Republicans have taken the Senate majority and are fighting to keep control of the House.

More than a month before the election, Jim Justice declared victory in his U.S. Senate race in deep red West Virginia.

The English bulldog had never been featured prominently in West Virginia history, until now.

Jerry West left West Virginia decades ago.

It's five months before the general election, and Joe Manchin of West Virginia isn't running for office.

The rhetorical “war on coal” is back as Republicans try to capitalize on moves by President Joe Biden's administration to rein in pollution and climate change.

Voters in several states have chosen nominees in critical races that could decide the balance of power on Capitol Hill next year.

Republican voters have advanced strong Senate contenders in Maryland and West Virginia, giving the GOP a big boost in its push to claim control of Congress’ upper chamber.

West Virginia Republican primary voters will have a hard time finding a major candidate on the ballot in any statewide race who openly acknowledges President Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 election.

West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey says the state will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in on an appeals court ruling that allowed a transgender athlete to compete on her middle school teams.

Former West Virginia coal executive Don Blankenship is making another attempt to win a U.S. Senate seat, this time as a Democrat.

West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice broke with the GOP-majority Legislature to veto a bill that would have loosened one of the country’s strictest school vaccination policies.

West Virginia has become the 12th state to ban smoking in vehicles with children present.

West Virginia could become the 12th state to ban smoking in vehicles with children present under a bill that has won final legislative passage.

A Virginia bank says it will delay plans to auction off land at West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice’s posh resort in an attempt to recover more than $300 million on defaulted business loans by the governor’s family.

A bill that would decriminalize all strips used to test drugs for deadly substances now goes to West Virginia's governor.

A West Virginia coalition that helps support a network of anti-abortion pregnancy centers in the state is receiving $1 million to distribute to organizations committed to encouraging people not to end their pregnancies.

Joe Manchin’s impending departure from the Senate marks the end of an era for powerful West Virginia Democrats who wielded considerable power as advocates for the state's coal interests.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin has benefited from waiting to reveal where he stood as the swing vote in a chamber closely divided between Democrats and Republicans.

West Virginia University is recommending slashing its language department and dozens of other programs amid a $45 million budget shortfall.

A federal judge has ruled that West Virginia can restrict the sale of the abortion pill.

U.S. Senator Joe Manchin says he has been thinking “seriously” about leaving the Democratic Party and becoming an independent.

Thirteen coal companies owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice are being sued over unpaid penalties for previous federal mining law violations.

West Virginia Republican Gov. Jim Justice says he’s running for Democrat Joe Manchin’s U.S. Senate seat in 2024.

The Supreme Court is allowing a 12-year-old transgender girl in West Virginia to continue competing on her middle school’s girls sports teams while a lawsuit over a state ban continues.

West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice has signed a bill banning gender-affirming care for minors.

A protester arrested for disrupting West Virginia lawmakers as they moved to ban abortion last September will see all charges dropped against her — if she stays out of trouble for the next six months.

West Virginia will no longer allow children and young teens to marry, after the governor signed a compromise bill Wednesday.

The tax-cutting trend is going full force in states even as some are raising concerns about a slowing economy.

A child marriage bill is heading to the West Virginia governor’s desk after lawmakers agreed to let 16- and 17-year-olds get married with restrictions.

A bill that would ban evidence-based health care for transgender minors in West Virginia is headed to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice.

A federal appeals panel has ruled that West Virginia transgender athletes can compete in female school sports while an appeal is heard on a state law banning their participation.

West Virginia's governor has signed a bill setting Nov. 14 each year as a day to remember the worst sports disaster in U.S. history.

Two bills that would make it easier for hydrogen hubs and underground carbon sequestration projects to come to historically coal-dependent West Virginia are headed to the desk of Republican Gov. Jim Justice.

West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner is running for governor.

A West Virginia journalist lost her job after she reported about alleged abuse of people with disabilities in state care.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris says Indiana’s proposed abortion ban reflects a health care crisis in the United States.

As the coronavirus pandemic prepares to enter another calendar year, the fatigue on the front lines of the health care industry wears on.

West Virginia was at the forefront of U.S. state rollouts when coronavirus vaccines became available in January.

Hundreds of demonstrators have marched in the streets of Australia’s second-largest city to protest mandatory coronavirus vaccine rules in the construction industry.

The state that launched the movement to offer millions of dollars in incentives to boost vaccination rates is concluding its program still unable to crack the 50% vaccination threshold.

A federal lawsuit has been filed challenging West Virginia’s new ban on transgender athletes from competing in female sports in middle and high schools and colleges.

President Joe Biden says the U.

For the first time in a year, Mexican school children have returned to classrooms — at least in the southern state of Campeche.

West Virginia is about to lose another congressional seat because of its steady population decline.

(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)BEIJING — Sinovac said on Monday that its COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac is safe and effective in children ages 3-17. State-owned Sinopharm, who has two COVID-19 vaccines, is also investigating the effectiveness of its vaccines in children. The House vote came just before the state health department reported that more than 1 million COVID-19 vaccine shots have been administered within the state. State officials say about 2.9 million vaccine doses have been given to about 1.1 million people so far in Arizona. ___LISBON, Portugal — Portugal resumed administering AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, a week after temporarily halting its use.

West Virginia Governor Jim Justice speaks during the State of the State Address in the House Chambers of the West Virginia State Capitol Building in Charleston, W.Va., on Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021. (AP Photo/Chris Jackson)CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking $3.2 million in penalties from Appalachian coal mines owned by West Virginia Gov. The U.S. and several states settled and signed a consent decree with the companies in late 2016 to resolve allegations of Clean Water Act violations from Justice-owned mines in Alabama, Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The defendants named in the new filing are Southern Coal Corporation, Premium Coal Company Inc., and Justice Coal of Alabama. A lead attorney for the companies and the governor's office did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment.

A member of the audience holds a "Justice for All" sign during West Virginia Gov. Instead, state Republican leaders ordered a redo on candidate applications and insisted Marcum return home for an in-person interview. County Republicans claim the West Virginia GOP — which created its own shortlist for the seat — intervened to anoint a political favorite, a charge the governor denies. Booth's name appeared in place of Marcum's on the list that state GOP officials submitted to Justice. “I guess the swamp has made its way down to West Virginia.”

He acknowledged that states in recent weeks have been left guessing how much vaccine they will have from one week to the next. "Lives are at stake.”He promised a roughly 16% boost in deliveries to states over the next three weeks. The administration said it plans to buy another 100 million doses each from drugmakers Pfizer and Moderna to ensure it has enough vaccine for the long term. The setup inherited from the Trump administration has been marked by miscommunication and unexplained bottlenecks, with shortages reported in some places even as vaccine doses remain on the shelf. As of Tuesday afternoon, the CDC reported that just over half of the 44 million doses distributed to states have been put in people’s arms.

(AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)HONOLULU — Hawaii’s leaders say limited supply is the main thing constraining distribution of the coronavirus vaccine in the state. He said the sites have set the vaccine doses aside and will receive replacement doses on Tuesday and Wednesday. ___TORONTO — Canadian officials say the country won’t be getting any Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine next week and 50% less than expected over the next month. U.S. pharmaceutical company Pfizer confirmed last week it would temporarily reduce deliveries to Europe and Canada of its COVID-19 vaccine while it upgrades production capacity. ___JERUSALEM — Israel’s Cabinet on Tuesday extended an existing nationwide lockdown through the end of January as the country contends with a runaway surge in coronavirus cases.

(AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)TAIPEI, Taiwan — Taiwan has set a goal to vaccinate 60% of its population with a COVID-19 vaccine, or 15 million people, a health official said Tuesday. Many other governors are waiting for health care workers, patients and emergency responders first. However, the actual numbers of COVID-19 cases, like elsewhere in the world, are thought to be far higher, in part due to limited testing. The officials spoke Monday at a George Washington University Hospital event Monday to launch the vaccination of health care workers in the nation’s capital. Andrew Cuomo called the first shot given in the state’s campaign to vaccinate front line health care workers.

Ned Lamont is self-quarantining after his chief spokesperson tested positive for COVID-19, his administration announced late Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. Ned Lamont is self-quarantining after his chief spokesperson tested positive for COVID-19. Another governor, Democrat Steve Sisolak of Nevada, announced Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19. DeWine tested positive using a rapid test before testing negative later that day after using a more sensitive laboratory-developed test. The latest state health department figures also show hospitalizations have edged back up statewide — hitting 684 after dipping to 676 a day earlier.

(AP Photo/Vincent Thian)AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas district judge on Friday upheld an order from El Paso County’s top elected official shutting down businesses while the region fights an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases. The county’s top elected official, El Paso County Judge Ricardo Samaniego, ordered a two-week shutdown of nonessential activities late last week. The attorney general’s office later said the employee believed to have the virus tested negative on Friday evening. ___ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Officials in Anchorage plan to boost enforcement of an expanded mask mandate and restrict indoor gathering sizes in a bid to curb coronavirus cases. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas added a record-setting 5,418 new coronavirus cases over two days as hospitals warned that staffing was being seriously strained.

(AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas district judge on Friday upheld an order from El Paso County’s top elected official shutting down businesses while the region fights an alarming surge in COVID-19 cases. The state reported 540 confirmed coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours. ___TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas added a record-setting 5,418 new coronavirus cases over two days as hospitals warned that staffing was being seriously strained. ___PRISTINA, Kosovo — Kosovo authorities ordered a weekend lockdown following a spike in daily coronavirus cases. Russia’s tally of confirmed coronavirus cases — currently the fourth largest in the world —has exceeded 1.7 million following a quick spread of contagion since September.

Mike Parson, and State Auditor Nicole Galloway are seen onstage before the Missouri gubernatorial debate at the Missouri Theatre in Columbia, Missouri. Democrats are hoping to gain control of more state legislative chambers after Republicans scored huge wins in 2010. The only governor's job to change parties is in Montana, where Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Gianforte defeated Democratic Lt. Gov. The national Democratic and Republican governors associations and the campaigns themselves have contributed more than $24 million to the race. In Missouri, incumbent Mike Parson, a Republican, defeated Nicole Galloway, the state auditor who was the Democrats' best chance to pick up a seat.

Three additional deaths from the pandemic also were disclosed Friday by state health officials as fatalities from the pandemic surpassed 900. ___RENO, Nev. -- A recent spike in COVID-19 cases at the University of Nevada, Reno is prompting the school to suspend all in-class instruction effective Nov. 30. County officials previously required bars to cut indoor seating occupancy by half, close dance floors and discontinue live performances and entertainment. On Monday, Yellowstone County Health Officer John Felton announced case benchmarks that would lead to county health officials to limit the allowed capacity of bars, restaurants and churches to 25%. The measures include closing gyms and theaters after Ontario registered a record 939 coronavirus cases on Friday.

(CNN) - West Virginia coal billionaire and philanthropist Chris Cline died in a helicopter crash near the Bahamas on Thursday, the governor said. "Today we lost a WV superstar and I lost a very close friend," West Virginia Gov. Evan Jenkins, a justice at the West Virginia Supreme Court, said the state has lost a philanthropist who donated to several programs. He came from a family of coal minersCline grew up in a coal family -- his father and grandfather worked at mines. He started working as an underground miner in West Virginia in 1980 at age 22, and a decade later founded his energy development company, the Cline Group.

NASSAU, Bahamas - Police say a helicopter has crashed in the Bahamas, killing seven Americans, the Associated Press reports. The helicopter was en route to Fort Lauderdale, and went down two miles off Grand Cay island, with four women and three men, Bahamian police said. Those on board were not identified by police, but Beckley, West Virginia's Register-Herald newspaper quoted Governor Jim Justice as saying one victim was mining entrepreneur Chris Cline, whose spokesman did not return calls Thursday night. A cause of the crash is not known but police in the Bahams said civilian aviation authorities on the island have launched an investigation. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.