Several Republican senators challenged the credibility of the testimony of a former Biden Justice Department official during the second day of the Todd Blanche confirmation hearing, pointing to the part she played in the clemency granted to 37 death row inmates. Democrats called Elizabeth Oyer, the former U.S. pardon attorney at the Department of Justice, a nonpolitical position she served from April 2022 until March 2025 when then-Deputy...

Amy Acton, the Democratic nominee for governor of Ohio, is facing backlash from Republican rival Vivek Ramaswamy after claiming COVID-19 mortality rates had been as high as 50% in the early days of the 2020 pandemic. Acton highlighted the figure as evidence of her effective leadership as director of the Ohio Department of Health on a podcast appearance in September. “In those early days, the mortality rate was...

New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill is taking heat after state flag status records showed flags at full-staff despite a White House proclamation directing U.S. flags flown at half-staff nationwide in remembrance of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., through Saturday evening. “This is probably the most political [Trenton administration], and she’s only been there six months — probably the most political governor I’ve served with in the last...