the global price problem as if it was a U.S.-only problem, and the cure would be far worse than the disease.” 


— Stephanie Ruhle, host of “Money, Power, Politics with Stephanie Ruhle”

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