Synthetic dyes used to make brightly colored cereals, drinks and candies are coming under scrutiny in states across the country.

Vaccination bills are popping up in more than 15 states as lawmakers aim to potentially resurrect or create new religious exemptions from immunization mandates, establish state-level vaccine injury databases or dictate what providers must tell patients about the shots.

President-elect Donald Trump has yet to take office, but his influence already is rippling through state capitols.

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore has been sworn in as the state’s first Black governor.

Democrats held onto a string of competitive governors’ seats in the midterm elections after making the case to voters that Republican challengers posed a threat to abortion rights and democracy in their states.

Democratic Attorney General Maura Healey has been elected governor of Massachusetts, making history as the nation’s first openly lesbian governor and the state’s first woman and openly gay candidate elected to the office.

Andrea Campbell's personal history is a tale of perseverance.

Wes Moore could soon make history if elected Maryland’s first Black governor, and he’s not alone: Rep. Anthony Brown would be the state’s first Black attorney general.

A bronze statue of an enslaved woman from Massachusetts who went to court to win her freedom in 1781 is being unveiled in the Berkshires this weekend.

Republican Gov. Charlie Baker says he won’t seek a third term as governor of Massachusetts.

Pledging to emulate some of the loftiest reforms in the nations history has left him with towering promises to keep. And Biden hopes to deliver against the backdrop of the pandemic and searing national division. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)WASHINGTON – Back when the election was tightening and just a week away, Joe Biden went big. Evoking some of the nation's loftiest reforms helped Biden unseat President Donald Trump but left him with towering promises to keep. That same day, Biden has pledged to create task forces on homelessness and reuniting immigrant parents with children separated at the U.S.-Mexico border.

FILE- In this Nov. 11, 2013 file photo, Wisconsin Supreme Court chief justice Shirley Abrahamson questions state attorney general J.B. Van Hollen, at the state Capitol in Madison, Wis. Abrahamson, the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in state history and the first woman to serve on the high court, has died. King /Wisconsin State Journal via AP, Pool, File)MADISON, Wis. – Shirley Abrahamson, the longest-serving Wisconsin Supreme Court justice in state history and the first woman to serve on the high court, has died. Abrahamson, who also served as chief justice for a record 19 years, died Saturday after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, her son Dan Abrahamson told The Associated Press on Sunday. The voter-approved amendment enabled members of the court to choose the chief justice — who oversees the state court system — instead of requiring the title go to the most senior justice. Justice Patience Roggensack has served as chief justice since then.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. Today’s Senate is more bare-knuckled and hyper-partisan than when Biden was vice president, including GOP senators eyeing their own 2024 White House runs. During his decades in the Senate and even while serving as Obama's vice president, Biden relied on a small group of close advisers who were largely white. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.

WASHINGTON – President-elect Joe Biden is facing increasing pressure to expand the racial and ideological diversity in his choices for Cabinet and other top jobs. Of the nine major picks Biden has made so far, only two — Secretary of State choice Antony Blinken and chief of staff Ron Klain — are white men. Today’s Senate is more bare-knuckled and hyper-partisan than when Biden was vice president, including GOP senators eyeing their own 2024 White House runs. During his decades in the Senate and even while serving as Obama's vice president, Biden relied on a small group of close advisers who were largely white. King said he hoped Biden would appoint an African American to one of the “big four” posts, especially attorney general.

WASHINGTON – Outgoing Attorney General William Barr's decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate the handling of the Russia probe ensures his successor won't have an easy transition. But the maneuvering over the special counsel is especially significant because it saddles Democrats with an investigation that they've derided as tainted. A special counsel can only be dismissed for cause. The Biden transition did not respond to a request for comment on the special counsel appointment. But Barr's decision could influence whom the president-elect puts forth as a nominee for attorney general.

Now, Virginia voters are deciding whether to alter their state constitution to support redistricting reform that would take the once-every-10-year task of drawing maps out of legislators' hands, at least to an extent, and give it to a bipartisan panel. But even though the issue has become a hot-button one nationally, the Virginia referendum is the only redistricting question on the ballot in the U.S. this year, said reform advocate Brian Cannon. In Virginia, the proposal to amend the state constitution to create a bipartisan redistricting panel received support from both parties last year, at a time when Republicans controlled the state legislature but Democrats controlled the governor's mansion. Jason Miyares of Virginia Beach said the change of heart is purely an effort by Democrats to press their political advantage. She said the proposal does nothing to guarantee representation for persons of color on the redistricting commission.

Jake Auchincloss has won a packed primary to become the Democratic nominee in the race to fill the U.S. House seat being vacated by Rep. Joe Kennedy III in Massachusetts. Nearly 1 million voters, skittish over the coronavirus pandemic, used the mail option for Tuesdays primary. He was elected to the Newton City Council in 2015. Kennedy opted not to seek reelection so he could challenge incumbent U.S. Sen. Edward Markey in the Senate Democratic primary, but lost that bid Tuesday, becoming the first member of the Kennedy political dynasty to lose a congressional race in Massachusetts. The few other members of Massachusetts all-Democratic congressional delegation who had faced primary opponents Reps. Richard Neal, Stephen Lynch and Seth Moulton all breezed through Tuesdays runoff.

Warren, a Massachusetts senator and leading progressive, has become an unlikely confidant and adviser to Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Warren, a Massachusetts senator and leading progressive, has become an unlikely confidant and adviser to Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. Those forums have provided opportunities for Warren to make a case on top policy issues to Biden, who ran a more centrist primary campaign. Her presidential campaign didnt go particularly well, Reed said. But Warren has lately become a visible face of the Biden campaign.

Bloomberg, who has long considered a White House bid, sits atop a sprawling business empire and is worth more than $50 billion, easily making him the wealthiest candidate in the contest. But his attorneys say he is not yet prepared to disclose his investments and income. The FEC on Monday granted his request, giving him until Feb. 4 to file — one day after the Iowa caucuses. Bloomberg has said he is not competing in the first few presidential contests in states including Iowa and New Hampshire. ___Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, “Ground Game.”___This story has been corrected to delete an erroneous reference to White House contender Tom Steyer not releasing his finances.