OnPolitics: Not many Americans believe the police treat people equally

Lots of news today, OnPolitics readers. Let's dive in.

The latest out of Haiti: Police said they killed four suspects and detained two others late Wednesday, amid an ongoing manhunt for a group of "mercenaries" involved in the brazen assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which also left his wife critically wounded.

Speaking of international news: President Joe Biden announced Thursday the rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan would conclude by August 31, bringing America's longest war to a swift end weeks before the Sept. 11 deadline he set earlier this year.

A blast from the past: Michael Avenatti, the brash California lawyer who once represented Stormy Daniels in lawsuits against President Donald Trump, was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison for trying to extort up to $25 million from Nike by threatening the company with bad publicity.

It's Mabinty, with the news of the day.

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Do the police treat all people equally?

Concerns about crime and gun violence have surged to the top of issues that worry Americans, a new USA TODAY/Ipsos Poll finds, but attitudes about how to respond reflect the repercussions of the nation's debate over racial justice.

Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed said violent crime has worsened in the United States over the past year, and nearly a third have seen it rise in their communities. While they expressed trust in their local police, however, the classic call to get tough on crime has been tempered by broad concerns about law enforcement tactics and the equality of the criminal justice system.

The stats: Just 1 in 5 Americans, 22%, said the police treat all Americans equally. Even fewer, 17%, said the criminal justice courts and lawyers treat everyone equally. That is a double-digit decline in public confidence since a USA TODAY/Pew Research Center Poll in 2014, when 32% of Americans said police departments did an excellent or good job in treating racial and ethnic groups equally.

Skepticism about the fairness of the criminal justice system crossed racial and partisan lines. Read more on the survey from USA TODAY's Susan Page and Ella Lee.

Real quick: Stories you should read today

• Donald Trump has charged Secret Service over $10,000 for security at Bedminster resort

• Vowing loyalty to Trump, 'America First' groups try to bring nativism into the mainstream

• Gov. Kristi Noem to send 125 more South Dakota National Guard members to US-Mexico border

• Rudy Giuliani's law license has been suspended in Washington

Democrats aren't giving up on voting rights

In her first move as leader of the Biden administration's efforts to bolster voting rights, Vice President Kamala Harris announced a $25 million Democratic Party investment into voting education and access on Thursday.

"This campaign is grounded in the firm belief that everyone’s vote matters. That your vote matters," Harris said, referring to an expansion of the "I Will Vote" effort. She made the announcement at Howard University, a historically Black university in Washington and her alma mater.

Harris called the current national debate over voting rights "the fight of our lifetime," connecting it to past struggles and stating there was a "continuum" between the efforts of reformers during the civil rights movement and today.

Biden, meanwhile, is slated to meet with civil rights leaders from across the country. The meeting comes as advocacy groups argue the White House is not doing enough to push voting rights legislation in Congress or using the federal government's abilities to expand voting access.

Don't forget to drink water today. — Mabinty

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Only 1 in 5 say police treat people equally, new poll shows