Legislature

Some states make it harder for college students to vote

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Vanderbilt University student Will Newell wishes it was easier for college students like him to ca...
13:45 1 March 2022

Used to giving orders, Kansas abortion foes can’t cut a deal

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Abortion opponents who’ve become used to giving orders to Kansas lawmakers on the exact wording of n...
15:27 28 February 2022

Idaho moves closer to ban on transgender women in athletics

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho moved closer Wednesday to banning transgender women from competing in women’s sports despite w...
0:36 27 February 2022

Medical marijuana bill clears Alabama Senate committee

1 of 2Cristi Cain speaks to reporters after appearing at a hearing where Alabama lawmakers granted initial approval to a...
19:31 19 February 2022

Utah lawmakers get tough on porn, ease up on polygamy

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers voted Tuesday to put new regulations on pornography and remove some on polygamy in ...
0:55 19 February 2022

California to apologize for internment of Japanese Americans

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Les Ouchida was born an American just outside California's capital city, but his citizenship mattered little after Japan bombed P...
17:48 16 February 2022

Speaker: Vote on medical marijuana bill possible next week

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Medical marijuana is getting a serious look in the Kentucky legislature.
17:44 14 February 2022

New Mexico bid for recreational marijuana is all but doomed

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico's bid to become the 12th U.S. state to legalize recreational use of marijuana abruptly fell flat after state senators in a...
22:37 13 February 2022

Kansas anti-abortion measure fails; Medicaid plan targeted

TOPEKA, Kan. — Republican lawmakers in Kansas failed to get a proposed anti-abortion amendment to the state constitution on the ballot Friday, and abo...
1:49 8 February 2022

Sports betting bill stumbles from starting gate in Kentucky

FRANKFORT, Ky. — In a state where betting on the Kentucky Derby is seen as a rite of passage, efforts to legalize wagering on other sports have barely...
17:41 7 February 2022

Merkel: Governor’s election with far-right help inexcusable

BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned as “inexcusable” the election of a new German state governor with the help of the far-right as well as her...
11:49 6 February 2022

Abortion is unlikely complication in Senate race in Kansas

OLATHE, Kan. — A fight in the Kansas Legislature over protecting its power to restrict abortion has become an unlikely complication in the Republican ...
20:42 5 February 2022

No sanctions for Montana lawmaker over socialism comments

HELENA, Mont. — The speaker of the Montana House conceded Wednesday that the Legislature will likely do nothing to sanction a Republican state represe...
20:12 5 February 2022

German state gets new governor, with far-right votes

BERLIN — A pro-business politician was elected unexpectedly as the governor of an eastern German state on Wednesday after a far-right party threw its ...
14:31 5 February 2022

Kansas considers requiring ‘In God We Trust’ in classrooms

TOPEKA, Kan. — Conservative Republicans are pushing for a law requiring government buildings and schools across Kansas to post the national motto of “...
19:32 30 January 2022

The end is nigh: European Parliament to approve Brexit

BRUSSELS — The European Parliament on Wednesday is set to overwhelmingly approve the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union — the fin...
12:15 29 January 2022

Wisconsin Republicans dismiss nonpartisan redistricting plan

MADISON, Wis. — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers' plan to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission to draw Wisconsin's electoral maps may put pressure ...
16:10 23 January 2022

In Texas and other states, voters face a variety of barriers

Democrats believe they have a shot at making gains this year in Republican-dominated Texas, including winning control of one house of the Legislature ...
14:14 19 January 2022

Cities can’t opt out of legal pot under new state proposal

SANTA FE, N.M. — New Mexico would legalize recreational marijuana sales without exceptions for dissenting cities and counties under a rebooted proposa...
15:53 18 January 2022

Virginia moves to brink of becoming 38th state to ratify ERA

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia moved to the brink of becoming the crucial 38th state to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment on Wednesday, a momentous victory ...
18:40 15 January 2022

Nigel Farage gets his way, and last laugh: Brexit is coming

STRASBOURG, France — Nigel Farage, the self-declared “pantomime villain” of Brexit, is leaving his favorite theater — the European Union's parliament ...
16:34 14 January 2022

Redistricting power at stake in 2020 legislative elections

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The reins of political power in the U.S. for the next decade could be determined in this year's elections — not necessarily by w...
14:24 11 January 2022

AP Explains: Taiwan’s election and its standoff with China

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwanese are casting their votes Saturday for the president and legislature of a self-governing island that acts like a sovereign na...
4:45 11 January 2022

Newly empowered Virginia Democrats promise ‘action’

RICHMOND, Va. — A historically diverse Virginia General Assembly is set to convene Wednesday, led for the first time in more than two decades by Democ...
6:12 8 January 2022

Venezuela’s would-be congress leader shrugs off accusations

CARACAS, Venezuela — The would-be new leader of Venezuela's congress dug in Monday against accusations that he facilitated a takeover of the country's...
0:50 7 January 2022

California eyes climate bond to prepare for disasters

SACRAMENTO, CAlif. — In a state burdened by billions of dollars in wildfire damage, California lawmakers are hoping for an advance loan before the nex...
16:26 5 January 2022

Taiwan’s Tsai defends Anti-Infiltration Law aimed at China

TAIPEI, Taiwan — China has been relentless in its attempts to influence and infiltrate Taiwan's politics and society but the island's new ban on polit...
4:50 1 January 2022

Taiwan passes law targeting Chinese political interference

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan's legislature on Tuesday passed a law aimed at blocking political interference from China, less than two weeks before presiden...
7:59 31 December 2022

California takes lead on laws affecting gig economy, privacy

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California’s long tradition of advancing nation-leading legislation continues into the new year, with laws reining in the gig eco...
16:32 29 December 2022

Iowa swung fiercely to Trump. Will it swing back in 2020?

DES MOINES, Iowa — Few states have changed politically with the head-snapping speed of Iowa. Heading into 2020, the question is whether it's going to ...
14:13 27 December 2022