President Biden will head to Chicago to participate in a political reception. He is heading to the Democratic stronghold amid signs that some House members representing suburban Chicago districts may be facing more competitive than expected reelection battles.

The twice-yearly clock switch might come to an end for good if Congress passes the Sunshine Protection Act, making daylight saving time permanent in 2023. Supporters of the bill argue it will reduce crime, encourage kids to play outside and lower the risk of heart attacks and car accidents. However, some health experts believe a shift would misalign our bodies’ circadian rhythm. 

The refrain of Biden’s presidency — this promise that things will get better — is butting up against his own dire political projections: A Congress potentially controlled by what he’s labeled “ultra-MAGA” Republicans as he faces midterm elections that will define, and quite possibly stifle, the next two years of his term.

The district attorney’s remarks come as the gruesome attack on the husband of the House speaker is being mocked and dismissed in conservative, far-right social media, even among some Republicans leaders and those at the highest levels of social power. San Francisco’s police chief has also said the attack was targeted.

Those shouts were a chilling echo of the chants during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the Capitol, when rioters trying to stop Joe Biden’s election searched menacingly through the halls for the speaker.

Democrats have held both chambers of Congress and the presidency for the last two years, but they may not have such consolidated power for much longer. A look at control of Congress and what will happen if Republicans win a majority in either chamber in the election. 

The House Jan. 6 committee has subpoenaed Donald Trump for his testimony about the 2021 Capitol attack. The panel voted unanimously to compel the former president to appear. “We must seek the testimony under oath of January 6th’s central player,” said Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee’s vice chair.

The panel — comprised of seven Democrats and two Republicans — has not yet provided an agenda, but Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said recently that the hearing would “tell the story about a key element of Donald Trump’s plot to overturn the election.”

The effort comes after the numerous revelations of a fake elector scheme leading up to the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, and as election deniers in many races aim to win positions of power.

Monday’s session also is the first time new Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the court’s first Black female justice, will participate in arguments. And the public is back for the first time since the court closed in March 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The legislation would clarify and expand parts of the 1887 Electoral Count Act, which, along with the Constitution, governs how states and Congress certify electors and declare presidential winners. 

With the most intense period of campaigning only just beginning, Democrats have already invested more than an estimated $124 million this year in television advertising referencing abortion. That’s almost 20 times more than Democrats spent on abortion-related ads in the 2018 midterms.

House lawmakers heard testimony Wednesday on barriers workers say they face to organizing, and what pro-business groups and Republicans in Congress call Democratic overreach.

Abortion, which has long been a flashpoint in American politics, has once again taken center stage for both political parties. As the midterm election nears, the abortion issue is very likely to become a driving force in organizing and activism — on both sides. 

President Joe Biden has faced pressure from liberals to provide broader relief to hard-hit borrowers, and from moderates and Republicans questioning the fairness of any widespread forgiveness. 

Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, is rejecting criticism of a visit to Taiwan by a congressional delegation led by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week.