Politics

Just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a key part of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, North Carolina has a new law to require photo ID at the polls and to shorten early voting. Proponents say the law will stave off voter fraud. Opponents say it will effectively quash the vote of many poor minorities.

Some GOP lawmakers want to block all money for Obamacare in a stopgap spending bill that must be approved next month to prevent the government from shutting down on Oct. 1. But other Republicans say that won't work and may well backfire.

Former Illinois Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Wednesday. Jackson had pleaded guilty to spending $750,000 in campaign funds for personal use. Jackson's wife Sandi received a one year sentence for her role in the scheme.

Watch C-SPAN long enough and you'll see members of Congress using big visual aids, known by Capitol insiders as floor charts. We explore where the charts come from and how they've become an essential part of congressional messaging. (This piece originally aired on Morning Edition on July 23.)

The U.S. Postal Service lost some $16 billion last year and continues to bleed red ink. Congress has been unable to agree on a plan to turn things around. The latest proposal would allow the post office to end Saturday delivery in a year, and enable it to ship wine and beer.

In the summer of 2009, protests of the president's health care agenda boiled over in town hall meetings around the country — marking the rise of the Tea Party movement. Now, groups from all over the political spectrum are hoping to recapture some of that energy.

Eric Holder, the nation's top law enforcement officer, is calling for a sea change in the criminal justice system. The attorney general is joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers who want to overhaul prison sentencing policies.

Voters in New Jersey go to the polls next week in a special primary election for a U.S. Senate seat. No one on the ballot has more name recognition than the Newark mayor, considered a Democratic rising star. But Booker's critics say he's been more focused on his ambitions than on governing.

Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Dave Camp skip much of Washington's formality when they're out traveling the country to try to drum up support for simplifying the tax code. They want to convince Americans — and their colleagues in Congress — that it's possible, and worth it.