As a new senator, one of the first votes Democrat Martin Heinrich cast was against legislation from Sen. Dianne Feinstein to reinstate an assault weapons ban in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook school shooting.

Texas' strict abortion ban will face an unprecedented test Thursday, when a judge considers a request for an emergency court order that would allow a pregnant woman whose fetus has a fatal diagnosis to have an abortion in the state.

Off and on for over a decade, Wyoming leaders have threatened to auction off large chunks of pristine, state-owned parcels of land within Grand Teton National Park to the highest-bidding developer to prod the U.S. government to step in and pay millions to conserve the properties.

The House will again vote Thursday on punishing one of their own, this time targeting Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman for triggering a fire alarm in one of the U.S. Capitol office buildings in September when the chamber was in session.

He's been a frustrated observer, a confrontational witness and a heated commentator outside the courtroom door. Now former President Donald Trump is poised to return to his civil business fraud trial again, first to watch and then to serve as star witness for his own defense.