Charlotte Cravins holds artwork that she and her husband, Calvin Bell, completed with their son, Landry Bell, now 2, at a children's museum in Baton Rouge, La. The family is worried that a lawsuit filed by eight states, including their home state of Louisiana, could strip protections away from people with disabilities, like Landry. (Photo courtesy of Charlotte Cravins) Charlotte Cravins’ son Landry turned 2 in January. He’s a smiley little boy who loves singing “Itsy Bitsy Spider” and recently got his first pair of glasses. Landry was born with Down syndrome and has impaired vision. He receives publicly funded therapies that have helped him learn to crawl, to pull himself up to stand, and to use American Sign Language. Landry lives with his parents and sister in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, one of the eight states whose attorney general has chosen to remain in a lawsuit challenging a federal rule that protects accommodations for people with disabilities. States are asking a federal co...
Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, discusses a primary bill in the Alabama Senate on May 6, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. The Senate approved the bill, which would allow the state to set new primary elections in two Montgomery-area state Senate districts if federal courts allow the state to use a legislative map previously declared unconstitutional. (Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Legislature on Wednesday passed legislation that could set new primary dates for the state amid protests within the Statehouse and flooding that led the Alabama Senate to quickly pass its bill before a mass evacuation of the building. HB 1 , sponsored by Speaker Pro Tempore Chris Pringle, R-Mobile, would allow for a new special election if the U.S. Supreme Court lifts an injunction preventing the state from redrawing congressional maps before 2030. SB 1 , sponsored by Sen. Chris Elliott, R-Josephine, affects two Montgomery-area Senate districts. The legislation drew sha...