Latest State legislature News

FILE - In this March 7, 2015, file photo, singing

Move to rename 'Bloody Sunday' bridge has critics in Selma

Jul. 3, 2020 2:26 PM EDT

SELMA, Ala. (AP) — Thousands gathered in this river city in 1940 to dedicate a new bridge in honor of white supremacist Edmund Pettus, a Confederate general and reputed Ku Klux Klan leader. Just 25 years later, the bridge became a global landmark when civil rights marchers were beaten at its base. Today,...

A waiter takes an order at Slater's 50/50 Wednesday, July 1, 2020, in Santa Clarita, Calif. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has ordered a three-week closure of bars, indoor dining and indoor operations of several other types of businesses in various counties, including Los Angeles, as the state deals with increasing coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Second wave of virus closures wallops California restaurants

Jul. 3, 2020 1:56 PM EDT

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Homayoun Dariyani was training servers and cooks for his soon-to-open gourmet hamburger grill in March when California abruptly shut down dine-in restaurants to slow the spread of the coronavirus. After a three-month delay, Dariyani held the grand opening for Slater’s 50/50 on...

FILE - This combination of undated file photos provided by the Houston Police Department shows Steven Bryant, left, and Gerald Goines, in Houston. An audit has found various problems with a Houston Police Department narcotics unit that's been under scrutiny following a deadly 2019 drug raid. The audit found that officers made hundreds of errors in cases, often weren't thorough in their investigations, lacked supervision and overpaid informants for the seizure of minuscule amounts of drugs. The 66-page audit reviewed the work of two former members of the narcotics unit, Goines and Bryant, along with the work of squads within the unit. (Houston Police Department via AP, File)

Audit criticizes Houston police unit tied to fatal drug raid

Jul. 2, 2020 7:06 PM EDT

HOUSTON (AP) — An audit of a Houston Police Department narcotics unit that’s been under scrutiny following a deadly 2019 drug raid found that officers made hundreds of errors in cases, often weren’t thorough in their investigations, lacked supervision and overpaid informants for the seizure...

File-This June 18, 2020, file photo shows Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds updating the state's response to the coronavirus outbreak during a news conference at the Statehouse, in Des Moines, Iowa. Reynolds on Monday, June 29, 2020, signed into law a bill that requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, trying again to institute a restriction similar to one struck down two years ago by the Iowa Supreme Court. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall, Pool, File)

Iowa governor signs abortion law amid court challenge

Jul. 2, 2020 6:00 PM EDT

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds on Monday signed into law a bill that requires women to wait 24 hours before getting an abortion, trying again to institute a restriction similar to one struck down two years ago by the Iowa Supreme Court. Reynolds signed the measure into law just after lawyers representing Planned...

FILE - This undated photo provided by the Edwardsville Police Department shows former Kansas City, Kansas Police detective Roger Golubski. A coalition of Kansas lawmakers, religious leaders and racial justice advocates called Thursday, July 2, 2020, for an investigation into the retired police detective accused of preying on Black women for sex over decades and framing for murder the son of one of them. Numerous residents have said Golubski wielded his power to terrorize the Kansas City, Kansas Black community for years, and the local prosecutor asked for help with a probe more than two years ago. (Edwardsville Police Department via AP, File)

Kansas legislators seek investigation into former detective

Jul. 2, 2020 5:40 PM EDT

BELLE PLAINE, Kan. (AP) — A coalition of Kansas lawmakers, religious leaders and racial justice advocates called Thursday for an investigation into a retired white police detective accused of preying on Black women for sex over decades and framing for murder the son of one of them. A letter signed by 27...

FILE - In this Feb. 19, 2020, file photo, state Rep. Charles Booker speaks on the floor of the House of Representatives in the State Capitol in Frankfort, Ky. Looking to flex his newfound influence after his Senate campaign fell just short, Booker reached out Thursday, July 2, 2020 to help unite Kentucky Democrats behind Amy McGrath's uphill fight to unseat Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston, File)

Booker reaches out to unite Democrats against McConnell

Jul. 2, 2020 5:15 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Looking to flex his newfound influence among Kentucky Democrats after his Senate campaign fell just short, Charles Booker reached out Thursday to unite behind Amy McGrath's uphill fight to unseat Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. Booker, a progressive who lost to...

In a photo provided by Mauree Turner For HD88, Mauree Turner poses for a photo in February 2020 in Oklahoma City. Turner is a living example of the growing diversity of big cities. The 27-year-old gay, Black, Muslim woman knocked off a three-term, white male incumbent to win the Democratic nomination for a state legislative seat. People like her have won elections in liberal states on the east and west coasts, but until Tuesday, it had never happened in conservative Oklahoma. (Qazi Islam/Mauree Turner For HD88 via AP)

Urban-rural divide on display in Oklahoma's primary election

Jul. 2, 2020 12:56 AM EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Mauree Turner is a living example of the growing diversity of big cities. The 27-year-old gay, Black, Muslim woman knocked off a three-term, white male incumbent to win the Democratic nomination for a state legislative seat. People like her have won elections in liberal states on the...

FILE - A Department of Corrections officer guards the main entryway leading into San Quentin State Prison in San Quentin, Calif., July 24, 2019. California lawmakers harshly criticized state corrections officials Wednesday, July 1, 2020, for a

California officials blasted for prison coronavirus outbreak

Jul. 2, 2020 12:55 AM EDT

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California lawmakers harshly criticized state corrections officials' “failure of leadership” Wednesday, saying they botched their handling of the coronavirus pandemic by inadvertently transferring infected inmates to a virus-free prison, triggering the state’s...

Health officials disinfect an area around a hospital after one of the hospital's patients tested positive for the new coronavirus in Gwangju, South Korea, Wednesday, July 1, 2020. South Korea is considering including religious facilities on the same list with nightclubs, hostess bars and karaoke rooms as

The Latest: South Korea worries as virus resurgence spreads

Jul. 1, 2020 10:41 PM EDT

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea says it has confirmed 54 more COVID-19 cases as the coronavirus continues to spread beyond the capital region and reach cities like Gwangju, which has shut schools and tightened social restrictions after dozens fell sick this week. The figures reported Thursday brought the...

Coleman Boyd, an anti-abortion activist calls out prayers, interspersed with a plea to hold off having an abortion, to women entering the Women's Health Organization clinic, Wednesday, March 25, 2020, in Jackson, Miss. The clinic is Mississippi's only state licensed abortion facility. Gov. Tate Reeves told reporters at a press conference on the coronavirus outbreak Tuesday that he considers abortion an elective and unnecessary procedure. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)

Mississippi bans abortion based on race, sex, genetic issues

Jul. 1, 2020 9:23 PM EDT

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Mississippi Republican Gov. Tate Reeves signed a law Wednesday that bans abortion based on the race, sex or genetic anomalies of a fetus, adding new limits in a state that already has some of the strictest abortion laws in the U.S. Supporters say the new law would prevent abortion for...

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