We face greatest threat to voting rights of past half-century

Two years ago, President Barack Obama marked the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act with a White House summit on protecting and expanding the right to vote. As California's chief elections officer, I was invited to this significant event.

There’s no such thing as a Trump Democrat

If so, you may have taken interest in a new mythical creature that appeared during the 2016 election: the Trump Democrat. It has become an article of faith that an unusually large number of people who voted for Barack Obama in 2008 or 2012 switched sides and voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton.

Trump administration sides with Ohio on purging voter rolls

President Donald Trump's administration has reversed the government's position on a voter roll case before the U.S. Supreme Court and is now backing Ohio's method for purging voters. Ohio's system for removing inactive voters from the rolls does not violate the National Voter Registration Act, the Justice Department said Monday.

Jeff Flake Laments That the GOP Didn’t Stand Up to the Birther Movement

During an interview on NBC's Meet the Press , Flake said one of his regrets over the past few years is that the GOP didn't do enough to stem the tide of birtherism. Regarding the conspiracy theory that former President Barack Obama wasn't born in the United States, Flake told host Chuck Todd that this was an example of Republicans placing party over country.

Illinois Lawmakers Vote to Make ‘Barack Obama Day’ a State Holiday

While former President Barack Obama was celebrating his birthday on Friday, Republican Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner was signing a measure that will make his birthday, Aug. 4, a new state holiday beginning in 2018, The Hill reported. "Barack Obama Day" will be "observed throughout the state as a day set apart to honor the 44th President of the United States of America who began his career serving the People of Illinois in both the Illinois State Senate and the United States Senate, and dedicated his life to protecting the rights of Americans and building bridges across communities," the article explained.

Entrenched poverty tough to shake in the Mississippi Delta

Otibehia Allen is a single mother who lives in a rented mobile home in the same isolated, poor community where she grew up among the cotton and soybean fields of the Mississippi Delta. During a summer that feels like a sauna, the trailer's air conditioner has conked out.

Russia says Trumpa s new Ukraine envoy to visit Moscow

The Trump administration is sending its envoy for Ukraine negotiations to Moscow in a bid to make progress on the diplomatic crisis, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Sunday. After his first meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson since new American sanctions, Lavrov emerged with an upbeat assessment about the potential for finding common ground on Ukraine, Syria and other issues.

The Obamas celebrate the former presidenta s birthday over dinner at Rasika

Hey, isn't that a former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama, celebrating the ex-prez's 56th birthday on Friday at the chic West End Indian restaurant Rasika? The couple, who have a long history of b-day dinners at Washington's trendier establishments, sat in a private dining room, says a spy. Heels and a dress for her and "smart casual" for him, we're told.

Congress must prove its mettle this fall; it has no choice

Republicans have little to show for their first seven months of controlling the White House and Capitol Hill. The Senate sent Justice Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court, and Congress passed bills bolstering veterans' health programs and financing the Food and Drug Administration.

Israeli officials say under-fire McMaster a great friend of Israel

Source tells Israeli paper that security figures are 'constantly impressed by how pro-Israeli' the US national security adviser is despite criticism in US Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman meets with US National Security Adviser H. R. McMaster on May 22, 2017. Israeli officials responded to mounting allegations that US National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster is anti-Israel, saying that these were blatantly false and he was a staunch supporter of the Jewish state.

Michelle Obama sends birthday wishes to ‘phenomenal guy’ Barack Obama

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama arrive at the Inaugural Ball at the Walter Washington Convention Center, Jan. 21, 2013, in Washington. Former President Barack Obama turned 56 years old on Friday, and among the sea of birthday greetings posted on social media, two stood out: Tweets by former first lady Michelle Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden .

People Noticed Something Odd In the Garage Area of Obama Family’s New $5.3 Million Home

Barack Obama and his family may have left the White House, but their new digs aren't too shabby. The Obamas relocated into a multi-million dollar home in Washington, D.C., which is currently being renovated.