In The States

PHOENIX — The top election official in Maricopa County, Arizona, is suing former Republican gubernatorial candidate and GOP firebrand Kari Lake for defamation. In a lawsuit filed Thursday, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer, also a Republican, claims Lake repeatedly made... Read More

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (AP) — The tech industry's drive to dot the Virginia landscape with data centers may have hit a glitch this week in Prince William County. Residents of the state's second most populous jurisdiction delivered perhaps the biggest... Read More

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland’s Supreme Court ruled this week that expert witnesses on ballistics tests linking a bullet to a single gun must be more restricted in the testimony they offer in criminal trials. The ruling is expected to have... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court ruled against the Navajo Nation Thursday in a 5-4 vote, saying the Navajo Treaty of 1868 does not require the United States to take affirmative steps on the water rights of the tribe regarding the... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Ohio House of Representatives passed two bills on Wednesday regarding transgender youth, including one barring transgender women from competing in female athletic events. House Bill 68, known as the Enact Ohio Saving Adolescents from Experimentation Act, and... Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Wednesday struck down Florida rules championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis restricting Medicaid coverage for gender dysphoria treatments for potentially thousands of transgender people. “Gender identity is real” and the state has admitted... Read More

One year ago Saturday, the U.S. Supreme Court rescinded a five-decade-old right to abortion, prompting a seismic shift in debates about politics, values, freedom and fairness. Twenty-five million women of childbearing age now live in states where the law makes abortions harder to get... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Texas congressman Will Hurd, a onetime CIA officer and fierce critic of Donald Trump, announced Thursday that he's running for president, hoping to build momentum as a more moderate alternative to the Republican front-runner. Hurd, 45, served... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday threw his support behind two bills currently in the state Legislature that would increase the number of treatment beds available to homeless people with mental illness and substance abuse issues and... Read More

OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. — A bill intended to help restore the competency of jailed individuals with mental health issues so they can stand trial has been vetoed by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt. Specifically, the legislation sponsored by Republican State Sen.... Read More

ALBANY, N.Y. — The New York state Legislature gave its final approval on Tuesday to a bill that would provide legal protection to doctors who prescribe and send abortion pills to patients in states where abortion has largely been outlawed.... Read More

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge struck down Arkansas' first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions. U.S.... Read More

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware’s lone representative in the U.S. House, announced Wednesday that she is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Democrat Tom Carper. Blunt Rochester’s announcement came as no surprise,... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A handful of Virginia incumbents prevailed over challengers in Tuesday’s primary election, but two of the state’s most controversial political figures — Democratic Sen. Joe Morrissey and Republican Sen. Amanda Chase — lost their party’s nomination,... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom says there's no chance "on God's green earth" he's running for president in 2024, but he wants to make clear that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is running, is "weak" and "undisciplined"... Read More

WASHINGTON — After years of preparation, backers of the United States’ bid to host the 2027 world's fair in Minnesota will soon learn if they will achieve their goal.  On Wednesday, the member states of the Bureau International des Expositions,... Read More

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa’s high court refused Friday to unblock a strict ban on most abortions, rebuffing Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds and, for now, keeping the conservative state from joining others that have severely limited access to the... Read More

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Legislature has set the date for a special election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, who announced last week that he is stepping down due to his wife Evie’s ill health.  In a brief... Read More

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, jumping into the crowded race just days after GOP front-runner Donald Trump appeared in court on federal charges in Suarez's city. The 45-year-old mayor,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Well News took top honors in two categories in the 2023 Dateline Awards presented by the Washington, D.C., pro chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The event, the chapter’s annual awards dinner and hall of fame... Read More

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo has signed two bills related to transgender rights and vetoed another, bucking trends from other Republican governors across the country who have pushed anti-transgender policies. Lombardo's signing of a bill Monday... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court on Monday ordered Secretary of State Frank LaRose and the Ohio Ballot Board to rewrite sections of a ballot measure that would make it harder for voters to amend the state constitution. The... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — When former President Donald Trump appears in federal court Tuesday, he will be joined at the defense table by a man well-practiced in standing by his side: his valet turned alleged co-conspirator, Walt Nauta. Nauta, a Navy veteran... Read More

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — Young people challenging Montana officials over inaction on climate change are expected back in state court on Tuesday in a first-of-a kind trial of a lawsuit that environmentalists hope will spur changes in the fossil fuel-friendly state. State officials... Read More

ALBANY, N.Y. — New York state lawmakers concluded the 2023 legislative session this weekend passing key election and campaign finance bills. On the election front, the most notable bill would move some of the state’s local elections to even-numbered years,... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump and his allies are escalating efforts to undermine the criminal case against him and drum up protests as the former president braces for a history-making federal court appearance this week on dozens of felony charges accusing him of illegally... Read More

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) — Sen. Tim Scott is rolling out endorsements from more than 140 current and former elected officials from his home state of South Carolina, aiming to make a show of force in the first-in-the-South presidential primary state. The backing... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House on Wednesday lauded the “important progress” some states are achieving to make their communities safer from gun violence. “With every tragic shooting we see across America, we see the urgency of action at every level... Read More

WASHINGTON — House Republicans denounced a set of new election laws recently approved by the District of Columbia City Council, claiming during a congressional hearing Wednesday that they would allow foreign adversaries living in the district to vote in local... Read More

GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) — Protesters briefly scuffled and punches flew Tuesday as a Southern California school district decided whether to recognize June as Pride month. Several hundred people gathered in the parking lot of the Glendale Unified School District headquarters,... Read More