Good Day, this is the Commonwealth Report.
News for the public, not the powerful.
Can Trump Erase the Fourteenth Amendment With A Pen?
President Trump signed two executive orders yesterday, taking another swing at birthright citizenship. The Supreme Court already told him no. In June, the justices ruled six to three that his first order was unlawful and out of step with the Fourteenth Amendment. So now he’s trying a side door. One order goes after what the White House calls birth tourism. The other expands the list of people whose American born babies don’t qualify, including children of foreign lobbyists. Stephen Miller wrote the playbook. Trump called the ruling “a very, very unfortunate decision.” Then he said the Fourteenth Amendment was only meant for the babies of slaves. That’s not what it says. It says all persons born or naturalized here. When a president decides an amendment means whatever he wants, the Constitution stops being law and becomes a suggestion.
Who Gets To Own Your Local News Station Now?
The Federal Communications Commission voted two to one yesterday to kill the national television ownership cap. For 22 years, no single company could own stations reaching more than 39% of American households. Congress wrote that limit into law. Brendan Carr erased it anyway, with commissioner Anna Gomez casting the only no vote. She said the change just “changes who is doing the squeezing.” Free Press is suing, calling it an unlawful power grab, because only Congress can rewrite what Congress wrote. Nexstar is trying to swallow Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal that eight state attorneys general are fighting. Local news is the last place most Americans still trust. Hand it to billionaires friendly to the president and you don’t have journalism anymore. America will have a public address system for Trump.
Will the CDC Become Abortion Surveillance?
The Senate confirmed Doctor Erica Schwartz to run the Centers for Disease Control on Wednesday, 51 to 44. Schwartz is a former deputy surgeon general. At her confirmation hearing, Senator Josh Hawley asked her to commit to collecting better abortion data. She answered that abortion surveillance is “absolutely a critical component” of what the CDC does. Then she went further, saying she wants to make sure states aren’t hiding abortions inside emergency services. The reporting program is voluntary. California, Maryland, and New Jersey don’t participate. Forty four states already require some form of reporting. A more complete national abortion database was a stated goal of Project 2025. In states with bans, that data doesn’t stay data. It becomes evidence. Will the agency built to stop outbreaks be repurposed for stalking women?
Russia Prepares To Test NATO’s Resolve. Say What?!
American intelligence now believes Vladimir Putin may launch a limited attack on a NATO member sometime between this fall and 2029. That’s from new assessments in the Wall Street Journal. Until this year, Washington figured Russia wouldn’t dare while it’s bogged down in Ukraine. That assumption is gone. The scenarios run from cyberattacks to unmarked armed men seizing territory to a small ground incursion on the eastern flank. A ground invasion is least likely, because it would trigger Article Five. Cyber and hybrid attacks are likelier because NATO’s response there is murky. A NATO spokesman said the alliance is “ready to deter and defend as necessary.” Meanwhile American stockpiles of long range missiles and Stinger air defenses are drawn down. The point isn’t taking land. It’s finding out whether the alliance still means what it says
Can Republicans Win Michigan By Racism and Hate?
Michigan’s Senate race is set. Democrat Abdul El-Sayed against Republican Mike Rogers, for the seat Gary Peters is leaving. Rogers and the National Republican Senatorial Committee came out with ads tying El-Sayed, who is Muslim, to foreign terrorists. Dark music, darkened photos, a baseless conspiracy theory about the Muslim Brotherhood, and a closing line calling him too dangerous for Michigan. Rogers put out a statement claiming El-Sayed believes America deserved the September eleventh attacks. It works on some voters. Michigan Republicans just defeated a Trump endorsed House candidate simply because his name sounded Arabic. El-Sayed’s answer was simple. “That’s the only play they got,” he said. His name isn’t why groceries cost too much. Polls still show Michiganders souring on Trump. Because the Republican don’t have policy, they are running on fear of your neighbor.
And that’s the way it is, Today Friday, August 7, 2026. I’m Thom Hartmann.
