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Every month, European and U.S. counterparts from various embassies would gather for wine and cheese. For the most part, the group was like-minded, even when their partisanship differed. Then came Donald Trump. On Tuesday, Zoya Sheftalovich penned a report for Politico's EU vertical about a long-running U.S. tradition of small, private dinners that helped build trust and coordinate with European allies. Sadly, however, it has mostly faded since Trump came back into office. Those dinners once brought together ambassadors, EU officials and other closely aligned partners for honest, off-t

It has been 14 years since the overhaul of the Washington D.C., reflecting pool was finished. It was the first time in 90 years that the reflecting pool was repaired, and a more cost-effective way to bring water into it was developed.President Donald Trump this year spent millions to put a special coating on the pool he said would stop the algae. In the past week, the algae returned. On Tuesday morning, national park staff were videotaped pouring hydrogen peroxide into the pool. Mixing peroxide and chlorine into water can cause a chemical reaction that sanitizes the pool just like a swimming poolCBS News reporter Bob Kovach

In Cleveland, Ohio on Thursday, June 11, FBI agents searched the local office of Ohio Organizing Collaborative — a nonpartisan voter registration group — seized cell phones and computers, and visited the homes of people involved with the group. According to Salon's Bob Hennelly, the search is "being blasted as heavy-handed voter intimidation ahead of the 2026 midterms."Interviewed by The Guardian, Prentiss Haney — a member of the nonprofit group's board of trust

As three alleged planners of Wisconsin’s fake elector scheme prepare to be arraigned this week in Dane County court, the criminal charges against them are moving forward in a national legal and political landscape that looks dramatically different from the one in which they were filed.This article was originally published by Votebeat, a nonprofit news organization covering local election administration and voting access.When Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed the charges in June 2024, Joe Bid

Republicans in Congress are demanding the full details of President Donald Trump's Iran deal, according to The Hill, with one lawmaker expressing concern about the "awful" details that Iran itself is claiming.Over the weekend, the U.S. and Iran signed a new deal to pause hostilities for another 60 days while a final deal to end the conflict and regulate the Middle Eastern nation's nuclear program is negotiated. The full text of the agreement has not yet been publicized, but it is understood that it involves reopening the Stra

In the European press — from Portugal to Norway — the United States, under President Donald Trump, is often depicted as being in a state of nonstop chaos. But Hungary-born political scientist/geopolitics expert George Friedman, in the UK-based i Paper, argues that what looks like a "nervous breakdown" to longtime U.S. allies is really an example of the United States' ability to keep "reinventing itself.""From the outside, it looks as though the United States is having a nervous breakdown," Friedman, founder and chairman of Geopolitcal Futures, writes in the i Paper. "Decisions taken by the White House —

There’s an old, humorous and semi-serious piece of strategy advice often dispensed to new lawyers which holds, “When the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. When the law is on your side, pound on the law. And when neither is on your side, pound on the table.”North Carolinians are witnessing a kind of political world version of this adage play out right now in the behavior and actions of the state’s Republicans in preparation for the 2026 fall elections.Weighed down in the polls by the nation’s increasingly evident fatigue with President Trump and his feckless congressional allies, soaring prices and economic inequality, an unknown and weak U.S. Senate candidate, and their own embarrassing ina

As election officials across the country steel themselves for the midterm elections in less than five months, President Donald Trump’s executive order restricting voting by mail threatens to upend their preparations.The executive order instructs the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver ballots in states that don’t provide lists of voters or meet other requirements. It has created a sense of deep uncertainty and concern among election officials as they consider how to comply, according to a review of court documents and interviews with election officials and experts on election administration.The March 31

President Donald Trump and his allies have hailed the latest Iran deal as a major step towards a swift resolution to the war, but according to a new report from The Hill, he has already "pretty well trashed" his reputation among a key group of MAGA voters.On Sunday, the U.S. and Iran signed a new deal after weeks of negotiations to suspend hostilities for 60 days, allowing more time to work out a final deal involving Iran's nuclear programs. While the complete text of the deal has not yet been made public, i

The United States and Iran are preparing to finalise a peace deal that would end their war – at least for the time being – as well as Israel’s bombing of Lebanon.Many key details remain to be negotiated, including the future of Iran’s nuclear program. Another issue that remains uncertain – how the deal will impact the Kurdish minority in northern Iran. The United States and Israel have failed to achieve the main goal of their war: overthrowing the Islamic regime in Tehran. US President Donald Trump is now under pressure to end the war as quickly as possible – and answer for its failures. Instead, in recent days, he has