Contributing Writers

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed two bills into law Friday that overhaul state oversight of the funeral home industry after a series of gruesome discoveries, including 190 discomposing bodies in a facility, families being sent fake ashes and the unauthorized sale of body parts.The cases put Colorado’s lax funeral home regulations — some of the weakest in the nation — in the spotlight and rocked hundreds of already grieving families.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice said Friday he is ending the state of emergency over staffing in the state Department of Corrections.The Republican governor called on the state National Guard to help stop worker attrition at the state’s jails and prisons almost two years ago now. Last summer, the vacancy rate was more than 30%.”We’re just always proud to run to the fire,” Gen. William E.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had a “scheduled, elective, and minimally invasive” nonsurgical procedure Friday evening at Walter Reed Medical Center as a follow-up for a bladder issue he had earlier this year, the Pentagon said in a release.The procedure was unrelated to Austin’s cancer diagnosis.

In a continued effort to contain New York City’s rat problem, Mayor Eric Adams announced Wednesday the inaugural National Urban Rat Summit.The summit, which will take place on Sept. 18 and 19, will gather the best in the rat business from Boston, New Orleans and Seattle to mitigate the spiraling rodent problem in the Big Apple, Adam’s announced in a press release Wednesday.

A centrist district attorney candidate in Oregon has ousted his incumbent progressive opponent after running on a tough-on-crime platform.Nathan Vasquez previously served as a deputy prosecutor to Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt. Vasquez won Tuesday’s nonpartisan primary election after returns showed him receiving more than 50% of the vote.Vasquez, who was endorsed by several police groups, said Schmidt conceded the election during a Wednesday phone call.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said Wednesday he wants additional staff for his office to combat fentanyl trafficking and to solve longstanding sexual assault crimes, as well as more funds to help law enforcement agencies recruit and retain officers.Stein, who is also the Democratic nominee for governor this fall, held a news conference with several police chiefs and sheriffs to highlight his legislative priorities during this year’s General Assembly session.

FIRST ON FOX: Newly released messages from the House Ways and Means Committee appear to show Hunter Biden proposing a meeting in New York City between the boss of a Chinese energy company and Joe Biden, the former vice president at the time, along with Joe’s brother, Jim Biden.”Can you meet this evening early,” Hunter Biden asked Yadong Liu, CEO of CEFC Global Strategic Holdings in a poorly punctuated text message the evening of Dec. 12, 2017.

During Wednesday’s White House briefing, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre addressed the border crisis, defending President Biden’s approach and giving a shocking reason as to why he has not taken action.Jean-Pierre opened the briefing by saying it was up to Republicans to do something to solve the problem or continue to use it as a political issue.

An Air Force veteran who touts her national security experience has won the Republican primary in one of deep-blue Oregon’s more competitive House races. Attorney and former Air Force Col. Monique DeSpain will now take on incumbent Democrat Rep. Val Hoyle, who represents Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, in the November general election as Republicans hope to increase their narrow majority in the House of Representatives.

Fani Willis, the prosecutor in the sweeping Georgia election interference case against former President Donald Trump, said no one is above or “beneath” the law in her victory speech, sharing that she plans on celebrating with vodka.The Georgia district attorney has been on the receiving end of scrutiny by many Republicans in the state and nationwide for her affair with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, which almost got her removed from the case.

Thirteen-term U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, R-Idaho, won the Republican primary on Tuesday in his re-election effort for Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District.The Republican has represented the Gem State in Congress for 13 consecutive terms, advancing Tuesday night to face Idaho Falls Democrat David Roth, who is unopposed, in the general election in November.

Oregon State Rep. Janelle Bynum won the Democratic primary in Oregon’s 5th Congressional District on Tuesday, putting her on a collision course with the Republican incumbent, Lori Chavez-DeRemer, this fall.Bynum defeated Jamie McLeod-Skinner to advance to face Chavez-DeRemer in a race widely expected to play a significant role in deciding which party controls the House of Representatives.

Mike Erickson was declared the winner in a crowded GOP primary election in Oregon’s 6th Congressional District Tuesday night and will face off against Democratic Rep. Andrea Salinas in November.The Associated Press called the race for Erickson in a district that includes Polk and Yamhill counties and parts of Marion, Clackamas and Washington counties.

With five and a half months to go until the November election, former President Donald Trump enjoys the edge over President Biden in many national polls and surveys in the key battleground states that will likely decide their 2024 rematch.And in April, for the first time, Trump also enjoyed the lead in monthly fundraising.The president’s campaign announced on Monday evening that they and the Democratic National Committee hauled in over $51 million in fundraising last month.

One perk of covering Congress is that you get to see the Capitol statues after hours.But not always at their best.Such was the case a week ago Friday. I cut through Statuary Hall of the Capitol around 6:30 pm, et, after my TV piece about a House hearing and public broadcasting aired. I was heading home.That’s where I encountered Billy Graham.Not the pastor, mind you.But a seven-foot bronze statue of Graham.

Connecticut’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled that state elections officials violated the constitutional free speech rights of two Republicans running for the state legislature when it fined them thousands of dollars for criticizing the Democratic governor in ads paid for by their publicly funded campaigns in 2014.In a 5-0 decision, the justices overturned the $5,000 civil fine against now-Sen. Rob Sampson and the $2,000 penalty against former Sen.

Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., on Monday had some words for his Republican colleagues who may be on the fence about voting on another border bill later this week.Asked whether he would vote on a second attempt at passing a border bill, Schumer said he would always vote to secure the border “better than what it is today.

President Biden on Monday said he rejects allegations by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against Israel’s conduct amid its war against Hamas as the ICC seeks to pursue arrest warrants for Israeli leaders and the top echelon of the terrorist group.

The U.S. Senate will once again vote on a bipartisan border security bill this week after previous efforts collapsed when Republicans withdrew their support, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a letter to colleagues Sunday.

Morehouse College is praising its students and faculty after at least seven graduates and one faculty member sat with their backs turned to President Biden as he delivered his commencement address at the Atlanta school earlier Sunday.Morehouse said “peaceful assembly is core” to the school’s “social justice tradition,” and its administration “fully supports and defends the right to peacefully protest and the expression of one’s views openly.

President Biden delivered the commencement address at Morehouse College in Atlanta on Sunday, his first appearance on a college campus amid widespread unrest and anti-Israel protests.Biden’s speech touched on everything from his history serving as vice president under President Obama to the war in Israel and campus protests.Here are some of the most notable moments from Biden’s appearance.

A Texas crime victims coordinator who was employed by the Starr County District Attorney’s Office has pleaded guilty to using a county vehicle to smuggle immigrants into the United States.Bernice Garza pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to transport undocumented people within the United States, according to a report from KRGV.

A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi experienced a “hard landing” on Sunday, according to Iranian state media.Iranian media, according to multiple reports, said rescue teams were dispatched to the site in the Dizmar Forest between the cities of Varzaqan and Jolfa in Iran’s East Azerbaijan province, near its border with Azerbaijan.