With Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff winning Senate seats in Georgia’s pivotal runoff elections, the U.S. Senate is now poised to become a 50-50 chamber. What does this mean for how the Senate will operate once the two Democrats’ victories are certified? Experts say there is no written roadmap that Senate leaders must follow. […]
The United States went more than two centuries without an organized breach of its Capitol before Jan. 6, when supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the building as Congress met to certify electoral votes. CNN hosts Wolf Blitzer and Erin Burnett aimed to put the unprecedented day of chaos in perspective by discussing a statement […]
After a day of rioting and tumult, after a woman was fatally shot inside the Capitol, after senators and representatives were driven from their chambers, Congress in the early hours of Jan. 7 affirmed that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were the duly elected president and vice president of the United States. Vice President Mike […]
Are Americans witnessing a coup? Before the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, the case was arguable, but not a slam dunk. After the Capitol was breached, the case became more clear cut, experts say. The questions stem from President Donald Trump’s reaction to losing the 2020 presidential election. Trump and his supporters […]
As President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration approaches, President Donald Trump’s longshot bid to overturn the results of the election he lost has focused heavily on Georgia, a state Biden won narrowly. It was the first time a Democratic presidential candidate won Georgia since 1992. Trump has spent weeks promoting false claims about the state’s election, despite […]
With the balance of power of the U.S. Senate up in the air, Americans will be watching the results of the two Senate runoff elections in Georgia closely Tuesday. Everyone — voters, reporters, candidates and political observers — should take lessons learned from past elections, including Nov. 3, about how to watch the results. Some […]
Just how effective President-elect Joe Biden will be in getting his policies enacted by Congress rests largely on the outcome of the Senate runoff races in Georgia. Georgia’s two Republican U.S. senators — David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler — are seeking to keep their seats and preserve the Republicans’ majority in the Senate. Democrats control […]
The 2020 presidential election cycle is almost over. After the voting, the counting, the legal challenges, and the casting of the electoral college votes in December, a joint session of Congress will formally count the electoral votes for president at 1 p.m. on Jan. 6. The final margin — 306 for Joe Biden and 232 […]
The 2020 election was more than two months ago, but everything will come to a head — yet again — on Jan. 6, 2021. That’s when Congress is to do its constitutionally prescribed — and in most years primarily ceremonial — task of opening and counting the Electoral College votes from each state. When that […]
U.S. Attorney Gregg Sofer is the latest official to link rising crime rates in Austin with the Austin City Council’s recent decision to cut police funding. On Dec. 18, Sofer stood at a podium before Austin’s press corps to announce that his office will be joining state efforts to combat violent crime in the capital — […]
PolitiFact entered 2020 by fact-checking claims about Australian wildfires and a virus outbreak in China. With an upcoming election, we assumed the year would be eventful, however, we had no idea just how many claims would fly our way in the coming months — and from every direction. Between an historic race for the White […]
In 2020, PolitiFact fact-checked hundreds of false and misleading claims on social media. Their variety reflects a year filled with crises, both real and fabricated. There were fake tweets about stay-at-home orders and misinformation about face masks. Out-of-context videos and conspiracy theories constructed a false narrative about widespread election fraud. Fake accounts and viral rumors […]