Jury selection in Donald Trump's hush money trial has encountered new setbacks as two seated jurors were excused — one for backtracking on whether she could be impartial and the other over concerns about whether he was truthful about whether he had ever been accused or convicted of a crime. Attorneys now need to pick 13 more jurors to serve on the panel that will decide the first-ever criminal case against a former U.S. president. The case is the first of Trump’s four indictments to reach trial. Trump is accused of falsifying internal business records and making payoffs to two women as part of a scheme to bury stories he worried would hurt his 2016 campaign.

Two jurors in former President Donald Trump’s hush money trial were dismissed Thursday, one after expressing doubt about her ability to be fair and impartial and the other over concerns that some of his answers in court may not have been accurate. The dismissals reduce to five the number of jurors who have been seated for the first-ever criminal trial of a former president. The setbacks in the selection process emerged during a frenetic morning in which prosecutors also asked for Trump to be held in contempt over a series of social media posts this week, while the judge in the case barred reporters from identifying jurors’ employers after expressing privacy concerns.

State lawmakers are taking very different approaches to public safety following high-profile shootings. Maine's Democratic-led Legislature gave final approval to new restrictions on guns before adjourning Thursday. The move comes six months after a deadly mass shooting in Lewiston. Iowa's Republican-led Legislature meanwhile approved allowing teachers and staff who get firearms safety training to carry guns on school property. That comes three months after a fatal shooting at an Iowa school. About 20 states have passed gun-related legislation this year, and more than half the states did so last year. Democrats generally favor more limits and Republicans more freedoms for gun owners.