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Summertime political reruns

When I was younger, so much younger than today (credit The Beatles for that lyric from “Help”), television networks would rerun programs that had originally been broadcast the previous fall and spring. A few still do, like “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy,” but those are syndicated ...

Judge again bars Trump administration order that aims to limit mail voting

BOSTON (AP) — A federal judge Tuesday ruled against President Donald Trump’s executive order that sought to create a federal voter list and directly involve the U.S. Postal Service in election operations in a way that would limit mail voting. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani had ...

Almanac for Aug. 12, 2026

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 12, the 224th day of 2026. There are 141 days left in the year. Today in history: In 2017, a driver sped into a crowd of people peacefully protesting a white nationalist rally in the Virginia college town of Charlottesville, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring more than a dozen others. (The attacker, James Alex Fields, was sentenced to life in prison on 29 federal hate crime charges, and life plus 419 years on state charges.) Also on this date: In 1867, President Andrew Johnson sparked a move to impeach him as he defied Congress by suspending ...

The long rise of the new Democratic Party

Can I claim to have predicted, way back in 1988, the result of Michigan's fiercely contested Democratic primary for U.S. senator this week? The developments that have made Abdul El-Sayed — who lost the 2018 gubernatorial primary to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich., by 20 percentage points — ...

Dems investigate efforts to deport military members, their families

Congressional Democrats said they are investigating the Trump administration’s efforts to deport military service members and their families after The Associated Press found more than 50 active-duty troops’ spouses and parents have been detained by immigration authorities. In a letter ...

Almanac for Aug. 11, 2026

Today is Tuesday, Aug. 11, the 223rd day of 2026. There are 142 days left in the year. Today in history: In 1934, the first federal prisoners arrived at Alcatraz Island, a former military prison, in San Francisco Bay; the island would be home to more than 1,500 prisoners over the next three decades, including gangsters Al Capone and James “Whitey” Bulger, before closing in 1963. Also on this date: In 1919, Germany’s Weimar Constitution was signed by President Friedrich Ebert. In 1929, Babe Ruth became the first baseball player to reach 500 career home runs with a homer at ...