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Republicans scrutinize voting rolls and ramp up for mass challenges ahead of election
When Scott Hoen ran to be Carson City, Nevada’s chief election official two years ago, he campaigned on “election integrity,” promising to make sure voter registration lists were accurate. In the chaotic aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, he believed that too many of his fellow Republicans...
States want to make it harder for health insurers to deny care, but firms might evade enforcement
For decades, Amina Tollin struggled with mysterious, debilitating pain that radiated throughout her body. A few years ago, when a doctor finally diagnosed her with polyneuropathy, a chronic nerve condition, she had begun to use a wheelchair. The doctor prescribed a blood infusion therapy that allowed Tollin, 40, to live...
To close racial gap in maternal health, some states take aim at implicit bias
Countless times, Kenda Sutton-El, a Virginia doula, has witnessed her Black pregnant clients being dismissed or ignored by clinicians. One woman was told by doctors that swelling, pain and warmth in her leg was normal, despite warning the clinicians that she had a history of blood clots. Sutton-El urged her to visit the emergency room. […] The post To close racial gap in maternal health, some states take aim at implicit bias appeared first on Stateline.
After a long slog, climate change lawsuits will finally put Big Oil on trial
After years of legal appeals and delays, some oil companies are set to stand trial in lawsuits brought by state and local governments over the damages caused by climate change. Meanwhile, dozens more governments large and small have brought new claims against the fossil fuel industry as those initial cases, filed up to a half-dozen […] The post After a long slog, climate change lawsuits will finally put Big Oil on trial appeared first on Stateline.
GOP, Trump build on immigration fears to push voting restrictions in states
With polls showing unauthorized immigration as Republicans’ best issue for the fall, the GOP is looking to raise the alarm about voting by noncitizens and the undocumented. The multipronged effort has been advanced in congressional legislation, public statements by top election officials and U.S. senators, plans produced by grassroots activists, and posts on X by […] The post GOP, Trump build on immigration fears to push voting restrictions in states appeared first on Stateline.
Swing states see newcomers as Americans move from blue to red counties
In recent years, millions of people across the United States have moved from Democratic cities to Republican suburbs, complicating the politics of swing states in a pivotal election year, according to a Stateline analysis. Republican suburban counties in four swing states — Georgia in the South and Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin in the Midwest — […] The post Swing states see newcomers as Americans move from blue to red counties appeared first on Stateline.
In the central US, an electric grid bottleneck persists
Forty-five million people live in the area managed by the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, the organization that runs a massive portion of the North American electric grid running from Manitoba, Canada, to the Gulf of Mexico. Inside that footprint are all or parts of 15 states, 75,000 miles of transmission lines and nearly 3,000 electric […] The post In the central US, an electric grid bottleneck persists appeared first on Stateline.
Freedom Caucuses push for conservative state laws, but getting attention is their big success
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — When a Republican colleague threatened to read aloud from a 2-foot stack of books — including a biblical guide to leadership and a tome by anti-tax activist Grover Norquist — to protest inaction on his bills last week, Missouri state Sen. Rick Brattin quickly took up the cause. Seizing on a chance to […] The post Freedom Caucuses push for conservative state laws, but getting attention is their big success appeared first on Stateline.
Where did all the water go? New study explores water use in the Colorado River basin.
This story first appeared in the Utah News Dispatch. Read more Stateline coverage of how communities across the West are grappling with drought that’s worsening because of climate change. The final 100 miles of the Colorado River is a shell of its former self — nearly 10 miles wide at the turn of the century, steamboats would transport […] The post Where did all the water go? New study explores water use in the Colorado River basin. appeared first on Stateline.
As drag shows go ‘mainstream,’ some red states look to restrict them
Drag performances used to be found mostly in the confines of nightlife venues such as clubs and bars. But drag has stepped into the daylight, with elaborately costumed and made-up performers appearing at library readings and kid-friendly brunches, and a newfound visibility for gender-bending entertainment and self-expression. “Drag now versus 15 years ago is like […] The post As drag shows go ‘mainstream,’ some red states look to restrict them appeared first on Stateline.
Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements costing taxpayers millions despite low enrollment
This story first appeared on KFF Health News. Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan for a conservative alternative to Obamacare’s Medicaid expansion has cost taxpayers at least $26 million so far, with more than 90% going toward administrative and consulting costs rather than medical care for low-income people. Kemp’s Georgia Pathways to Coverage offers government […] The post Georgia’s Medicaid work requirements costing taxpayers millions despite low enrollment appeared first on Stateline.
Vets fret as private equity snaps up clinics, pet care companies
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — About a year ago, veterinarian Melissa Ezell started noticing subtle changes at the midsized animal clinic in Huntsville, Alabama, where she works. She said she and other vets were feeling pressure from management to make a certain amount of money from every appointment. If a pet owner wasn’t going to spend enough, […] The post Vets fret as private equity snaps up clinics, pet care companies appeared first on Stateline.
States rush to combat AI threat to elections
This year’s presidential election will be the first since generative AI — a form of artificial intelligence that can create new content, including images, audio and video — became widely available. That’s raising fears that millions of voters could be deceived by a barrage of political deepfakes. But, while Congress has done little to address […] The post States rush to combat AI threat to elections appeared first on Stateline.
Disabled workers can be paid less than the minimum wage. Some states want to end that.
OVERLAND PARK, Kan. — High-fives, fist-bumps and hugs come with the ice cream at the Golden Scoop. Tucked into a shopping center in suburban Kansas City, the shop employs 15 people with developmental disabilities. While customers first come for the sweet treats, many are drawn in by the Golden Scoop’s mission and friendly environment.
Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety
For a decade, Illinois state Sen. Sue Rezin has recognized the technological and economic potential of lithium-ion batteries. Rezin, a Republican who serves in a district that is a major chemical and energy industry hub southwest of Chicago, also recognizes the possible dangers. In June 2021, a Morris, Illinois, warehouse in her district with roughly […] The post Deadly fires from phone, scooter batteries leave lawmakers playing catch-up on safety appeared first on Stateline.
Few states cover fertility treatment for same-sex couples, but that could be changing
Elizabeth Bauer was working out at the gym one morning last August when she got a phone call from her fertility nurse. It was a call that Bauer and her wife, Rebecca, had long been waiting for. Elizabeth dialed in Rebecca so they could listen together: They were pregnant. The...
HIV is no longer a death sentence. But states still have laws targeting people who live with it.
This article originally appeared on The 19th. The morning of Feb. 4, 2007, started off like any other for 25-year-old Lashanda Salinas. She got up and made the 20-minute commute to her job as a front desk clerk at a Nashville hotel where she greeted guests and checked them in. Hours later, her life changed. […] The post HIV is no longer a death sentence. But states still have laws targeting people who live with it. appeared first on Stateline.
School voucher proponents spend big to overcome rural resistance
AUSTIN, Texas — In rural Texas, public schools are the cultural heart of small towns. People pack the high school stadium for Friday night football games, and FFA classes prepare the next generation for the agricultural life. In many places, more people work for the school district than for any other employer. For years, many […] The post School voucher proponents spend big to overcome rural resistance appeared first on Stateline.
Fearing political violence, more states ban firearms at polling places
Facing increased threats to election workers and superheated political rhetoric from former President Donald Trump and his supporters, more states are considering firearm bans at polling places and ballot drop boxes ahead of November’s presidential election. This month, New Mexico became the latest state to restrict guns where people...
Taxpayers were overcharged for patient meds. Then came the lawyers.
Stateline’s Shalina Chatlani examined the health care system in Mississippi as a part of The New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship. In 2018, when Mike DeWine was Ohio’s attorney general, he began investigating an obscure corner of the health care industry. He believed that insurers were inflating prescription drug prices through management companies that operated […] The post Taxpayers were overcharged for patient meds. Then came the lawyers. appeared first on Stateline.
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