Jennifer Shutt, Michigan Advance Attorneys general from 21 Democratic-leaning states are calling on a Texas judge to keep the abortion pill on the market, rejecting claims anti-abortion medical groups made in a lawsuit that’s centered on the medication’s approval more than two decades ago. The latest brief in the case, …

The gunman who killed 10 people and injured three in a shooting at a Tops grocery store in Buffalo, New York last May was sentenced on Wednesday to life in prison without the possibility of parole, in an emotional hearing during which the family members of some of the victims …

John McCosh, Georgia Recorder Congress has until at least July to broker a bipartisan debt agreement if lawmakers want to avoid a first-ever default, according to the Congressional Budget Office. The nonpartisan scorekeeper, which typically details how much legislation would cost, released a report Wednesday saying that U.S. lawmakers and …

Danielle J. Brown, Florida Phoenix Hundreds of Floridians, civil rights activists and religious leaders from across the state marched Wednesday from Tallahassee’s Bethel Missionary Baptist Church to the Florida Capitol building complex in protest of efforts to “whitewash” Black history by rejecting an Advanced Placement course in high school on …

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-California, officially announced Tuesday that she will not be seeking re-election in 2024. Feinstein, 89, has held the U.S. Senate seat since 1992. There was rampant speculation that she would not seek another term. Southland Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Katie Porter, D-Irvine, previously announced bids to …

Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate U.S. senators on Tuesday voiced frustration and outrage that Congress has been unable to pass legislation bolstering protection for children online, including adding guardrails to social media platforms. During a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, Democrats and Republicans pledged to keep working together to pass …

Ariana Figueroa, Michigan Advance President Joe Biden at an annual meeting with county leaders on Tuesday said there is much more work to be done on gun control legislation —  such as banning assault-style weapons, which are typically used in most mass shootings. The call again for gun control came …

John L. Micek, Pennsylvania Capital-Star From finding a job to securing a place to live, formerly incarcerated people face any number of challenges when they return to their hometowns and neighborhoods. And research shows that a steady job and access to opportunity are among the factors that play a key role in keeping someone from offending …

Graham Moomaw, Virginia Mercury A proposal to put menstrual data stored on period-tracking apps beyond the reach of Virginia authorities failed in the state House of Delegates Monday after Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s administration expressed opposition to the idea for the first time. The legislation, which had passed the Democratic-controlled Senate …

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams As congressional Republicans threaten to cut Social Security and other key federal programs, progressive Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren led a group of lawmakers Monday in unveiling legislation that would increase Social Security benefits by at least $200 per month and prolong the program’s solvency …

Stanley Dunlap, Georgia Recorder The first details of a Fulton County special grand jury’s report on attempts by former President Donald Trump and his allies to interfere in Georgia’s 2020 presidential election are set to be released to the public Thursday. Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney said in a court …

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams Civil rights advocates on Friday condemned the Republican-led Florida Legislature for passing another voter suppression bill that far-right Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely GOP presidential candidate for 2024, is expected to sign into law. The Florida House passed Senate Bill 4B by a margin of 77-33 …

Gibbs Knotts, College of Charleston and Jordan Ragusa, College of Charleston The Democratic National Committee approved a proposal on Feb. 4, 2023, that puts South Carolina first on the party’s presidential nominating calendar, upending 50 years of tradition. For the first time, voters of color, moderates, hourly workers – and …

Commentary Beatriz Pascoal, New Jersey Monitor During this week’s State of the Union address, President Biden failed to commit to bold action to protect immigrant communities and instead celebrated anti-immigrant measures his administration has adopted. This sends a troubling message to the thousands of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients like …

The U.S. military shot down a high altitude object over Canada’s Yukon territory on Saturday, the latest in a series of incidents involving objects being shot out of the sky. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that he ordered the takedown of “an unidentified object that violated Canadian airspace.” The …