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.
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 view of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 14. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
October 21, 2026 • The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the Trump administration has to continue providing gender-affirming care to inmates in federal prisons as litigation on efforts to change the policy continues.
Four of the nine Supreme Court justices — seen here in their 2022 official portrait — recused themselves from a music copyright case this week, meaning there was no quorum to hear the matter. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption
October 20, 2026 • A publishing dispute has highlighted the issue of recusals by Supreme Court justices. The justices largely police themselves.
The U.S. Disciplinary Barracks, where Nidal Malik Hasan is being held on death row, is seen in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption
October 16, 2026 • A majority of Americans support the death penalty for people convicted of murder, but support becomes more divided when questions vary.
A flag featuring Donald Trump waves amid a group of supporters near Mar-a-Lago, Fla., in 2024. Alon Skuy/Getty Images hide caption
October 16, 2026 • The administration says papers created in the White House belong to Donald Trump, not to the American people. The case could ultimately end up at the conservative-leaning Supreme Court.
WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 19: CNN signage on the network's booth in the press area of the White House after journalists with the network were earlier denied entry to the White House grounds, on September 19, 2026 in Washington, DC. Graeme Sloan/Getty Images hide caption
October 14, 2026 • A federal judge ruled late Tuesday that President Trump cannot ban news organizations from covering him at the White House because he does not like the nature of their coverage - at least, not until the matter goes to a formal trial.
Attorney Paul Clement answers questions outside the U.S. Supreme Court after oral arguments in April 2022 in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
October 13, 2026 • Paul Clement, a Republican, has racked up dozens of wins at the Supreme Court since his days as George W. Bush's solicitor general. Recently, he's been challenging some Trump administration policies.
A Homeland Security Investigations agent gets in a car outside the Washington, D.C., residence of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., on Monday morning. Luke Garrett/NPR hide caption
October 12, 2026 • The Justice Department says the search is part of an "ongoing federal investigation," while Omar calls it "an attempt to target political enemies."
October 12, 2026 • The U.S. government is trying to end the dominance of high-quality, low-cost drones made in China. But more restrictions mean higher costs for cash-strapped police forces that rely on those drones.
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters as he arrives on Air Force One, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026, at Joint Base Andrews, Md. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption
October 11, 2026 • The move escalates Trump's fight with the press amid court battle over barring CNN, Politico and MS NOW from the White House.
Harmeet Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights at the Department of Justice, during an interview in Washington, D.C., in August 2026. Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption
October 11, 2026 • Harmeet Dhillon has pushed out hundreds of longtime attorneys, replaced many with inexperienced ideological allies, and used the division's enforcement powers to pursue the president's agenda.
Incarcerated women walk through a Receiving and Release (R&R) yard at the Central California Women's Facility in Chowchilla, California, on June 30, 2026. The prison is the largest women's correctional facility in California, and the R&R yard is used to process incarcerated people entering and leaving the facility. Beth LaBerge/KQED hide caption
October 11, 2026 • Aliksandria Prout had only been at the Central California Women’s Facility for a few days when a male officer stopped her at a checkpoint. “You have beautiful lips and beautiful eyes,” he said. That was just the beginning. On this episode of The Sunday Story, we feature the first episode of a new three-part series from KQED’s Snap Judgment called “We Are Jane Doe.” It follows thirteen women and their fight for justice against the jailers who sexually assaulted them.
A huge crowd gathers to witness the public hanging of Rainey Bethea in 1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky. Public outrage over the spectacle made Bethea's death the last high-profile public execution in the United States. The Pentagon wants to livestream the firing squad execution of the Fort Hood shooter. Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption
October 9, 2026 • The Pentagon says it will livestream the firing squad execution of Nidal Hasan at Fort Hood, the site of his 2009 mass shooting. That would be the first public execution in the U.S. since the 1930s.
A detainee boards a deportation flight on GlobalX Air in Minnesota in December 2025. Photo by Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune via Getty Images hide caption
October 9, 2026 • The Trump administration's effort to return Ahmed Soliman to the U.S. come after an Arizona judge said his deportation violated due process.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores wave after his swearing-in ceremony for a third term at the National Assembly in Caracas, Venezuela, on Jan. 10, 2025. Ariana Cubillos/AP hide caption
October 8, 2026 • U.S. authorities added new torture charges to their case against former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, ramping up pressure on the ousted authoritarian leader already fighting drug trafficking allegations.
A police officer monitors video surveillance in the real-time crime center at the Irvine Police Department in California in 2024. It's unclear whether Irvine uses Axon Fusus surveillance software or another software in its crime center. Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images hide caption
October 8, 2026 • Real-time crime-center software is a sometimes overlooked but powerful tool allowing police to aggregate immense amounts of data, significantly expanding their surveillance reach.
A memorial to the victims of the Fort Hood shooting, pictured in November 2009, outside the apartment complex where Hasan lived. Eli Kaplan/Getty Images hide caption
October 7, 2026 • The Pentagon says Nidal Hasan will be executed by firing squad in December at Fort Hood, where he killed 13 people in 2009. The announcement came days after a botched lethal injection in Tennessee.
Grave markers for Black boys that died while at the House of Reformation in Cheltenham, Md., in the forested area adjacent to the Maryland Veterans Cemetery. Tyrone Turner/WAMU for NPR hide caption
October 7, 2026 • Researchers uncovered the graves of more than 1,000 children next to juvenile detention facilities in 29 states. At one Maryland gravesite, 230 Black boys are buried.
This image provided by U.S. Department of Justice, and contained in a court filing, shows gold bars and cash that was seized from a David J. Rush's home, during a search on May 19, 2026, in Ashburn, Va. U.S. Dept. of Justice via AP hide caption
October 7, 2026 • A former senior CIA official pleaded guilty Tuesday to a charge that he abused his position to enrich himself by acquiring Florida real estate and hundreds of gold bars worth over $40 million.
Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates has been tapped to lead an independent investigation into how Cornell University handled the rape allegations of a former student. Here, Yates speaks at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., in 2017. Steven Senne/AP hide caption
October 6, 2026 • Cornell University names Sally Yates, former acting U.S. attorney general and career federal prosecutor, to lead an independent review into how the school handled a former student's rape allegations.
A demonstrator waves a "Protect Free Speech" sign following a protest against the suspension of the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show, held near the theater where the show is produced in Hollywood, on September 22, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Mario Tama/Getty Images North America hide caption
October 6, 2026 • President Trump has repeatedly called for Disney's ABC to fire late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel, for mocking him. Trump has also routinely denounced ABC's The View , accusing it of being unfair.
FBI Director Kash Patel testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in September 2026 in Washington, D.C. Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption
October 6, 2026 • The cuts come as a consequence of President Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel's focus on violent crime and immigration, leaving other priorities understaffed.
People wait in line to enter the U.S. Supreme Court Building on October 05, 2026 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court reconvenes today for the 2026-2027 legislative cycle, and is expected to rule on a slew of cases in upcoming weeks. Finn Gomez/Getty Images hide caption
October 5, 2026 • The Supreme Court began a new term on Monday. The signature feature of the Trump presidency has been an effort to expand his own power as the executive and test his constitutional limits. So, it's not surprising that a lot of his agenda has wound up before the Supreme Court.
