Hi, Friends—

A few weeks ago, I posted an advocation on Facebook for remaining aware and engaged with what’s happening in the political world in order for all of us to be better citizens. A friend or two asked how to do that while avoiding panic attacks — a fair question!

And then, while I was on vacation last week, a whole heckuva lotta news happened. I spent part of my time summarizing the historic events for my kids so that they could stay informed. And I wondered if that might be helpful for others. So without further prattle, I present:

Jeff’s Notes: A Brief History of the Past 24 Hours in US Politics

– The government announced that a complicated prisoner swap with Russia (and a few other countries) will result in three long-detained Americans (journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, and former Marine Paul Whelan) being sent back home. LINK

– The Democratic National Committee has begun a roll-call vote of state electors to solidify VP Kamala Harris as their official candidate. The vote should be completed by Monday — and people anticipate an official announcement of Harris’ running mate at that time, too. LINK

– This is slightly older than 24 hours, but as this is the first time I’m posting one of these, I’m going to go with it: Yesterday, former President Trump had a sit-down Q&A at the National Association of Black Journalists convention in Chicago. Right from the start, it didn’t go well, with the former President questioning his opponent’s Black identity, claiming he’s been the best President for Blacks since Abraham Lincoln, and dodging questions like whether or not running mate J.D. Vance would be ready to assume the presidency, if necessary. LINK