From Axios Finish Line, here's a stat to savor: America was the world's most generous country this past decade, according to the Charities Aid Foundation's World Giving Index, which surveyed 1.3 million people in 125 countries.
Not only do we give money, but 72% of Americans help strangers and 42% of us volunteer.
We grew more generous during the pandemic: 2020 and 2021 donations each topped 2019.
Hours after returning from a diplomatic trip to Poland and Romania, Vice President Kamala Harris on Saturday vowed continued support for Ukraine in its fight against an escalating Russian military offensive.
Driving the news: The United States stands firmly with the Ukrainian people [and] in defense of the NATO Alliance," Harris said Saturday in remarks at the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will end a Trump-era order that expelled unaccompanied child migrants, the agency announced late Friday night.
Why it matters: Title 42, enacted in March 2020, was introduced as a public health policy to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The controversial bill is currently being litigated with the ACLU calling it "inhumane."
Native American voting rights advocates from the Navajo Nation to Rosebud Sioux aren't just waiting for federal legislation to protect Indigenous voters. They are taking pages from Black civil rights activists to organize Native American voters themselves.
Why it matters: The small percentage of Native Americans is forcing advocates to aggressively build coalitions with Latinos and Black activists to avoid being ignored any longer.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new congressional map imposed by the courts on Feb. 23 has reinvigorated liberals in this purple state, where GOP legislative dominance has reigned since former PresidentObama narrowly carried the state in 2008.
Why it matters: North Carolina has been the battleground for legal fights over disenfranchisement for the past decade, and its broader history in that area is among the most instructive stories of voting rights in the U.S.
Democrats are sketching out plans — and soliciting funds — to prevent future efforts to undermine and reverse legitimate U.S. elections, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The slow death of landmark voting rights legislation this year dealt a huge blow to progressive election reform efforts. Some leaders in the space are sketching out a "Plan B."
ATLANTA — The voter engagement movement Stacey Abrams spearheaded has proven so successful that it has inspired new groups built on her model and made fundraising easier for others.
Why it matters: That voting turnout infrastructure will be stress-tested once again this year as Democrats — including Abrams in her own second run for governor — seek to prove the high turnout of voters of color last cycle wasn't just a former President Trump-related fluke.
Voter turnout across every racial and ethnic group rose in 2020 — but the 2022 midterm elections will present new hurdles for activists trying to prevent a sharp drop-off among voters of color.
They're building on 2020 by pushing for laws that would make it easier for all people to vote in the 2022 midterms — hoping that will increase the chances for people of color to be counted.
Driving the news: Biden in a memorandum authorized Secretary of State Antony Blinken to use the aid for military education and training and to "provide assistance to Ukraine and to make the determinations required."
Beto O'Rourke said Saturday that his campaign for Texas governor is about the people, not "about the person, the candidate, the party," a lesson he said he learned from his 2020 presidential run.
Driving the news: "This campaign is the volunteers and the people who've signed up to join it. That's what it is," the Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate told Evan Smith, the CEO of The Texas Tribune, at South by Southwest.
Nick Fuentes, identified as a "white supremacist" in Justice Department filings, made headlines last week for hosting a white nationalist conference in Florida. His father is also half Mexican American.
The big picture: Fuentes is part of a small but increasingly visible number of far-right provocateurs with Hispanic backgrounds who spread racist, antisemitic messages.
Democrats are testing the potential for a reset with voters around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and President Biden's handling of the crisis.
Driving the news: At House Democrats’ conference in Philadelphia this week, lawmakers made the case for Biden’s resurgence and for Americans’ shared sacrifice — including paying higher gas prices — to protect democracy.
Indigenous people across North America are rallying around Ukrainians, seeing in them the spirit of their own ancestors who resisted powerful invaders seeking land grabs.
The big picture: Tribes in the U.S. and Canada are condemning Russia's invasion, launching relief funds and food and clothing drives, and educating members about their own histories and little-known connections to Ukrainians.
Travis County District Judge Amy Clark Meachum on Friday issued a statewide temporary injunction against Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's (R) directive, which ordered the state to investigate parents for child abuse if they seek gender-affirming care for their children.
Driving the news: A supervisor for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services testified on Friday that investigators were required to prioritize cases involving parents of transgender children but were prohibited from closing them if they determined that the case likely did not involve child abuse, according to media reports of video footage from a state district court hearing.
Why it matters: Trump was impeached and later acquitted on two articles — abuse of power and obstruction of Congress — related to a phone call in which he pressed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate the Biden family. Trump's accusers alleged that he withheld much-needed military aid to force Zelensky's hand, which Kinzinger said has affected Ukraine's ability to defend itself against Russia.
