Morning Must Reads: September 4

With so much new music being put out and new stars created each year, it's ironic that one of the most played songs on Spotify in 2024 was Journey' "Don't Stop Believing" Billboard: More than a billion Spotify streams, a Library of Congress National Recording Registry placement and plays at virtually every sporting event around the world don’t lie — this one is Journey’s pinnacle of success.

Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX) has been missing votes in Washington because she’s been living in a nursing home for dementia patients for the past six months, the Daily Mail reports. The current longest-serving GOP representative had not been on record voting for or against anything since July. Dallas Express: Where is Kay Granger?

“Lara Trump, President-elect Trump’s daughter-in-law, said Saturday she is removing herself from consideration for Florida Republican Marco Rubio’s seat in the U. S. Senate,” Fox News reports. Said Trump: “After an incredible amount of thought, contemplation, and encouragement from so many, I have decided to remove my name from consideration for the United States Senate.”

After six years at the helm of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, dedicated to "building the infrastructure" necessary to effectively fight for key policies on Capitol Hill, term-limited Rep. Pramila Jayapal is determined to ensure that the CPC's incoming leaders "are as successful as possible." Jayapal (D-Wash.) spoke with Common Dreams on Wednesday about her time leading the caucus of nearly 100 lawmakers whose legislative priorities include "comprehensive immigration reform, good-paying jobs, fair trade, universal healthcare, debt-free college, climate action, and a just foreign policy." She was elected first vice chair of the CPC in June 2017, just months into her freshman term in Congress.

Last month, Missourians voted to add the right to abortion until viability into their state constitution—making their state one of ten to enshrine abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But simply having the constitutional right to abortion does not alone change anything on the ground: The courts must enforce this right by affirming that anti-abortion laws violate states’ newly amended constitutions.

Nobody believes that. What was the real reason?