Two years after Republican-led states approved waves of new voting restrictions, more states in 2023 have improved access to voting than have limited it.
The big picture: 29 states and Washington, D.C., have enacted a total of 70 laws expanding voting rights this year, while 16 states have enacted 29 laws to restrict voting, according to data and analysis by the nonprofit Voting Rights Lab (VRL).
Americans of both parties think the federal government is doing a worse job for other people than it is for them personally, according to new polling from the Partnership for Public Service.
Zoom in: The prolonged, partisan fighting over raising the debt ceiling in May worsened people's perspective of how the government operates. 56% of respondents overall said the negotiations somewhat or strongly decreased their trust in the government's effectiveness.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) second public freezing episode this summer has reignited concerns about his health, term limits for aging leaders — and his future in office.
Why it matters: If McConnell, the longest-serving GOP Senate leader in U.S. history, steps down before his term ends in 2027, his state and party will need to replace one of the most calculated politicians of a generation.
Two Proud Boys were sentenced for their roles in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, with more t0 come for members of the right-wing extremist group.
Driving the news: Dominic Pezzola was sentenced Friday to 10 years for multiple felony convictions, multiple outlets reported. Ethan Nordean, accused of helping plan the group's march, was sentenced to 18 years, outletsreported.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said in an interview published Friday that the House would have to vote before opening an impeachment inquiry into President Biden.
Why it matters: Such a vote could prove highly charged for some of McCarthy's most vulnerable members, many of whom represent in districts Biden won in 2020.
The Pentagon will share some of what it knows about UFOs with the public.
Why it matters: The U.S. government is going to share declassified information about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs) in a new website unveiled on Thursday.
An Ohio police department on Friday released body-camera footage of an officer fatally shooting a pregnant Black woman last week.
Driving the news: The footage includes graphic and violent content. It shows two police officers approaching Ta'Kiya Young, 21, seated in her car in a grocery store parking lot in Blendon Township, a suburb of Columbus, Ohio.
The U.S. economy added 187,000 jobs in August, while the unemployment rate rose to 3.8%, the Labor Department said Friday.
Why it matters: Employers added jobs at a slighter quicker pace than economists expected, while the unemployment rate jumped as more workers joined the labor force.
Rahm Emanuel, U.S. ambassador to Japan, punched back against China with a show of support for Japanese fishers and farmers, after the release of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
Why it matters: Although the treated water has been deemed safe by the International Atomic Energy Agency,Japan's decision to release the treated water was met with protests in South Korea and a Japanese seafood import ban in China.
Each day, former President Trump's staff presents him with a stack of mostly supportive letters, op-eds and printouts of tweets. They're meant to keep him informed — but perhaps just as important, to boost his spirits.
Trump, signature black Sharpie in hand, often scrawls responses on them and has his aides text a photo of the comments back to the writers. The Trump-signed hard copies are sent back by U.S. mail.
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday spoke out against rising threats towards election workers as the Department of Justice's specialized task force announced a ninth conviction as it seeks to combat the problem.
Driving the news: The DOJ announced Thursday that two men in two separate cases in Arizona and Georgia had pleaded guilty to threatening election officials in the respective states in separate cases, brought by the the Justice Department's Election Threats Task Force — which has now brought charges in 14 cases.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley called Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) second apparent freeze-up during a news conference this week "sad," but added: "you have to know when to leave."
Driving the news: The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on Fox News that McConnell deserved "credit" for achieving "great things," but renewed her call for term limits and mental competency tests for elected officials who are older than 75.
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky announced Thursday that the country had developed new long-range weapons, one day after Kremlin officials accused Kyiv of launching a wave of drone strikes that targeted six Russian regions.
Driving the news: "Successful use of our long-range weapons: the target was hit at a distance of 700 km [435 miles]!" Zelensky said in an online post that did not go as far as claiming responsibility for Wednesday's attacks in Russia's Pskov, Bryansk, Kaluga, Orlov, Ryazan and Moscow regions.
The 84-year-old white homeowner who shot Black teenager Ralph Yarl after he mistakenly rang the doorbell at the wrong house must stand trial, a Missouri judge ruled Thursday.
The big picture: Andrew Lester's arraignment was scheduled for Sept. 20 following the preliminary hearing on the April 13 shooting in Kansas City, which sparked protests after it left Yarl hospitalized with injuries to his head and arm. Prosecutors allege there's a "racial component to the case."
