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US politics: the White House, Congress, the courts and the elections.
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Darline Graham, a political novice appointed to the Senate just weeks ago after the sudden death of her brother Lindsey Graham, won South Carolina’s GOP primary runoff Tuesday, defeating nine-term Rep. Ralph Norman in a race that tested President Donald Trump’s ability to lift a struggling candidate.
The Coalition has proposed an 80 percent cut to tobacco excise and the legalisation of vapes and nicotine pouches in an effort to combat the surge in illegal cigarette sales, a plan immediately rejected by Labor, the Australian Medical Association and public health experts as a dangerous backward step.
Everton Blair Jr. won a special election on Tuesday to fill the U.S. House seat left vacant by the death of Representative David Scott in April. Blair will serve through January but is not a candidate in the general election for the next full term in Georgia's 13th Congressional District, a deep-blue seat that is expected to remain in Democratic hands.
Samuel Bateman, a polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal sentence for orchestrating sex involving children, was sentenced to an additional 24 years in prison on Tuesday after being convicted on three state child abuse counts for hauling three young girls in an unventilated trailer in Arizona.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday blocked a Trump administration FCC order that would have forced broadcasters to offer the lowest advertising rates to political parties and joint fundraising committees, a move that could have significantly increased the volume of political ads on television. The 2-1 ruling from the 4th Circuit came as a separate, preliminary Supreme Court order on mail-in voting is raising concerns about voter confusion, underscoring the unsettled legal landscape heading into the final stretch of the election campaign.
A federal appeals court on Tuesday ruled against Republican efforts to secure lower advertising rates for party committees, rejecting the argument that a recent Supreme Court decision allowing closer coordination between parties and candidates also entitled them to discounted media buys. The ruling marks a clear win for Democrats in the ongoing legal fight over campaign finance regulations.
South Carolina's Republican Senate primary runoff between Sen. Darline Graham and Rep. Ralph Norman on Tuesday will serve as another barometer of President Trump's political influence, with Trump actively campaigning for Graham, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, against a rival who has cast himself as the more consistent conservative.
A U.S. federal judge has blocked an Ohio law that would have required prospective voters to provide proof of citizenship when registering, ruling that the measure likely violates federal voting rights statutes. The decision halts a Republican-backed effort to address unsubstantiated claims of noncitizen voting in the state.
Ralph Alvarado, the former Kentucky state senator endorsed by President Trump to succeed retiring Republican Rep. Andy Barr, has removed all references to Trump from his campaign website, signaling a possible strategic shift as the general election approaches. The website previously featured a photo of Alvarado and Trump together giving a thumbs-up, but that image has been replaced with more localized branding.
Republican election law attorney Ben Ginsberg warned Monday that President Trump's executive order imposing restrictions on mail-in voting will disproportionately harm Republican voters, as older voters — who lean Republican — are more likely to use mail ballots. Ginsberg predicted that the order could trigger backlash within the GOP in the coming weeks.
The Log Cabin Republicans, a longstanding organization advocating for gay rights within the conservative movement, announced on Tuesday that it is ending its support for transgender rights causes, arguing that trans rights advocates have placed disproportionate emphasis on issues affecting minors. The decision marks a significant fracture in the broader LGBTQ+ coalition and reflects growing tensions over the direction of the movement.
A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has called on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to take immediate action to secure the release of 20-year-old American student Sama Safi, who is being held by Israeli authorities. The lawmakers urged the Trump administration to use every available diplomatic tool, underscoring growing concerns over the detention of dual-nationals amid regional tensions.
Residents of East Palestine, Ohio, participating in a class-action settlement over the 2023 Norfolk Southern train derailment claim their own legal team suppressed an environmental report showing unsafe toxic levels, allegedly to convince residents to accept a settlement rather than pursue further action. The report, kept from the community for months, was revealed by whistleblowers within the plaintiffs' legal group and has reignited concerns over lingering contamination.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) crew violated the Hatch Act and agency policy by skipping homes with President Trump signs during Hurricane Milton recovery efforts in 2024, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security's inspector general's office. The watchdog determined that the crew allowed political considerations to influence the provision of disaster assistance, a breach of federal law.
An Ecuadorian mother and daughter were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents at a hospital in central Florida on August 20, just after surviving a serious car crash, according to arrest reports and family statements. The incident has sparked renewed debate over immigration enforcement policies in sensitive locations like hospitals.
In a major escalation of immigration enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security on Monday announced a new fee of over $103,000 on H-1B visas, while the State Department disclosed plans to revoke the visas of up to 200,000 asylum seekers—potentially the largest mass visa revocation in U.S. history—as the Trump administration broadens its campaign to reduce both illegal and legal immigration.
More than 1,300 people were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Virginia and Maryland, according to a report by Al Jazeera. The operation, described as one of the largest enforcement actions in the region in recent years, has reignited debate over federal immigration policy and its local impact as the November midterm elections approach.
President Trump has ordered American flags to be flown at half-staff for a week in honor of Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at the age of 80. Trump announced the decision on Truth Social, calling Parton 'one of the greatest Country singers, and far beyond, EVER,' as tributes pour in from across the political and cultural spectrum.
Two unvaccinated individuals have died from measles in Pennsylvania, marking the state's first fatalities from the disease in 35 years, as the US outbreak approaches nearly 3,000 cases. The deaths come against a backdrop of ongoing vaccine misinformation, including recent claims by former President Donald Trump that the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine could be 'quite lethal.'
The U.S. Air Force has criminally charged Major Jason Watson, an officer who twice publicly called for President Trump's impeachment on the steps of the Capitol, alleging he violated multiple articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice by making 'contemptuous' remarks about the commander in chief and disobeying orders.
The Hill and Decision Desk HQ are providing live, real-time coverage of Tuesday’s South Carolina Republican Senate special election primary runoff, a contest that will choose the GOP candidate for a closely watched special election to fill the state’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Anchored by NewsNation’s Cory Smith and featuring campaign reporters and political analysts, the coverage offers fast results and expert analysis as voters head to the polls in a race that could reshape the Senate balance of power.
The wife of an active-duty U.S. soldier was deported on Monday to Honduras, marking the latest case of military family separations under the Trump administration's enhanced immigration enforcement. Cristy Maryori Villafranca-Trejo is at least the seventh spouse or parent of a U.S. service member to be removed since President Donald Trump took office for a second term, according to her family and the Department of Homeland Security.
The Trump administration has told a federal judge that the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts may have to be demolished if urgent repairs are not made, arguing that the iconic Washington venue cannot survive without the president's support. Department of Justice lawyers made the statement in a court filing, escalating a bitter standoff over the future of one of America's most prominent cultural institutions.
A federal judge in Massachusetts on Thursday again halted the Trump administration's executive order restricting mail-in voting, placing a 14-day hold on its implementation. The decision by Judge Indira Talwani comes just a week before the first postal ballots are scheduled to be dispatched for the November midterm elections, and sets the stage for a potential return to the Supreme Court, which had overturned an earlier block just three days earlier.
A federal judge has rejected Ghislaine Maxwell's most recent attempt to overturn her 2021 conviction on sex trafficking charges, closing off another avenue for the former British socialite to challenge her 20-year prison sentence for recruiting and grooming underage girls for financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A new poll indicates that a majority of Democratic voters in the first six states to vote in the 2028 presidential primaries oppose continued U.S. aid to Israel and believe the country is committing genocide, a finding that could reshape the party's foreign policy debate ahead of the next election cycle.
The Department of Homeland Security has acknowledged that its widely publicized claim of finding 250,000 noncitizens registered to vote in four states was based on preliminary data and was inflated, according to communications with state election officials. The admission casts doubt on the administration's narrative of widespread noncitizen voting, a phenomenon that research shows is rare.
President Donald Trump is facing mounting criticism from within his own Republican Party after announcing a temporary suspension of tariffs on foreign beef, allowing up to 300,000 metric tons of imports to enter the U.S. without the usual duties—a move his administration says is aimed at lowering grocery prices but that GOP lawmakers and farm groups warn will devastate domestic cattle producers.
Ken Paxton, the Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Texas endorsed by Donald Trump, unveiled a 'Texas first' plan on Tuesday to address the 'negative impact' of data centers, tapping into a rising bipartisan backlash against the industry's environmental and infrastructure demands.
The U.S. Supreme Court is facing mounting internal and external pressure over its handling of emergency appeals, as justices remain divided on whether to issue explanations for temporary orders that have blocked or allowed key Trump administration policies, leaving the public and lower courts uncertain about the legal rationale behind consequential decisions.
The Florida Department of Health has proposed a rule that would allow children to attend public and private schools and daycare without receiving four currently mandated vaccines: hepatitis B, varicella (chickenpox), Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib), and pneumococcal conjugate. The move, reported by The Hill, marks a significant shift in the state's immunization requirements.
Two unvaccinated residents of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have died from measles, state health officials confirmed Tuesday — the first measles deaths in the state in 35 years and the first in the United States in 2026. The deaths come as Pennsylvania contends with 393 confirmed measles cases across 28 counties this year, part of a broader resurgence of the disease that saw three US fatalities in 2025.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking a federal contractor to collect and manage voter registration and history data from all 50 states and U.S. territories, according to procurement records reviewed by 404 Media. The agency says the data will support Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) fraud detection efforts, but critics warn it could be used to justify mass immigration enforcement actions under the guise of election security.
In a surprising turn, the color pink has emerged as a strategic tool in modern political campaigning, with Florida politician Angie Nixon at the center of this trend.
An opinion piece published across multiple Australian newspapers by former Iranian detainee Kylie Moore-Gilbert contends that a younger generation is growing more tolerant of authoritarian rule, singling out Donald Trump as a key influencer who appears ‘more comfortable in the company of dictators than among America’s democratic allies.’ The piece has sparked debate over whether the former US president’s approach reflects a broader global trend or an isolated diplomatic style.
The Justice Department will dispatch attorneys to monitor polling locations in Charleston, South Carolina, on Tuesday as voters head to the polls for the Republican Senate primary runoff, the agency announced.
The U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday it is aware of a video circulating on Iranian state media that threatens President Trump's son, Barron, and allegedly offers a $10 million reward for information leading to his location, according to a report from ABC News. The agency did not disclose specific security measures but stated it is monitoring the situation closely.
A Florida man faces three felony charges after cutting down and destroying a 3D-printed decoy Flock camera that police had placed to catch vandals. The Oviedo Police Department deployed the fake camera, made by an officer using a home 3D printer, after several real Flock cameras were stolen in late July and early August. Mayor Megan Sladek said she had "NO idea" the sting was happening and called the incident "speechless."
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Thursday directing the federal government to rename Lake Ontario as 'Lake America,' escalating his trade war rhetoric against Canada. The order applies only to U.S. federal agencies and has no force over Canada's portion of the lake or international mapmakers.
A coalition of 14 state attorneys general and three city attorneys is fighting a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule that would eliminate requirements for public notice and comment on air pollution permits for data centers and other minor sources, as new research quantifies severe health costs from facilities in Virginia.
President Trump’s approval rating has remained frozen at 33 percent in the latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, marking the third time the survey has recorded that figure and the lowest sustained level of his political career, according to results released Tuesday.
Republican lawmakers are publicly opposing President Trump’s plan to increase beef imports, a rare and vocal break from the president that underscores growing unease within the party over trade policy that could hurt American cattle farmers and ranchers in their districts.
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a rule change that would eliminate federal minimum requirements for public notice and comment on minor-source air pollution permits under the Clean Air Act, a move critics say could allow datacenter operators to build polluting on-site power generation without community awareness. The Environmental Protection Network, a group of former EPA employees, warns this could affect large-scale, fossil-fueled generators for AI datacenters classified as minor sources, bypassing stricter major-source review.
Newly disclosed federal records reveal how undercover Department of Homeland Security agents posed as concerned community members and used encrypted messaging apps to spy on residents and activists protesting Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s crackdown in Minnesota, raising questions about the extent of surveillance targeting political dissent.
A federal judge in Boston on Thursday night again blocked the Trump administration from implementing new mail-in voting restrictions, issuing a temporary restraining order that will remain in place for at least two weeks. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani’s ruling reverses her decision just two days earlier to lift a nationwide block, creating whiplash for election officials and voters as the November midterms approach.
A Louisiana jury on Monday awarded $300,000 to state Supreme Court Justice Jefferson Davis Hughes III in a rare defamation trial involving an elected public official, ruling that a 2019 editorial published by the state's largest newspaper, the Advocate, had defamed him. The award was significantly less than the $10 million Hughes had sought for reputational harm and emotional distress.
Voters in at least six states, including three prominent swing states, will decide on ballot measures related to voter identification requirements this year, marking the largest number of such measures in a single election cycle, according to a report from NPR.
The Multicultural Business Coalition filed two lawsuits Monday against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, arguing that his plan to create five municipally owned grocery stores would unlawfully drive immigrant- and minority-owned small grocers out of business by undercutting their prices.