Supreme Court Sets December 2nd Date for Biggest Gun Case Since Bruin | The States

Today on The States: DHS marks 25 years since 9/11 with its budget nearly quadrupled and no financial system Congress can verify, a House Oversight investigation examines DEA agents allegedly letting fentanyl shipments through in New Mexico, the U.S. Supreme Court sets a December 2 date for the biggest gun rights case since Bruin, New York City rolls out new restrictions on AI use in schools, Everyday Economics breaks down August's jobs report, and America's Talking covers West Virginia's lawsuit against Pennsylvania over energy credits.

On the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, DHS's annual budget has grown from about $31 billion at its creation to $118 billion today, but the Government Accountability Office says the agency still lacks the financial systems and controls needed to verify how that money has been spent. Separately, Congress remains divided over renewing Section 702 of FISA, which allows warrantless surveillance of foreign nationals but has also been used to search Americans' communications without a warrant.

Empower Oversight President Tristan Leavitt discusses the House Oversight Committee's investigation into DEA whistleblower David Howell's claims that agents in Albuquerque, New Mexico were directed not to seize known fentanyl shipments in order to build larger cases — a practice Leavitt compares to the ATF's Fast and Furious scandal. Two additional DEA whistleblowers have since come forward, and New Mexico's attorney general has separately sued the Justice Department for related records.

The U.S. Supreme Court has scheduled oral arguments for December 2nd in consolidated cases challenging Cook County, Illinois' and Connecticut's semi-automatic firearm bans — the most closely watched Second Amendment case since the Bruin decision. Thirty-three amicus briefs have been filed, including from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Solicitor General, and a coalition of 27 states.

The Center Square's Esther Wickham discusses New York City's new policy restricting AI use in public schools, which limits AI as a classroom tool for younger students while introducing AI literacy pilot programs for junior high and high schoolers, following Mayor Zohran Mamdani's comments that children need human connection and unstructured problem-solving to learn.

Dr. Orphe Divounguy joins Chris Krug for Everyday Economics to unpack August's jobs report: 162,000 jobs added, but two-thirds of the gains came from restaurants and local government education, real wages are falling, and long-term unemployment has climbed to 1.9 million Americans — all while capital spending on AI infrastructure accounts for an outsized share of GDP growth without yet showing up in productivity data.

America's Talking covers West Virginia's lawsuit alleging Pennsylvania illegally blocks its power producers from selling energy credits, a 1% nationwide decline in energy sector jobs driven largely by solar industry losses, a $34.9 million California grant program for worker-rights outreach nonprofits, and Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes launching a review of Flock license-plate camera use.