In The States

WASHINGTON — To the casual passerby strolling along K Street NW, the neat, glass-dominated storefront of Monko could easily be mistaken for a spa, high-end hair cuttery or upscale purveyor of lotions and other beauty products. That aura of luxury... Read More

MADISON, Wisc. — Voting rights advocacy groups filed a lawsuit Wednesday that asks the Wisconsin Supreme Court to throw out a state districting map they say reflects gerrymandering by Republicans. The lawsuit was filed one day after a justice was... Read More

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Democrat trying to unseat Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves is pushing hard to tie the Republican incumbent to a welfare misspending scandal that developed while Reeves was lieutenant governor, but the Reeves campaign says challenger Brandon Presley is... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The largest dam removal project in United States history is underway along the California-Oregon border — a process that won't conclude until the end of next year with the help of heavy machinery and explosives. But in some... Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Civil rights activists cheered when Ron DeSantis pardoned four Black men wrongfully convicted of rape as one of his first actions as Florida's governor. But four years later, as DeSantis eyes the presidency, their hope that the Republican would be... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — The explosion early on a June morning ignited a blaze that engulfed a New York City shop filled with motorized bicycles and their volatile lithium-ion batteries. Billowing smoke quickly killed four people asleep in apartments above... Read More

WASHINGTON — Justice Neil Gorsuch temporarily stayed a ruling by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that prevented the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, from enforcing municipal laws against Native Americans. The litigation harkens back to 2018 when Justin Hooper,... Read More

WELCH, W.Va. (AP) — Months after Missy Nester ended The Welch News' 100-year run, she can barely stand to walk through the office doors of the newspaper her mother taught her to read with growing up in West Virginia's southern... Read More

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin's Supreme Court will flip from majority conservative to liberal control in August and Democrats have high hopes the change will lead to the state's abortion ban being overturned and its maps redrawn to weaken GOP control of... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Justice Department on Monday sued Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over a newly installed floating barrier on the Rio Grande that is the Republican's latest aggressive tactic to try to stop migrants from crossing into the U.S. from... Read More

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Former New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte on Monday announced she's running for governor, days after fellow Republican Chris Sununu said he's not seeking reelection to a fifth term in 2024. “Gov. Sununu did a great... Read More

WASHINGTON — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Thursday celebrated the completion of the state’s largest rooftop solar project. Located in Orange County, New York, or about 62 miles north of New York City, the 7.2 MW community solar project... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — New York City has agreed to pay more than $13 million to settle a civil rights lawsuit brought on behalf of roughly 1,300 people who were arrested or beaten by police during racial injustice demonstrations that swept through... Read More

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia’s attorney general sued 25 chemical companies this week in a lawsuit that adds to a widening array of claims over the production and sale of materials that contain PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals.”... Read More

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a brief news conference Tuesday as part of a shift in strategy for his presidential campaign, but the governor took only four questions, almost all of which centered on the party's front-runner Donald... Read More

MONTGOMERY, Ala. — A Republican-dominated state legislative panel in Alabama on Monday approved a new congressional district map that creates one majority-Black district and one that is 42% Black. The party-line vote by the state Legislature’s reapportionment committee came on... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose entered the race for U.S. Senate on Monday, joining two other Republicans in a bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown. Brown is one of three incumbent Democratic senators up... Read More

WASHINGTON — Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador is being sued over an initiative he filed June 30 to replace partisan primaries with open top-four elections for the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of Representatives, the state Legislature and other offices. ... Read More

WASHINGTON — The buzz around this fall’s general election is heating up in Virginia as Republicans try to stay in power.  The general election on Nov. 7 will put all 100 seats in the House of Delegates and all 40... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Energy is making $150 million available in grants for states to help them reduce the cost of training, testing and certifying residential energy efficiency and electrification contractors. The State-Based Home Energy Efficiency Contractor Training Grants... Read More

MIAMI (AP) — A month after former President Donald Trump was charged with mishandling classified documents, the judge presiding over the case is set to take on a more visible role as she weighs competing requests on a trial date and hears arguments this... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — As the six-month sprint to the Iowa caucuses begins, the sprawling field of Republican presidential candidates is facing growing pressure to prove they can become serious challengers to former President Donald Trump. The urgency is particularly acute for... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney is asking a Florida judge on Friday to toss out a lawsuit against the company’s efforts to neutralize a takeover of Disney World’s governing district by Gov. Ron DeSantis and his appointees. The hearing scheduled... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — A suspect has been taken into custody on New York's Long Island in connection with a long-unsolved string of killings, known as the Gilgo Beach murders, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Friday.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The District of Columbia Council approved a get-tough bill Tuesday intended to put a dent in the city’s surging crime rate. Overall crime in the nation’s capital is up 30% and homicides by 17% so far this year... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — With his state already broiling after days of intense heat, and with more in the forecast, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday launched what he called the nation’s first statewide multi-ethnic awareness and education campaign to keep Californians... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s Legislature convenes Tuesday in a special session focused exclusively on abortion restrictions, where Republican lawmakers will work to push through a new ban on abortion after roughly six weeks of pregnancy. The day will be a... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — A grand jury being seated Tuesday in Atlanta will likely consider whether criminal charges are appropriate for former President Donald Trump or his Republican allies for their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in Georgia. Fulton... Read More

WASHINGTON — The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Saturday that a Tennessee law banning doctors from providing gender-affirming care for minors could go into effect immediately. The 2-1 decision is considered groundbreaking because it marks the first time... Read More

WASHINGTON — Colorado, Louisiana and Washington state are sharing in a total $25 million in federal funding to field test a new model for incentivizing fruit and vegetable purchases among participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. As part of... Read More