Votes

Backed by Abigail Spanberger, the measure could boost Democrats and counter Donald Trump’s redistricting pushUS politics live – latest updatesVirginia voters will on Tuesday decide whether to adopt new congressional maps that could help Democrats win control of the House of Representatives and scuttle Donald Trump’s effort to use mid-decade redistricting to preserve Republican control of Congress.Polls show the referendum redrawing the maps has only a narrow lead in a state that Kamala Harris won two years ago. The issue appears to have engaged many voters, with nearly more than 1.37m ballots cast in early voting. Continue reading...

Eighth election in five years comes after government collapse in December, with stability and cost of living key issuesBulgarians are voting in the eighth parliamentary election in five years, with the clear frontrunner, the pro-Russian former president Rumen Radev, promising to stamp out corruption and end a succession of weak, short-lived governments.Radev, a Eurosceptic former fighter pilot who has opposed military support for Ukraine, stepped down from the presidency in January to run in the election, which comes after mass demonstrations forced out the previous government in December. Continue reading...

Measure passed 50-49 to overturn a 20-year ban on mining near renowned Boundary Waters Canoe Area WildernessThe US Senate narrowly voted on Thursday to overturn a ban on mining near Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, an enormous complex of interconnected lakes, rivers and forests that is among the most visited wild areas in the US.The resolution passed 50-49 to repeal a 20-year moratorium imposed by former president Joe Biden’s administration in 2023 on mining across the 225,000 acres in the Superior national forest. Continue reading...

Exclusive: Capital’s mayor warns people not to use next month’s elections as a referendum on Labour’s progressUK politics live – latest updatesSadiq Khan has said he can understand why some former Labour voters are “flirting” with other parties in the run-up to May’s elections, but said that they may regret seeing a Green or Reform-led council in their areas.Speaking to the Guardian at a youth centre, where he was announcing new funding for facilities for young people, the London mayor also cautioned Labour MPs against considering a challenge to Keir Starmer, saying such “navel gazing” would be punished by the electorate. Continue reading...

Liberals see chance to strengthen majority in state where Trump and allies could try to overturn election resultsWisconsin voters on Tuesday will select a state supreme court judge to replace an outgoing conservative in a race that could further solidify the liberal majority on the bench ahead of the midterms, when Trump and his allies could try to overturn election results again.Justice Rebecca Bradley, a conservative, is retiring, giving liberals a chance to further consolidate their hold on the high court ahead of the next presidential election, when the swing state is sure to see challenges to election results. Continue reading...

UN calls for reparatory justice as landmark resolution aims for ‘political recognition at the highest level’The United Nations has voted to describe the transatlantic chattel slave trade as the “gravest crime against humanity” and called for reparations as “a concrete step towards remedying historical wrongs”.The landmark resolution passed on Wednesday was backed by the African Union (AU) and the Caribbean Community (Caricom), and proposed by Ghana’s president, John Dramani Mahama, who said: “Let it be recorded that when history beckoned, we did what was right for the memory of millions who suffered the indignity of slavery.” Continue reading...

• The House of Representatives returns Tuesday, March 24, 2026, with the Rules Committee preparing floor votes on bills addressing safety in Washington, D.C., Department of Homeland Security funding, and vessel security. • Speaker Johnson has no plans to bring a clean extension of FISA Section 702 to the floor this week, as the surveillance provision faces expiration in mid-April. • These votes occur amid ongoing bipartisan efforts in the House Financial Services Committee to initiate bicameral conference negotiations on differing housing bills between chambers.

Calls for Pennsylvania senator – Trump’s ‘favorite Democrat’ – to resign after casting decisive committee voteDemocrats reacted with outrage to their party colleague John Fetterman’s decision to advance the nomination of Republican US senator Markwayne Mullin as homeland security secretary.Fetterman, the senior US senator from Pennsylvania, has in recent months broken with the party several times to support Republican proposals, and has routinely expressed staunch support for Israel. He cast the decisive committee vote on Thursday to advance Mullin’s nomination to succeed Kristi Noem as homeland security secretary. Continue reading...

Republicans block resolution to take up the measure, which Democrats vow to bring up ‘again and again and again’Sign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxSenate Republicans on Wednesday blocked a measure that aimed to reign in Donald Trump’s power to wage war against Iran without congressional authorization.The 53-47 vote against taking up the measure fell almost completely along party lines, with no movement from earlier this month when Republicans blocked Democrats’ bid to limit Trump’s war-making power in the days after the joint US-Israeli strikes, known as Operation Epic Fury, began across Iran. Continue reading...

MSPs reject bill after concerted campaign to block it and despite amendments intended to placate criticsThe Scottish parliament has voted against legalising assisted dying after critics and religious groups led a concerted campaign to block the measures.MSPs voted 69 to 57 to reject the proposals in a late night vote on Tuesday, despite a series of last-minute amendments designed to placate critics of the private member’s bill. Continue reading...

Prime minister Jonas Gahr Støre says connections have been proved between those in ‘trusted and central positions’ and late sex offenderThe Norwegian parliament has voted unanimously to appoint an independent investigative commission to look into connections between its foreign office and the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.Speaking before the vote on Tuesday, the prime minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, paid tribute to Epstein’s victims and said that the files released by the US Department of Justice had clearly shown “it is possible to buy and abuse influence if you are rich enough”. Continue reading...

Trustees approve Trump’s $257m ‘revitalization project’ to remake DC arts institution that president has taken overSign up for the Breaking News US email to get newsletter alerts in your inboxThe Kennedy Center board of trustees unanimously voted on Monday in favor of a controversial plan to temporarily shutter the arts institution for renovations, rubber-stamping a $257m project initiated by Donald Trump to remake the arts institution in line with other grand plans for Washington DC.In a statement, the center said it had voted for “a comprehensive revitalization project” lasting two years that would follow an Independence Day celebration in July with “a grand re-opening to follow”. Continue reading...

Ballots in 35,000 villages, towns and cities will be closely watched for signals about party strategies and alliancesFrance has begun voting in the first round of municipal elections, seen as crucial a test of the political temperature before next year’s presidential election.The vote for mayors and councillors in 35,000 villages, towns and cities across France is focused on local issues including security, housing and refuse collection and is very different from national elections. Continue reading...