A Nebraska lawmaker announced Wednesday that she is stepping down to focus on her race for mayor of Lincoln.

Sen. Suzanne Geist, a conservative lawmaker, made the announcement a day after Tuesday’s primary in the mayoral race, in which she came in second to incumbent Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird. That means both Baird and Geist will face off in the May 2 general election.

‘Those of you who know me well, you know that I give 100% to everything I do,’ Geist said. ‘I need to give my full attention to my other commitments.’

Her resignation takes affect at the end of Thursday, she said. Republican Gov. Jim Pillen will select a replacement to finish out Geist’s four-year term, which runs through the end of 2024. That replacement will have the option of seeking election to the seat in November 2024.

Pillen said in a news release that he plans to name Geist’s replacement on Thursday.

The announcement also followed Geist’s part in a controversy Tuesday night on the legislative floor as lawmakers debated into the night. Some progressive lawmakers said it was Geist’s plans to attend her mayoral election event Tuesday night, instead of participating in legislative debate, that led the conservative leadership to ditch a scheduled debate of a controversial bill that would give public money for private school tuition.

Because 33 votes are needed to stop debate on a bill before it can advance, conservatives need every vote they can get to advance bills. The Nebraska Legislature is officially nonpartisan, but lawmakers tend to self-identify as Republican or Democrat. There are currently 32 registered Republicans in the 49-member body and 17 registered Democrats.

The South Carolina House on Wednesday unanimously approved a bill allowing teachers or other school district staff up to six weeks of paid leave when they give birth or adopt a child.

The bill was passed 113-0 and faces one more routine approval before being sent to the Senate.

It mirrors a law passed last year that allowed parental leave for state employees. But the General Assembly didn’t include educators in that proposal and teachers were angry.

The House proposal allows teachers who give birth or are the primary caretakers of an adopted child six weeks of paid leave. The other parent can take up to two weeks and parents who foster a child in state custody also are eligible for two weeks of leave.

A number of school districts worried about how to pay for the leave, but supporters said they already have to pay for long-term substitutes and for sick leave. Plus, districts across the state have a total of about $1.5 billion in reserve accounts they can tap.

Teacher groups backed the bill, saying their surveys show teachers tend to begin looking to leave the classroom around the time they start families and providing leave could stem that tide.

If the bill becomes law, South Carolina would be the first state in the Southeast with parental leave for teachers, according to the Palmetto State Teachers Association.

A 30-year-old federal law allows up to 12 weeks of parental leave, but it is not paid.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., praised her Republican successor Wednesday after his meeting with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in California.

The veteran lawmaker released a brief statement on the meeting just after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., wrapped a press conference to conclude the day’s events at the Ronald Reagan library in Simi Valley.

‘Today’s meeting between President Tsai of Taiwan and Speaker McCarthy is to be commended for its leadership, its bipartisan participation and its distinguished and historic venue,’ Pelosi said. 

She previously made a historic trip to Taiwan last year, the first House Speaker to do so since Newt Gingrich in 1997 despite warnings from Beijing and even members of the Biden administration. It earned bipartisan praise, though the Chinese government’s aggressive response prompted fears of an imminent invasion.

This time, McCarthy led a group of House Democrats and Republicans to meet with Taiwanese officials against the backdrop of an increasingly aggressive China. He remarked on the strained relations between Beijing and its regional neighbors as well as the U.S. at the outset of the press conference.

‘We live in a decisive moment in history and must act with urgency,’ the House speaker said.

‘Tensions in the world are at the highest point since the end of the Cold War. As authoritarian leaders seek to use violence and fear to provoke needless conflict, the bond between the people of America and Taiwan is foundational and longstanding,’ he added.

He made clear, however, that he was not seeking a change in national posture when asked about the U.S. government’s ‘One China’ policy, the government’s protocol that does not recognize Taiwan as an independent nation.

‘We have no difference of opinion,’ he said regarding the policy first imposed under the Nixon administration.

McCarthy also cited President Reagan’s ‘six assurances’ to Taiwan related to its foreign policy and defense, saying, ‘That is currently American policy and that is still American policy. That’s the policy that we support here.’

Despite the growing tensions with China, McCarthy praised French President Emmanuel Macron for his diplomatic trip to Beijing.

‘I don’t think what Macron’s doing is conflicting here,’ he said when asked about whether the fellow Western leader’s trip undermines U.S. lawmakers’ solidarity with Taiwan.

‘I think it’s great that Macron is meeting with China. I hope he delivers a message not to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine,’ McCarthy said. ‘I hope he delivers a message that democracy makes the world safer and stronger. I hope he delivers a message that Americans meeting with President Tsai is positive for the same aspect that he is meeting with President Xi.’

As Puerto Rico emerges from a drawn-out bankruptcy process, a federal control board that oversees the island’s finances announced Wednesday that it will focus on growing the U.S. territory’s economy.

The board’s new executive director, former New York state budget director Robert Mujica, unveiled a new fiscal plan that will serve as the island’s economic blueprint for the near future.

It demands that Puerto Rico overhaul its education, tax and infrastructure sectors and attract more investors by strengthening its fragile power grid and making it easier to do business on an island known for its clunky bureaucracy.

‘There’s no time to waste,’ Mujica said at a press conference.

In recent years, the U.S. government allocated more than $120 billion to help Puerto Rico offset the impact of the pandemic and natural disasters ranging from earthquakes to major hurricanes. But Mujica noted those were ‘one-time infusions that temporarily boosted output’ and fueled economic recovery.

The island’s real GNP is declining, and economic growth is slowing as those funds evaporate, he added.

‘Those funds mask underlying, persistent weaknesses in Puerto Rico’s long term economic outlook,’ he said.

High inflation — plus a shrinking and aging population — also have contributed to the economic decline, the board noted.

Mujica said that to help improve the island’s economy, the board will meet with government officials, education leaders and nongovernment organizations to strengthen Puerto Rico’s education sector, which has long been lagging.

The board’s fiscal plan also seeks a comprehensive review of Puerto Rico’s tax system despite recent improvements.

‘While much progress has been made, significant reform is still required because Puerto Rico’s current tax system has historically suffered from complexity, instability and inconsistency,’ the board said in a statement.

The focus on economic growth comes after the board oversaw a bankruptcy-like process in which Puerto Rico’s debt dropped to $34 billion from more than $70 billion, an amount the government had said in 2015 that it could not pay. Two years later, it filed for the biggest U.S. municipal bankruptcy in history.

‘That took all the oxygen of the room,’ Mujica said, adding that the board is now targeting fiscal health and economic growth.

The board, which was created by U.S. Congress in 2016, will continue overseeing Puerto Rico’s finances until the U.S. territory approves four consecutive balanced budgets.

Mujica said it’s unclear if the first one has been approved because the government has yet to submit audited financial statements.

Puerto Rico Gov. Pedro Pierluisi said in a statement after the news conference that his administration is still analyzing the fiscal plan they received on Tuesday, adding that he supports reforms in various sectors.

‘My vision is that we continue to do all the necessary work so that our government has a solid fiscal situation in the short and long term, and that the board completes its work as soon as possible,’ he said.

One Democrat lawmaker in Kansas was not happy after an overwhelming number of her colleagues voted to override the veto of a bill banning transgender students from participating in girls’ sports, according to a report by the Kansas Reflector.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of HB2238 was overridden Wednesday after both houses of the Kansas state legislature, each with a Republican supermajority, cleared the two-thirds majority required for the bill to become law.

Following the Kansas House voting to override the veto in a lopsided 84-40 vote, Democratic Rep. Susan Ruiz stood up on the House floor and told her Republican colleagues they were ‘full of s—,’ according to the report.

The report stated that Ruiz’s vulgar reaction came about because she heard Republicans laughing after vote. She claimed one of her GOP colleagues was ‘gloating’ when he came into the chamber.

Another Democrat, Rep. Heather Meyer, who the report said has a transgender child, wore a shirt in the chamber that read ‘protect trans youth.’

The bill initially passed the state House on Feb. 23, with one Democrat joining all Republicans in support. It was passed by the Senate just days later before being vetoed by Kelly on March 17.

This is the third year in a row that Kelly has vetoed a ban on transgender students participating in womens’ sports.

‘It sort of breaks my heart,’ Kelly told reporters following the override. ‘It certainly is disappointing. I know that there’s some legislators for whom this was a very, very hard vote, and one that I think they will regret as they look back on their time in the Legislature.’

‘This is sort of a moral values vote,’ she added. ‘I think they voted against their own moral code and their own values. I think that’s going to be very tough for them long-term.’

President Biden has another Democratic challenger vying for the presidency following Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday.

Kennedy, the son of late former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of the late former President John F. Kennedy, is now the second Democrat to toss his hat into the race for the White House, joining spiritual advisor and author Marianne Williamson in seeking the party’s nomination.

A source close to Kennedy wouldn’t independently confirm his candidacy, but told Fox News Digital ‘the campaign will issue a statement tomorrow.’

Kennedy, a former environmental lawyer, describes himself as a lifelong Democrat and has faced criticism for his activism against the COVID-19 vaccine. He had been mulling a run in recent months, and told a crowd in New Hampshire in March that his wife had ‘greenlighted’ any potential decision to run.

He most recently took aim at the Biden administration and Democratic National Committee over the decision to move the New Hampshire presidential primary out of its position as the first in the nation primary. The state will now vote second in the DNC’s calendar, along with Nevada, three days after South Carolina, under the new schedule.

Ahead of the DNC’s final approval of the schedule, Kennedy wrote an open letter to the committee, urging members to keep New Hampshire in the first spot because of the state’s long history advocating for civil rights and election transparency. 

The DNC changed the nominating calendar in an effort to reflect more diversity in the Democratic Party, but Kennedy said that New Hampshire already showcases the diversity in America. As a swing state, Kennedy said, New Hampshire’s ‘four electoral votes could decide the 2024 election.’ 

‘Most importantly, New Hampshire runs the most secure and transparent election in America. It should be a model for our country at a time when we need it most,’ Kennedy wrote. 

Biden has yet to announce whether he will run for reelection, however, the White House has repeatedly said Biden intends to run for a second term.

Fox News’ Thomas Phippen and Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report.

Democratic Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signed a Republican-backed bill into law Wednesday that clarifies when a newly passed state constitutional amendment will make it harder for defendants to get out of jail on bail.

The constitutional amendment was passed into law in the statewide election a day earlier, when a pair of ballot questions on bail gained support from two-thirds of voters. The amendment allows judges to consider past convictions for violent crimes when setting bail for someone accused of a violent crime. It also lets judges set the conditions of release to protect the public from serious harm.

The bill Evers signed Wednesday defines serious harm and violent crime for use with the amendment. Under the broad definition of serious harm, judges will be able to set stricter release conditions for any defendant they believe could physically or emotionally hurt someone or inflict damages of more than $2,500 while on release.

The bill also designates more than 100 offenses as violent crimes, meaning someone convicted of anything from homicide to watching a cockfight could face higher cash bail amounts if they are accused of another violent crime.

‘Yesterday, the people of Wisconsin approved a companion constitutional amendment to change our state’s bail policies, and while I’m signing this bill today consistent with the will of the people, I also want to be clear that these changes alone will not solve the challenges facing our justice system,’ Evers said.

The governor called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to enact other criminal justice overhauls and use the state’s record budget surplus to invest in public safety.

An anti-abortion group sued the city of Minneapolis on Wednesday to overturn an ordinance that prohibits the obstruction of entrances and driveways to abortion clinics, saying it’s an unconstitutional violation of free speech and freedom of religion.

The ordinance, which was enacted in November, was designed to protect patients of the Planned Parenthood clinic in the Uptown neighborhood from ‘sidewalk counselors’ who try to dissuade them from getting abortions. Pro-Life Action Ministries and several of its staff members filed the challenge in federal court, arguing that the ordinance was a deliberate effort to stifle them.

‘The ministry of pro-life sidewalk counseling is a peaceful interaction with pregnant woman to convey life-affirming alternatives to abortion,’ Erick Kaardal, an attorney for the group, said in a statement. ‘Yet the City of Minneapolis has specifically enacted an ordinance designed to prevent any success at conducting this peaceful interaction by Pro-Life Action Ministries, its staff members or volunteers, and any others involved in similar activities.’

Planned Parenthood officials told the City Council in November that protesters outside the Minneapolis clinic had become more numerous and aggressive since the U.S. Supreme Court last summer overturned the Roe v. Wade decision. Security video showed protesters approaching cars with pamphlets and two people with umbrellas getting into an altercation.

‘There is no such thing as abortion rights without access,’ Council Member Lisa Goodman, the ordinance author, told the council the day the ordinance passed. She said she was confident it would survive a legal challenge.

Planned Parenthood said the ordinance was needed to protect safety in the busy neighborhood.

‘We stand by the necessity and constitutionality of the ordinance,’ Tim Stanley, executive director of Planned Parenthood Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota Action Fund, said in a statement. ‘The ordinance balances the rights of patients, staff, community and protestors. Everyone should be able to get health care, go to the grocery store, drive in their neighborhood and exercise their First Amendment rights.’

Mayor Jacob Frey agreed. ‘This is not about limiting free speech, it’s about protecting community members from being physically disrupted while seeking the reproductive care they need and deserve,’ he said in a statement.

The complaint said PLAM’s counselors walk up to women entering the clinic via the sidewalk or flag down cars entering the parking lot, then attempt to offer help, prayers and information on alternatives to abortion, believing it is their religious duty.

The complaint acknowledged that these actions delay women from entering the clinic, but denied blocking them. It said their actions have led thousands of women to change their minds about getting abortions and that they planned to violate the ordinance. Violations are misdemeanors, so they face a credible threat of prosecution.

A 1994 federal law prohibits using ‘physical obstruction’ to ‘intimidate or interfere with’ people entering health care facilities. Since the late 1990s, the U.S. Supreme Court has heard several cases involving buffer zones outside abortion clinics. In 2014, the high court struck down a law that created a 35-foot protest-free zone outside Massachusetts clinics. Other cases have led to mixed results

In 2020, the justices rejected pleas from activists in Chicago and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to make it easier to protest outside clinics. In 2011, the high court declined to hear a Pittsburgh case, letting stand a lower court decision that said the city’s 15-foot buffer zone for protests did not apply to ‘calm and peaceful’ one-on-one ‘sidewalk counseling.’ A federal appeals court in December temporarily barred the enforcement of a Louisville, Kentucky, buffer zone ordinance.

According to the Guttmacher Institute, 12 states, including Minnesota, plus the District of Columbia, prohibit blocking entrances and exits at abortion clinic facilities.

The director of the Nebraska Department of Economic Development resigned Wednesday, a day after a news report revealed a business he owns received pandemic relief grants from the agency he headed.

Republican Gov. Jim Pillen announced Anthony Goins’ resignation in a news release that gave no reason for the move. But Goins was the focus of a story Tuesday by the Nebraska Examiner that said his agency gave two $12,000 small business grants to the Lincoln cigar bar in which Goins has majority ownership.

The department confirmed Wednesday that the grants, which came from federal CARES Act funds, were given to Capital Cigar Lounge in 2020. But they were issued through a computer system that doled out checks to applicants who met the criteria, answered questions correctly and had lost money due to the pandemic, the agency said.

The application for Capital Cigar were under the name of one of Goins’ business partners, agency spokeswoman Kate Ellington said.

A message left for Goins at Capital Cigar Lounge was not returned Wednesday. But in a statement to the Lincoln Journal Star, he called the news reports ‘false attacks’ and said he decided to resign so as not to distracted from the agency’s work.

Goins was first appointed director in 2019 by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts and reappointed by Pillen.