Apr 27 Washington, Minnesota become transgender and abortion sanctuaries By Lisa Baumann, Steve Karnowski, Associated Press Democratic governors in Washington state and Minnesota on Thursday enacted legal protections for people who travel to those states seeking reproductive and gender-affirming procedures and treatment. Continue reading
Apr 27 North Dakota’s latest attempt at abortion ban likely to face lawsuit By Trisha Ahmed, Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press The state joins a handful that have passed new abortion bans this year — and several that have tweaked their abortion policy as the landscape continues to shift in the aftermath of the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturning the… Continue reading
Apr 27 Unemployment claims keep falling as labor market remains strong By Matt Ott, Associated Press Applications for unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell last week as the labor market continues to show strength despite some weakness in other parts of the economy. Continue reading
Apr 26 Here’s what’s in the GOP bill to lift the U.S. debt limit By Kevin Freking, Associated Press The bill has virtually no chance of becoming law, but Republicans hope it will force Biden to the negotiating table on the debt limit. Continue reading
Apr 26 Rep. Zooey Zephyr’s town feels divide from rest of Montana after barring By Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press The city is often described as a blue island in a vast red state and elected the state's first openly transgender legislator. But its voters were still shocked at what happened next. Continue reading
Apr 26 Watch 5:30 Seditious conspiracy trial against Proud Boys members in hands of jury By John Yang, Tess Conciatori Jurors are deliberating in the case against Proud Boys members who stormed the capitol on Jan. 6. They face multiple criminal counts, including seditious conspiracy, a rarely-used, Civil War-era charge for plotting to overthrow the government. John Yang discussed the… Continue watching
Apr 26 Watch 6:37 Trans Rep. Zephyr on being only Montana lawmaker in decades to be censured By Amna Nawaz, Matt Loffman, Dorothy Hastings Republicans in the Montana House of Representatives voted to block Democratic Rep. Zooey Zephyr from entering the House chamber for the rest of the session. The party-line vote capped a week-long saga that began as the first transgender member of… Continue watching
Apr 26 Mississippi River flooding prompts evacuations, sandbagging By Scott McFetridge, Todd Richmond, Associated Press Communities along the Upper Mississippi River scrambled Wednesday as the always-massive river swelled to near-record levels, forcing some to evacuate while others downstream stacked sandbag walls and closed off flood-prone areas. Continue reading
Apr 26 North Dakota limits bathroom, locker room use for transgender people By Trisha Ahmed, Associated Press North Dakota's Republican Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill that limits access to bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms for transgender and gender-nonconforming people in several state facilities. Continue reading
Apr 26 Blue states look to expand insurance coverage of gender-affirming care By Claire Rush, Associated Press/Report for America The wide-ranging bill is part of a wave of legislation in Democratic-controlled states intended to carve out safe havens for transgender people amid a conservative movement seeking to ban or limit gender-affirming care. Continue reading