May 30, 2019

New Hampshire overrides veto, becoming 21st state to abolish death penalty

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

The New Hampshire Senate voted on Thursday to eliminate the death penalty, overriding Republican Gov. Chris Sununu's veto, the Washington Post reports.

The big picture: Capital punishment is on the decline. As of today, 21 states have dissolved the act, with New Hampshire being the final to ban the measure in the New England region. However, the vote to abolish was mostly symbolic — New Hampshire's practice is practically inactive. Only one person in the state is on death row, who will now be in prison for life with no chance for parole.

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Bob Herman, Andrew Witherspoon

33 mins ago - Health

Coronavirus hospitalizations keep falling

Data: COVID Tracking Project, Harvard Global Health Institute; Note: Alabama, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Tennessee and Puerto Rico have not reported hospitalizations consistently. Chart: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

The number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 continues to decline, particularly in New York and other northeastern states that were among the hardest hit by the virus.

Yes, but: Some states are still recording stagnant or rising amounts of hospitalizations.

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Rebecca Falconer, Orion Rummler

Updated 1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Updates: George Floyd protests continue past curfews

Protesters on Tuesday evening by the metal fence recently erected outside the White House. Photo: Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images

Largely peaceful protests over the death of George Floyd and other police-related killings of black people continued Tuesday night across the U.S. for the eighth consecutive day.

The latest: Protesters were out en masse after curfews were in force in areas including Washington, D.C., New York City, Los Angeles and Portland — one of the cities where there was a late-night flash-point between police and protesters.

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Ursula Perano, Zachary Basu

Updated 6 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Primary elections test impact of protests, coronavirus on voting

Election official at a polling place at McKinley Technology High School in Washington, D.C. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In the midst of a global pandemic and national protests over the death of George Floyd, eight states and the District of Columbia held primary elections on Tuesday.

Why it matters: Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, needs to win 425 of the 479 delegates up for grabs in order to officially clinch the nomination. There are a number of key down-ballot races throughout the country as well, including a primary in Iowa that could determine the fate of Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

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