Good morning. When your party controls 34 out of 50 state Senate seats, losing one shouldn't matter. Unless that one seat happens to break your supermajority.

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Democrat Catelin Drey flipped an open Iowa state Senate seat Tuesday, Decision Desk HQ projected. Drey defeated Republican Christopher Prosch to replace the late state Sen. Rocky De Witt, who died in June from cancer.

The victory breaks the GOP supermajority in Iowa's state Senate, changing the chamber margin to 33 Republicans and 17 Democrats. The district voted for Trump by over 11 points in 2024, making it the second Iowa state Senate seat Democrats won this year.

Democrats deployed 30,000 volunteers for get-out-the-vote efforts in the race. The party has outperformed in multiple special elections throughout 2025, including wins in Trump-friendly districts in Pennsylvania.

The balance of power, explained.

The CDC quietly scaled back its foodborne illness surveillance program as of July 1, reducing monitoring from eight pathogens to just two, officials confirmed. The FoodNet program now tracks only salmonella and E. coli infections across participating states.

The program previously monitored six additional dangerous pathogens including listeria and campylobacter. FoodNet covers 54 million Americans (16% of the population) across 10 states. CDC cited insufficient funding as the primary reason for the reduction in surveillance activities.

Food safety experts worry the changes could hamper outbreak detection and trend analysis. States can continue individual monitoring but without federal support. The decision affects the nation's primary active surveillance system for multiple foodborne diseases.

What exactly does the CDC do?

WalletHub report ranked states where unemployment claims were decreasing most as national unemployment claims dropped 1.3 percent in early August, researchers announced. Iowa, Arkansas, Alabama, Montana and Wisconsin topped the list of declining claims (map).

Roughly 7.2 million Americans remain unemployed nationwide. Twenty-four states, including Rhode Island, Oregon and Wyoming, plus Washington D.C. had more unemployment claims than the same week last year, the analysis found.

Economics experts predict unemployment rates will rise through 2025 due to tariff impacts and AI automation. Agricultural states with aging populations showed fewer new jobless claims as labor pools shrink, analysts said.

See unemployment trends here.

Nick Maggiulli's 0.01% Rule from The Wealth Ladder shows when spending becomes truly trivial.

The principle: if a purchase costs less than 0.01% of your net worth (assets minus debts), it won't impact your long-term wealth.

Focus energy on bigger wealth-building moves instead of micro-optimizing purchases that mathematically don't matter.

Get the book to learn more, along with rules like the six-level wealth framework and level-specific spending.

According to Andrew Huberman, the “physiological sigh” is the fastest way to calm down: take a double-inhale through your nose, then a long exhale through your mouth. This immediately activates your parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress in real-time. No practice needed—use it anywhere during presentations, difficult conversations, or overwhelming moments.

See the clip here.

The 8 seconds between hearing the doorbell and reaching the door—that's when you're most vulnerable.

Your mind races: Is it a delivery? Solicitor? Someone casing the house? You're blind, deciding whether to answer based on pure guesswork. That uncertainty puts your family at risk.

Blink's Video Doorbell eliminates the guesswork. See and speak to visitors instantly through your phone—before you're even off the couch.

Head-to-toe HD view shows exactly who's there and what they're holding, while two-way audio lets you communicate safely from anywhere in your home.

This week only, for Labor Day, get the complete 4-camera security system for 46% off — just $135.

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▲ SpaceX Starship completes first payload test, dropping 8 dummy satellites

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