President Donald Trump walks past Attorney General Todd Blanche after speaking at a roundtable event in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
October 25, 2026 • Attorney General Todd Blanche defended the Justice Department's suit over Alaska's Senate race in an interview on CNN.
Pins and bumper stickers supporting Dan Osborn's candidacy for U.S. Senate sit on a campaign table on Sept. 3, 2026 at Pals Brewing Company in North Platte, Neb. Osborn, a 51-year-old Navy veteran, is running as an independent. Austin Johnson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 25, 2026 • As they look to win the Senate, Democrats are hoping that independent candidates in Nebraska and Montana can help them topple Republicans in a part of the country where their own brand is hurting.
Arkansas Democratic Senate nominee Hallie Shoffner speaks with voters at a campaign stop in Hope, Ark. Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. Stephen Fowler/NPR hide caption
October 25, 2026 • In a sign of the potentially dire midterm political environment, Republicans have spent millions of dollars playing defense in Arkansas, one of the most conservative states in the country.
New speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., holds the gavel during the opening session of the 116th Congress at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 3, 2019. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 24, 2026 • Every other decade over the past hundred years has produced at least one midterm that made a big difference in Congress and in national politics more broadly.
A pedestrian looks at his smartphone on an embankment with the Kremlin in the background in central Moscow on Oct. 8, 2026. Researchers who track online influence operations say Kremlin-backed groups are renewing tactics they've used to sow distrust and discord in previous elections in the U.S. and around the world. Igor Ivanko/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Researchers who track online influence operations say Kremlin-backed groups are renewing tactics they've used to sow distrust and discord in previous elections in the U.S. and around the world.
Three of the Pentagon projects surveyed by GAO included weapons for counter-camouflage (upper image) and target recognition (lower images). Government Accountability Office/GAO hide caption
October 23, 2026 • The Pentagon is building weapons and projects with AI capabilities that officials say don't always closely adhere to the agency's own guidelines for AI, according to a congressional watchdog report published in October.
Chris Gibbs, a cattle farmer in rural Ohio, says he's been in a deficit for almost three years. Keren Carrión/NPR hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Ohio has been a reliably red state for several elections but it's competitive this year. If Democrats want to prevail, they'll have to win people who have backed Republicans, like rural voters.
Locals rally against Trump's potential redevelopment of East Potomac Park at a protest in early October. Runners, cyclists, birders and more worry they will lose access to the park under Trump's plan to overhaul the municipal golf course. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Trump's most recent rendering of East Potomac Park overtakes the D.C. peninsula with a sprawling golf course, without the grassy areas and road beloved by locals. That's prompted grassroots pushback.
Hunter Biden, son of former President Joe Biden, seen in July 2024 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Republicans have long accused the FBI of mishandling the laptop and the investigations into the younger Biden.
A voter drops off her ballots outside the polling center at the Silver Spring Civic Building on Oct. 22, 2026, in Silver Spring, Maryland. Finn Gomez/Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Military reinforcements are heading to the Middle East and some personnel have left the region, pointing to a potential attack on Iran. And, millions of Americans have already voted in the midterms.
Left: Democrat Olaleye Onikuyide, 28, is running for state representative in Connecticut. Right: Republican Lukas Schubert, 21, is campaigning for reelection as a state representative in Montana. Both candidates are focusing on a lack of affordable housing in their states. Raquel C. Zaldívar and Sarah Mosquera for NPR hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Young candidates who rent or live with parents say their generation is "in the thick" of the country's housing affordability crisis. They argue this gives them new energy to solve it for everyone.
Election workers remove ballots from a drop box outside the polling center at the Silver Spring Civic Building on Oct. 22 in Silver Spring, Md. Finn Gomez/Getty Images hide caption
October 23, 2026 • Nearly 21 million Americans have voted early in the midterms. MIT political scientist Charles Stewart explains what's driving the surge and why it may not mean higher overall turnout.
October 23, 2026 • Has Gen Z changed how we think about independents?
A car is set ablaze during demonstrations on Saturday in Paris. Carl Court/Getty Images hide caption
October 22, 2026 • France has been rocked by protests and riots. The far-right is on the rise across Europe. All while, the United States is backing away from Ukraine. President Trump has been trying to obliterate the post-WWII order since his first term … is he finally succeeding?
People vote at a polling location at Los Angeles' Metro Headquarters Building during California's state primary on June 2, 2026. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 22, 2026 • The judge found the department's field operations to identify noncitizens who voted likely violated the Voting Rights Act, which bars voter intimidation.
A sign is posted in front of a Tesla dealership on Oct. 21, 2026, in Santa Clarita, Calif. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption
October 22, 2026 • The U.S. and Israel are planning for a possible post-elections attack on Iran, an anonymous source tells NPR. And, Elon Musk considers merging his companies SpaceX and Tesla.
The latest survey from health research organization KFF on employer-sponsored health insurance finds that premiums went up about 5%. The Good Brigade/Digital Vision/Getty Images hide caption
October 22, 2026 • About 157 million Americans get their health insurance through work. A survey of employers shows a moderate price uptick this year, but workers still say health costs are a top concern.
Cattle feed at a ranch in Dublin, Texas, on Sept. 11, 2026. Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP for Getty Images hide caption
October 22, 2026 • President Trump's attempts to bring beef prices down has potentially backfired politically in several key states.
October 22, 2026 • President Trump, seeking to reshape the voting map, prompted a rare wave of mid-decade redistricting that gave Republicans a boost for holding the House. But the voters will determine if it works.
The Trump Store in Bensalem, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb, closed early this year amid falling sales. Frank Langfitt/NPR hide caption
October 22, 2026 • At least four Trump merchandise stores have closed this year. Store owners say with President Trump in his final term, there isn't as much to fire up his consumer fan base and sales have softened.
Podcaster Kara Swisher in Washington on June 11, 2026. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption
October 22, 2026 • As Elon Musk considers merging Tesla and SpaceX, tech journalist Kara Swisher examines his business strategy, growing political influence and power over the war in Ukraine.
In this file photo from 2023, U.S. and Israeli flags fill a field in Boston, Massachusetts. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The pro-Israel lobbying group and influential political funder announced it would no longer endorse candidates or give directly to campaigns. AIPAC's affiliated super PAC, though, will continue.
People walk by a polling place at Denver's Central Library on June 30, 2026. Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The department has long deployed election monitors, but the Trump administration's unprecedented steps to try to wrestle control over elections have led to new concerns about DOJ monitoring this year.
In this file photo from July 2026, President Trump shows off an executive order he signed in the Oval Office of the White House. Andrew Harnik/Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • A new poll shows record support for Democratic congressional candidates ahead of the midterms, as voters feel the party is better attuned to handling their top issues.
