Laws passed in several Republican-controlled states after the 2020 presidential election have criminalized much of the work done by voter outreach groups. Advocates are finding it difficult to adapt as they try to register and educate potential voters with just months to go before this year's presidential election. In-person activities have been eliminated or severely cut back, and staffing has been reduced. Voting rights experts say it's another tactic to strip access to the ballot box, especially for minority voters, who mostly benefit from third-party voter registration.

Prosecutors and defense lawyers in Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial are set to deliver closing arguments. Each side wants to score final points with the jury Tuesday before it starts deliberating the fate of the first former American president charged with felony crimes. The arguments are expected to last the entire day. They'll give the attorneys one last chance to address the jury hearing the landmark case. After four weeks of testimony, the lawyers’ arguments set the stage for deliberations in the case charging Trump in connection with payments during the 2016 election to prevent a porn actor from going public with her claims of a sexual encounter. The Republican ex-president denies wrongdoing.

President Joe Biden is marking Memorial Day with a pledge that the country would continue the work of the nation’s fallen toward creating a more perfect union, “for which they lived, and for which they died for.” Delivering remarks at a solemn remembrance ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Biden says each generation must ensure the sacrifice of the country’s service members is not in vain. Says Biden: “Freedom has never been guaranteed. Every generation has to earn it, fight for it, defend it in the battle between autocracy and democracy, between the greed of a few, and the rights of many.” Before the ceremony began, Biden, joined by Vice President Kamala Harris and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, placed a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

Testimony in Donald Trump’s New York hush money trial is wrapped up after more than four weeks and nearly two dozen witnesses, meaning the case heads into the pivotal final stretch of closing arguments, jury deliberations and possibly a verdict. It’s impossible to say how long that all takes. But in a landmark trial that’s already featured its fair share of memorable moments, this week could be the most important. Starting Tuesday, prosecutors and defense lawyers will have their final opportunity to address the jury in closing arguments. Perhaps Wednesday, before the jury begins deliberations, the judge is expected to spend about an hour instructing the jury on the law governing the case.

Testimony is over at Donald Trump’s criminal trial in New York after a parade of 22 witnesses, including a porn actor, tabloid publisher and White House insiders. Prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers are scheduled to make their closing arguments on Tuesday. After that, it'll be up to 12 jurors to decide whether prosecutors have proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Trump illegally falsified records at his company as part of an effort to keep embarrassing stories from becoming public during his 2016 presidential campaign. He's pleaded not guilty. A conviction could come down to how the jurors interpret the testimony they heard and which witnesses they found credible.

Just 81,000 people live in rural Chatham County in North Carolina, where there are more than 1,000 farms. But life is changing. The new Wolfspeed factory that overlooks I-64 will soon produce advanced wafers for computer chips. Automaker Vinfast is scheduled to open a factory next year. Both projects stem in large part from incentives that President Joe Biden signed into law. The Democrat has campaigned on how his policies helped pump hundreds of billions of dollars in private and federal investment into companies. But so far this election year, the investments haven’t significantly swayed a public concerned about inflation.

President Joe Biden has told graduates of the U.S. Military Academy that their class is being called upon to tackle threats across the globe and preserve the country’s ideals at home “like none before.” That's the class motto, and Biden said in his commencement address Saturday that it was appropriate for the sorts of challenges the graduates will take as newly minted Army second lieutenants. He said those challenges range from supporting Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion to facilitating humanitarian assistance into Gaza. The president spoke before the graduating cadets took the their commissioning oaths. He reminded them that they were swearing fidelity not to a person or political party, but to the Constitution.