Politics and views in the United States

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

We don't have the votes either to proceed, get on a talking filibuster, nor to sustain one if we got on it.

That is just a function of math, and there isn't anything I can do about that.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says there's not enough support for changing to a talking filibuster to pass the SAVE Act.

That legislation would require people to provide proof of citizenship when voting or registering.

President Donald Trump says he won't sign any other law until it's passed, but it's being blocked by Senate Democrats.

To get past that, some close Trump allies want to require continuous speeches during a filibuster, but Thune and others have been resistant to changing those rules.

Voters in northwest Georgia are picking a replacement for former Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, who turned Trump critic after meeting with victims of dead sex offender and Trump associate Jeffrey Epstein.

Republican Clayton Fuller has Trump's endorsement and looks likely to win a coming runoff.

Mississippi Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson is facing a generational primary challenge from former Senate aide Evan Turnage.

They support similar policies, but Turnage is less than half Thompson's age.

The Pentagon says the U.S. has struck 16 Iranian mine-laying vessels as blocked oil shipments have spooked markets.

Trump and administration officials continue to give mixed messages on the war's purpose and possible duration.

Monday, the president said it might end sooner than the predicted four-to-five-week estimate.

U.S. service members have been killed and more than 140 wounded so far in the war.

One of those killed was 26-year-old Sergeant Benjamin Pennington of eastern Kentucky, hit when Iran attacked the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia.

Keith Tall is a county official from the sergeant's Appalachian home.

He says Pennington came from a good family, was service-minded, and had always wanted to be a soldier.

"I've communicated with the father, Tim Pennington.

I've known him for over 30 years.

They are heartbroken."

The Democratic National Committee is suing the administration to force it to turn over any plans for deploying federal law enforcement or troops to polling places on Election Day.

The lawsuit alleges officials have repeatedly refused to comply with legal demands for information.

Residents of a Michigan town are voicing opposition to plans to lease office space to ICE lawyers.

The office would house attorneys who represent the federal government in immigration proceedings.

But Cameron Fink, with the Southfield Neighbor Action Committee, says residents don't want any ICE presence, even lawyers.

"The lawyers who are doing the bureaucratic work that decide the legal size for a cage for a child or for an adult and when they can arrest people, what third countries they can deport them to, we feel like those are also equally wrong."

Supporters of ICE argue the detention facilities and the legal questions surrounding them are a normal and necessary part of the federal immigration system.

An NBC News poll finds nearly half of Americans have an unfavorable view of AI, while a bit more than a quarter have a favorable view.

Critics say it'll disrupt job markets, have environmental impacts, and undermine human creativity.

I'm Zamone Perez for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.