California judge tentatively rejects cutting inmate crowding

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Northern California judge tentatively ruled Friday that state prison officials acted with deliberate indifference when they caused a deadly coronavirus outbreak at one of the world’s most famous prisons last year. But he said vaccines have since so changed the...

Board to consider hiring outside attorneys in wolf lawsuits

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The state Department of Natural Resources policy board plans to vote next week on whether to hire its own attorneys in a pair of lawsuits seeking to block the fall wolf hunt, underscoring the deepening rift between the board's Republican members and Democratic Gov. Tony...

Cities, police unions clash as vaccine mandates take effect

Police departments around the U.S. that are requiring officers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are running up against pockets of resistance that some fear could leave law enforcement shorthanded and undermine public safety. Police unions and officers are pushing back...

Nuclear reservation operator sued over vaccine mandate

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — The operator of a sprawling federal nuclear reservation in South Carolina says the vast majority of its 5,500 workers are now vaccinated against COVID-19 after the company mandated the shots. But nearly 80 Savannah River Site employees who have...

EXPLAINER: Texas abortion law again on path to high court

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Friday that the federal government will ask the Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision on a restrictive Texas law that has banned most abortions since September. A federal appeals court on Thursday said the Texas law should stay in...

Natural gas pipeline project sues landowners for easements

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — A natural gas company planning to replace pipeline in southeast South Dakota has negotiated easements with most landowners affected by the project after suing some in federal court. Northern Natural Gas Co., based in Omaha, brought condemnation...

Idaho Lt. Gov. blames public records mess on press, lawyers

AMMON, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin held a news conference Thursday to defend her decision to refuse to release public records until she lost a lawsuit over the matter, criticizing the Idaho Attorney General's office and accusing several news organizations of lying in their...

Judge sides with company in royalties dispute with state

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A judge has sided with a Houston-based energy company in a dispute with North Dakota involving oil and natural gas royalties, a decision that could affect several other drillers that allegedly owe the state millions of dollars in payments, the biggest portion of which...

Review backs Iowa officer in shooting that paralyzed man

WATERLOO, Iowa (AP) — A police officer who shot and paralyzed a man in downtown Waterloo in April acted legally because the target appeared to be chasing a deputy with a shotgun, a prosecutor ruled Friday. Waterloo police Officer C.J. Nichols did not know that the long,...

Correction: Dominion Worker-Defamation Suit story

DENVER (AP) — In a story published October 14, 2021, about a defamation lawsuit, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of Joseph Oltmann’s attorney. The attorney is Ingrid DeFranco, not Andrew DeFranco.