Jennifer Shutt, South Dakota Searchlight The federal government on Monday asked the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals to place on hold a Texas judge’s ruling that would otherwise overturn U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the abortion pill. The Department of Justice’s request for an administrative stay asks the …

Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout The Metro Nashville Council voted unanimously to send former Rep. Justin Jones back to the Tennessee House, moments before he was sworn in Monday among a huge crowd on the steps of the State Capitol and returned to the House floor by about 5:30. “I want …

Liam Niemeyer, Kentucky Lantern Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg and leadership with Louisville Metro Police Department asked people to pray and provided further details at a Monday morning news conference on a mass shooting that killed five people, including the shooter, in downtown Louisville at Old National …

Daja E. Henry Originally published by The 19th A day after Tennessee Democratic representatives Justin J. Pearson and Justin Jones were expelled from the state legislature, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke at Jones’ alma mater — Fisk University, a historically Black institution — delivering a message of praise for the …

Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott drew widespread condemnation from legal experts after he said Saturday that he is “working as swiftly” as the law allows to pardon a man who was convicted the previous day of murdering a racial justice protester in 2020. Daniel Perry, a U.S. Army sergeant, was …

Kenny Stancil, Common Dreams The Tennessee Republican Party waited less than 24 hours to start fundraising off the expulsion of two progressive lawmakers from the state House—openly bragging Friday about what critics have called a blatantly anti-democratic move that shows the party’s growing authoritarianism. State Reps. Justin Jones (D-52) and …

Jennifer Shutt, Tennessee Lookout The U.S. Department of Justice launched an appeals process Friday that will likely put a landmark decision about access to medication abortion in front of the Supreme Court. The notice of appeal was filed less than three hours after a federal judge in Texas revoked the …

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Thursday was among the progressives denouncing the Biden administration’s newly proposed rules for transgender student-athletes, which critics said would open the door to discrimination at all age levels despite the U.S. Department of Education’s statement that “categorically” banning trans athletes from teams that align with their …

Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune In a potentially devastating blow for abortion access nationwide, a federal judge in Amarillo has suspended the approval of mifepristone, an abortion-inducing drug that has been on the market for more than 20 years. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling will go into effect in …

Mitch Perry, Florida Phoenix Jeremy Brown, a self-described Oath Keepers member and lauded 20-year U.S. Army Special Forces soldier, was sentenced on Friday in Tampa to more than seven years in federal prison on weapons charges related to a federal investigation into his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot …

Justin Jones, the Democratic Tennessee lawmaker who was expelled from the state Legislature on Thursday, said he was trying to protect all children from the scourge of gun violence—including the children of the Republican colleagues who subsequently voted to oust him—while vowing to keep fighting for gun control. Addressing the …

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Thursday that the U.S. House should impeach right-wing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas in the wake of ProPublica reporting that exposed the judge’s billionaire-funded luxury vacations. “This is beyond party or partisanship. This degree of corruption is shocking—almost cartoonish. Thomas must be impeached,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who …

Adam Friedman, Tennessee Lookout The Tennessee House of Representatives voted along party lines to expel Democratic Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson from its body for leading a floor protest over gun violence one week ago, but Rep. Gloria Johnson survived expulsion by one vote. The expulsion vote against Jones, …

Barbara Rodriguez Originally published by The 19th Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed into law a bill that repeals a 1931 abortion ban, cementing access in the state and fulfilling a promise she made during her reelection campaign. Whitmer signed the legislation surrounded by Michigan doctors, lawmakers and abortion …

Jake Johnson, Common Dreams Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Wednesday made his state the first in the U.S. to restrict interstate travel for abortion care by signing legislation that aims to prevent minors from traveling to obtain an abortion without parental consent. The Republican-authored law, H.B. 242, creates a new …