June 9

Election deadline: Maine Primary Election 2026

Voting for Maine Primary Election 2026 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. Senate; U.S. House (2 seats); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

Election deadline: North Dakota Primary Election 2026

Voting for North Dakota Primary Election 2026 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. House (1 seat); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

Election deadline: South Carolina Primary Election 2026

Voting for South Carolina Primary Election 2026 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. Senate; U.S. House (7 seats); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

Election deadline: Nevada Primary Election 2026

Voting for Nevada Primary Election 2026 occurs on this date. Offices on ballot: U.S. House (4 seats); Governor; State Legislature. See the linked election record for registration, early voting, and mail ballot deadlines.

OMB targets NIH with an $18B cut while NSF loses half its budget

The Office of Management and Budget released reconciliation instructions targeting the National Institutes of Health with an $18 billion funding reduction and the National Science Foundation with a 50 percent budget cut, eliminating thousands of active research grants. NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya announced the cuts would terminate approximately 3,400 ongoing studies. Scientific organizations warned the cuts would end American leadership in biomedical and basic science research.

Special Counsel Smith indicts Trump on 37 counts for Mar-a-Lago classified documents

Special Counsel Jack Smith indicts former President Donald Trump on 37 federal counts related to his retention of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago and alleged obstruction of the government's efforts to recover them. The indictment charges that Trump retained sensitive military and national security documents including information about nuclear weapons programs and U.S. vulnerabilities to attack, showed classified information to visitors, and directed his aide Walt Nauta to move boxes to conceal them from investigators. Trump pleads not guilty. The case, combined with his August 2023 indictment on January 6-related charges, makes Trump the most indicted presidential candidate in U.S. history.

Iran enriches uranium to 60% purity

Iran announces it is now enriching uranium to 60% purity, dangerously close to the 90% weapons-grade threshold. IAEA confirms the enrichment milestone. Iranian officials state the decision is a response to IAEA pressure and Western sanctions. At this level, Iran has accumulated material that, with further processing, could produce multiple nuclear weapons within weeks.

Jan. 6 committee holds first primetime hearing with Capitol police testimony and Ivanka Trump clip

The House Select Committee investigating January 6 holds its first primetime televised hearing, broadcast on every major network except Fox News. The hearing opens with never-before-seen footage of the Capitol attack and features testimony from Capitol Police Officer Caroline Edwards, who was injured on the front line. The committee shows a videotaped deposition of Ivanka Trump saying she accepted Attorney General Bill Barr's conclusion that there was no widespread fraud in the 2020 election. Committee chair Bennie Thompson and vice chair Liz Cheney deliver opening statements framing the hearings as documenting Trump's "attempted coup." An estimated 20 million people watch.

Senate Republicans filibuster For the People Act, blocking sweeping voting rights expansion

Senate Republicans filibuster S.1, the For the People Act, on a 50-50 vote that falls 10 short of the 60 needed to break a filibuster. The bill would have created automatic voter registration, established independent redistricting commissions in all states, set new standards for campaign finance disclosure, and restored voting rights to people who have completed their sentences. Manchin and Sinema also oppose eliminating the filibuster to pass voting rights legislation, leaving the bill dead. The failure is a major defeat for Biden and voting rights advocates who had rallied around the legislation as a response to Republican state-level restrictions post-Shelby County.

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Supreme Court upholds the Fairness Doctrine in Red Lion v. FCC

The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously upholds the FCC Fairness Doctrine in Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC. Justice Byron White writes that broadcasters'' First Amendment rights are not absolute because they use the public spectrum — a finite resource — under government license. The Court rules the FCC can require balanced coverage as a condition of holding a broadcast license. This ruling gives the Fairness Doctrine constitutional standing and signals to future administrations that license-based content pressure survives First Amendment challenges. The scarcity rationale — that the government owns the airwaves and can attach conditions to their use — becomes the precedent invoked whenever officials threaten to revoke broadcast licenses over editorial decisions.