October 16, 2025

What's Happening

Politics

What Could Happen to the Voting Rights Act?

What's going on: Louisiana’s yearslong redistricting saga finally reached the Supreme Court — and the outcome could reshape future elections. The legal fight began when civil rights groups sued the state over a 2022 congressional map that left just one of six districts majority Black, even though Black residents make up a third of Louisiana’s population. A federal judge agreed, prompting lawmakers to add a second majority-Black district. But then, plaintiffs identifying as “non-African American” argued the new map relied too much on race. Now, the justices must decide if Louisiana’s map crosses the line into unconstitutional racial gerrymandering. During oral arguments yesterday, the conservative justices questioned how long race should continue to be a factor in redistricting.

What it means: Analysts say the justices appear poised to limit the Voting Rights Act — the landmark civil rights law that bars racial discrimination in voting. If that happens, states could rush to redraw maps before the 2028 elections, potentially erasing dozens of Democratic-held seats in the South. The shift could also reduce the number of minority representatives in Congress and state legislatures. A ruling isn’t expected until June, so any changes likely won’t affect the 2026 midterms. (Not that some states aren’t trying.) As one law professor told The Wall Street Journal, “This is potentially one of the most consequential terms for election law and voting rights in the Supreme Court in many years.”

Related: Messages from Young Republicans Leaked — and the Content Is Terrifying (Politico)

Health

Aluminum Is RFK Jr.'s Next Target

What's going on: Health officials are weighing whether to remove aluminum salts from vaccines — a move that could upend about half of all childhood shots in the US. We’re talking polio, whooping cough, flu, HPV, and hepatitis A vaccines. The Food and Drug Administration launched the review after President Donald Trump said aluminum in vaccines was harmful during his Tylenol press conference — yes, that one. Health Secretary RFK Jr. has supported researchers who’ve been trying to link aluminum in vaccines to autism. But scientists say those claims don’t hold up: Shots with trace amounts of aluminum — about one-millionth of a gram — have been safely used since the 1920s. They say the ingredient strengthens the immune response and helps vaccines work longer. 

What it means: No decision has been made yet — the agency says aluminum salts are still under “review.” Experts warn that removing them would be disastrous for public health. If regulators move forward, vaccine makers would have to rebuild formulas from scratch — a process that could take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars. In the meantime, millions of kids could lose protection against preventable diseases. The American Academy of Pediatrics calls aluminum-containing vaccines “beneficial for children’s health and well-being,” noting that people already encounter aluminum daily through food, water, air, deodorant, and cosmetics. 

Related: Cheryl Hines Defended RFK Jr. on The View, and Things Got Tense Quick (Entertainment Weekly)

Work

The Wages of Insecurity

What's going on: We already knew the male ego was fragile, but divorce data seems to make it official, according to Business Insider. Some studies suggest that heterosexual couples are more likely to split when the woman earns more, while others find that “traditional” roles — with the man as a breadwinner and the woman as a homemaker — boost a marriage’s longevity. (Someone create a new love language category for dudes: earning slightly more.) Research also suggests that the wider the wage gap, with men on the high end, the longer a marriage lasts. Women who outearn their male partner, however, are more likely to be physically and emotionally abused, a study found. It comes as the traditional wage gap keeps growing, despite other gains toward gender equality in recent decades.

What it means: So what’s really going on — are men just insecure? Kind of, but it runs deeper than that. A marriage and family therapist told Business Insider that men often absorb strict gender norms early in life: that they must be the “provider” and “protector.” When a partner earns more, it can trigger resentment and challenge that learned identity. As bell hooks wrote, “Patriarchal masculinity insists that real men must prove their manhood by idealizing aloneness and disconnection.” The resentment can fester when the man still refuses to share unpaid labor at home — the dishes, the childcare, the mental load — despite making less, Business Insider reports. So while some call it a crisis of modern marriage, the data points to something else entirely: It’s masculinity, not matrimony, that needs the reboot.

Related: Here’s How the “Womanosphere” Is Changing Conservative Dating (Wired)

Settle This

Which apple dominates the US market and is considered an “absolute diva” by farmers?

Game Time

Brick Breaker meets word search in Spelltower, your new favorite game. For every word you find, letter tiles disappear. The fewer tiles left when you run out of words, the better your score. Try it.