By Jade Walker

Should politicians be allowed to play the market while voting on legislation that could affect stock prices? Some House lawmakers say that in order to weed out corruption and restore the public's trust, stock trading should be banned for members of Congress.

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Pro-Palestinian protesters participate in a "March for Humanity" against the humanitarian crisis in Gaza on August 16, 2025, in New York City. (Stephanie Keith/Getty Images)

US sanctions

The State Department has imposed sanctions on three Palestinian human rights groups: Al Haq, Al Mezan Center for Human Rights and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the organizations “directly engaged in efforts by the International Criminal Court to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute Israeli nationals, without Israel’s consent.” Late last year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes, including “starvation as a method of warfare” and crimes against humanity. Leading genocide scholars passed a resolution this week that declared Israel’s actions in Gaza had met the legal definition of genocide. Israel rejected the accusation. In a joint statement posted on X, the Palestinian groups described the US sanctions as “immoral, illegal and undemocratic.”

New Orleans

In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has been threatening to deploy National Guard troops to Chicago or Baltimore to crack down on crime and ramp up immigration enforcement. But he has faced strong pushback from both city leaders and the Democratic governors of Illinois and Maryland. On Wednesday, Trump suggested that he may send those Guard members to New Orleans instead. If the president does order the military to the Big Easy, it’ll be the first time he’s done so in a Republican-led state. The Trump administration also announced plans to open an 18,000-acre detention camp within a notorious state prison in Louisiana that will house undocumented migrants.

Gun ban

Officials in the Justice Department are weighing proposals to limit the rights of transgender people to possess firearms, according to two officials familiar with the discussions. One official said the DOJ leadership was considering using its authority to declare that people who identify as transgender are mentally ill and thus can lose their Second Amendment rights. The talks appear to build on an idea that has gained some currency in conservative media since the mass shooting at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis that killed two children and injured 21 last month. Police said the attack was carried out by a transgender woman. Yet, of the more than 5,700 mass shootings committed in the US between 2013 and today, only five shooters were confirmed as transgender, said Mark Bryant, founding executive director of the Gun Violence Archive. 

Gerrymandering

Texas and California aren’t the only states where lawmakers are trying to manipulate congressional maps in a way that will favor their party and disenfranchise voters. Now, the Republican-controlled Missouri legislature is redrawing its state's map in order to target one Democratic-held seat in the US House before next year’s midterm elections. President Trump and his allies have pushed GOP lawmakers to engage in gerrymandering to prevent Democrats from taking control of the House during the final two years of his presidency. Since Republicans hold a supermajority in the Missouri legislature, it’s likely this new map will be approved with the full state House set to take up the legislation next week.

Texas floods 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is expected to sign Senate Bill 1 into law today. The legislation, also known as the “Heaven’s 27 Camp Safety Act,” was written after catastrophic flash flooding hit central Texas on July 4, killing 135 people, including 27 campers and counselors from Camp Mystic, an all-girls camp. The body of one camper, 8-year-old Cile Steward, is still missing. Just six weeks after the floods, the girls' parents sat before a state Senate committee and pushed for stronger safety standards at youth camps in Texas. Senate Bill 1 aims to address gaps in disaster preparedness by improving camp safety and streamlining the emergency response. The Texas Legislature overwhelmingly approved the bill on Wednesday.

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The spit seen around the world
The Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the NFL season opener, but all anyone can talk about is Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter, who was penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Caitlin Clark to miss rest of WNBA season
The Indiana Fever star is still recuperating from an injury she sustained in July.

Farm Aid festival moves to Minneapolis
And the headliners for the 40th annual music and food event have been announced. CNN will broadcast Farm Aid 40 on September 20 from Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Parental controls coming to ChatGPT 
The move follows allegations that it and other chatbots have contributed to self-harm or suicide among teens.

Stolen 17th-century painting recovered
The work by Italian artist Giuseppe Ghislandi was allegedly stolen by Nazis during World War II.

Civil rights activist Joseph McNeil dies at 83
McNeil was one of four North Carolina college students whose occupation of a racially segregated Woolworth’s lunch counter in 1960 helped spark nonviolent sit-in protests across the South.

Which country recently experienced a devastating 6.0-magnitude earthquake?

A. Pakistan

B. Afghanistan

C. India

D. Japan

800%

That’s the increase in cases of flesh-eating bacteria along the East Coast from 1988 to 2018, according to the CDC. 

“America to me is Rock ‘n Roll, NASA, speed, jazz, horses, bourbon, hip hop, dance, MTV (the original), Hollywood, gold medals, innovation, strength, respectful (sic) and apple pie. Not the army on the streets and the extreme division currently on show.”

—Rob Hawkins, from the UK, on why he and his wife changed plans they had for a 20-day trip to the US next year and chose to visit South Korea and Japan instead. The Hawkins’ decision to avoid the US for now is one echoed across social media by others around the world.

Watch it like a hawk
Students are using tech to study how these birds of prey see the world. Such data could one day be used to help improve technology and even how buildings are designed. 

5 Things AM is edited by CNN's Andrew Torgan.

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