Georgia State Representative Mesha Mainor (R-Atlanta) confirmed on Friday she filed a lawsuit against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and other officials over an alleged failure to correctly prosecute a man she claims stalked and violently assaulted her.
In addition to Willis, the lawsuit by Mainor names the district attorney’s office, Fulton County, the Fulton County Ethics Board and Fulton County Commissioner Marvin Arrington as defendants.
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Activists who participated in the “Gaza Liberation Encampment” at Virginia Tech brought children to the ill-fated protest before dozens of protesters were arrested by police, suggests video posted to social media on Sunday.
One video that surfaced on the social media platform X on Sunday after police ordered protesters to leave the encampment included a child who led the protesters in a chant. The video was captioned to ask police whether they are scared by children.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin in a Sunday appearance on CNN pledged to protect the First Amendment on Virginia’s college campuses, but also vowed to keep Jewish students safe from “hate speech and intimidation” from anti-Israel protesters.
The governor stated during an appearance with Dana Bash on CNN’s State of the Union that his administration will allow protesters to peacefully demonstrate against Israel while preventing the establishment of anti-Israel encampments and protecting the rights of Jewish students.
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Arizona State University (ASU) confirmed on Saturday a number of its students were among the 72 protesters arrested for the creation of an anti-Israel encampment on the school’s Tempe campus.
A university statement declared, “ASU Police arrested 72 people for trespassing after they set up an unauthorized encampment Friday,” noting that such encampments are not allowed on the institution’s property.
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed a measure to create a new offense of unlawful squatting following widespread reports in Georgia and beyond of squatters taking over people’s properties
House Bill 1017, the “Georgia Squatter Reform Act,” defines the crime as entering and residing on a property without an owner’s consent. Anyone cited for squatting has three business days to provide proof of their authorization to be on a property, such as a “properly executed lease or rental agreement or proof of rental payments.”
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Pennsylvania-based radio host John Fredericks confirmed he is “strongly considering” a campaign for the Chair of the Pennsylvania delegation to the Republican National Convention (RNC) after a Friday appearance on War Room with Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump presidential aide who now hosts of the popular War Room program.
Fredericks confirmed to The Pennsylvania Daily Star, “I’m only considering a run for Delegation Chairman due to the outpouring of support I’ve gotten and the number of people that have asked me to run.” He added, “I am going to the convention for one purpose, and that is to make sure that President Trump’s agenda is executed to precision.”
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An Arizona grand jury on Wednesday indicted former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani, and five other former aides to former President Donald Trump on felony charges related to alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
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Attorney General Dave Yost filed an emergency motion with the Ohio Supreme Court on Monday, arguing that Franklin County Court of Common Pleas Judge Michael J. Holbrook “overstepped his judicial authority by placing on hold the entirety of House Bill 68.”
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A Cleveland area community college is overstaffed and struggling with debt related to underused buildings all while enrollment continues to fall.
Those issues became more serious following a recent review of the Lakeland Community College’s operations by State Auditor Keith Faber, who raised concerns about whether the school can remain open.
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Thirty alleged members of the Arizona Mexican Mafia were indicted on Friday for their role in an alleged conspiracy to steal pandemic unemployment money.
The Arizona Attorney General’s office confirmed Friday that a state grand jury “returned a 50-count indictment against members and associates of the Arizona Mexican Mafia,” with a total of 30 individual defendants.
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A man set himself ablaze outside of former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial on Friday in New York City.
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Within 20 minutes of convening to hold an impeachment trial of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, Democrats in the Senate steamrolled through motions and voted to dismiss the first article of impeachment brought against him.
Shortly thereafter, they dismissed the second article as well, without ever hearing evidence or conducting a trial.
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The Atlanta Police Department (APD) confirmed on Monday that the controversial Atlanta Public Safety Training Center is slated to open in January 2025 despite years of protests, demonstrations and violence aimed at preventing its construction.
A video posted to the social media platform X by APD on Monday showed former Chief Rodney Bryant and former Assitant Chief Todd Coyt viewing the site of the safety training center. Bryant was previously instrumental in pushing for the center.
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A new public service announcement by the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) asks patients to behave appropriately while receiving treatment or otherwise in healthcare settings. It was released amid rising workplace violence for health workers in hospitals.
The VHHA press release explains the “Help Us, Help You” campaign “draws attention to the heightened risk of workplace violence faced by health care professionals.”
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Two of Arizona’s most high profile Democrats have publicly disagreed about the correct course of action after the Arizona Supreme Court approved a 19th century law that effectively bans most abortions.
In a Friday appearance on The View, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs urged the Arizona State Legislature to immediately repeal the 1864 law that predates Arizona’s statehood.
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Attorney General Jason Miyares announced Virginia’s decision to join a 20-state coalition of attorneys general who seek to compel the Biden administration to defend an illegal immigration law on Wednesday.
The coalition of attorney generals, led by Kansas, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and West Virginia, seek to intervene in a lawsuit brought by those advocating on behalf of illegal immigrants against President Joe Biden’s Department of State.
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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs received rebukes from State Representative Beverly Pingerelli (R-Peoria) and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne after she used her veto power to block legislation that limited the use of smartphones in classrooms.
“There is a growing body of research that clearly links the use of wireless devices like cell phones to increased negative social harms among our youth,” said Pingerelli, who chairs the House Committee on Education and introduced HB 2793 to curtail phone use in schools.
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Norfolk Southern Corporation on Tuesday announced it reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit brought in response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
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Arizona U.S. Representative Raúl Grijalva will reportedly remain in Arizona while he receives treatment following his recent cancer diagnosis.
Grijalva disclosed that he had cancer on April 2, revealing the discovery was made after he sought treatment for a persistent cough. The congressman did not reveal any medical details about his diagnosis, including the type of cancer and stage, but acknowledged that it “has been difficult to process.”
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Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares celebrated a victory on Friday after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) halted the enforcement of its new climate changes rules for publicly traded businesses that were imposed by the Biden administration.
The coalition of 25 attorneys general originally sued the Biden administration to block SEC rule changes that require publicly listed businesses report what the government considers climate change risks. A press release from the attorney general notes companies would be forced to “release a plan to adapt to climate agenda recommendations” under the proposed rules.
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Two Ohio lawmakers want to make sure state schools follow federal law and allow groups like the Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts to be present during the school year.
Proposed legislation in the House of Representatives requires schools to allow U.S. Title 36, which permits patriotic organizations to provide information to students. Those organizations could be the Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts, 4-H, Future Farmers of America, Civil Air Patrol, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and many other groups.
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An Arizona judge ordered the divorce case between Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego to be partially unsealed, ruling the decision to permanently make the proceedings private was improper, the conservative media outlet behind the legal action to reveal the divorce records reported Friday.
The Washington Free Beacon reported that Yavapai County Superior Court Judge John Napper ruled last Tuesday that the decision to seal the records in the 2017 divorce case of Ruben Gallego, the likely Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, was improper.
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Georgia’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) declared on Friday it will sue the state if Governor Brian Kemp signs a bill, already approved by lawmakers, to strengthen election integrity in the state.
The legislation, SB 189, removes the Secretary of State from the Georgia Board of Elections, creates new conflict of interest provisions for election officials and private individuals involved with the election process, revises the process for challenging presidential electors and creates new chain of custody requirements for mail-in ballots.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin on Friday vetoed bills to regulate marijuana and raise the minimum wage, which were positioned by Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly as possible bargaining chips in negotiations to build an arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals in Alexandria, Virginia.
The arena project was officially pronounced dead last week, when Monumental Sports and Entertainment announced a deal with Washington, D.C. to stay in the nation’s capitol for decades on Wednesday.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis invoked race in her first public speech since Fulton County Judge Scott McAfee cautioned her about invoking race during a previous speech delivered from the pulpit of an Atlanta church.
The district attorney made the remarks about race at the South Fulton Women of the Shield Awards on Friday, stating, “It’s hard out here always having to prove yourself two and three times.”
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Homicides in Phoenix declined in 2023, with law enforcement crediting the success of their new policy to target repeat and violent offenders.
Phoenix saw 198 criminal homicides in 2023, and police received reports of 54,472 violent and property crimes in total. The number of homicides marked an 11 percent decrease from 2022, when the city reported 223 homicides.
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Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) stated on Saturday that voters in his congressional district “could care less” about a recent endorsement received by his primary challenger, State Senator John McGuire (R-Goochland), framing his opponent’s supporters as “establishment moderates.”
Good told cable news outlet CNN he was unfazed by the recent endorsement of McGuire by Representative Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03), who recently endorsed the Republican’s primary challenger.
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Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis denied she is “embarrassed” by the disqualification proceedings against her and claimed her reputation was undamaged by the public questioning of her decision to appoint her former lover, Nathan Wade, as the special prosecutor overseeing her case against former President Donald Trump.
The district attorney delivered the remarks to CNN on Saturday while attending an Easter giveaway in Fulton County.
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Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly are reportedly working on plans to build a new facility for the Washington Capitals and Wizards in Fairfax County after the defeat of proposed legislation to build the arena in Alexandria.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) pitched a plan to use the money from a new casino in Fairfax County to build an arena, according to The Washington Post. Surovell’s plan reportedly has the support of the company seeking to build the casino, as well as political consultant Ben Tribbett, who the outlet reported also works for Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).
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The new federal budget signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday includes funding to continue providing shelter to illegal immigrants in Arizona, even as many were reducing operations or preparing to close after Republicans defeated a controversial immigration and foreign aid bill.
Lawmakers approved a $1.2 trillion budget to avoid a government shutdown despite opposition in the U.S. House, where the funding bill proposed by Speaker Mike Johnson received the support of 101 Republicans. A total of 112 Republicans and 22 Democrats voted against the spending bill in the House.
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr on Thursday announced he is leading a coalition of 10 attorneys general in opposition to a new rule requiring publicly traded companies to create annual climate change reports.
Carr leads a coalition that includes attorneys general serving Georgia, West Virginia, Alabama, Alaska, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Wyoming and Virginia in a petition for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to review whether the newly-enacted rule should remain.
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State Representative Jevin Hodge (D-District 8) acknowledged on Monday that he was accused of sexual misconduct as a college student in 2015, but claimed police would not hear his side of events.
Hodge acknowledged a Monday article which revealed he was banned from the George Washington University campus after he allegedly tried forcing a woman to have sex with him in 2015, but claimed the encounter ended without any aggressive act.
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A lawsuit brought by religious and faith-based organizations against Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares was settled on Monday, with the parties forming a settlement that drops a requirement for the groups to hire non-Christians.
The conclusion of Cavalry Road Baptist Church v. Miyares was announced by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), whose attorneys represented two Virginia churches, three Christian schools and a pregnancy center network.
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Richmond Commonwealth’s Attorney Colette McEachin reportedly encouraged voters on Wednesday to consider delivering their 2024 mail-in ballots directly to a post office as the United States Postal Service (USPS) continues to suffer unexplained delays and disappearances of mail.
McEachin made the remarks to 6 News Richmond when discussing a new investigation into the USPS issues in Richmond. She was asked about the mail-in ballots after suggesting the problems with mail delivery could be placed highly within the postal service.
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Police in Fairfax County are reportedly refusing a request by Herndon Police Chief Maggie DeBoard to reissue ceremonial police academy graduation documents after they were signed in Chinese. English was declared the “official language of the Commonwealth” in 1996.
The graduation certificates were signed by Major Wilson Lee of the Fairfax County Police Criminal Justice Academy, who according to NBC 4 Washington is Chinese-American. Lee has reportedly held the position for more than a year, but the outlet explained the Herndon Police Department only recently received its first batch of new graduates from the academy since Lee began his tenure.
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A news report broke Friday claiming former Georgia Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan is under consideration by the No Labels party to be its presidential candidate in November.
Duncan is the current top pick by No Labels to lead a “unity” presidential ticket, according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin on Friday acted on more than 80 bills approved by the Virginia General Assembly. In total, the governor signed 64 new bills into law, amended 12 and vetoed eight.
Youngkin called the 64 bills he signed into law “bipartisan” and “a clear demonstration of what can be achieved when we set politics aside and work together for Virginians” in a statement.
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The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday the sentencing of a Phoenix man who led a human smuggling ring which moved illegal immigrants from Central America and held them in Arizona before driving them to destinations across the United States.
Tony Cardenas, a 36-year-old man from Phoenix, was sentenced to four years in prison and three years of supervised release earlier this month for his role as “the leader of a Phoenix-based human-smuggling operation” involving a total of at least 19 criminals, the DOJ announced. Cardenas is of no known relation to U.S. Representative Tony Cardenas (D-CA-29).
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Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) slammed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) call for the House of Representatives to prioritize passing a $95.34 billion aid package for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel before addressing the U.S.-Mexico border.
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A former postal carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS) pleaded guilty on Friday to stealing hundreds of pieces of mail in an episode that may explain part of the delivery issues that prompted a bipartisan response from Virginia’s federal representatives.
Former USPS postal carrier Wendy Lawrence of Richmond, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ), stole hundreds of pieces of mail from “over 180 victims.” She then removed “gift cards, checks, and other items of value” and used the information to engage in other criminal activity.
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A memorandum of understanding (MAU) between the Arizona Legislature and Runbeck Election Services on Monday, with Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) and Senator Wendy Rogers (R-Flagstaff) declaring it will significantly strengthen election integrity.
The legislature and Runbeck, which processes the mail-in ballots for Maricopa County, reached four key areas of agreement that include the release of some 2022 election video, and the lawmakers explained in a press release that the MAU marks “the culmination of an extensive examination of the company’s election processes.”
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America First Legal (AFL) “expanded a landmark Arizona election integrity case” last week, suing Yavapai County. AFL said in a press release that it withdrew the initial election integrity complaint against Maricopa County election officials due to “Maricopa County’s schemes to sabotage the case,” re-filing it in Yavapai County. The new lawsuit, which is substantially the same as the initial one, added an additional allegation, that during the 2022 elections, at least one voting center in Yavapai County had printer malfunctions that caused long lines.
James Rogers, America First Legal Senior Counsel, said in a statement, “What is Maricopa County’s response to the legitimate concerns of its citizens? Frivolous procedural motions trying to delay the case and ensure it is not heard on its merits. This voluntary dismissal is not the end of this case, but just the beginning.”
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The LockBit hacker group that seized control and temporarily stopped many Fulton County government services resurfaced just four days after an international intelligence operation seized many of the group’s servers in a bid to disrupt its activities.
A rambling message by the group’s pseudonymous leader upon the launch of LockBit’s new website claims that Operation Cronos, the international police action against the hackers, was launched due to documents the organized crime outfit obtained about the Fulton County trial of former President Donald Trump.
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A private criminal defense lawyer from northeast Ohio has been charged in a sex sting operation, Attorney General Dave Yost announced on Monday.
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The Virginia Senate narrowly passed a bill on Friday that would legalize assisted suicide in the commonwealth, with one Republican joining the chamber’s Democrats to pass the legislation in a narrow victory.
SB 280, introduced by Senator Ghazala Hashmi (D-Richmond), would allow any Virginia citizen who is diagnosed with a terminal disease to “request” a doctor to “prescribe a self-administered controlled substance for the purpose of ending the patient’s life,” according to a summary of the bill.
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The City of Phoenix last Wednesday approved just over $1 million to Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS), which operates the city’s largest homeless shelter.
Phoenix made the payment using leftover federal funds originally earmarked for COVID-19 recovery, but CASS warned the organization still has a shortfall of around $500,000 that could threaten its ability to provide shelter services, explaining that it filed three state grant requests that were denied by Arizona.
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Ohio Democratic lawmakers want the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and Republican Lt. Gov. Jon Husted after news reports questioned the administration’s actions after the House Bill 6 scandal came to light.
At a Thursday news conference, State House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, said the suggestion is that the administration did nothing when possibly criminal activity came to light.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin must decide the fate of gun rights in Virginia after Democrats narrowly passed three bills they claim will reduce gun violence in the commonwealth.
The bills, passed by the Virginia General Assembly between Wednesday and Friday, seek to regulate how gun owners in the commonwealth must store their firearms and where they can be carried.
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A bill to ban the sale of lab-grown meat to consumers, even for consumption by animals, narrowly passed the Arizona State House on Thursday.
HB 2121 by Representative David Marshall (R-Snowflake) passed the Arizona House with 31 votes in favor and 28 votes against, with one lawmaker absent. If passed by the Arizona Senate and signed into law by Governor Katie Hobbs, the legislation would ban any “cell-cultured animal product” from being sold to Arizona consumers for “human or animal consumption.”
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Wednesday, February 21 is the first day of early voting for the March 19 Primary Election in Ohio.
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