The federal government has deployed the National Guard several times this year, including to Los Angeles protests against ICE in June and Washington, DC, in August to support law enforcement. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has also activated the Guard in Memphis.

Courts have stalled deployments to Chicago. Last Monday, a federal appeals court overturned a lower court’s order to bar the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard to Portland, Oregon. A second order, which blocks the administration from mobilizing National Guard troops from anywhere in the nation to Oregon, still stands.

The National Guard is a reserve service that trains troops and deploys them to national emergencies, such as September 11, 2001, during Hurricane Katrina recovery in 2005, and COVID-19 in 2020. It also supports global military priorities when the armed forces need additional support, and has been called into service for every war in American history.

National Guard personnel as of June 30, 2025

As of June, the National Guard had 432,460 members, about 76% of whom served in the Army National Guard (the rest are in the Air National Guard). Texas had more troops than any other state: 22,367. New York was next (17,404), followed by California (17,346).
The United States Code is the codification of the general and permanent laws of the nation. Title 10 of that code allows the president to activate the National Guard without the consent of a state governor. It’s previously been invoked to deploy troops to wars overseas.
The president has called upon the National Guard within the United States at least 10 times since World War II.
Many of these activations included the president invoking the Insurrection Act, in which they call on the military for civilian law enforcement during "invasion, insurrection, or obstruction of the laws," to protect civil rights or in cases when the president deems it impossible to enforce the law without intervention. The Insurrection Act was last invoked during the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

See the data

The gender pay gap, by the numbers

In 1979, women made 62 cents for every dollar men earned. As of 2025, that number has climbed to 82 cents, but, as some people say, is the math mathing? Here’s what the data says about where the gender pay gap is closing and where it isn’t.

As of the second quarter of 2025, men who worked full-time jobs earned $1,333 per week on average, compared with $1,094 for women who worked full-time — a difference of $239, or 22% more in earnings for men.
Men earned more across all 15 job categories tracked in 2024. The widest gaps were in legal occupations, management, healthcare, and protective services.

Median weekly earnings of full-time workers

In 2024, women in Maryland earned 99 cents for every dollar earned by men — the smallest gap in the nation.
In comparison, women in Utah earned 73 cents on the dollar, meaning that Utah men make 37% more than women in full-time jobs. Compare your state on our site.

See the data

Data behind the news

The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which had been delayed due to the government shutdown, showed that inflation rose 3% in September from a year prior.

The Agriculture Department’s Food and Nutrition Service has said the government shutdown means it cannot issue funds for benefits on November 1. These programs include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the Women, Infants, and Children nutrition program.

President Trump recently announced he was ending negotiations with Canada. The country was the United States’ second-largest trading partner last year.

Daylight saving time ends on November 2. Prepare to roll your clocks back one hour.

Test your knowledge with the weekly fact quiz and see how you compare!

One last fact

Hispanic Americans are around 2x as likely to not have health insurance

In 2024, 23% of Hispanic Americans under 65 didn’t have health insurance. That’s two times the national average.