Republican Sen. Ron Johnson repeatedly faced laughter and boos from the audience gathered at Marquette University on Thursday for the final debate between the two-term GOP incumbent and Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes in Wisconsin‘s key U.S. Senate race. With less than a month to go before the November midterms, …

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump this week announced a class action suit against the United States government on behalf of the National Black Farmers Association. The lawsuit comes amid findings that Black farmers lost about $326 billion of land in America because of discrimination during the 20th century. During the …

Stephen Fowler, GPB News Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and his Republican opponent Herschel Walker faced off in a contentious debate in Savannah Friday, the first and likely the only televised debate between the two in this pivotal race. In the hourlong meeting, Warnock largely touted bipartisan accomplishments and accused his …

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected former President Donald Trump’s request to weigh in on the battle over documents that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents took while executing a search warrant at his Florida estate.   The ex-president’s lawyers wanted the court to ensure that more than 100 classified …

Jonathan Coopersmith, Texas A&M University Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the November 2020 election brought out about 155 million voters. That represented 67% of Americans over 18, and it was the highest voter turnout of any modern election. Americans also set records in the percent and number of people voting early …

Michael Moline, Florida Phoenix Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has loosened voting regulations in the counties most damaged by Hurricane Ian to account for disruptions to polling locations and early voting sites, loss of power and cellphone access, displaced voters, and unavailability of poll workers. The governor signed an executive order …

The United States’ Social Security Administration (SSA) has announced an 8.7% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) for 2023 – the largest increase in four decades. The COLA affects the more than 70 million recipients of Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits in the States, ensuring that their payments rise in …

Jacob Fischler, Arizona Mirror The U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol voted unanimously on Thursday to subpoena Donald Trump, saying the former president must be held accountable as the “central cause” of a violent attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The panel’s …

A jury in Connecticut has ruled that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones should pay $965 million to people who suffered from his lies about the Sandy Hook Elementary school massacre. The verdict is the second significant judgment against the Infowars host over his relentless promotion of the lie that the 2012 …

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Postmaster General Louis DeJoy is facing backlash over his newly announced plan to hike postcard and stamp prices as part of his proposed 10-year overhaul of mail operations, a strategy that critics warn will further damage the Postal Service. Late last week, the USPS notified the …

Jacob Fischler, Louisiana Illuminator The U.S. House committee investigating a pro-Trump mob’s attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, is back. It will hold its first hearing in nearly three months Thursday — and potentially its last. In a break from most of the panel’s previous eight hearings in …

Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate The federal government on Wednesday recommended an updated COVID-19 booster for kids between 5 and 11, expanding use of the new bivalent shots beyond people 12 and older. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration first authorized the updated vaccines use in the morning before the Centers …

Jerry Mitchell, Mississippi Center For Investigative Reporting, Mississippi Today Eddie Lee Howard Jr. and Sherwood Brown each spent 26 years on Mississippi’s death row for murders they did not commit — only to walk free last year. They are far from alone. They are two of 23 Black Mississippians who …

Jennifer Shutt, Florida Phoenix Biden administration announced Tuesday that an additional 11 states will receive up to $1 billion to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. Funding for the programs will come from the State Small Business Credit Initiative that Democrats reauthorized and expanded in their $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, …

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez, who is facing a torrent of criticism and calls for her resignation over racially charged remarks she made in a recorded conversation last year, announced Tuesday she is taking a “leave of absence” from the council. “This has been one of the most difficult …