State Politics & News
Coverage of state politics, elections, and conservative policy battles across all 50 states shaping America’s future.
-
news
Maryland’s Rep. Elijah Cummings Dies at 68
Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., died at an affiliate of Johns Hopkins Hospital early Thursday as a result of "complications from longstanding health challenges," his office said in a statement. He was 68. Cummings was chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, one of the major congressional committees involved in the impeachment inquiry against President… -
news
Texas Officer Aaron Dean Charged With Murder After Killing Black Woman in Her Home
A Fort Worth, Texas, police officer resigned and now faces charges after shooting a woman in her own home, Fort Worth Police Chief Edwin Kraus told reporters Monday. Officer Aaron Dean, who is white, shot and killed 28-year-old Atatiana Jefferson, who is black, at 2:30 a.m. on Saturday while she was looking after her 8-year-old… -
opinion
The New York Times Is Wrong. The Rich Pay More Taxes Than You Do.
By almost every measure, the U.S. has one of the most progressive systems of taxation in the world, in which high-income people pay the highest tax rates. Everyone agrees on this basic fact, except The New York Times. Using data from a new book by Berkeley economists Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, the Times claims… -
opinion
Good News: Mississippi Woman Convicted After Trying to Win Votes Via Bribes
For the residents of Canton, Mississippi, faith in their elected officials must be at an all-time low. The city has been facing seemingly endless election scandals in the past couple of years. Five local officials—including an alderman, the fire chief, and the city clerk—have been convicted of a variety of crimes stemming from their efforts… -
news
Elections Watchdog Seeks Answers in Michigan Voter Fraud Case
A Michigan municipal election official being charged with six felonies in the discarding of nearly 200 votes is not likely an indication of voting problems nationally, election experts say. But an election integrity watchdog still wants to get to the bottom of the matter. “Whether it changed the outcome is not really an issue when… -
opinion
The Whistleblower, Impeachment, and New York’s Orwellian Speech Policy
New York City is banning the term “illegal alien”—and what’s more, it says it’ll fine you up to a quarter-million dollars if you say it. Today, we’ll discuss that situation with Heritage Foundation legal expert Hans von Spakovsky. We’ll also have him weigh in on the latest impeachment news, and whether foreign leaders’ staying at… -
opinion
New York City Will Fine You for Saying ‘Illegal Alien.’ That’s an Assault on the Constitution.
The propaganda, surveillance, and censorship of Big Brother in George Orwell’s novel “1984” has now arrived in New York. The city’s Commission on Human Rights recently released new legal enforcement guidelines that ban the use of the term “illegal alien” by employers, housing providers (including hotels), and law enforcement as “discriminatory.” Violators can be punished… -
news
Trump Celebrates Winning Legal Fight to Stay on California Ballot
President Donald Trump declared victory Wednesday after a judge blocked a California law keeping his name off the state’s ballot ahead of the 2020 election. Judge Morrison England Jr. officially blocked the law Tuesday afternoon, giving the president a major victory pending California's appeal. The law, passed in July, would have required any candidate running… -
news
New York Threatens to Punish Those Who Say ‘Illegal Alien’ With $250K Fine
Those who use the term “illegal alien” in New York City will be hit with a fine as high as $250,000, the city’s human rights panel has determined. The move by the city’s Commission on Human Rights, its latest attempt to fight discrimination against illegal immigrants, is expected to face a quick court challenge based… -
opinion
How Ukraine Views the Whistleblower Feud in Washington
The whistleblower complaint over a phone call between President Donald Trump and the president of Ukraine has all but upended U.S. politics. But how does Ukraine feel about all this? Today, I’ll speak with our foreign correspondent Nolan Peterson, who is based in Ukraine. I’ll ask him what regular Ukrainians think about this controversy and… -
opinion
How ‘the Road Less Traveled’ on Teacher Certification Makes ‘All the Difference’ in Arizona
“Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, / and sorry I could not travel both. / And be one traveler, long I stood / And looked down one as far as I could,” poet Robert Frost wrote in “The Road Not Taken.” As with Frost’s path, two means of certifying schoolteachers have also diverged in… -
opinion
What Our Founders Really Thought of Slavery—and Why The New York Times Is Wrong
For those who want to fundamentally transform our nation, the first order of business is to thoroughly discredit our past. For decades, progressives have claimed that our foundations are so cracked and broken by the original sin of slavery that reverence paid both to our Constitution and its Framers is undue. While the left has… -
news
Maryland Sheriff Urges Congress to Take ‘Serious Measures’ to Address Illegal Immigration ‘Crisis’
A Maryland county sheriff told members of Congress on Thursday that the United States’ immigration system has reached a “crisis point.” “We’re at a crisis point in this country,” Sheriff Chuck Jenkins of Frederick County, Maryland, said at a House Judiciary Committee hearing called “The Expansion and Troubling Use of [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] Detention.”… -
opinion
In California, the Right to Gender ‘Transition’ Is Threatening Religious Liberty
In the age of transgenderism, the right to medically transition is threatening some of the most basic freedoms we’ve known, such as religious freedom. Consider a recent case out of California, where a state appeals court ruled that a transgender man can move forward with a lawsuit suing a Catholic hospital for discrimination. In April… -
opinion
Christian Student on Why He’s Suing Chicago Over Free Speech
All they wanted to do was share the gospel message—and they’d been doing it for years in downtown Chicago. But this time, the four Christian college students were shut down by law enforcement. Now, they’re suing the city of Chicago, saying their First Amendment rights to free speech have been violated. One of those students,… -
opinion
Wise Judge Blocks California Law Targeting Trump
We’re all used to seeing California throw its weight around, but its new law requiring a presidential candidate to provide five years of tax returns to be eligible to appear on a primary ballot is a new low. Now, however, a federal district court judge has blocked the state from enforcing it, at least temporarily. It’s the right decision. The law is nothing more… -
opinion
New York City Is Reversing an LGBT Counseling Gag Rule. That’s a Win for Everyone.
The LGBT movement has asked for the repeal of its favorite new law in New York City. In a public statement on Thursday, the speaker of the City Council agreed. Why? Because free speech matters. And elections have consequences. Sweeping Speech Bans In 2017, the City Council passed a law that punishes counselors who engage… -
news
Washington Post Passed on Thinly Sourced Kavanaugh Story Before New York Times Ran It
The Washington Post passed on a thinly sourced, unproven allegation about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh before The New York Times published it Sunday in a misleading article that has since been corrected. Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly left out exculpatory evidence in an article that said Kavanaugh had his pants down at… -
news
New York Times Corrects Kavanaugh Story After Omitting Relevant Facts
The New York Times published a correction late Sunday night after leaving out exculpatory evidence in a story about Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s time as an undergraduate student at Yale University. Times reporters Robin Pogrebin and Kate Kelly wrote an article in Sunday’s paper drawing from their new book, “The Education of Brett Kavanaugh:… -
news
After Another Allegation in New York Times, Trump Urges Kavanaugh to Sue
President Donald Trump accused Democrats and members of the press of waging an influence campaign against Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh Sunday, after another allegation of sexual misconduct against the justice appeared in The New York Times. The president suggested that Kavanaugh bring civil suits for libel and decried “accusations without recrimination.” A Saturday story in…