US politics

US politics

The woman's cries echo down the hallway, shattering the usual silence of a courtroom. Her four-year-old daughter joins in, beginning to cry in her father's arms as the family is surrounded by half a dozen masked agents. The only other sounds are the whispers of volunteers, who are quickly trying to identify the family about to be detained, and the cameras of journalists witnessing the scene. It's impossible to hear what the immigration officials are saying to the Venezuelan couple, as they are cornered.

A small street that runs parallel to the Vietnam War Memorial in Westminster will soon bear a new name - Charlie Kirk Way. During a heated meeting rife with accusations of partisan politics and debate over the role of local government, leaders in the Orange County city voted 4 to 1 Wednesday to partially rename All American Way for the slain conservative activist. Kirk's name will appear in 3-inch font below the official street name.

Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum.

Chuck Schumer couldn't hold his senators together at a time when their unity and toughness were essential. And at a time when they were winning: most of the public was blaming Republicans for the shutdown, and pressure was growing to reopen the government (flight delays were mounting). Does this mean Schumer should go? Yes. But the issue runs deeper. There's a fundamental asymmetry at the heart of American politics. Democrats are undisciplined. Republicans are regimented.

Fifteen years after a landmark Supreme Court case turbocharged corporate spending in the political process, a group hopes it may have a way to finally rein in some of the outsized influence of the ultrawealthy. The 2010 ruling on Citizens United opened the floodgates of political spending in elections. Every year since then, untraceable financial political contributions, largely from corporations and wealthy individuals, have increased dramatically.