In some respects, President Trump’s decision Tuesday to abandon the Clean Power Plan has nothing to do with climate change.

The nation certainly wasn’t unified behind the Obama administration’s plan to rein in emissions at coal-fired power plants. Some states would like to go much further to fulfill the Paris climate accords. Others think the Environmental Protection Agency has already gone too far in a “war on coal.” Allowing states to set their own path is a core principle of federalism.

But what happens when an issue is so central to justice or well-being that it demands a solution nationwide? Slavery was not solved by federalism. And that points to one of the biggest challenges in American politics today. Many voters on the left and right have very different views of the United States. As a result, more issues are being cast in moral and absolutist terms.

Can climate change be addressed state by state, or does it demand Washington’s intervention? In a time of polarization, the deeper question of how federalism plays out – on a wide range of issues – will be enormously important.  

Here are our five stories for today, highlighting progress, understanding, and perseverance.