Local Government
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel... Read More
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The largest LGBTQ+ rights organization in the U.S. joined other civil rights organizations Tuesday in issuing a travel advisory for Florida, warning that newly passed laws and policies may pose risks to minorities, immigrants and gay travelers. The... Read More
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The only five women in South Carolina's 46-member Senate have vowed to resist new abortion restrictions... Read More
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The only five women in South Carolina's 46-member Senate have vowed to resist new abortion restrictions up for debate after the group filibustered a near-total ban last month. But it remains to be seen whether the... Read More
WASHINGTON — Hoping to speed the development of energy and infrastructure projects, members of the National Governors Association are touting... Read More
WASHINGTON — Hoping to speed the development of energy and infrastructure projects, members of the National Governors Association are touting a bipartisan plan they say will dramatically streamline the permitting process while maintaining the integrity of reviews. In a joint... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — “Don't say gay.” Regulation of books and classroom discussion. Teachers, parents and school librarians all navigating... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — “Don't say gay.” Regulation of books and classroom discussion. Teachers, parents and school librarians all navigating new and uncertain ground. LGBTQ+ rights under attack. A very public spat between state government and Disney. And at the... Read More
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Conservative Nebraska lawmakers are expected to have just enough votes to pass a bill Friday that... Read More
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Conservative Nebraska lawmakers are expected to have just enough votes to pass a bill Friday that combines a ban on gender-affirming care for minors with a 12-week abortion ban. The mood in the Nebraska Capitol since... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Daniel Cameron won the Republican primary for Kentucky governor on Tuesday, becoming the first major-party Black... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Daniel Cameron won the Republican primary for Kentucky governor on Tuesday, becoming the first major-party Black nominee for governor in the state’s history and setting up a November showdown with Democratic incumbent Andy Beshear. Cameron, the... Read More
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats maintained their narrow Pennsylvania House majority Tuesday by winning a special election and along with... Read More
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Democrats maintained their narrow Pennsylvania House majority Tuesday by winning a special election and along with it continued control over how the chamber will handle abortion, gun rights and election law legislation. Heather Boyd won a... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — From the outside, the residential high-rise on Manhattan's Upper West Side looks pretty much like any... Read More
NEW YORK (AP) — From the outside, the residential high-rise on Manhattan's Upper West Side looks pretty much like any other luxury building: A doorman greets visitors in a spacious lobby adorned with tapestry and marble. Yet just below in... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Off-year elections on Tuesday in Kentucky and Pennsylvania could send early signals about the mood of voters ahead of... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Off-year elections on Tuesday in Kentucky and Pennsylvania could send early signals about the mood of voters ahead of next year's races for the White House and Congress. The Kentucky governor's race is a table-setter for what should be... Read More
SAYREVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Nicole Teliano used to play games on her phone in the mayor’s office while her mother... Read More
SAYREVILLE, N.J. (AP) — Nicole Teliano used to play games on her phone in the mayor’s office while her mother worked down the hall several evenings a month, tending to the tedious, often acrimonious task of serving in local government.... Read More
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Abortion bans in deeply conservative Nebraska and South Carolina each fell a single vote short of passing in their legislatures... Read More
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Abortion bans in deeply conservative Nebraska and South Carolina each fell a single vote short of passing in their legislatures amid heated debates among Republicans, yet another sign that abortion is becoming a difficult issue for the GOP. As the... Read More
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama and Mississippi closed most government offices Monday for Confederate Memorial Day as efforts have stalled... Read More
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama and Mississippi closed most government offices Monday for Confederate Memorial Day as efforts have stalled to abolish state holidays that honor the old Confederacy. Legislation has been introduced in the ongoing Alabama legislative session to... Read More
North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill into law that restricts transgender health care in the state, immediately... Read More
North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill into law that restricts transgender health care in the state, immediately making it a crime to give gender-affirming care to people younger than 18. Gender-affirming care for minors has been available... Read More
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees on Wednesday began trying to reshape Disney World's governing... Read More
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees on Wednesday began trying to reshape Disney World's governing body with proposals to eliminate a planning board and prohibit mask mandates and COVID-19 vaccine requirements in an evolving showdown between the... Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The second of two Black Democrats who were kicked out of the Republican-led Tennessee House followed... Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The second of two Black Democrats who were kicked out of the Republican-led Tennessee House followed his colleague back to work at the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their expulsion for participating in a gun... Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville officials are poised to vote Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled... Read More
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville officials are poised to vote Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republican colleagues for their gun control protest on the Tennessee House floor after a deadly school shooting — essentially, sending him back after a... Read More
CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former teacher, was elected as Chicago's next mayor Tuesday in a major victory... Read More
CHICAGO (AP) — Brandon Johnson, a union organizer and former teacher, was elected as Chicago's next mayor Tuesday in a major victory for the Democratic Party’s progressive wing as the heavily blue city grapples with high crime and financial challenges. Johnson, a... Read More
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Democrat in the North Carolina state House switched to the Republican Party on Wednesday, giving... Read More
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A Democrat in the North Carolina state House switched to the Republican Party on Wednesday, giving the GOP veto-proof control in both chambers of the legislature and handing Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper a setback in trying... Read More
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A liberal Milwaukee judge and a conservative former state Supreme Court justice won Tuesday’s primary to... Read More
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A liberal Milwaukee judge and a conservative former state Supreme Court justice won Tuesday’s primary to face off in a pivotal Wisconsin Supreme Court race that will determine majority control with major issues looming. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden put the punctuation mark on what by all accounts was a highly successful National Association... Read More
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden put the punctuation mark on what by all accounts was a highly successful National Association of Counties Legislative Conference at the Washington Hilton. In all, nearly 2,000 elected and appointed county officials registered for the... Read More
State lawmakers around the country introduced thousands of bills to change the way elections are run after former President Donald... Read More
State lawmakers around the country introduced thousands of bills to change the way elections are run after former President Donald Trump falsely blamed his 2020 loss on voter fraud. Hundreds became law. Even with proponents of Trump's election lies roundly defeated during this year's midterms,... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be asking voters for a second term leading one of the nation’s... Read More
WASHINGTON (AP) — Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot will be asking voters for a second term leading one of the nation’s biggest cities. Republicans will try to take full control of the Virginia Legislature. Governors’ mansions are up for election in... Read More
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — The November elections saw Californians continue to embrace progressive leadership, but voters in one of... Read More
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. (AP) — The November elections saw Californians continue to embrace progressive leadership, but voters in one of the state’s most populous counties are so frustrated with this political direction that they voted to consider seceding and forming... Read More
Democratic candidates for the Michigan House and Senate won a majority of votes this year, translating into their party winning control... Read More
Democratic candidates for the Michigan House and Senate won a majority of votes this year, translating into their party winning control of both legislative chambers. That may seem like a natural result, but it hasn't been in previous elections. While Democrats... Read More
ESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) — Republican county commissioners in this swath of ranching country in New Mexico’s high desert have tried... Read More
ESTANCIA, N.M. (AP) — Republican county commissioners in this swath of ranching country in New Mexico’s high desert have tried everything they can think of to persuade voters their elections are secure. They approved hand-counting of ballots from the primary election... Read More
WASHINGTON — Thousands of policymakers and their aides returned to their jurisdictions from the National Conference of State Legislatures summit... Read More
WASHINGTON — Thousands of policymakers and their aides returned to their jurisdictions from the National Conference of State Legislatures summit in Denver earlier this month with the 1914 Christmas Truce top of mind. Because, if the tale about the miraculous... Read More
WASHINGTON — All over Capitol Hill, the hullabaloo of the return to almost pre-pandemic normal was everywhere in evidence. Under... Read More
WASHINGTON — All over Capitol Hill, the hullabaloo of the return to almost pre-pandemic normal was everywhere in evidence. Under a bright blue late afternoon sky, mobs of rambunctious school children were being corralled on the Capitol steps for class... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a state law that effectively eliminated abortions in Kentucky... Read More
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday temporarily blocked a state law that effectively eliminated abortions in Kentucky after the state’s two remaining clinics said they couldn’t meet its requirements. The decision by U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings was... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday asked the Legislature to repeal a law allowing Walt Disney World to operate a private government over its properties in the state, the latest volley in a feud between the... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and... Read More
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Monday that forbids instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, a policy that has drawn intense national scrutiny from critics who argue it... Read More