Gov. Brian Kemp filed a motion Wednesday to kill a subpoena seeking his testimony before the Fulton County special grand jury looking into potential interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections.

Channel 2 Action News has learned that Kemp never testified in July, but according to sources in the governor’s office, the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office canceled the video testimony and issued Kemp a subpoena to testify in person.

The governor’s office said this happened after they requested a list of possible questions that he may be asked.

Ohio Senate President Matt Huffman wants to take the state's congressional map to the U.S. Supreme Court, arguing that the Ohio Supreme Court overstepped by meddling in mapmaking.

"Drawing districts is supposed to be, under the original premise of the (U.S.) Constitution, up to the state Legislature," Huffman told the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, adding that Ohio faces "similar issues" to a North Carolina case that the U.S. Supreme Court recently chose to review.

The Ohio Supreme Court invalidated the state's 15-district congressional map as unconstitutional in July, for the second time. In each 4-3 decision, justices laid out a timeline − based on the Ohio Constitution − for drawing a new map and an explanation as to why the map used in the May primary was rejected: It unduly favored Republican candidates.

Annie Leibovitz
@annieleibovitz

United States Supreme Court Justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C., 2022 / For @voguemagazine

Mark Joseph Stern
@mjs_DC

Florida appeals court affirms an order prohibiting a parentless 16-year-old from terminating her pregnancy on the grounds that she has not proved she is mature enough to get an abortion. So the state will force her to have a child instead. https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2213

After Kansas voters last week rejected one attempt to give the Republican-controlled Legislature more power, GOP lawmakers will try once more in November.

A constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot would give the Legislature veto power over rules and regulations issued by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration if she’s reelected.

The measure was originally proposed by Kelly’s Republican opponent, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt.

Kansans just voted down an amendment that would have handed the Legislature more power to regulate or ban abortion. The 59% to 41% landslide defeat was a stunning rebuke to Republican legislators who wanted additional authority over the procedure.

But the upcoming amendment on the November ballot would hand the Legislature sweeping final control over rules and regulations issued by state agencies – on everything from fireworks manufacturing to the cleaning of livestock feedlots.

TALLAHASSEE - Lawyers for abortion clinics and a doctor want the Florida Supreme Court to review an appellate court decision that allowed a new 15-week limit on abortions to remain in effect as a broader legal battle plays out.

The lawyers filed a notice late Wednesday that said they will ask the Supreme Court to take up a challenge to a July 21 ruling by a three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal.

That ruling came after Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper on July 5 issued a temporary injunction against the 15-week abortion law, which the Legislature and Gov. Ron DeSantis approved this year.

A stay-put Cooper's injunction on hold while the state appealed, but the abortion clinics and doctors sought to vacate the stay - which would have blocked the 15-week limit from being in effect.

In the July 21 ruling, a divided panel of the appeals court refused to vacate the stay and signaled it would overturn the temporary injunction.

The majority opinion, written by Judge Brad Thomas and joined by Judge Stephanie Ray, said the abortion clinics and a doctor had not shown they would suffer "irreparable harm" from the nearly total ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46/AP) - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham did not show up to his scheduled appearance on Wednesday at the Fulton County courthouse.

Graham was subpoenaed to testify to a special grand jury that’s investigating whether Trump and others broke any laws when they tried to overturn Joe Biden’s win in Georgia in 2020.

The senator is one of the Trump allies who Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis wants to question as part of her investigation into what she alleges was “a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.”

Graham said previously that he would fight a subpoena and he still has the ability to do so if he so chooses.

Graham’s attorneys say that the probe by the Democratic district attorney, Fani Willis, is politically motivated.

Graham was ordered to testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury on Aug. 2. The petition also states that the State of Georgia will pay all reasonable and necessary travel expenses and witness fees requited to secure his attendance and testimony.

The President is announcing his intent to nominate two federal judicial nominees—both of whom are extraordinarily qualified, experienced, and devoted to the rule of law and our Constitution.

These choices also continue to fulfill the President’s promise to ensure that the nation’s courts reflect the diversity that is one of our greatest assets as a country—both in terms of personal and professional backgrounds.

For example, if confirmed, this slate would include:

The second woman of color to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
The first person of color to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit from Kansas

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - President Joe Biden is nominating a Columbia judge to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Tuesday’s announcement from the White House is the president’s 25th round of nominees for federal judicial nominations.

DeAndrea Benjamin had served as a judge on the South Carolina Fifth Judicial Circuit since 2011. Previously she was a partner at Gist Law Firm from 2001 to 2011. She also has experience as a municipal court judge for the City of Columbia.

Congressman James Clyburn said, “I believe Judge Benjamin is an outstanding jurist who will be a tremendous addition to the Fourth Circuit bench. I look forward to her progressing through the confirmation process, and I will support her in any way I can.”

J.D. Vance Quietly Supports Bill His GOP Allies Hate—and His Opponent Sponsored

When bipartisan majorities in Congress passed a massive bill to invest nearly $300 billion in boosting U.S. high-tech manufacturing, it was a perfect opportunity—at least on paper—for J.D. Vance to amplify his hard-nosed brand of populist America First politics.

The Ohio Senate candidate’s closest ideological allies certainly teed off on the bill: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a key early endorser of Vance’s campaign, cast the CHIPS Act—which she dubbed “America LAST!”—as anathema to the MAGA movement.

“Congress is repulsive,” she fumed on Twitter.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), chairman of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, said “the massive, pro-China CHIPS Act” was “one of the grossest taxpayer-funded handouts I’ve ever seen.”

The leading Ohio conservative, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), hated the bill, and the House Freedom Caucus he helps to lead issued a statement torching the legislation as loaded with “crony capitalist handouts” and “woke policies.”

But when CHIPS legislation passed the U.S. Senate with an unusually balanced 64-33 vote, Vance also sounded like something unusual, at least for him: a politician.

“It is impossible for our modern economy to function without access to high quality computer chips,” he said, in a statement. “With the passage of the CHIPS Act, the Senate took an important step to ensure these products are made in America by American workers.”

For Vance, simple home-state politics may have overridden his America First instincts. Ohio stands to gain perhaps the most from the CHIPS Act, with chipmaker Intel planning to spend $20 billion of the federal investment to establish a new facility in the state.

Vance press secretary Luke Schroeder told The Daily Beast that Vance believed the bill was a net gain for his constituents, and took the opportunity to rehash attacks on “woke capital” and China.