Welcome back to your weekly update on US politics, where North America bureau chief Jade Macmillan catches you up on the biggest developments in America as we hurtle towards election day in November.
For the first time since his supporters stormed the symbol of US democracy on January 6, 2021, Donald Trump has returned to Capitol Hill.
The former president held meetings with Republican members of Congress, in a visit that happened to coincide with a major decision being delivered down the road at the Supreme Court.
Two years after its bombshell move to overturn Roe vs Wade, ending the constitutional right of abortion, the court had been weighing a challenge to federal approvals for the drug mifepristone.
The pill is used in almost two-thirds of all abortions in the US, and restricting its access could have opened up another huge fight over reproductive rights just months out from the presidential election.
But in a unanimous decision, the justices preserved the status quo – upsetting anti-abortion campaigners, but perhaps coming as somewhatofa relief to Trump.
As the president responsible for appointing three of the conservative justices who overturned Roe, he's tried to walk a tightrope ever since it fell.
On the one hand, he claims credit for what was considered an enormous victory by many in his party.
On the other, he recognises the political risk around an issue that hasgalvanised many female voters, and given Democrats a powerful message to campaign on.
Trump reportedly used his closed-door meeting with House Republicans to encourage them todiscuss abortion "correctly" — that is, leave the matter to the states, rather than pursue a national ban, and support exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
The Supreme Court might have helped him to avoid another flashpoint on the issue so close to the election, but the issue of reproductive rights won't fade far from the national spotlight.
Another Supreme Court ruling looms on an Idaho case relating to emergency abortion care, whilepro-abortion advocates in several states are trying to get proposed protections onto the ballot when voters go to the polls in November.
IVF has also emerged as another potential battleground, in a year in which clinics were temporarily closed in Alabama following astate court's ruling that an embryo was considered a child.
Issuing a statement soon after the mifepristone decision was delivered, President Joe Biden argued the ruling did "not change the fact that the fight for reproductive freedom continues".
"The stakes could not be higher for women across America," he said.
Biden has ruled out pardoning his son, but are there other options up his sleeve?
The president's family was again front and centre this week, after his son Hunter Bidenwas found guilty of three federal charges relating to his purchase of a gun, while he was a drug user, in 2018.
Biden made a last-minute change to his schedule in order to rush to his home state following the verdict, embracing his son on the tarmac in Delaware in a deliberately public display of affection.
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The president had earlier released a statementreinforcing his support for Hunter but insisting he accepted the outcome of the case,in a move contrasted with Trump's angry response to his own criminal conviction less than two weeks before.
Biden had also previouslyguaranteed he would not pardon his son if he was convicted.
A vague response from the White House set off a flurry of speculation that the president could instead consider reducing his sentence, however that's now been ruled out too.
Some have questioned whether Biden's political calculation would change if he lost November's election, given he'd no longer be in campaign mode but would still have a couple of months in the White House before his successor moved in.
Regardless of what happens, his handling of the situation will be closely watched — especially considering Hunter faces a potentially more serious trial on tax charges in September.
A different Biden probe resurfaces
In an election campaign where the US political and legal systems continue to collide in extraordinary fashion, a probe into the president himself is still making headlines.
The House of Representatives this week voted to hold Attorney-General Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress for his refusal to hand over audio recordings of an interview conducted with Biden during an investigation into his handling of classified documents.
The special counsel in charge of the inquiry, Robert Hur, declined to prosecute the president, finding there wasn't enough evidence to do so.
Hur's report also argued the commander-in-chief would likely present himself to a jury as a"sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory".
Republicans were outraged by the decision and have spent months trying to get hold of the tapes, arguing the White House has been trying to block access out of fear of furthering concerns about the president's mental capacity.
The vote in the Republican-led House represents the third time that a US attorney-general has been found in contempt of Congress.
It's considered a largely symbolic move, given it would be up to the Justice Department – which Garland oversees – to decide whether to actually prosecute him over it.
But it's part of a broader aim to maintain pressure on Biden, who Republicans are still trying to find a way to impeach.
Don't expect those efforts to cease as election day approaches.
In case you missed it: A Neighbours star's Kiss Kiss for the Trumps
US elections are expensive affairs, but Trump has received some financial support from none other than a one-time Australian soap star.
Neighbours alumni andKiss Kiss (apologies for the earworm) singer Holly Valance has become an outspoken supporter of the former president, meeting Trump at his Florida home in 2022 alongside her husband, British billionaire Nick Candy.
The couple this weekreportedly hosted a fundraiser in London, attended by Trump's son Don Jr and UK ally Nigel Farage, with tickets costing thousands of dollars each.
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In another twist, Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour held a rival event for Biden across town.
In the race to raise as much cash as possible, it pays to have good neighbours across the Atlantic who've become such good friends.
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