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Sen. Mark Warner’s daughter dies at 36 after long diabetes battle

Washington — Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia announced on Monday that his daughter Madison has died following a lengthy battle with juvenile diabetes and other health issues. She was 36.

“We are heartbroken beyond words by the passing of our beloved daughter, Madison,” Warner and his wife, Lisa Collis, wrote in a statement shared on social media. “She filled our lives with love and laughter, and her absence leaves an immeasurable void.”

The couple said they are “grateful for the loving support of friends and family during this difficult time” and asked for privacy as they “navigate this profound loss.”

Warner has been in the Senate since 2009, after serving as governor of Virginia. He and his wife live in Alexandria, Virginia, and have two other daughters — Gillian and Eliza.

Warner has been an advocate for diabetes research in the Senate, often citing his own family’s experience having a daughter with Type 1 diabetes. He’s spoken out about making insulin more affordable and sponsored legislation to increase access to diabetes care more broadly.

Civil rights groups make urgent plea for voting rights in DC, ahead of midterm elections

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting rights, the work of the Civil Rights Movement and racial justice took center stage on the National Mall Friday, with protesters gathering ahead of midterm elections and following a wave of changes to voting laws and redistricting that some have condemned as detrimental to Black Americans. Hundreds of people rallied on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial for the 2026 “Defend the Vote” March on Washington, organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III, echoing the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 march. The event follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark April decision in Louisiana v. Callais that reinterpreted key provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, allowing Southern states to redraw their congressional maps in a way that erodes equal representation in Black communities. “We’ve been doing these marches for years, but this is probably the most important because this is the first year we are marching that the voting rights bill has been nullified by the Supreme Court,” Sharpton, founder of the National Action Network, said in an interview with The Associated Press. Civil rights leaders and major Democratic political figures rallied attendees before rallygoers marched past national monuments, including the late King's memorial.
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