Politics & World Affairs — September 21, 2026

ICE agent wounds man in Austin. An ICE officer shot and wounded a man during an operation in Austin, Texas, leaving him in serious but stable condition; the city's mayor is demanding an independent investigation.

According to Reuters, the shooting has set up parallel inquiries: the Department of Homeland Security is conducting its own probe into the incident, while Austin's mayor is pressing for a review independent of the federal agency. The wounded man's condition was described as serious but stable, and the differing calls over who should investigate underscore tension between city officials and federal immigration authorities.

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Merz's CDU suffers election losses. Chancellor Friedrich Merz called Sunday's state election losses in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern a 'disaster' for the political center but vowed to press ahead; the far-right AfD made major gains.

NPR reported the results in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern represented historic losses for the Christian Democrats, sharpening pressure on Merz from within the political center. Despite conceding the scale of the defeat, the chancellor said he would continue pursuing his tax and welfare reform agenda, signaling no change of course in response to the Alternative for Germany's gains in the two states.

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GOP targets earmark loophole. California Republican Rep. Young Kim is targeting earmark rules that critics say let lawmakers indirectly enrich themselves and family members through federal spending. The push follows Congress's stock-trading ban.

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