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Customs and Border Protection agents question families who have presented themselves at the Paso del Norte bridge to request asylum on May 11, 2023. (Photo by Corrie Boudreaux for Source NM) WASHINGTON — A federal judge Wednesday ruled as unlawful an executive order by President Donald Trump that barred asylum by claiming an “invasion” at the southern border and the need to protect states. It’s the first major blow to the Trump administration in its attempt to end the ability for asylum seekers to make asylum claims. “The President cannot adopt an alternative immigration system, which supplants the statutes that Congress has enacted,” District of Columbia U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss  wrote in his opinion. “Here, nothing in the (Immigration and Nationality Act) or the Constitution grants the President or his delegees the sweeping authority asserted in the Proclamation and implementing guidance,” continued Moss, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama. The orde...

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., talks with reporters before heading to the House chamber for a procedural vote on the "One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act" at the U.S. Capitol on July 2, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) WASHINGTON —  U.S. House Republican efforts to pass the “big, beautiful bill” hit a roadblock Wednesday, when leaders left the chamber in a holding pattern for hours before sending members back to their offices. The House was scheduled to vote on a rule that would have set up floor debate and a final passage vote for the tax break and spending cut package. But that plan was delayed indefinitely after GOP leaders had to hold open another vote as they tried to secure the votes needed to move forward amid an especially thin 220-212 majority. Far-right members of the House GOP objected strongly to the Senate version passed Tuesday, which reflected changes made during the past month compared to an earlier version passed in t...

Leigh Gwathney, Chair of the Board of Pardons and Paroles speaks during a hearing in Montgomery, Ala., on Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2023. Gov. Kay Ivey is expected to announce Gwathney's reappointment or the appointment of a new parole board member in the coming days. (Photo/Stew Milne for the Reflector) Gov. Kay Ivey’s office said Wednesday it plans to name a member of the Alabama Board of Pardons and Paroles within the next few days, whether or not that’s Chair Leigh Gwathney. “The governor is in receipt of the list of nominations. She is reviewing and will make a determination by the Monday deadline,” Gina Maiola, a spokesperson for the governor, said in a statement Wednesday. Gwathney’s fate has become the subject of public contention, with the board’s falling level of parole grants and responsiveness to the Legislature at the center of the discussion. In a letter released Tuesday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and several sheriffs and prosecutors praised Gwathney and u...

Alex Braswell and former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones pose for a photo after the House District 11 Democratic nominee received Jones' endorsement. Jones will be in Cullman County to campaign for Braswell on July 29. (Courtesy Alex Braswell) Former U.S. Sen. Doug Jones has endorsed and plans to campaign for a Democratic Alabama House candidate running in a district taking in Cullman and Blount counties.  Jones said in an interview Tuesday that he endorsed Alex Braswell, a 30-year-old American Sign language interpreter, in the House District 11 contest because she impressed him with her knowledge of issues affecting Alabamians. “I don’t know how many candidates that I’ve ever talked to that had done their homework about what’s going on in the state, what’s going on in the district. She has,” he said. “She’s the first woman nominee in that district. I think that’s important too.” GET THE MORNING HEADLINES. SUBSCRIBE House District 11 has been solidly Republican in the past, but J...

President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after signing executive orders in the Oval Office on April 23, 2025. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer and Secretary of Education Linda McMahon look on. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)   WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has put on hold $6.8 billion in federal funds for K-12 schools, according to an Education Department notice obtained by States Newsroom. The agency informed states on Monday that it would be withholding funding for several programs, including before- and after-school programs, migrant education and English-language learning, among other initiatives. But the agency notified states just a day ahead of July 1 — the date these funds are typically sent out as educators plan for the coming school year. “The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the President’s priorities and the Department’s statutory responsibili...

Protesters supporting Kilmar Abrego Garcia hold signs outside the Fred D. Thompson Federal Courthouse in Nashville on June 13, 2025. (John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) This story originally appeared on Tennessee Lookout .  NASHVILLE — Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain temporarily in jail at the request of his own attorneys, who cited conflicting positions taken by the government over whether he is at risk for immediate deportation. An order issued Monday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes keeps Abrego in the custody of the U.S. Marshals until a July 16 hearing in Nashville. The order also directs the U.S. Marshals to hold him “separately from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal” and to ensure he is able to privately confer with his attorneys. Abrego, an apprentice sheet metal worker living in Maryland, was deported to a Salvadoran prison in March after a traffic stop as the Trump administration began ramping up immigration enforc...

Senate leaders are bending to bipartisan opposition and softening a proposed ban on state-level regulation of artificial intelligence. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect the fact that Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn backed off her own proposal late on Monday. Senate Republicans are aiming to soften a proposed  10-year moratorium on state-level artificial intelligence laws that has received pushback from congressmembers on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas developed a pared down version of the moratorium Sunday that shortens the time of the ban, and makes exceptions for some laws with specific aims such as protecting children or limiting deepfake technologies. The ban is part of the  quickly evolving megabill that Republicans are aiming to pass by July 4.  The Senate parliamentarian ruled Friday that a narrower version of the moratorium could remain, but...