Scalise Returns to Capitol, Patriotism Policing Hits Schools, SCOTUS to Consider Forced Union Dues: P.M. Links

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  Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Newscom

  Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) finally returned to work 15 weeks after being shot at a baseball practice for the annual Congressional baseball game.

• Prepare yourself for a new fight over schools trying to force kids to do (or not do) various things in relationship to the Pledge of Allegiance, the national anthem, and other demands for patriotic affirmation.
• The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over whether government employees may be forced to pay union fees even when they've declined to join the union.
• Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) are introducing legislation to permanently exempt Puerto Rico from the shipping trade protectionism of the Jones Act.
• The Islamic State has released what appears to be the first recording of its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a year. There had been reports he might have been killed over the summer in a Russian raid in Syria.
• Ikea has purchased TaskRabbit, a service that connects freelance workers with potential gigs. Insert joke here about how they can now profit further off your inability to actually put their furniture together.
• The European Union is urging social media and tech companies to figure out how to automate flagging and takedowns of online content that they deem "illegal." Note that this mechanism has in the United States resulted in all sorts of content being taken down for no real reason due to automated copyright complaints.

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