Droughts that cause leaves to turn brown and wither before they can reach peak color. Heat waves prompting leaves to fall before autumn even arrives. Extreme weather events like hurricanes that strip trees of their leaves altogether.

The most closely watched attempt by Republicans to examine the 2020 presidential election in a battleground state lost by former President Donald Trump is coming to an embarrassing end in Arizona, but their efforts are cranking up elsewhere.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom ably fended off a recall attempt from Republicans on Tuesday, changing the stakes of the contest from a referendum on his own performance and into a partisan fight over Trumpism and the coronavirus.

The California recall election that could remove first-term Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom from office wraps up Tuesday.

Georgia's secretary of state is moving forward with a study of the effectiveness of the signature verification process the state used for absentee ballots until it was replaced by new identification requirements this year.

General Sessions Court Judge Alex McVeagh, the sitting Division II judge in Hamilton County, announced Tuesday he will seek re-election in 2022.

The Georgia State Board of Elections plans to appoint a review panel this week as part of a process that could lead to a takeover of elections in the state's most populous county under a provision in the state's sweeping new election law.

The aftermath of the 2020 election put an intense spotlight on voting machines as supporters of former President Donald Trump claimed victory was stolen from him.

Veteran Matt Adams announced his campaign for Tennessee's Third District congressional seat this week, promoting clean energy and a stronger economy.

Voters in parts of Hamilton County go to the polls Tuesday, where local officials project low turnout in the Tennessee House District 29 special primary election - with neither Republican Greg Vital nor Democrat DeAngelo Jelks facing opposition in their respective party primaries.

Candidates are slowly starting to file paperwork for the more than three dozen Hamilton County elected positions on the ballot in 2022.

Depending on whom you ask, skyrocketing Atlanta crime has people afraid to leave their homes or the city is experiencing an uptick in violence that's not unlike what's occurring in major cities across the country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is reporting he hauled in $684,900 in campaign cash during the first half of this year for his 2022 re-election effort.

Retired Army Sgt. Kenneth Paschal on Tuesday was elected to fill a legislative seat in suburban Shelby County, becoming the only Black Republican in the Alabama Legislature.

President Joe Biden declared preserving voting rights an urgent national "test of our time" on Tuesday but offered few concrete proposals to meet it.

A licensed minister, motivational speaker and civil and human rights activist has set his eye on the Alabama Governor's mansion.

A former campaign staffer took over former Chattanooga mayoral candidate Monty Bruell's campaign social media account, using it to accuse Bruell of stiffing her and other staffers for work done during his 2021 campaign.

Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams appeared to take a fragile lead Tuesday in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, but it could be weeks before it becomes clear who is actually on top in the first citywide election to use ranked choice voting.

Georgia's secretary of state is making public a list of nearly 102,000 voters who will be removed from the rolls unless they act to preserve their registration.

Democrat D'Angelo Jelks and Republican Greg Vital have qualified for the special election to replace the late Rep. Mike Carter in the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Georgia's secretary of state says his office is reviewing the handling of paperwork related to ballot drop boxes in the state's most populous county during last year's election.

Dr. Anthony Fauci fired back Wednesday at Republican critics, including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, calling some of the attacks on him "preposterous" and even "dangerous."

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday set a tough tone for his upcoming summit with U.S. President Joe Biden, accusing Washington of trying to contain Russia and citing its response to the deadly Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol as a manifestation of the West's double standards.