BALLOT ORDER BLOCKED: The Supreme Court last night blocked President Trump’s order that would have restricted mail balloting but the administration is steaming ahead with attempts to assert control over elections.

  The decision merely said the government is unlikely to succeed with further litigation. Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas dissented.

  Despite this blow, the Trump administration is still trying to obtain voter records in a hunt for people who should not be allowed to vote. The Justice Department sent threatening letters to 30 election officials around the country demanding voter data and election records.

  Federal agents are also scouring voter rolls in some states looking for non-citizens.

ARTIFICIAL TEARS:  The chief of China’s spy agency says that artificial intelligence is a threat to the communist party’s hold on his country. Chen Yixin, the head of China’s Ministry of State Security, joined the chorus of people warning of AI’s dangers, including the people developing it. 

  But in China it’s a very different fear … not losing control of artificial intelligence but the totalitarian government losing its grip on the people. Chen warned of external threats wrought by American AI companies, but also called for communist party control within his country to ward off political instability, cyber-attacks, and misinformation that could lead to turmoil.

  In his article in a state run magazine, Chen opined, “党的十八大以来，习近平总书记从“推动我国科技跨越发展、产业优化升级、生产力整体跃升”“赢得全球科技竞争主动权”的战略高度，对完善人工智能治理作出一系列重要论述。我们要完整、准确、全面学习领会，重点把握以下八个方面。”

  So you know he’s taking this really seriously.

  Here in the states ,President Trump posted on social media that the alarms about artificial intelligence are a hoax and all you need to rein in AI is “a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT,” leaving the door wide open for the late night monologues.

BREATHE: The Environmental Protection Agency under Trump appointee Lee Zeldin lifted on Biden-era rules limiting  the carbon dioxide emissions from power plants that drive climate change, saying  it will save people money on electricity bills. 

  Environmentalists say the relaxed rules will have harm public health and feed climate change.

  Under Zeldin’s direction the EPA has become a business incubator rather than an agency that protects the environment. 

  Zeldin said in a statement; “For over 15 years, the Obama and Biden administrations implemented a war on coal to destroy reliable and affordable energy. The Trump Administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on.”

   Power plants are the second-largest source of carbon dioxide emissions in the United States, after motor vehicles. The regulations being suspended limit greenhouse gas emissions from new gas and existing coal plants. 

  The emissions rules now revert to a 2015 Obama-era standard although the EPA is considering elimination of all previous greenhouse gas standards for power plants.

LA MIGRA: Some inmates at the now-closed Florida migrant detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” were placed for periods of time in cages that had floor space of about 4 feet square, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.

  President Trump used to joke about the harsh conditions at the detention center. The IG report says inmates were placed in the “calming” cages anywhere from several minutes up to two hours. “The use of such restrictive spaces is highly unconventional and does not align with standards for humane treatment,” the report said.

  Inspectors also found that Alligator Alcatraz did not comply with a variety of national standards for medical care, food service, personal hygiene, and exercise. 

INFINITE SCROLL:

— Russian businessman Umar Kremlev,  who has ties with the Kremlin, paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to help finance the after-party for Donald Trump Jr.’s wedding in the Bahamas earlier this year, The NY Times reports.

  The paper says bluntly, “The payments represented an extraordinary flouting of ethical norms for an American president’s family.” The wedding financing reported earlier by ProPublica included the cost of renting a private island and a fireworks display.

  The President and his family are normally expected to avoid acceptance of pricey gifts that might come with expectations, particularly from a country like Russia.

  Don Jr. and his new wife Bettina posted on Instagram that, “Our dear friend Umar very generously hosted two incredible nights of celebrations for us AFTER our wedding,” and that, “It was an extraordinarily generous wedding gift from a friend, and something for which we were and remain incredibly grateful.”

— The interest rate on 10-year US Treasury notes has reached nearly a 20-year high of 5.03 percent.

— President Trump’s job approval rating has hit 39 percent … and that’s an improvement. He was at 37 on August 17^th.

THE OBIT PAGE: Designer Bob Mackie, who dressed the rich and famous, has died at age 87. Mackie designed the transparent “naked” dress that Cher wore to the 1986 Oscars.  

THE SPIN RACK: South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace said that Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman who murdered her three children, should be publicly executed as a “warning to women” to not kill their kids.

BELOW THE FOLD:  The Apple TV series “Widow’s Bay” dominated the Emmy Awards last night with 14 wins, including Best Actor for Matthew Rhys.

  The show also won for Best Comedy, which casts the show in a whole new light. We thought it was just laughably bad.

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