Breaking News: President Trump said the U.S. and Iran are close to a deal toward ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran did not immediately confirm. Follow live updates.

A federal judge on Friday dismissed a criminal indictment against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a 30-year-old man living in Maryland who was wrongly deported to El Salvador last year, calling the prosecution “vindictive and selective.” @cstephenson.bsky.social reports.

Senate vote shows a new SC congressional map can’t become law before early voting starts scdailygazette.com/2026/05/22/s... by @jmholdman.bsky.social

Just in: Waverly Crenshaw, U.S. District Court Judge for the Middle District of Tennessee, has dismissed charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man who was wrongly deported by the Trump administration in 2025.

BREAKING: Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismisses indictment of Kilmar Abrego Garcia based on selective and vindictive prosecution. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

It looks like Trump is staying at the White House this weekend, after initially planning to head to Bedminster, per updated guidance. Comes after he announced he won't attend Don Jr's wedding

GENEVA (AP) - WHO chief says Ebola outbreak in Congo is spreading rapidly and now poses a 'very high risk' at the national level. @apnews.com

It's been a big week on the beat. What I've covered this week for @statesnewsroom.com... US Supreme Court’s uneven rulings in election lead-up causing chaos, experts say www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-s...

The battle over Alabama’s congressional district lines will go to federal court Friday. via @alabamareflector.com

ICYMI: A hearing on "court packing" centered on Republican warnings that adding Supreme Court justices would create a slippery slope. Democrats countered that the court is placing democracy at risk. @jonshorman.bsky.social for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...

President Trump’s election-security czar last year sought to ban voting machines used in more than half of U.S. states by asking whether the Commerce Department could declare their components national-security risks, citing conspiracy theories but not evidence. www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...

A state Senate bill filed this week would cut North Carolina’s early voting period by a week, slicing time from the method voters use most in general elections. ncnewsline.com/2026/05/21/n... by @lbonner.bsky.social #ncpol

A multi-billion-dollar package to fund immigration enforcement for the rest of President Donald Trump’s term faced new delays Thursday as Senate Republicans showed a rare split with the president over his new “anti-weaponization” fund. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-s...

Federal judge denies U.S. DOJ attempt to obtain Wisconsin voter data wisconsinexaminer.com/briefs/feder...

Feds announce 15 indictments in ‘unprecedented’ Medicaid fraud scheme in Minnesota minnesotareformer.com/2026/05/21/f...

I’ve covered Chicago’s federal courthouse for 11 years and have never seen a hearing like this one.

NEW - U.S. House Republicans denounced proposals to expand the Supreme Court during a Thursday hearing that offered a preview of how GOP lawmakers will fight court overhaul efforts if Democrats retake the House My latest for @statesnewsroom.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-h...

Just in: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has issued a 1-year reprieve to death row inmate Tony Carruthers after a botched attempt by the state to execute Carruthers Thursday.

///BREAKING/// The feds are DISMISSING all remaining counts in the politically charged "Broadview Six" case days before trial, marking the final collapse of what had been one of the marquee criminal cases to come out of Operation Midway Blitz. Background: www.chicagotribune.com/2026/05/07/b...

Just In - The Justice Department fails to obtain Wisconsin voter data, as federal judge dismisses DOJ lawsuit over the information. It's the DOJ's latest courtroom loss as it seeks private voter data from states storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

We haven't quite seen the end of mid-decade congressional redistricting this cycle, but Republicans will likely gain five to seven seats from it. That's probably not going to be enough for them to keep the House. @statesnewsroom.com by me and @jonshorman.bsky.social:

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche is on Capitol Hill this morning to meet with Senate Republicans who are considering adding to the reconciliation bill restrictions on Trump's $1.8 billion "anti-weaponization" fund. The White House has sent over a one-page memo for review.

Democrats from both chambers on the Senate steps right now speaking out against the GOP budget reconciliation bill they call "reckless." Dems gearing up to propose several amendments, including on Trump's "anti-weaponization" fund, at upcoming marathon Senate voting session.

BREAKING: Colorado Gov. Jared Polis was formally censured by his own party Wednesday for his decision last week to grant clemency to Tina Peters, the former Mesa County clerk convicted on multiple felony counts for her role in a breach of her office’s election system. By @chasewoodruff.bsky.social

Senators will begin debate Thursday on a bill redrawing the state’s congressional districts, a day after South Carolina’s election chief told them a second set of primaries will cost between $5 million and $6 million. via @scdailygazette.com

This year, nearly every state has introduced some form of AI regulation legislation. In some states, lawmakers are pushing for AI use in food aid and healthcare. Tomorrow, we will examine this with @kdavidsonjrn.bsky.social, of @michiganadvance.com. www.newsfromthestates.com/podcast/stor...

NEW: Since becoming Missouri's top election official, Denny Hoskins has dramatically reshaped the position. How Hoskins has wielded the Secretary of State's Office to push conservative ideals with few parallels in modern Missouri politics: #moleg #mogov www.kansascity.com/news/politic...

NEW - Less than 6 months before the midterms, Republicans face a difficult path to retaining the U.S. House amid Trump’s poor approval ratings— but the party’s gerrymanders have helped A look at the midterms landscape, from @fischler.bsky.social & me www.newsfromthestates.com/article/sagg...

NEW: The Colorado Democratic Party has formally condemned and censured Governor Jared Polis for granting clemency to Tina Peters. Polis is hereby banned from speaking or being honored at party events. 90% of CDP central committee members voted to reprimand Polis.

SAVE AMERICA ACT, TROOPS AT POLLS: President Donald Trump is again demanding Congress pass a sweeping set of voting restrictions and refuses to rule out sending troops to the polls, reports @jonshorman.bsky.social for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

NEW: Trump won’t give up on the stalled SAVE America Act, as Democrats prep election protections www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

Election data shows that the new congressional districts were drawn precisely to create nine seats where Trump won 60% of the vote in the presidential election of 2024 and Blackburn won the 2018 Senate election, reports @friedmanadam5.bsky.social.

Two Republican-appointed Georgia Supreme Court justices managed to fend off a pair of Democratic-backed challengers in a hotly contested battle over the direction of Georgia’s highest court Tuesday. via @georgiarecorder.com

House GOP passes new voting lines for SC ahead of court hearing on first lawsuit (The hearing is set for 9 a.m. Wednesday) scdailygazette.com/2026/05/19/l... by @jmholdman.bsky.social

Trump-endorsed Gallrein wins heated Northern Kentucky Republican primary against incumbent Massie From @mckennahorsley.bsky.social and @liamniemeyer.bsky.social kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/19/t...

Lawsuit attempts to pause GOP push to redraw SC’s voting lines scdailygazette.com/2026/05/19/l... by @jmholdman.bsky.social

BREAKING: After voting no seven times, Sen. Bill Cassidy flipped and cast the deciding vote to advance a War Powers Resolution to rein in President Donald Trump’s war in Iran without authorization from Congress. @ashleymurray.bsky.social reports for @statesnewsroom.com

NEW: A U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday suggests Republicans will target majority-minority congressional districts in Democratic states following the Supreme Court's decision in Callais www.newsfromthestates.com/article/repu...

As Oregonians turn in their ballots Tuesday, the state’s top elections and legal officers are reasserting confidence in the state’s election system.

Correction: SATURDAY night

SOUTHERN COLLEGE SPORTS BOYCOTT URGED OVER VOTING RIGHTS: “We believe that the silence of these institutions is complicity, and we will not stand for it,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries--Shauneen Miranda for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/naac...

Sen. Cassidy, R-La., just voted YES on Iran War Powers Resolution as the upper chamber votes for the eighth time to limit Trump's war in Iran. Cassidy lost his primary Tuesday night after Trump backed challenger Rep. Julia Letlow.

A federal judge has ordered a legal challenge to Tennessee’s redrawn congressional districts — brought by the ACLU on behalf of voters, clergy and nonprofits in Memphis — be consolidated with two other challenges, at the request of the state attorneys defending the maps. From @anitawadhwani.bsky.com

ICYMI from @georgiarecorder.com: Georgia’s State Election Board, the state Republican Party and multiple Republican candidates are demanding access to the secretary of state’s election night hub during Tuesday’s state primary election. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/gop-...

Today is the biggest primary day of the year so far, with elections in Alabama, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Catch the results tomorrow morning in Daybreak. www.newsfromthestates.com/newsletter/d...

Trump fired the head of the Office of Government Ethics last year. The agency hasn’t had an acting leader in months. Now some Democrats are warning the ethics watchdog has been crippled and pressing the White House for answers.

ICYMI: Called "plainly unlawful" in an amicus brief by House Dems, the move presumably means those pardoned by Trump for crimes related to Jan. 6 could seek some of the $1.7B from the government, writes @ashleymurray.bsky.social for @statesnewsroom.com DC www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

Via Ashley Murray: In an amicus brief filed Monday afternoon, 93 House Democrats urged U.S. District Judge Kathleen Mary Williams, nominated by President Barack Obama, to immediately dismiss Trump’s “collusive lawsuit” for lack of jurisdiction.

Covered VP JD Vance at a Kansas City event today where he spoke about the importance of manufacturing, tax cuts and how "crazy" Democrats are. kansasreflector.com/2026/05/18/v...

SCOTUS ended Virginia Democrats’ redistricting fight Friday, triggering a wave of suspended congressional campaigns over the weekend. But Democrats still believe they can flip at least two GOP-held Virginia seats in 2026 under the current maps. virginiamercury.com/2026/05/18/v...