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Friday

From left: Liberty Enlightening the World, Bill Skarsgård, Sunita Williams (before her ISS sojourn).

From left: Liberty Enlightening the World, Bill Skarsgård, Sunita Williams (before her ISS sojourn). Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images hide caption

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Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images; Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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This week also saw a highly undramatic object cause drama and the happily undramatic return of the two NASA astronauts who had an unexpected stay on the International Space Station.

Monday

An Autopen machine on display in 2011.

The Autopen Model 80 in 2011. President Trump is accusing Biden of using an autopen to sign documents, as many presidents have over the years. Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP hide caption

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Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP

Politics

Trump tries to void Biden's pardons, blaming autopen. Many presidents have used it

Trump claims without evidence that Biden's Jan. 6 panel pardons are void because he allegedly used an autopen. Autopens have been popular with presidents for decades. Here's what to know about them.

Tuesday

People hold up signs reading "Free Ross" as Donald Trump arrives to address the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C, on May 25, 2024. Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online marketplace Silk Road, was sentenced to life in prison in 2015.

People hold up signs reading "Free Ross" as Donald Trump arrives to address the Libertarian National Convention in Washington, D.C, on May 25, 2024. Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the online marketplace Silk Road, was sentenced to life in prison in 2015. Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Politics

Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, creator of the Silk Road dark web marketplace

Ulbricht operated the anonymous digital marketplace known as Silk Road when law enforcement arrested him. The pardon fulfills a campaign pledge Trump made to Ulbricht's Libertarian supporters.

Thursday

Biden to pardon simple federal marijuana possession convictions

President Biden speaks at the White House on Sept. 30. On Thursday, Biden announced that he is taking executive action to pardon people convicted of simple marijuana possession under federal law and D.C. statute. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Politics

Biden to pardon simple federal marijuana possession convictions

The pardons will be done through an administration process to be developed by the Justice Department, administration officials told reporters; it will cover citizens and lawful permanent residents.

Saturday

A North Carolina man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years is pardoned

Dontae Sharpe reacts outside the Pitt County Courthouse after a judge determined he could be set free on Aug. 22, 2019, in Greenville, N.C. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday pardoned Sharpe, who spent 24 years behind bars for a murder he has long said he did not commit. Deborah Griffin/AP hide caption

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Deborah Griffin/AP

National

A North Carolina man who was wrongfully imprisoned for 24 years is pardoned

The pardon allows Dontae Sharpe to apply for compensation for his wrongful conviction for first-degree murder. A witness against him said her claims were made up, based on what investigators told her.

Wednesday

Tuesday

Friday

Ex-Kentucky Gov. Defends Controversial Pardons For Child Rapist, Murderer

Former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin defends pardoning and commuting sentences for more than 400 convicted people in his final days in office. Timothy D. Easley/AP hide caption

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Timothy D. Easley/AP

Law

Ex-Kentucky Gov. Defends Controversial Pardons For Child Rapist, Murderer

Matt Bevin told Kentucky station WHAS Thursday: "If you had been repeatedly sexually violated, as a small child, by an adult, there are going to be repercussions of that physically and medically."

Friday

Accused Of Florida Rape 70 Years Ago, 4 Black Men Get Posthumous Pardons

(From left) Lake County, Fla., Sheriff Willis McCall and an unidentified man stand next to Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd and Charles Greenlee. The three were accused of rape in 1949, along with a fourth man. They were all pardoned Friday. State Library and Archives of Florida via AP hide caption

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State Library and Archives of Florida via AP

National

Accused Of Florida Rape 70 Years Ago, 4 Black Men Get Posthumous Pardons

The new governor said the arrests and trials, and in two cases the killings, of the Groveland Four were unjust. Families of the men had worked for the pardons. The accuser maintained she did not lie.