Things to know when the Arkansas Legislature convenes to take up a budget and other issues
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers are convening at the Capitol and their top agenda item is taking up Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ $6.3 billion proposed budget for the coming year. The session also could include efforts to tweak or outright repeal a law dealing with cryptocurrency mining operations. Sanders, a Republican who took […]
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Lands, a Democrat who ran on reproductive rights, flips seat in Alabama House | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP
Marilyn Lands, who campaigned on abortion rights in deeply conservative Alabama, won a special election to the Alabama Legislature, in a victory that Democrats say illustrates voter backlash to extreme reproductive restrictions imposed by Republicans. Lands, a Democrat, on Tuesday decisively defeated Republican Teddy Powell to win the open House of Representatives seat in a […]
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Arkansas Gov. Sanders deploys National Guard to US-Mexico border
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas National Guard will send about 40 guardsmen to Texas to support border control efforts along the nation’s southern border, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ office said Tuesday. The guard’s operation is at the governor’s direction and will begin April 1 and run through May 30, officials said in a […]
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What to know about Alabama’s fast-tracked legislation to protect in vitro fertilization clinics | #elections | #alabama
Alabama lawmakers moved quickly to approve legislation on Wednesday that protects in vitro fertilization clinics from lawsuits in response to an uproar sparked by last month’s state Supreme Court ruling that found frozen embryos have the rights of children under the state’s wrongful death law. Gov. Kay Ivey, a Republican, signed the bill into law […]
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Thousands of voters in Alabama district drawn to boost Black political power got wrong information | #elections | #alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — More than 6,000 voters in a newly formed congressional district drawn to heighten Black voting power in Alabama received postcards with incorrect voting information ahead of Tuesday’s primary, alarming advocates concerned about the potential impact on a race seen as crucial to boosting Black representation and Democrats’ hopes to flip the […]
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Alabama passes law to protect IVF providers from lawsuits | #elections | #alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Facing pressure to get in vitro fertilization services restarted in the state, Alabama’s governor swiftly signed legislation into law Wednesday shielding doctors from potential legal liability raised by a court ruling that equated frozen embryos to children. Republican Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill after it was approved in a late-night […]
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Arkansas voters could make history with two state Supreme Court races
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Supreme Court Justices Karen Baker and Rhonda Wood advanced to a runoff election for chief justice this fall, ensuring that for the first time a woman will be elected to lead the seven-member panel. Justice Barbara Webb and former state legislator Jay Martin were also running for the chief […]
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Katie Britt to attack Biden in GOP response to the State of the Union | #republicans | #Alabama | #GOP
WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Katie Britt will call President Joe Biden a “dithering and diminished leader” in the Republican rebuttal to his State of the Union address Thursday evening, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks. The first-term Alabama Republican, the youngest woman in the Senate, is set to deliver a stinging election-year critique of […]
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Arkansas governor proposes $6.3B budget as lawmakers prepare for session
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday proposed a $6.3 billion budget for the coming year, with most of the increase in spending going toward a school voucher program. Sanders’ budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins July 1 increases state spending by 1.76% over the previous year, with […]
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Alabama primary: Democrats aim to flip seat in new House district | #elections | #alabama
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — The race for Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, which was redrawn by a federal court to boost the voting power of Black voters, has sparked congested and competitive primary contests. Democrats see an opportunity to flip the Deep South congressional seat in November. Republicans aim to keep hold of the seat, as […]
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