Memphis officials voted to reinstate Justin Pearson, the second of two lawmakers expelled from legislature by Republicans

Hundreds of supporters marched Justin Pearson through Memphis to the Shelby county board of commissioners meeting on Wednesday, chanting and cheering before entering the commission chambers, where officials quickly voted 7-0 to restore him to his position.

“The message for all the people in Nashville who decided to expel us: You can’t expel hope. You can’t expel justice,” Pearson said at the meeting, his voice rising as he spoke. “You can’t expel our voice. And you sure can’t expel our fight.”

Vice-president visiting lawmakers at Fisk University as Republican-controlled house’s move condemned as racist

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It’s lunchtime on Friday, and we’re waiting to hear from Democrats in Tennessee how they intend to respond to the vote by Republicans to expel two young Black Democrats from the state’s House after they led a protest calling for gun reforms.

A wave of outrage followed Thursday’s move. Joe Biden blasted the move “undemocratic” while the ACLU of Tennessee, and Martin Luther King III, son of the civil rights pioneer, suggested racism was behind the action.

Supreme court justice Clarence Thomas has been defending himself after reports he accepted decades or undeclared hospitality from a Republican mega-donor. Thomas, a staunch conservative, says he didn’t believe he was required to disclose it.

The Biden administration released a proposal that would forbid schools and colleges across the US from enacting outright bans on transgender athletes competing in sports.

US officials say they suspect Russia is behind the leaking and posting on social media of top secret documents, including an assessment of the country’s progress in its war in Ukraine.

Republicans in Kansas voted to ban gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, but the bill is likely to be vetoed by Democratic governor Laura Kelly.