PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats in the Arizona Senate cleared a path to bring a proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions to a vote after the state’s highest court concluded the law can be enforced and the state House blocked efforts to undo the long-dormant statute. Although no vote was taken on the repeal itself, Republican Sens. T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick sided with 14 Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday in changing rules to let a repeal proposal advance after the deadline for hearing bills had passed. Proponents say the Senate could vote on the repeal as early as May 1. If th ..read more

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Opposition Progressive Conservatives are delaying passage of four bills at the legislature, prompting an angry response from a labour leader. The legislature rules allow the Opposition each year to pick as many as five bills each spring, and push back voting until the fall. This year, the Tories have chosen four, including a bill that would extend the leave for seriously injured or ill workers to 27 weeks from 17 weeks. Tory labour critic Jodie Byram says the change would put Manitoba out of line with other provinces and more consultation with employers is needed. Kevin R ..read more

EDMONTON — A national organization of post-secondary teachers is calling on Alberta to either change a proposed gatekeeping bill or scrap it altogether. The bill would give the province the right to veto federal agreements with provincial bodies, including post-secondary schools. The Canadian Association of University Teachers says such political intervention threatens academic freedom given Premier Danielle Smith has said she wants to ensure funding aligns with provincial priorities. Executive director David Robinson says research is best served when based on scientific merit rather than poli ..read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden on Wednesday misstated key details about his uncle’s death in World War II as he honored the man’s wartime service and said Donald Trump was unworthy of serving as commander in chief. While in Pittsburgh, Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt. Ambrose J. Finnegan Jr., aiming to draw a contrast with reports that Trump, while president, had called fallen service members “suckers” and “losers.” Finnegan, the brother of Biden’s mother, “got shot down in New Guinea,” Biden said. The president said Finnegan’s body was never recovered and “there used to be a lot of ..read more

NEW YORK (AP) — Donald Trump’s legal team says it tried serving a subpoena on Stormy Daniels as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president’s criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away. A process server working for the former president’s lawyers said he approached Daniels with papers demanding information and documents related to a documentary recently released about her life and involvement with Trump, but was forced to “leave them at her feet,” according to a court filing made public Wednesday ..read more

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Kenneth Almons says he began a 23-year sentence in a Mississippi prison just two weeks after graduating from high school, and one of his felony convictions — for armed robbery — stripped away voting rights that he still has not regained decades later. Now 51, Almons told lawmakers Wednesday that he has worked hard and remained law-abiding since his release, and he wants to be able to vote. “It would mean I am no longer considered a nobody,” Almons said. “Because when you don’t have a voice, you’re nobody.” Mississippi is among the 26 states that remove voting rights from ..read more

WINNIPEG — Manitoba’s Opposition Tories say the government’s promise to crack down on rising grocery prices has proven to be an empty threat.  The Tories point to new figures from Statistics Canada that indicate food prices rose faster in Manitoba last month than in neighbouring provinces. Interim Tory leader Wayne Ewasko says the data shows the government had no plan to keep prices in check. Last November, Premier Wab Kinew said he expected grocers to pass on savings from the province’s fuel tax holiday. He said there would be followup action if the savings were not passed on but did not ..read more

VANCOUVER — British Columbia is paying up to $300 million in new capital funding to help TransLink, Metro Vancouver’s transit provider, add more buses to its fleet.  Transportation Minister Rob Fleming says the additional buses will reduce overcrowding and wait times throughout the region. A statement from the province says the money will go toward purchasing buses to increase future services, while TransLink will put remaining funds from $479 million the province provided last year toward immediate improvements. It says that work will include boosting the frequency of services, extending ..read more

EDMONTON — Alberta’s health minister says the province has “a bit of strain” in neonatal intensive care unit capacity but that there are beds available across the province. Health Minister Adriana LaGrange made the comments Wednesday after Edmonton doctors released an open letter to her and the provincial health-care delivery agency raising concern vulnerable babies are at risk in units that have been too full and had staff stretched too thin. “What I’ve heard from Alberta Health Services is in fact that we do have capacity. There is a bit of strain on the capacity right now,” said LaGrange at ..read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday affirmed a lower court’s decision to order New Jersey Democrats tp scrap a ballot design widely viewed as helping candidates with establishment backing. The 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals considered a slimmed-down appeal brought by the Camden County Democrats after the county clerks — the officials charged with designing ballots in New Jersey — dropped out of the appeal of a lower court’s temporary injunction. The appeals court’s decision means that U.S. District Judge Zahid Quraishi’s order requiring clerks to stop using the so-called cou ..read more