State News

RICHMOND, Va. - A Virginia General Assembly bill introduced last week to abolish the death penalty has the added backing of the governor in a state that has led the nation in the number of convicts given capital punishment. At... Read More

Recently, Virginia officials released an updated revision of the state’s interim guidelines for reopening K-12 schools in a letter sent to Virginia educators and public health officials. The move comes one day after the Centers for Disease Control published a... Read More

Interest groups are pleading their cases to state officials in a bid to expedite their constituents’ access to the novel coronavirus vaccine.  Individuals over the age of 70, frontline health care workers, nursing home residents and staff are the first... Read More

WASHINGTON — This week, U.S. Reps. Ron Kind, D-Wis., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., sent a bipartisan letter to Operation Warp Speed leadership urging them to consider the unique challenges of vaccine distribution to rural areas across Wisconsin and take steps... Read More

WASHINGTON -- The Secretary of the Air Force announced Wednesday that Huntsville, Ala., will be the new headquarters of the U.S. Space Command. The announcement was welcomed in Alabama but criticized as an example of partisan politics by government officials... Read More

CONCORD, N.H. — A collection of 14 states have now signed amicus briefs backing New Hampshire in the state’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to determine whether jurisdictions may tax the income of remote workers who cannot commute to... Read More

Earlier this week, Idaho Governor Brad Little announced his “Building Idaho’s Future” plan, a comprehensive proposal that will impact the state’s budget into 2022. The plan features more than $450 million in tax relief and strategic investments in critical infrastructure... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the aftermath of the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last week, questions are being raised about why the District of Columbia National Guard played such a limited role as civilian law enforcement officers were outnumbered... Read More

State capitols across the nation stepped up security Monday, deploying National Guard units, SWAT teams and extra police officers while several legislatures convened amid heightened safety concerns following last week's violence at the U.S. Capitol. The protections came as the... Read More

Republican members of Congress who voted against certifying Joe Biden’s presidential victory, even after a mob broke into the Capitol, are being denounced by critics in their home districts who demand that they resign or be ousted. Protesters, newspaper editorial... Read More

As the first week of the new year comes to an end, the vaccine distribution system across the country continues to face numerous challenges in producing an effective rollout as the public remains confused on who is supposed to get... Read More

What started as a day of celebration for Black organizers, voters and other Georgians who helped deliver two historic Senate runoff victories was overshadowed Wednesday when a violent, mostly white mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol.... Read More

TRENTON, N.J. -- Recently, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy passed a historic $14 billion legislation package that will benefit small businesses, local economies and more as the Garden State ushers in economic recovery and growth for years to come. The... Read More

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Protesters backing President Donald Trump massed outside statehouses from Georgia to New Mexico on Wednesday, leading some officials to evacuate while cheers rang out at several demonstrations as a pro-Trump mob stormed the U.S. Capitol. Hundreds... Read More

New York’s governor threatened to fine hospitals if they don't use their allotment of COVID-19 vaccine fast enough. His South Carolina counterpart warned health care workers they have until Jan. 15 to get a shot or move to the back... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — President Donald Trump came to the north Georgia mountains Monday night to gin up turnout in conservative strongholds and stave off the Democratic challengers who threatened the GOP’s Senate majority in two runoff elections. It didn't work.... Read More

HARRISBURG, Pa. - The opening of a new session of the Pennsylvania Senate is usually a fairly staid affair, marked by ceremony and at least a bit of bipartisanship. However, that wasn't the case Tuesday when the Republican majority refused... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — Georgia’s Senate runoff elections were a clash of two closely matched coalitions, with Democrat Raphael Warnock edging out his rival in the one-time Republican stronghold. Warnock and fellow Democrat Jon Ossoff — whose race was still too... Read More

Georgia voters will decide the balance of power in Congress Tuesday in a pair of high-stakes Senate runoff elections that will help determine President-elect Joe Biden's ability to enact his governing agenda. Incumbent Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler... Read More

LANSING, Mich. – Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a comprehensive package of criminal justice reform bills Monday that stemmed from policy recommendations by the Michigan Joint Task Force on Jail and Pretrial Incarceration.  The year-long study from key stakeholders and... Read More

HELENA, Mont. (AP) — As lawmakers around the U.S. convene this winter to deal with the crisis created by the pandemic, statehouses themselves could prove to be hothouses for infection. Many legislatures will start the year meeting remotely, but some... Read More

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – This week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that the country’s largest and most populous state has opted in to the federal COVID-19 Pharmacy Partnership, providing no-cost Pfizer vaccines to residents and staff in long-term care facilities. At... Read More

LANSING, Mich. – This week, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the bipartisan relief bill that the legislature passed after she urged them to provide support for Michigan families, frontline workers, and small businesses.  The relief bill includes $55 million to... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. – This week, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam allocated an additional $20 million in federal CARES Act funding to the Rebuild VA economic recovery fund to meet demand for the program and fulfill pending grant applications.  This new funding... Read More

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — An unusually broad field of candidates are vying for the governor's seat in Virginia as the marquee political contest of 2021 gets into full swing. Only New Jersey and Virginia are set to elect governors this... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump pressured Georgia's Republican secretary of state to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden's win in the state's presidential election, repeatedly citing disproven claims of fraud and raising the prospect of a “criminal offense"... Read More

SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Two months after the November elections, Georgia voters have unfinished business. The outcome will determine partisan control of the U.S. Senate and how lawmakers deal with a new White House. Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly... Read More

Nineteen state attorneys general filed an amicus brief this month supporting a lawsuit that seeks to require the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to regulate Internet sales of “ghost gun” components. Ghost guns refer to homemade or... Read More

ATLANTA (AP) — When Georgia Republican Kelly Loeffler and Democrat Raphael Warnock advanced to the Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoff, they faced the immediate challenge of winning over the 2 million voters who chose one of the 18 other candidates... Read More

WASHINGTON - While most eyes on Capitol Hill this past week have been on developments related to the coronavirus relief package and the omnibus federal spending bill, there have been a number of other things going on. Among these were... Read More