State News

A federal appeals court has declared the winner-take-all system 48 of 50 states use to assign their electoral college votes is constitutional. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously upheld a lower court's dismissal of... Read More

PHILADELPHIA — New Jersey says white supremacist extremism is one of the state’s greatest terrorism threats — higher than al-Qaida and the Islamic State — and in doing so has positioned itself as a national leader in countering domestic terrorism... Read More

House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, widely considered to be the political kingmaker in South Carolina, endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden Wednesday, just three days ahead of the nation's First in the South primary. The endorsement was announced minutes after... Read More

It is the kind of assertion that brings a reporter up short, temporarily. To hear it twice, in two completely separate conversations, was astounding. It was the idea that as result of changing demographics and highly successful voter registration drives... Read More

CHICAGO — Recreational marijuana sales in Illinois generated more than $10 million in tax revenue in January, according to the Illinois Department of Revenue. The state collects sales tax and a cannabis excise tax on recreational marijuana sales. January sales... Read More

The National Governors Association is joining with the National Guard Association of the United States to oppose the Department of Defense’s planned reprogramming, which would cut nearly $1.7 billion from the National Guard and Reserve. At the request of the... Read More

The Republican National Committee and Michigan Republican Party last week filed a motion to intervene in a lawsuit over the right of organizers to participate in elections. The underlying lawsuit was filed by Priorities USA, a Democratic super PAC, in... Read More

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards this week announced his priorities for the state’s coastal program for the next four years, and in a related move, named G. Charles Sutcliffe as the state’s first chief resilience officer. Edwards also announced the... Read More

New federal regulations would make it harder for hemp growers to prove their plants are not marijuana, in what could be a major setback to a promising industry legalized just two years ago, farmers and state officials say. The U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — The highest-ranking African-American in Congress warned that if Bernie Sanders is the 2020 Democratic nominee the party could lose many of the moderate seats they won to retake the House in 2018. “It’s going to be tough to... Read More

The arrival of the bus made all heads turn. Mostly blue, its side was dominated by the name "Biden" in large red and white letters, and a slogan, declaring it was dispatched to wage a "Battle for the Soul of... Read More

WASHINGTON — Most people incorrectly believe the census will include a citizenship question, according to a pair of surveys released Thursday, adding to concerns raised by advocates that fear over the question may depress participation in the decennial count. The... Read More

President Donald Trump trails his potential Democratic rivals in Pennsylvania and Michigan and leads outright in Wisconsin, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll of the three Rust Belt swing states that cemented the president’s 2016 victory. Trump is within... Read More

LAS VEGAS — Dozens of Democratic volunteers scurried around Dona Maria Mexican Restaurant in polite pandemonium last week as they staged a mock caucus to prepare for the real thing on Saturday in Nevada. A dining area filled with cries... Read More

As Congressional lawmakers close in on finalizing a bipartisan, comprehensive bill governing the testing and deployment of autonomous vehicles, the nation's county governments are reminding them not to forget to leave room for local decision-making. In a blog post published... Read More

ORLANDO, Fla. — A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld the limited injunction that allowed 17 ex-felons, including some from Orange County, to register to vote despite not being able to afford the fines and fees imposed as part of their... Read More

OLYMPIA, Wash. — Washington state senators Wednesday approved a bill that would begin regulating the use of facial-recognition programs by local and state governments. Sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Joe Nguyen, Senate Bill 6280 is one of a series of... Read More

PAHRUMP, Nev. — Iowa Democrats’ disastrous delay in announcing results from the Feb. 3 caucuses could turn out to be an opportunity for Nevada — but only if the more diverse Silver State can smoothly count its own votes this... Read More

A group of activist Republicans are planning to cross party lines and vote for Sen. Bernie Sanders in next week's South Carolina primary in a bid to ensure that President Donald Trump faces a Socialist in the November general election.... Read More

Former Vice President Joe Biden's supporters in South Carolina are not cutting and running after the candidate's disappointing finishes in Iowa and New Hampshire. In fact, canvassers going door-to-door in the neighborhoods of Charleston, South Carolina say what they're hearing... Read More

Former Vice President Joe Biden, Mike Bloomberg and Sen. Bernie Sanders are all currently among Virginians’ top choices when it comes to the Democratic presidential nomination, but few voters have made a final choice, a Monmouth University Poll released Tuesday... Read More

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — The final and most controversial of Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s gun control bills that would have stopped the sale of assault weapons and banned people from having 12-round magazines has been tabled for the year. The... Read More

ATLANTA — The city of Marietta, Ga., has filed a class action lawsuit against a drug company after the price of a decades-old medicine went from $40 a vial to more than $39,000. The city, which covers health care costs... Read More

Nevada's powerful Culinary Workers Union, an early force in propelling Sen. Barack Obama toward the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008, said Thursday it will not endorse a candidate ahead of the state's February 22 caucuses. “We’re going to endorse our... Read More

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — State ethics regulators have fined the campaign of former Gov. Eric Greitens $178,000 over campaign finance violations dating to his upstart, outsider bid to become Missouri’s chief executive. The Missouri Ethics Commission released its long-awaited probe... Read More

MIAMI — Less than five weeks before Florida’s March presidential primary, the Department of Homeland Security is investigating a previously unreported cyber attack on Palm Beach County’s elections office, according to Supervisor of Elections Wendy Sartory Link. Link, who was... Read More

WASHINGTON -- New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with President Donald Trump Thursday afternoon to discuss the Department of Homeland Security's decision to ban New Yorkers from enrolling in programs that expedite border crossings. The meeting between the two men,... Read More

Iowa Democratic Party Chairman Troy Price resigned Wednesday night, saying in a lengthy letter that his continued "presence in my current role" would only serve as a distraction as the party seeks to move on from the state's caucus fiasco.... Read More

AUSTIN, Texas — Saying he wants a firm grasp of how long it will take Texas to comply with federal voter registration mandates, a U.S. judge on Monday ordered opposing sides to meet with technology specialists by the end of... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia state Delegate Jay Jones has to see the statue of a Confederate soldier every day on his way to his law office in Norfolk. “Every time I drive past it … my heart breaks a little... Read More