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(Left to right) Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainville; Alabama Lt. Gov. Will Ainsworth and Alabama Senate President Pro Tem Garlan Gudger, R-Cullman, preside over a joint session of the Alabama Legislature honoring veterans on March 19, 2026 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) The Alabama Legislature has seemed discombobulated in recent years. It’s not just what happened on Thursday . The last day of a session is always frantic. Bills die without warning as a host of priorities try to squeeze through the closing door. But look at a controversial bill to require party registration to participate in Alabama primaries. This wasn’t one of those “controversial because it hurts Alabamians” bills. No, HB 541 divided the GOP. The state party wanted it. Many elected Republicans did not . Managing that sort of legislation — whether you’re trying to pass it or kill it — takes a careful, coordinated strategy. As best as I can ...

The Hernandez Family stands in solidarity with other non violent protesters against anti immigration bills in Congress in Birmingham, Alabama, on Saturday February 22, 2025. At least five bills targeting immigrants were introduced in the 2026 regular session of the Alabama Legislature, but none passed. (Andi Rice for Alabama Reflector) Immigration consumed the Alabama Legislature in 2025. Not this year. Lawmakers considered a total of seven bills that would have affected immigrants in several ways, from immigration enforcement to their eligibility to seek elected office. But unlike 2025, when the Legislature passed two immigration-related bills, none of this year’s immigration legislation passed by the time the session concluded Thursday. For immigrants’ rights groups, that was a relief. GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE “We were concerned with any bills that seemed to want to increase penalties, fines and punishments based on someone’s status,” said Carlos E. Alemán...

Gold bars are photographed at the Texas Bullion Depository, the nation’s first state-run depository for precious metals. More states are eying legislation on gold to hedge against inflation. (Photo courtesy of Texas Comptroller’s Office) More states are piling up gold bars, or encouraging residents to use gold-backed debit cards, to hedge against inflation. Several states, including Western ones with rich mining histories, have been stockpiling gold as part of their broader state savings. And more states are looking to follow the lead of Texas and Florida by passing so-called transactional gold laws that would invite consumers to save and spend gold through their own accounts. Critics question the need for these bills and some have panned them as potentially market-disrupting measures that could ultimately provide tax havens for the wealthy. But proponents say they can help bring gold to the masses and provide ordinary consumers an important protection against the creep of infla...

A giant inflatable intrauterine device is displayed outside of the Virginia Capitol in Richmond on Feb. 7, 2025. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed legislation Wednesday that secures the right to birth control in the state and requires insurers to cover contraception. (Photo by Charlotte Rene Woods/Virginia Mercury) Virginia’s Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger signed a bill Wednesday that ensures the right to contraception in the commonwealth — legislation that cleared the General Assembly in previous sessions only to be rejected by her predecessor. “After championing this legislation during my years in the Senate and watching it vetoed by Glenn Youngkin, I am pleased to see the legislation signed and codified into law,” Democratic Lt. Gov. Ghazala Hashmi  said on social media.  Spanberger also  endorsed the Contraception Equity Act, a  bill that requires health insurers to cover prescription and over-the-counter birth control without any...

An Indianapolis gas pump shows prices over $4 a gallon on Tuesday, April 7, 2026. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) WASHINGTON — Spikes in energy prices caused by the U.S.-Israeli war in Iran drove up inflation for Americans in March, according to the latest consumer price index figures released Friday. Costs  jumped 0.9% in March compared to the previous month — that’s up from the 0.3% increase in February.  Prices for all items together, including food, energy, shelter and other commodities like vehicles, rose by 3.3% from a year ago. That’s the highest annual jump since May 2024, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics historical  data .  Fuel costs drove the spike, with gasoline and fuel oil together rising 10.9% in March compared to the previous month. Singled out, gas prices jumped 21.2% in March. The cost for airfare, largely driven by jet fuel prices, rose 2.7% in March, up from the 1.4% jump in February. President Donald Trump launche...

First lady Melania Trump makes a brief statement to deny any connection with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on April 9, 2026. (Image via White House livestream) WASHINGTON — First lady Melania Trump said Thursday she was “never involved in any capacity” with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and that “baseless lies” about her are being circulated. In a rare solo statement livestreamed on the White House website, Melania Trump also called for a congressional hearing featuring the women who have  shared stories of abuse by Epstein, who died in jail in 2019 while awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges. “I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing specifically centered around the survivors, to give these victims their opportunity to testify under oath in front of Congress,” the first lady said in her nearly six-minute remarks.  “With the power of sworn testimony, each and every woman should have her d...