
By Leann Ray | Editor-in-chief
“I want to use every tool in our arsenal from a justice standpoint to protect babies and protect innocent children from this atrocity.” — Sen. Brian Helton, R-Fayette

Sen. Brian Health, R-Fayette, plans to reintroduce legislation that would reinstate the death penalty in cases where a person was found guilty of felony sexual battery against a child less than 12 years old. (Photo by Will Price/West Virginia Legislative Photography)
Senate Health chair wants WV to reinstate death penalty for egregious sexual crimes against children
By Amelia Ferrell Knisely
Sen. Brian Helton, a member of Senate leadership, says he’ll push legislation to reinstate the death penalty in West Virginia. Under his plan, capital punishment would be an option in cases where a person was found guilty of felony sexual battery against a child less than 12 years old.
NATIONAL

People look out at Manhattan and beyond at One World Observatory at One World Trade Center in New York City. Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance systems built in its aftermath continue to shape how Americans are watched and policed. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Amanda Watford
Twenty-five years after 9/11, the surveillance infrastructure built and expanded in its aftermath has become part of a far larger digital ecosystem — producing tools that can collect and analyze information on a scale unimaginable in 2001.
By Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump headlined the first night of the first Republican midterm convention Wednesday, seeking to rally his base ahead of the November elections and dangling a “Trump dividend” to voters if his party retains control of both congressional chambers.
By Ashley Murray
WASHINGTON — A proposal by President Donald Trump to give $5,000 to each American adult if Republicans retain control of the U.S. House and Senate in November would “explode” the national deficit and worsen inflation, according to an analysis issued Thursday by the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
By Ariana Figueroa
WASHINGTON — Latino advocacy groups and voting rights organizations Thursday filed a suit in federal court challenging the Trump administration’s policy of allowing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to enter polling locations in certain circumstances to conduct immigration enforcement during the 2026 midterm elections.
By Jacob Fischler
The Democratic-led states and voting rights groups suing to block enforcement of President Donald Trump’s executive order to restrict mail-in voting warned in briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday the policy would have disastrous consequences for the upcoming midterm elections if it is allowed to move forward.
COMMENTARY

By Stan Gottfredson
West Virginia has already taken action to protect minors online. The harder question is whether the protections now on the books match the problems families are actually trying to solve.
ICYMI
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