Opinion | Can the Left Regulate Sex?

Cultural progressives need to choose between using their new power for liberation or regulation.

What’s the Best Way to Protect Sex Workers? Depends on Whom You Ask.

There are two competing bills in New York: One would punish pimps and customers, while the other would decriminalize the entire trade.

Why Schumer Is Putting Pressure on the Infrastructure Deal

Our congressional reporter Emily Cochrane explains the latest legislative wrangling and its implications.

How Germany Hopes to Get the Edge in Driverless Technology

A new law allows autonomous vehicles in everyday use and provides legal consistency lacking in the United States.

‘Nobody Believed Me’: How Rape Cases Get Dropped

While the Me Too movement led to greater awareness about the prevalence of rape, prosecutors in New York City still struggle to prove sexual assault accusations.

Pushing Beyond Sex Assault, Gillibrand Faces Resistance to Military Bill

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York has spent years building support for a measure to remove commanders from decisions about prosecuting sex crimes, but some colleagues now worry it goes too far.

Lawmakers Grapple With Nagging Infrastructure Detail: How to Pay for It

Democratic leaders want a Senate vote on a major infrastructure bill as soon as next week, but Republicans are struggling to deliver the 10 votes needed to beat a filibuster.

Schumer Proposes Federal Decriminalization of Marijuana

Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, offered draft legislation to remove marijuana from the list of controlled substances and begin regulating and taxing it.

BioBonds Would Use Wall St. Tools to Fund Medical Research

Karen Petrou invented a new funding model for curing blindness. Proposed legislation aims to apply it to medical research more generally.

Texas Democrats Weigh Options for Blocking Voting Bill, Including Flight

Some Democrats want to flee the state to deny Republicans a quorum and prevent a vote on stringent new restrictions on voting. Others want to fight on procedural grounds.

Biden Urges More Scrutiny of Big Businesses, Such as Tech Giants

An executive order reflects the administration’s growing embrace of warnings by some economists that declining competition is hobbling the economy’s vitality.

Biden Urges More Scrutiny of Big Businesses, Such as Tech Giants

An executive order reflects the administration’s growing embrace of warnings by some economists that declining competition is hobbling the economy’s vitality.

White House, Facing Voting Rights Defeats, Expands Investment

A $25 million Democratic National Committee initiative will seek to register voters and fight voter suppression, but it underscores Democrats’ challenges in their larger fight.

Texas Republicans Reveal Bills of Far-Reaching Voting Restrictions

In their second attempt to pass a sweeping elections overhaul, Republican lawmakers followed the broad outlines of the first, including a wide range of measures to limit voting access.

Abbott Opens Texas G.O.P.’s Push to Limit Voting and Reshape the State

Calling a special session of the Legislature, Gov. Greg Abbott commenced a fierce political clash as state Republicans seek to restrict voting, transgender rights and how schools teach about racism.

How G.O.P.-Backed Laws in Montana Could Hurt Native American Voting

Restrictions passed by the Republican-led Montana Legislature could have stark effects on Native American reservations, where voting in person can mean a two-hour drive.

Proving Racist Intent: Democrats Face High New Bar in Opposing Voting Laws

Democrats and voting rights groups say they can no longer count on the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, to serve as a backstop for preventing racially discriminatory voting restrictions.

After a Nightmare Year, Election Officials Are Quitting

The draining work of 2020 has spurred resignations and retirements. In a recent survey, one in three officials said they felt unsafe in the jobs.

House, Setting a Marker for Talks, Passes $715 Billion Infrastructure Bill

House Democrats loaded their infrastructure measure with climate change spending, staking out a contrast with the Senate’s bipartisan bill that President Biden has embraced.

Democrats Brace for a Narrower Path to Challenge New Voting Laws

The Supreme Court’s ruling on Thursday involving Arizona voting laws appeared to limit the options for voting rights groups to mount legal challenges to restrictive new measures being passed in Republican-controlled states.