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Ballotpedia connects people with politics by changing the way they access the information they need to be informed about federal, state, and local politics. Our content includes neutral, accurate, and verifiable information on government officials and the offices they hold, political issues and public policy, elections, candidates, and the influencers of politics. Ballotpedia currently has over 288,000 encyclopedic articles and offers daily, weekly, and monthly email newsletters on a variety of specialized topics.

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U.S. Captures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Overnight Strike: What It Means for Washington

President of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro on November 21, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela.

(Photo by Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)

U.S. Captures Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Overnight Strike: What It Means for Washington

The United States carried out a “large‑scale strike” on Venezuela early Saturday, capturing President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, in a rapid military operation that lasted less than 30 minutes. President Donald Trump confirmed that the pair were “captured and flown out of the country” to face narco‑terrorism charges in U.S. courts.

Explosions and low‑flying aircraft were reported across Caracas as U.S. forces—identified by officials as Delta Force—hit multiple military and government sites. Venezuelan officials said civilians were killed, though the scale of casualties remains unclear.

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Meta Undermining Trust but Verify through Paid Links
Facebook launches voting resource tool
Facebook launches voting resource tool

Meta Undermining Trust but Verify through Paid Links

Facebook is testing limits on shared external links, which would become a paid feature through their Meta Verified program, which costs $14.99 per month.

This change solidifies that verification badges are now meaningless signifiers. Yet it wasn’t always so; the verified internet was built to support participation and trust. Beginning with Twitter’s verification program launched in 2009, a checkmark next to a username indicated that an account had been verified to represent a notable person or official account for a business. We could believe that an elected official or a brand name was who they said they were online. When Twitter Blue, and later X Premium, began to support paid blue checkmarks in November of 2022, the visual identification of verification became deceptive. Think Fake Eli Lilly accounts posting about free insulin and impersonation accounts for Elon Musk himself.

This week’s move by Meta echoes changes at Twitter/X, despite the significant evidence that it leaves information quality and user experience in a worse place than before. Despite what Facebook says, all this tells anyone is that you paid.

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The Fulcrum Opens Applications for 2026 Summer Journalism Fellowship

a person is writing into a notebook

The Fulcrum Opens Applications for 2026 Summer Journalism Fellowship

The Fulcrum is now accepting applications for its 2026 Fulcrum Fellowship, a 10‑week summer program designed to train the next generation of journalists in solutions‑focused reporting and narrative complexity. The fellowship will run from June 8 through August 14, 2026 and is part of The Fulcrum’s broader NextGen initiative, which aims to expand opportunities for emerging journalists across the country.

The Fulcrum Fellowship builds on the success of its inaugural cohort and reflects the organization’s commitment to nurturing young journalists who can move beyond polarized, one‑dimensional storytelling. The program helps storytellers illuminate not only the challenges facing democracy but also the responses and innovations happening in communities nationwide. Fellows learn to produce stories that counter oversimplified narratives and elevate underrepresented voices.

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Does either party actually want to win the Senate race in Texas?

US Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) speaks during an "Oversight and Government Reform" hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 12, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

(Alex Wroblewski/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Does either party actually want to win the Senate race in Texas?

One of the worst features of the election primary system in our polarized “Red vs. Blue” time is the tendency of primary voters to flock to the candidate they most want to “destroy” the other party, not the candidate best positioned to do so.

Let’s say a zombie is scratching at your door. You’ve got a shotgun, a handgun and your favorite frying pan. The shotgun has the greatest chance of success, the handgun — if one is careful and skilled — has a solid chance of working, and the frying pan? It probably won’t dispatch the threat but, come on, how cool would it be to take out a zombie with a frying pan? So, you go with that.

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