• Jeffrey Epstein is found dead in his cell in New York’s Metropolitan Correctional Center. 

• The financier was awaiting trial for the alleged sexual abuse of girls.

• Attorney General William Barr asks the FBI to open an additional investigation into Epstein’s death and says there were “serious irregularities” at the federal jail in Manhattan where Epstein was located

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• Following protests, Puerto Rico’s Governor, Ricardo Rosselló, announces he will resign.

• The protests began after messages were leaked that showed Rosselló joking about Hurricane Maria casualties and using sexist, homophobic and violent language when describing political rivalries.

• The scandal, along with Puerto Rico’s bankruptcy and botched response to Hurricane Maria, pushed Puerto Ricans to protest for 12 days. 

The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, rules partisan gerrymandering cases are "beyond the reach of the federal courts.” Gerrymandering, which is the drawing of districts to benefit a party during elections, has been a target of voting-rights activists. The ruling, which focused on two specific cases, concludes that federal courts do not have the authority to appropriately decide when politics play too big a role in drawing election maps

Alabama Governor Kay Ivey signs a bill into law that bans abortion in nearly all instances. Alabama's outright ban on abortion is a step further than the "Heartbeat bills" passed by other conservative states this year  

The full 448 page Mueller Report is released with some portions redacted. It does not accuse the Trump campaign of conspiring with Russia to influence the 2016. It does, however, lay out moments Trump may have committed obstruction of justice crimes but avoids charging the president 

The Ethiopian Airlines flight crew followed procedures but could not stop Boeing plane from malfunctioning, says Ethiopian Transport Minister Dagmawit Moges

Attorney General William Barr makes public a summary of his key takeaways from Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report on Russian interference in the 2016 election. According to Barr, Mueller found no evidence of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia. Mueller did not, however, "draw a conclusion" as to whether Trump committed obstruction of justice. Therefore, Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein made the decision themselves, deciding the evidence did not rise to the level of obstruction

Following most other countries, Trump grounds the Boeing 737 Max 8 and 9 planes. The safety of the model was questioned after two Boeing 737 jets were involved in deadly crashes. Trump was criticized for not immediately halting the Boeing planes

Federal prosecutors charge more than 50 people involved in a scheme, spanning eight years from 2011-2019, to cheat the college admissions process. Wealthy parents paid large sums to a dirty college admissions prep company, called "The Key," to secure their child's acceptance to a dream school. Those charged include actresses Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin. In total, the scandal involved 750 families

Multiple countries ground the Boeing 737 Max 8 jet because of safety concerns following multiple deadly crashes. As more and more countries halt the U.S.-made 737, Trump holds off from preventing the jet from flying in the U.S.  

In corresponding moves, Trump signs a bipartisan spending bill that includes only a portion of the funding for the wall that he asked for and declares a national emergency in bid to scrape together money to complete the project

Amazon recently announced plans to build a major headquarters in Queens, New York that would have brought an estimated 25,000 jobs to the city. However, New York progressives, led by freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, protested the deal, citing concerns about gentrification and arguing that the tax incentive package Amazon received was unfair. In response, Amazon decides it will not move forward with the HQ plans

A racist medical school yearbook photo of Virginia Governor Ralph Northam emerges showing two people in blackface and one also wearing a KKK robe. Northam flip flops on admitting to being in photo and eventually issues a formal video apology but does not commit to resigning. Shortly thereafter, Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax is accused of sexual assault and the Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says that he, too, wore blackface in the 1980s

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court temporarily prevents a restrictive abortion law from going into effect. The law would have likely left the state with only one abortion provider. The Supreme Court will likely take up a formal challenge to the law during its next term which starts later this year

President Trump delivers the annual State of the Union. In the speech, Trump heralds what he believes is an American “economic miracle" and calls for unity. While striking a conciliatory tone at moments, Trump does not back down from his hard-line immigration stance and support for a border wall

Trump signs bill to reopen government for three weeks without funding for his border wall. The shutdown was the longest in U.S. history

The government shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history as it enters its 22nd day

On the 13th day of the government shutdown, the 116th Congress convenes for the first time. Democrats assume control of the House of representatives and Nancy Pelosi regains her position as speaker of the House