National

Amid False 2020 Claims, GOP States Eye Voting System Upgrade

For years, Tennessee Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeff Yarbro’s call to require the state’s voting infrastructure to include a paper record of each ballot cast has been batted down in the Republican-dominated Legislature.

Mississippi Legislature Cuts Ties with Russia

Echoing deepening sanctions from the U.S. government, both the Mississippi House of Representatives and Senate passed resolutions this week condemning Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and barring any business between state entities and Russia.

EXPLAINER: What's Behind Federal Anti-Lynching Legislation?

President Joe Biden is expected to sign into law the first bill that specifies lynching as a federal hate crime. The Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act, which Congress passed on March 7, enables the prosecution of crimes as lynchings if they are done during a hate crime in which the victim is injured or slain.

Abortion Rights Funds Brace for Impact Ahead of Court Ruling

Texas has tightened abortion restrictions over the past two decades, leading women there to increasingly seek out-of-state abortions.

Unvaccinated Medical Workers Turn to Religious Exemptions

Religious exemptions are increasingly becoming a workaround for unvaccinated hospital and nursing home workers who want to keep their jobs in the face of federal mandates that are going into effect nationwide this week.

EXPLAINER: Blood Supplies Run Short, Affecting Patient Care

After the holidays, it’s normal for the nationwide supply of life-saving blood to dwindle at hospitals and blood banks as donations slow. This year, with fears about COVID-19 and the omicron variant keeping donors away or making them sick, blood centers say the shortage is worse than usual.

Wicker: Black Woman Supreme Court Nominee Would be 'Quota'

One of Mississippi's Republican U.S. senators said that if President Joe Biden nominates a Black woman to the U.S. Supreme Court, that nominee would be the beneficiary of a “quota.”

Minority Women Most Affected if Abortion is Banned, Limited

If the U.S. Supreme Court allows states to further restrict or even ban abortions, minority women will bear the brunt of it, according to statistics analyzed by The Associated Press.

EPA Acts on Environmental Justice in 3 Gulf Coast States

The Environmental Protection Agency announced a series of enforcement actions Wednesday to address air pollution, unsafe drinking water and other problems afflicting minority communities in three Gulf Coast states, following a “Journey to Justice” tour by Administrator Michael Regan last fall.

Ellington