The Supreme Court seemed ready on Monday to limit the reach of a federal statute that makes it a crime for state and local officials, along with institutions that receive federal money, to accept gifts and payments meant to influence or reward their actions. In a lively argument studded with hypothetical questions about gifts as…
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed a bill into law on Wednesday that will make it a state crime for a person to enter Iowa after having been deported or denied entry into the United States. The new law, which is set to take effect July 1 but could face court challenges, joins Iowa with Texas in…
A new law in Indiana requires professors in public universities to foster a culture of “intellectual diversity” or face disciplinary actions, including termination for even those with tenure, the latest in an effort by Republicans to assert more control over what is taught in classrooms. The law connects the job status of faculty members, regardless…
Brad Coe, the sheriff in Kinney County along the Texas border, woke up on Wednesday with one destination in mind: Gov. Greg Abbott’s office. Sheriff Coe is the lead police authority in a mostly rural county that has embraced the state’s attempt to halt the sharp rise in migrants coming from Mexico. He said he…
A 16-year-old student in a small Oklahoma town outside Tulsa died after what the police said was a “physical altercation” in a high school bathroom, drawing outrage from gay and transgender rights groups who said the student was attacked because of their gender identity. The student, known to peers as Nex Benedict, often used the…
The United States has experienced a surge in clean energy projects, representing more than $200 billion in new investments since President Biden signed an expansive climate bill into law more than a year ago. But the election and the potential for a Republican takeover is prompting concern that key parts of the law could be…
The estimated price tag for President Biden’s clean-energy and climate agenda has effectively doubled since the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law a year and a half ago. Nearly all of the increase is attributable to forecasters’ belief that the law will be more popular than they had originally expected, in part because of…
El Paso County and two immigrant rights groups sued Texas officials on Tuesday to challenge a sweeping new law that allows state and local police to arrest migrants who cross from Mexico, setting up a legal showdown over federal immigration policies. The federal lawsuit came a day after Gov. Greg Abbott signed the bill, which…
The House scrapped votes on rival bills late Monday that would narrow the scope of a powerful surveillance tool after an ugly fight broke out among Republicans, likely punting until next year on plans to renew but also limit an expiring wiretapping law at the heart of the program. In a hastily organized closed-door meeting,…
Kansas will no longer change the birth certificates of transgender people to reflect their gender identities, the state health department said on Friday, citing a new law that took effect this year that defines male and female as a person’s sex assigned at birth. The legislation, passed by the Republican-controlled State Legislature earlier this year,…