SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico’s State Land Office will withhold lease sales indefinitely on its most promising tracts for oil and natural gas development in the Permian Basin as it seeks approval by the state Legislature to increase top-tier royalty rates, Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard said Thursday. Bills have repeatedly stalled in the Democratic-led Legislature, including this …

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi is pushing a package of more than a dozen bills aimed at addressing the state’s ongoing housing crisis One proposal would give homeowners the right to develop accessory dwelling units for family members with a disability or on any lot larger than 20,000 square feet (1,858 square meters), provided the …

DUBLIN (AP) — According to Ireland’s Constitution, a woman’s place is in the home. Irish voters will decide Friday — International Women’s Day — whether to change the 87-year-old document to remove passages the government says are outdated and sexist. The twin referendums are on deleting a reference to women’s domestic duties and broadening the definition of the family. While …