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Steve Marshall, 11 GOP AGs defend citizenship lists ordered by Trump as ‘optional’ election help

A voter deposits a mail-in ballot at the drop box outside the Chester County Government Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Peter Hall/Pennsylvania Capital-Star) A dozen Republican state attorneys general are moving to defend President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail ballots from legal challenges mounted by Democrats. The GOP officials, led by Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway, argued in multiple court filings Monday and Tuesday in response to Democratic lawsuits that the  March 31 order provides states with “optional resources” to help secure their elections and doesn’t endanger voting rights. The states “would like to access this resource so they may verify the accuracy of their own voter-registration lists. This flow of information between federal and state agencies is a common and critical feature of our federal system,” the Republican officials wrote in  a court document . The attorneys general of Alabama, Fl...
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Fed chair nominee says he will be independent of Trump, though Dems see a ‘sock puppet’

Kevin Warsh, President Donald Trump's nominee for chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Federal Reserve, Kevin Warsh, vowed Tuesday the central bank would remain “strictly independent” if he’s confirmed to the top spot, even as the president has broadcast his demand for the new Fed chair to lower interest rates. Warsh, a former Fed board governor, faced questions during his confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, as the clock winds down on the term of current Fed Chair Jerome Powell, who is in Trump’s crosshairs. Trump’s criminal  probe into Powell, over a $2.5 billion renovation project at the Fed’s offices, stands in the way of Warsh’s confirmation on the closely di...

Alabama reaches $12.2 million settlement with Roblox over parental lawsuits

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announces at a news conference on Tuesday that the state reached a settlement with Roblox, a company the operates an online gaming platform for children, for $12.2 million that will provide for more school resource officers throughout the state. (Ralph Chapoco/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Attorney General’s Office Tuesday said it reached a $12.2 million agreement with Roblox, a company that operates an online gaming platform, to settle a series of lawsuits that alleged the company failed to implement security measures that could have prevented adults who used the site from taking advantage of children. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement that the state “stepped in where others failed to act.” “We have now established a framework that other states can and should use,” the statement said. ”Platforms that host child consumers must do their part to give parents a fighting chance to shield thei...

Evictions fell slightly in 2025, but some areas saw upticks, report finds

Landlords filed more than 1.23 million eviction cases in the 10 states and 38 cities tracked by Princeton University's Eviction Lab. (Nevada Current file photo) Eviction filings fell in 2025 for the second straight year in the cities and states tracked in a new report — areas home to roughly a third of the country’s renters — though some of those places saw increases. Landlords filed more than 1.23 million eviction cases in the 10 states and 38 cities where data was collected by Princeton University’s Eviction Lab, a research center. That’s slightly lower than the 1.25 million in 2024.  Across those locations, the average eviction filing rate was 7.9%, which means that landlords filed roughly one eviction case for every 13 renter households in 2025. The areas of Atlanta (25%); Richmond, Virginia (24%); Charleston, South Carolina (17%); and Indianapolis (14%) had filing rates that were at least double the national average, the report said. In Atlanta, landlords filed 144,0...

Lori Chavez-DeRemer out as secretary of the US Department of Labor

Lori Chavez-DeRemer, at the time a member of the U.S. House from Oregon, speaks to reporters on Oct. 9, 2024. (Photo by Julia Shumway/Oregon Capital Chronicle) WASHINGTON — Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer will step down from her post, the Trump administration announced Monday, following multiple reports alleging work misconduct including misuse of funds and more. Chavez-DeRemer, a Republican from Oregon who lost her U.S. House reelection bid in 2024, will take a role in the private sector, White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung wrote in a social media post.  “She has done a phenomenal job in her role by protecting American workers, enacting fair labor practices, and helping Americans gain additional skills to improve their lives,” Cheung said.  Keith Sonderling will lead the agency as acting secretary of Labor, he added. Sonderling also worked at the Department of Labor during the first Trump administration, in the Wage and Hour Division.  ...

Show me the money: Businesses line up for $166B in refunds from Trump’s illegal tariffs

Cans used for Lost Boy cider in Alexandria, Virginia, cost the small business more because of increased aluminum tariffs. Tristan Wright, founder and president of Lost Boy, stands near his production line on Feb. 6, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Customs and Border Protection tariff refund system went live Monday, marking what small business advocates call a “complex” first step for entrepreneurs to recoup $166 billion in import taxes accrued under President Donald Trump’s emergency tariffs, which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in February.  Importers and brokers can now upload a detailed list of each tariff paid under Trump’s now illegal order to charge duties under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, or IEEPA.  Customs officials estimate 330,000 importers paid the duties. Refunds are expected within 60 to 90 days, according to CBP. The Supreme Court’s 6-3  decision earlier this year found Trump’s steep glob...

Federal judge blocks reworked Arkansas law restricting minors’ social media

(Joe Raedle/Getty Images) A federal judge has temporarily blocked an Arkansas law set to take effect Tuesday that would have restricted minors’ social media access.  Tech industry trade group NetChoice in January filed a lawsuit challenging Act 900 of 2025 , which sought to amend a 2023 law found to be unconstitutional.  The earlier law and the reworked version would have required age verification to create new social media accounts. A federal judge declared the 2023 law unconstitutional and permanently blocked it last year .  In Monday’s 24-page ruling , U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks said NetChoice was likely to succeed on its vagueness challenge to a provision of the law prohibiting social media platforms from engaging in “addictive practices.” Tech industry group seeks to block reworked Arkansas social media law Brooks, who was nominated to by former President Barack Obama, said NetChoice was also likely to succeed on its First Amendment challeng...