Nikema Williams wins Democratic nomination for U.S. House in Georgia’s 5th Congressional District.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis may be months away from publicly declaring his presidential intentions, but his potential rivals aren’t holding back. No fewer than a half dozen Republicans eyeing the White House have begun actively courting top political operatives in states like New Hampshire and Iowa, which traditionally host the opening presidential primary contests. At the same time, former President Donald Trump, the only announced candidate in the race, is launching regular attacks against DeSantis — and others — while locking down key staff and endorsements in early voting South Carolina.

PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — The conversation between a state senator and a legislative aide started with a seemingly routine discussion about a bill. It suddenly spiraled as the senator allegedly harassed the aide because she had vaccinated her young child, plunging the Senate into a political drama that has divided South Dakota’s Republican Party.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Crowds at the West Virginia state Capitol pleaded with lawmakers Thursday to show as much compassion for saving the lives of transgender children as they showed for unborn fetuses when they voted to ban abortion just months ago. Over and over, dozens of doctors, parents and LGBTQ people told the Republican supermajority during a hearing that a decision to ban gender-affirming care for youth would put children’s lives at risk. West Virginia is among 26 states considering bans to restrict gender-affirming care for minors or young adults, with the most recent action being in South...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday announced plans to block state colleges from having programs on diversity, equity and inclusion, and critical race theory in his latest step onto the front lines of the nation’s culture wars. The Republican governor debuted the proposal as part of a larger, higher education legislative package that is expected to be taken up by the GOP-controlled statehouse when its regular session begins in March. The second-term governor, who is widely expected to launch a 2024 White House bid in the late spring or early summer, has emerged as a fierce...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma’s new attorney general has apologized to one of Gov. Kevin Stitt’s former cabinet secretaries for his criminal indictment in 2020 by a previous attorney general, saying he believes the secretary “committed no wrongdoing.” Attorney General Gentner Drummond sent the letter Wednesday to David Ostrowe, Stitt’s former secretary of digital transformation and technology. In it, he wrote that former Attorney General Mike Hunter failed to avoid the appearance of impropriety and should have disqualified himself from involvement in the investigation. “I sincerely apologize to you on behalf of the State of Oklahoma,” Drummond wrote. “Further, I have instructed my office to convert the dismissal of this matter into a dismissal with prejudice.” A dismissal with prejudice means a permanent dismissal of a case that will not be refiled against the defendant on the same grounds.

A former leader of the Michigan House had his phone seized as part of a federal investigation that involved grand jury subpoenas, search warrants and bank records, according to court documents. The details were disclosed in a lawsuit against Rick Johnson and his wife, Janice, over fees charged by the...

NEW YORK (AP) — He had been brought from the battlefields of Syria to a New York lockup, a U.S. citizen charged with serving as a sniper and weapons trainer for the Islamic State group. And even in jail, Ruslan Maratovich Asainov kept a makeshift version of the militants’...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California released a plan Tuesday detailing how Western states reliant on the Colorado River should save more water. It came a day after the six other states in the river basin made a competing proposal. In a letter to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, California...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Bus drivers in Alaska’s second-largest school district went on strike after delivering students to classes on Tuesday, citing unfair labor practices. The near-unanimous strike was called against Durham School Services after members received what Teamsters Local 959 described in a statement as the company’s...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Winter weather brought ice to a wide swath of the United States on Tuesday, canceling more than 1,700 flights nationwide and snarling highways. At least two people died on slick roads in Texas and two law officers in the state were seriously injured, including a deputy who was pinned under a truck, authorities said.

KENSINGTON, Ga. (AP) — Three people were found dead in a northwest Georgia house on Monday from suspected drug overdoses. Walker County Sheriff Steve Wilson tells the Chattanooga Times Free Press that the most likely cause of death was from smoking or inhaling fentanyl, a synthetic opioid. Dried psychedelic...

ROCKY HILL, Conn. (AP) _ The winning numbers in Tuesday afternoon’s drawing of the Connecticut Lottery’s “Play3 Day” game were:. (four, seven, three; WB: eight)

SALEM, Ore. (AP) — Police: Oregon kidnap suspect killed 2 men before being cornered by officers and killing himself.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — Texas executes inmate convicted of fatally shooting Dallas police officer after high speed chase nearly 16 years ago.