Friday, August 7, 2026
The west front of the U.S. Capitol. The Protected Time Off Act, pending in Congress, would guarantee full-time workers two weeks of paid annual leave. Photo: Architect of the Capitol (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

US workers average 10 paid vacation days a year, and 33 million get none

Twenty-five OECD countries require employers to provide at least 20 days. The US legal minimum is zero, and 57 percent of the lowest-paid tenth of workers get no vacation at all.
The E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse in Washington, home of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where Judge Amit Mehta issued the order. Photo: AgnosticPreachersKid (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Judge dismisses the last January 6 case, writing that absolving the Oath Keepers is...

The Justice Department told the court a retrial would harass eight men whose sentences Trump had already commuted. Two Oath Keepers who pleaded guilty and cooperated keep their convictions.
Electronic Benefit Transfer cards issued by several states for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Photo: United States Department of Agriculture (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

How new SNAP restrictions could hit Greater Pittsburgh’s food access and economy

Nearly 14,000 people in one Pittsburgh-area county could lose a benefit that’s long been considered one of the country’s most effective anti-poverty tools.
Todd Blanche, sworn in as deputy attorney general in 2025, has led the Justice Department in an acting capacity since April. Photo: Ryan M. Biller, U.S. Department of Justice (public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

Senate panel to vote on Blanche for attorney general after he shuts down $1.776...

Two Republican senators who had blocked the nomination demanded the fund be killed in writing. A second order narrows the tax settlement that created it.
The Michigan State Capitol in Lansing. Photo: w_lemay / CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

El-Sayed wins Michigan Senate primary after AIPAC’s super PAC spends a record $30.6 million

Outside groups supplied 88 percent of the money spent on the Democratic side of a contest AdImpact ranks as the third most expensive Senate primary in US history.
The Texas State Capitol in Austin. Photo: Larry D. Moore / CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

James Talarico Accused Ken Paxton of Voter Fraud. His Own Voter Registration Is Raising...

ProPublica and The Texas Tribune’s review of the Democratic Senate candidate’s residency records found that he may have voted in up to five elections using an address where he no longer lived.
An oil refinery at Anacortes, Washington. Photo: Walter Siegmund / CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Oil shortages escalate from wars in Iran and Ukraine, with few signs of relief

Cooking gas and diesel fuel are among the oil products whose supply levels have been affected already. Here’s why to expect long-term shortages.
About three in ten workers say they use AI at work at least weekly. Photo: Unsplash (CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Two-thirds of US workers expect AI to make their jobs worse, Ipsos survey finds

Use of the tools is concentrated among college graduates and six-figure earners. Six percent of workers said they expect workers to be the main beneficiaries.
Portrait of Nicolás Maduro in a dark suit and striped tie

Trump announces capture of Maduro after U.S. military strikes on Venezuela, prompting congressional war...

As the captured Venezuelan leader was flown to New York to face federal charges, Senate Democrats moved to check what they called an unauthorized march toward another open-ended war.
The west front of the United States Capitol building

Congress leaves Washington without a healthcare deal as subsidy deadlines and FY2026 funding fight...

Lawmakers head into the new year with enhanced ACA tax credits already lapsed and a Jan. 30 government funding deadline still unresolved.