Political
Need information regarding current political news? Here we'll keep you updated on the latest political news, locally and nationally.
County to test election process ahead of vote
EPHRATA — As Grant County prepares for the Nov. 3 General Election, local election officials are inviting the publ…
Execution transparency bill wins initial OK in Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A bill to ensure more transparency in the death penalty won first-round approval from Nebraska lawmakers Thursday after prison officials blocked the view of public witnesses while carrying out …
New Mexico bid for recreational marijuana all but doomed
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — The effort to legalize recreational marijuana in New Mexico is all but doomed for this year after a proposal to do so was rejected by a key Senate committee.
Michigan Senate rejects Whitmer appointee to hunting panel
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — Michigan Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's appointee to the state commission that regulates hunting and fishing, which Democrats said was payback becaus…
Audit: 2 Indiana online schools misspent nearly $86 million
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Two Indiana online charter schools that have been under federal investigation over
Ex-Brazilian leader da Silva meets the pope, gets blessing
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva met Thursday with Pope Francis at the Vatican, received a papal blessing and said the two discussed prospects for a “more just and fraternal …
New manufacturing facility planned for northwest Louisiana
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A Canadian company plans to create an industrial sound control equipment manufacturing facility in northwest Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards' office announced Thursday.
Wanted: Texas Republicans need new voters in 2020, and fast
PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (AP) — It's normal to target new voters ahead of Super Tuesday. Think volunteers holding clipboards at street festivals, malls or outside grocery stores. Democrats in Texas have made it a perenn…
Trump slams ex-adviser who defended key impeachment witness
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday lashed out against former White House chief of staff John Kelly for being disloyal after he came to the defense of a former national security aide who offered ke…
Bill allowing 4 a.m. bar closing during convention advances
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin bars could remain open until 4 a.m. during the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this summer under a bill approved by a state Assembly Committee on Thursday, making it one s…
Ideas for amending Russian Constitution aired for Putin
MOSCOW (AP) — A meeting chaired by President Vladimir Putin on amending the Russian Constitution produced suggested changes on a variety of topics Thursday, ranging from the protection of traditional values to the …
Revenue projections rise as lawmakers prepare budget
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota lawmakers projected Thursday that they will have more money to work with than previously expected as they craft the state budget this legislative session.
UK's Johnson under pressure over luxury Caribbean vacation
LONDON (AP) — Opposition lawmakers in Britain asked Parliament's standards watchdog on Thursday to investigate who paid for Prime Minister Boris Johnson to take a luxury post-election holiday in the Caribbean.
House acts to remove deadline for Equal Rights Amendment
WASHINGTON (AP) — In a bid to revive the Equal Rights Amendment, the House on Thursday approved a measure removing a 1982 deadline for state ratification and reopening the process to amend the Constitution to prohi…
Wisconsin eyes expanding bar hours for Democratic convention
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Wisconsin lawmakers are looking at allowing bars to remain open until 4 a.m. during the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee this summer, but a proposal up for a committee vote Thursday …
Former law clerk alleges harassment by late prominent judge
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former law clerk said she was repeatedly sexually harassed by the prominent federal judge she worked for, the late Judge Stephen Reinhardt, and that the judiciary's new system for reporting misc…