Author

Ariana Figueroa

Ariana Figueroa

Ariana covers the nation's capital for States Newsroom. Her areas of coverage include politics and policy, lobbying, elections and campaign finance.

Tears roll down Stephanie Shepherd's face outside Gov. Bill Lee's office during a vigil for gun violence victims on June 1. (Photo: John Partipilo)

U.S. House panel presses gun makers to testify before Congress

By: - July 7, 2022

WASHINGTON — The chair of the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Reform on Thursday said she has requested that CEOs of three gun manufacturing companies appear before Congress to testify at a hearing later this month on gun violence.  Chair Carolyn B. Maloney of New York said she has asked for appearances by Marty […]

Biden in January called for an end to the Senate filibuster to pass voting rights legislation during a visit to Atlanta’s Morehouse College campus. Stanley Dunlap/Georgia Recorder

Biden says he supports filibuster exception for abortion rights legislation

By: - June 30, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Thursday said he supports an exception to the U.S. Senate filibuster in order to enshrine Roe v. Wade in federal law, after the Supreme Court last week struck down the case that established abortion as a constitutional right.  “I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the […]

NASHVILLE, Tenn., Nov. 7, 2020 -A supporter of Donald Trump yells at a Black Lives Matter supporter during a "Stop the Steal" rally, the same day President-elect Joe Biden clinched his win. (Photo: Ray Di Pietro)

U.S. House members warned about disinformation in upcoming campaigns

By: - June 23, 2022

WASHINGTON — Experts on election security warned lawmakers during a U.S. House Administration hearing on Wednesday of targeted disinformation campaigns that could occur in the upcoming midterm and presidential elections. The panel of witnesses also stressed to members of the subcommittee on elections the dangers of conspiracy groups and their reach in sowing disinformation about […]

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

U.S. Senate GOP leader McConnell ‘comfortable’ with framework for gun control bill

By: - June 14, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday said he is comfortable with the bipartisan deal Senate Democrats and Republicans struck on gun control legislation, signaling that he will join in passing a bill when it comes to a vote. “For myself, I’m comfortable with the framework,” the Kentucky Republican said during a […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 8: Miah Cerrillo, a survivor of the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas testifies remotely during the House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing with victims' family members and survivors of the Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas massacres on June 8, 2022 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jason Andrew-Pool/Getty Images)

Fourth grade survivor of Uvalde shooting tells Congress: ‘I don’t want it to happen again’

By: and - June 9, 2022

Content Warning: This story contains graphic descriptions related to gun violence.  WASHINGTON — A fourth grader who survived the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting where 19 students and two teachers were murdered told lawmakers Wednesday that she is afraid to go back to school. “I don’t want it to happen again,” 11-year-old Miah Cerrillo said in […]

Garnell Whitfield, Jr. center, son of Ruth Whitfield who died in the mass shooting in Buffalo’s Tops supermarket, walks with Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, left, and Senate Majority Whip Sen. Richard Durbin, D-IL, right, after a hearing on gun violence before Senate Judiciary Committee at Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill June 7, 2022 in Washington, D,C. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

‘My mom’s life mattered’: Son of Black shooting victim urges Congress to act

By: - June 7, 2022

WASHINGTON — The son of a Black woman shot and killed by a white supremacist begged members of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday to take action against such domestic terrorism. The gunman in Buffalo, New York, was motivated by the “great replacement theory,” a racist conspiracy theory that claims growing numbers of immigrants […]

UVALDE, TEXAS - MAY 25: A child crosses under caution tape at Robb Elementary School on May 25, 2022 in Uvalde, Texas. According to reports, during the mass shooting, 19 students and 2 adults were killed, with the gunman fatally shot by law enforcement. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

Fourth grader who survived Uvalde school shooting will testify before Congress

By: - June 5, 2022

WASHINGTON — Survivors of two horrific mass shootings in New York and Texas will appear before the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee on Wednesday to relate their experiences with gun violence. The witnesses will include fourth grader Miah Cerrillo of Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two adults were gunned down at Robb Elementary […]

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 02: U.S. President Joe Biden signed an executive order that could preserve access to abortion in some states. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Biden urges assault weapons ban, as U.S. House Democrats advance gun control bills

By: - June 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called on Congress to pass gun control legislation in a speech at the White House Thursday evening, following mass shootings in New York, Texas and Oklahoma during the last three weeks. “This isn’t about taking away anyone’s rights. This is about protecting children,” Biden said. “How much more carnage are […]

Assault weapons at a gun show.(Photo by Alex Wong, Getty Images)

Gun control bills to be taken up by U.S. House panel in emergency meeting

By: - May 31, 2022

WASHINGTON — Following mass shootings in New York and Texas, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee is holding an emergency meeting on Thursday to mark up gun control legislation — though it’s likely doomed. The package includes eight gun-related bills, known as the “Protecting Our Kids Act,” and they are expected to pass the Democratic-controlled House. […]

U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Tennessee, is one of hundreds of congresspeople permanently banned from Russia. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Russia says ‘Nyet’ to any more visits from hundreds of members of Congress

By: - May 29, 2022

WASHINGTON — Hundreds of members of Congress are permanently banned from visiting Russia, in retaliation for passing economic sanctions on the country after it invaded Ukraine in late February. The list includes nearly 1,000 Americans, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, along with celebrities such as actor Morgan Freeman, executives such as […]

Members of the community gather at the City of Uvalde Town Square for a prayer vigil in the wake of a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School on Tuesday in Uvalde, Texas. Nineteen students and 2 teachers were killed before the gunman was fatally shot by law enforcement. Photo by Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images.

Frustrated Democrats call for GOP help on federal gun laws after mass school shooting

By: - May 25, 2022

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday implored Senate Republicans to work with Democrats to pass bipartisan gun control legislation, following a mass school shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers in Texas. Tuesday’s massacre was the nation’s second-deadliest mass school shooting since another at Sandy Hook Elementary […]

President Joe Biden: "The right to choose is fundamental." (Courtesy of The White House)

Biden on leaked draft opinion on abortion: The ‘right to choose is fundamental’

By: - May 3, 2022

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden said Tuesday that his administration “will be ready when any ruling is issued” on abortion rights, after the nation was rocked by the leak of a draft opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court that confirmed the court is planning to overturn access to abortion.   “I believe that a woman’s right […]