West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice broke with the GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies.

Washington state's governor has called for the state to develop best practices on how agencies use generative artificial intelligence as it continues to incorporate the technology into government operations.

On the latest episode of “This Week in South Florida,” host Glenna Milberg welcomes State. Rep Alex Rizo, State Sen. Jason Pizzo, former Miami police Chief Jorge Colina and Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis.

A Kansas judge has put a new state law on medication abortions on hold and blocked the state from enforcing older abortion restrictions.

Myanmar’s military-controlled government has extended the state of emergency it imposed when the army seized power from an elected government 2 1/2 years ago, forcing a further delay in elections it promised when it took over.

State workers’ compensation fraud investigators arrested a pair of businessmen Monday, accusing them of significantly understating their drywall company’s payroll figures in order to avoid paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in insurance premiums and fees.

A nonprofit that describes itself as a collection of doctors and others uniting to “protect healthcare from a radical, divisive, and discriminatory ideology” has become a significant presence in statehouses.

An Oklahoma sheriff’s office says the recording in which the sheriff and others are reportedly heard discussing killing two journalists was illegal and predicted felony charges will be filed.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom says the state will pay to build 1,200 small homes to help house the homeless population.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill prohibiting the use of nonbinary gender markers on state birth certificates.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a new law to make abortions cheaper for people on private insurance plans.

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed a bill to limit how race can be discussed in classrooms.

Gov. Bill Lee says he supports placing more scrutiny over school libraries so that students consume “age appropriate” content.

California’s unemployment rate dipped a half-percentage point in December as the most populous state added 50,700 nonfarm jobs.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made clear in his State of the State speech that he likes teachers, first responders and freedom and he doesn’t like Dr. Anthony Fauci, critical race theory, abortion, illegal immigration and Burmese pythons.

The Senate has confirmed two prominent anti-Trump Republicans to serve in the Biden administration.

President Joe Biden is nominating Cindy McCain to be the U.S. representative to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture.

The youngest daughter of New York’s governor used a social media post Thursday to share her queer identity and call for allies to speak up against homophobia.

Las monedas coleccionables y las valiosas tarjetas de béisbol de Ken Griffey Jr. y Mickey Mantle se encuentran entre las docenas de artículos no reclamados que el estado de Florida subastará.

– Mississippi will increase the lowest monthly welfare payments in the nation under a bill signed into law Wednesday by the state's Republican governor. The payments in Mississippi have been $146 for a family of two, $170 for a family of three and $194 for a family of four. AdEven with the increase, the Mississippi welfare payments will still be only a fraction of the federal poverty level, according to the liberal-leaning Center for Budget and Policy Priorities. Brandon Jones, a Democratic former Mississippi House member and current policy director for the Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund in Mississippi, called the increase long overdue. “This $90 increase gets Mississippi off the bottom and is desperately needed by struggling families throughout the state."

Newsom and his Democratic allies launched a political committee Monday, March 15 to stop a proposed recall election that could oust him from office. Orrin Heatlie, a retired county sheriff's sergeant who filed the recall petition, said Newsom is engaging in a “smear campaign" about the recall organizers because he can't defend his record. Defeating the recall “will be one of the most important priorities for Democrats this year,” Booker said in a statement. Newsom for months sidestepped questions about the recall but has more recently started to ramp up his political operation and strategy. AdResponding to Newsom’s campaign, the California Republican Party pointed to a slew of issues beyond the coronavirus.

Tate Reeves signs the first state bill in the U.S. this year to ban transgender athletes from competing on female sports teams, as supporting lawmakers gather behind him, Thursday, March 11, 2021, at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Tate Reeves signed a bill Thursday to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls or women’s sports teams. “This law is a solution in search of a problem, and legislators in Mississippi have not provided any examples of Mississippi transgender athletes gaming the system for a competitive advantage because none exist,” David said. In a statement Thursday, Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Christiana Holcomb praised the Mississippi law. AdRepublican legislators who pushed the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in Mississippi schools or universities.

– Mississippi is on track to become the first state this year to enact a law banning transgender athletes from competing on girls or women's sports teams. Tate Reeves said Thursday that he will sign a bill that the Republican-controlled Mississippi Legislature has passed. AdRepublican legislators who pushed the bill gave no evidence of any transgender athletes competing in Mississippi schools or universities. A Mississippi mother with a transgender daughter spoke Thursday during the Human Rights Campaign news conference. AdSupporters of bills such as the one in Mississippi argue that transgender girls, because they were born male, are naturally stronger, faster and bigger than those born female.

Ron DeSantis delivered his State of the State address Tuesday in which he outlined his vision and priorities for the state of Florida. If you are working hard to earn a living, we got your back in the state of Florida. We are saddened by the thousands of Floridians – and hundreds of thousands of Americans – who have died with COVID. We have vaccinated millions of seniors throughout Florida – parents, grandparents, veterans of the second world war, survivors of the holocaust. Because of those efforts, the sun is rising here in Florida – and the Sunshine State will soon reach new horizons.

New York's attorney general said she's moving forward with an investigation into sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo after receiving a letter from his office Monday, March 1, 2021, authorizing her to take charge of the probe. AdAttorney General Letitia James received a letter Monday from Cuomo’s office authorizing her to take charge of the probe after a weekend of wrangling over who should investigate. The harassment allegations come on the heels of accusations he covered up the true death toll of coronavirus on nursing home residents. Cuomo senior adviser Beth Garvey said she would facilitate interviews with witness and requests for documents from Cuomo’s office.

Kelly championed Medicaid expansion in her first race in 2018 and promised to sign legislation legalizing medical marijuana, though she has not pushed that issue aggressively so far. But University of Kansas political scientist Patrick Miller said he wonders why any Kansas politician still opposes medical marijuana. The Legislature has taken only relatively small steps toward legalizing medical marijuana even as most other states have done it. She said legalizing medical marijuana could raise up to $50 million a year and her proposal “eliminates the argument” that Kansas can't afford Medicaid expansion. AdBut Republican lawmakers remained skeptical that medical marijuana could raise much money or cover Medicaid expansion costs.

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo Cindy McCain, wife of former Arizona Sen. John McCain, waves to the crowd after being acknowledged by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey during his State of the State address on the opening day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden said Sept. 22 that Cindy McCain plans to endorse him for president. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FILE - In this Jan. 13, 2020, file photo Cindy McCain, wife of former Arizona Sen. John McCain, waves to the crowd after being acknowledged by Arizona Republican Gov. Doug Ducey during his State of the State address on the opening day of the legislative session at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden said Sept. 22 that Cindy McCain plans to endorse him for president. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

MARGATE, Fla. - State authorities ordered Penn Dutch Meat & Seafood Market to shut down the Margate location immediately on Thursday afternoon, after accusing the market's administrators of putting the public's lives at risk with a bacterial contamination. "Its unfortunate that Penn Dutch chose to disregard our directives and endanger public safety," Fried said. TimelineFebruary 2019: Authorities confirmed multiple samples of listeria at both Penn Dutch locations in Margate and Hollywood. Sept. 9, 2019: Investigators collected 110 environmental samples in various areas of Penn Dutchs Margate store. Despite the orders, Penn Dutch administrators used Facebook to announce that "Until Further Notice our Margate Location will be open every day from 9 am 5 pm."

MARGATE, Fla. - State authorities ordered Penn Dutch Meat & Seafood Market to shut down the Margate location immediately on Thursday afternoon, after accusing the market's administrators of putting the public's lives at risk with a bacterial contamination. "It's unfortunate that Penn Dutch chose to disregard our directives and endanger public safety," Fried said. TimelineFebruary 2019: Authorities confirmed multiple samples of listeria at both Penn Dutch locations in Margate and Hollywood. Sept. 9, 2019: Investigators collected 110 environmental samples in various areas of Penn Dutch's Margate store. Despite the orders, Penn Dutch administrators used Facebook to announce that "Until Further Notice our Margate Location will be open every day from 9 am 5 pm."

iStock/baonaMIAMI - State demographers estimate Floridas population will surpass 22 million residents as soon as 2022. Forecasts released earlier this month by the Demographic Estimating Conference estimate that Florida will grow an average of 330,000 people a year over the next five years. With 21.3 million people, Florida is the nations third most populous state, trailing only California and Texas. The U.S. Census Bureau said Florida had the second-biggest population gain in 2018, growing by more than 322,000 residents. The Florida demographers says most of the growth to the Sunshine States is coming from people moving to Florida as opposed to a natural increase from births.