A Virginia Senate committee on Thursday approved SB 733, legislation to ease abortion restrictions, by a 9-6 vote. A similar bill was advanced in the House Wednesday. The legislation aims to undo Republican-backed laws in the state. If signed into law, the bill will reverse the 24-hour waiting period and ultrasound and counseling requirements. The Democratic-backed changes [...]

Lead House manager, Adam Schiff, gave an opening statement on Wednesday invoking the framers of the Constitution as he argued for the conviction and removal of President Trump for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Wednesday marked the first of three days in which House managers will lay out the case against Trump according [...]

The Virginia Senate approved a so-called “red flag law” on Wednesday, which allows authorities to take away guns from those labeled as dangerous to themselves or others. The bill, numbered SB240, was passed by the state’s Senate, composed primarily of Democrats. The bill would require a court hearing in the circuit court for the jurisdiction [...]

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers released a finalized version of their new “Navigable Waters Protection Rule” on Thursday, capping President Donald Trump’s attempts to roll back Obama-era pollution regulations under the Clean Water Act. The replacement rule follows the repeal of the earlier “Waters of the United States” rule [...]

The Oakland, California, City Council unanimously approved a new ordinance Tuesday that will prevent landlords from looking into the criminal history of applicants for rental housing. A subsequent vote next month will allow the measure to take effect. The new rental protections for ex-convicts will be the strictest in California to date; previously, San Francisco [...]

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and partners filed suit against the Trump administration Wednesday to force them to propose Endangered Species Act (ESA) protection for pangolins. Currently, the US offers ESA protection for one of seven pangolin species that exist, which allows for the trafficking and purchasing of pangolin goods in the US. Pangolins [...]

The Governor of Utah, Gary Herbert, implemented a ban on conversion therapy on Tuesday, making Utah the nineteenth state to ban the practice. Herbert first proposed the rule in November 2019, basing it off of HB 399. The law failed to pass last year after conservative members of the legislature amended the bill so much [...]

The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Wednesday in a case about secular aid for public school choice when that school is a religious school. The question before the court in Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue is whether the Constitution allows the wholesale exclusion of religious schools from a state scholarship program. The [...]

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a ban on flavored vaping products Tuesday in response to growing concerns about the health impacts of e-cigarettes. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has suggested that the use of e-cigarettes could increase the likelihood of future tobacco use, particularly among younger individuals. The actual text of the [...]

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia on Tuesday urged the sheriff’s office of Cobb County, Georgia to conduct a full investigation into the water contamination that allegedly left the jail’s inmates without water to drink or shower for multiple days. According to the ACLU’s letter, on Saturday, inmates reported that water smelled or [...]