Power & Politics

Georgia Is Giving Drivers a Break at the Pump. Who Pays for the Missing Revenue?

Georgia has extended its gasoline-tax suspension through November as fuel prices remain elevated. Drivers get immediate relief, but the state is giving up revenue normally reserved for roads and transportation infrastructure.

Brazil’s Runoff Is About Who Gets to Forgive

Flávio Bolsonaro has promised to free his father, a convicted coup plotter, and the margin is thin enough that the pardon may decide what the vote means.

Religion Is Still Dividing the American Vote. Even Trump’s Strongest Supporters Are Less Enthusiastic.

New Pew Research Center polling finds sharp differences in political preferences among religious Americans, while Trump's approval has declined across every religious group surveyed.

Free Speech Has Different Rules at Work

The legal framework depends heavily on who employs the worker and what kind of speech is involved.

Women Want More Political Power. AI Is Giving Them Another Reason to Stay Out.

A new national survey finds that negative media scrutiny, political gatekeeping and the threat of AI-generated fake images are discouraging women from seeking office. The technology is adding new risks to a political system that already imposes substantial personal costs on female candidates.

Abdul El-Sayed Could Become America’s First Muslim Senator. His Race Is Testing How Voters Weigh Faith.

In Michigan's open Senate race, a progressive physician and a former FBI agent are fighting over Iran, gas prices and tariffs. They are also fighting over a question no Senate race has had to answer before.

Trump Says His Second Term Gives Him Power He Never Had Before. Congress Is Part of the Story.

Donald Trump is openly celebrating his expanded authority, describing a second term in which he can do things he once considered out of reach. The bigger story is how decades of congressional retreat helped make that power available.

Black Voters Aren’t Showing Up in Ohio. Are Political Parties Showing Up for Them?

Every election cycle, political campaigns spend millions of dollars trying to identify the voters who could determine the outcome. They purchase advertising, organize rallies, recruit volunteers and commission research to understand which communities might help deliver a victory. Yet in Ohio, one of the most consequential political constituencies has remained largely disconnected from the electoral process: hundreds of thousands of eligible Black voters who are not casting ballots.

The Supreme Court Won’t Let Trump Cut Off Medical Care for Transgender Inmates While the Case Continues

The justices left in place a lower-court order that keeps hormone therapy and other gender-related care going in federal prisons, with Justices Alito and Thomas saying they would have let the administration’s restrictions take effect.

Americans Trust Their Elections. They No Longer Agree on What Makes Them Secure.

New Pew Research Center findings show broad confidence in election administration ahead of the November midterms. But Democrats and Republicans are increasingly worried about different threats, and trust in mail voting is declining.

Democrats Spent $163 Million Mentioning Trump in Campaign Ads. Republicans Spent $11 Million.

Since September, Donald Trump has appeared far more often in Democratic campaign ads than Republican ones. The gap shows two approaches to the midterms: one party is making Trump central to its argument, while the other is focusing on issues and its own candidates.

Stop Asking Why Black Men Don’t Vote. Ask Why Nobody Is Listening.

More than 600,000 eligible Black voters sat out Ohio’s 2022 midterms. New reporting suggests the problem is more complicated than apathy. It involves economic pressure, broken trust and a political system that shows up in Black communities mostly when it needs their votes.

In Case You Missed It · Page 2

Trump Says Somalis Are Minnesota’s Biggest Buyers of BMWs and Mercedes. Where’s the Evidence?

Silicon Valley’s AI Race Has Created a New Target: The People Who Know Its Secrets

Ukraine’s Starlink Restrictions Expose Who Controls the Technology Keeping It in the Fight

Britain Is Beginning to Treat Dependence on American Technology as a Sovereignty Problem

Black Men Moved Toward Trump in 2024. The Reasons Are More Complicated Than Either Party Admits.

Tennessee Redrew Memphis. The Political Cost Is Showing Up Block by Block.

Trump Made Historic Gains With Latino Voters. Two Years Later, That Support Is Showing Cracks.

Most Americans Expect Democrats to Win the House. The Senate Looks Much Less Certain.

Independents Are Leaning Against a Party More Than Toward One

The Midterms Will Decide More Than Who Controls Congress. Here’s What Is Actually at Stake.

Americans See Money and Politics Shaping the News. They Disagree on What Press Freedom Requires.

The Next Electorate Is Already Here. It Is Younger, More Hispanic and More Naturalized.