WASHINGTON—Lawmakers want to know what the president knew and when about a report that a Russian spy unit allegedly backed violence toward U.S. troops by Taliban militants in Afghanistan.

On Friday, The New York Times reported Russian spies offered bounties to the Taliban for killing coalition forces, including U.S. troops. The Times attributed the report to American intelligence officials who spoke anonymously.

WASHINGTON—The Trump administration’s top health officials trekked to Capitol Hill this week to answer tough questions about how they’ve handled the coronavirus crisis.

WASHINGTON—Lawmakers have filed bills to make sexual orientation and gender identity protected classes in the workplace during every session of Congress since 1994, but none have made it to a president’s desk. Now, as Justice Samuel Alito wrote in a dissenting opinion this week, the U.S. Supreme Court has done much of their job for them.

WASHINGTON—A day after George Floyd’s burial, his brother Philonise Floyd pleaded with congressional lawmakers to take action to decrease police violence against minorities. Dressed in all white and wearing a black mask, Floyd at times brushed back tears as he said his brother’s calls for help were ignored.

WASHINGTON—The Memorial Day killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked turmoil in the United States and outrage around the world, but authoritarian governments have seen it as something else: an opportunity.

China, Russia, Iran, and other countries have moved quickly to exploit the crisis to further their own interests, flooding the internet and state media front pages with statements, propaganda, and disinformation.

For 32-year-old Andy Rose, voting has never been more convenient. Rose is from Arkansas, but he moved to Seattle six years ago. Now, when he’s ready to vote, he simply fills out a ballot that is mailed to him. Rose has never even had to take it to a drop-off box or mail it back—because his wife does it for him.

“I actually appreciate mail-in voting,” he said. “It’s a lot easier.”

Members of Congress first proposed using an electronic switch to record their votes in the 1880s, but it took until 1973 for the House of Representatives to adopt the change. Once the coronavirus pandemic hit, however, it took just two months for House lawmakers to allow temporary proxy voting, one of the most significant changes to congressional voting procedures in U.S. history.