
Attorney General Merrick Garland announces actions to protect voting rights
CBSN
In response to the weakening of the federal voting rights law by the Supreme Court in 2013, Attorney General Merrick Garland made a commitment to expand the Justice Department's efforts to protect voting rights, announcing a series of actions aimed at confronting state and local efforts that he said "will make it harder to vote."
"We are scrutinizing new laws that seek to curb voter access, and where we see violations of federal law, we will not hesitate to act," Garland said at a speech at the Justice Department Friday. "We are also scrutinizing current laws and practices, in order to determine whether they discriminate against Black voters and other voters of color." Since over a dozen states have passed new laws making it more difficult to vote, Garland pointed to some jurisdictions that, "based on disinformation, have utilized abnormal post-election audit methodologies that may put the integrity of the voting process at risk and undermine public confidence in our democracy."
Barry Morphew, a longtime suspect in his wife's disappearance and murder, was arrested in Arizona on June 20, 2025, two days after he was indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the case of his wife Suzanne Morphew's death. This was the second time Barry Morphew has been arrested and charged in her death. The initial charges were dismissed without prejudice, meaning authorities reserved the right to charge him again.