Politics

A vehicle-mounted Active Denial System, the U.S. military's directed-energy "heat ray," in an Air Force photograph from 2007.

Pentagon lends its "heat ray" to Homeland Security for seven months of testing at the southern border

A Brazilian UE2020 electronic voting machine, in a 2021 handout image from the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral (Superior Electoral Court). The presidential runoff is on Sunday, 25 October.

Brazil Elections 2026

Brazil's final presidential debate ends with an apology for a "nine fingers" jab and 2h30 of corruption charges

The west facade of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., at dusk, in 2011.

Supreme Court lets New Hampshire turn away student IDs at the polls, 12 days before the midterms

The west facade of the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., at dusk, photographed in 2011.

Supreme Court refuses, 7-2, to let the Bureau of Prisons cut off hormone therapy for transgender inmates

The UE2020 electronic voting machine, presented by Brazil's Tribunal Superior Eleitoral in 2021; the runoff is on Sunday.

Brazil elections 2026

Brazil's final presidential debate is set for Friday, two days before a runoff PoderData puts at 51% to 49%

The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the agency's headquarters in Washington, in March 2026.

Midterm elections

Justice Department asks a judge to set aside 20,000 California ballots, and Los Angeles County says the list is unreliable

The headquarters of the Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Brazil's Superior Electoral Court, in Brasília, opened in December 2011.

Brazil's 2026 election

Lula's campaign asks Brazil's electoral court to strike Flávio Bolsonaro's ticket off the ballot

The Federal Legislative Palace, seat of Venezuela's National Assembly, facing Plaza Bolívar in Caracas, in 2011.

Venezuela's opposition negotiator hopes for a presidential election "at least by the end of next year"

White House staff, among them special envoy Steve Witkoff, pose for photos in the Rose Garden in May 2025. Witkoff was meeting Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg when Stephen Hubbard was released.

United States and Russia

Russia frees Stephen Hubbard, the last American it held as wrongfully detained, and Trump says no swap was needed

The Palácio do Itamaraty, seat of Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Brasília, in 2020.

Brazil election 2026

Brazil accuses Milei of trying to interfere in its election, four days before the runoff

Demonstrators march in the rain during the first No Kings protest, in Manhattan, New York, in June 2025.

Midterm elections

No Kings turns its protest machine into an early-voting drive before the November 3 midterms

An aerial view of the Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (Cecot) in Tecoluca, El Salvador, in an image released by the Salvadoran presidency in 2023.

Regional security

Costa Rica and El Salvador agree to cooperate against transnational crime after Fernández tours the Cecot

Brazil Elections 2026

Brazil's electoral court unanimously upholds order barring Meta from throttling candidates' posts, under a R$ 500,000 daily fine

The facade of the Palácio do Planalto in Brasília in April 2020. The office at stake in the 25 October runoff sits inside the building.

Lula backs lowering the age of criminal responsibility to 16 for heinous crimes as Flávio Bolsonaro calls his father's conviction a "sham"

Plaza Murillo in La Paz, with the government palace and, behind it, the Casa Grande del Pueblo building, in 2022.

Chile and Bolivia

Chile and Bolivia agree to work toward restoring diplomatic relations in first state visit by a Chilean president in 71 years

Demolition of the White House East Wing in Washington on October 22, 2025. The ballroom is being built on the cleared site.

Apple and Nvidia each gave $25 million to Trump's White House ballroom, on a donor list that adds up to $333 million

María Corina Machado at a press conference at the Valencia Bar Association in Venezuela, in October 2023.

Machado says Washington shut her out of the Caracas talks, and vows to return to Venezuela

The Executive Tower at the Arizona State Capitol complex in Phoenix, in December 2023. Arizona's secretary of state said his office was evacuated on October 15, 2026, after a letter with white powder arrived.

Election security

More than 100 suspicious letters were mailed to election offices and members of Congress, 18 days before the midterms

The Robert F. Kennedy Department of Justice Building, the headquarters of the U.S. Justice Department, in Washington, D.C., in 2026.

Midterm elections

The Justice Department sues California to keep 20,000 mail ballots uncounted, 19 days before the midterms

The west facade of the Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C., at dusk in 2011.

Supreme Court lets party committees keep the candidate discount on TV ads through the midterms