South Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature is trying to thwart a proposed ballot initiative that would enable voters to protect abortion rights in the state constitution. The initiative’s leader says the GOP efforts threaten the state’s tradition of direct democracy. Supporters need about 35,000 valid signatures submitted by May 7 to qualify for the November ballot. Dakotans for Health co-founder Rick Weiland said they already have more than 50,000. Republican...

An expert Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis retained to help prosecute former President Trump donated $4,300 to her campaign for public office, records show.  John Floyd, a prominent Atlanta attorney and partner at Bondurant Mixson & Elmore, was retained by Willis in 2021 to help her prosecute the former president. Floyd is one of the leading experts in Georgia’s intricate and complex racketeering statutes at play in the sweeping...

West Virginia’s Republican-led House of Delegates approved a bill Thursday that would cut and gradually phase out the state income tax on Social Security benefits. Eliminating the tax is a key priority for GOP Gov. Jim Justice, who announced it as part of his annual budget proposal during his final State of the State address last month. In 2019, the Legislature passed a bill cutting the income tax...