Voting reform blocked - Worker burnout recognized - Australia rebukes UN

All 50 Senate Democrats voted to advance the federal legislation and open debate on other competing voting bills. All 50 Republicans united to deny it the 60 votes needed to overcome the filibuster. For now, it will largely be left to the Justice Department to decide whether to challenge any of the state laws [restricting voting] in court.
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Democrats’ bill, which passed the House in March, would have ushered in the largest federally mandated expansion of voting rights since the 1960s, ended the practice of partisan gerrymandering of congressional districts, forced super PACs to disclose their big donors and created a new public campaign financing system.
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Liberal activists promised a well-funded summertime blitz to pressure the few Senate Democrats opposed to [removing the filibuster]. Without the rule there to force broad consensus, [moderate Democrat Kyrsten Sinema] argued Congress could swing wildly every two years between enacting and then reversing liberal and conservative agenda items.