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Before and after Dobbs, questions of ‘when and where’ affect abortion access
Read more Stateline coverage of how states are protecting and curbing access to abortion. DakotaRei Frausto was 17 years old and 12 weeks pregnant when they had to travel 11 hours by car from San Antonio, Texas, to New Mexico to terminate a pregnancy after contraception failed them. The appointment was April 1, 2022, about six months […] The post Before and after Dobbs, questions of ‘when and where’ affect abortion access appeared first on Stateline.
Drivers keep passing stopped school buses, despite use of cameras to catch them
In December, a mom on Long Island, New York, watched her young daughter get onto a school bus, then had to jump out of the way when a car came speeding past on the shoulder. That same month in Minnesota, a child leaving his school bus had to run to avoid being hit by a […] The post Drivers keep passing stopped school buses, despite use of cameras to catch them appeared first on Stateline.
One-on-one outreach shows promise in cutting school absenteeism
When outreach worker Leah Marks shows up at homes in Sanford, Maine — a small manufacturing city 18 miles inland and a world away from tony Kennebunkport — the kids know it’s time to walk with her to the school bus. Her walks often involve snow and ice this time of year. But what they […] The post One-on-one outreach shows promise in cutting school absenteeism appeared first on Stateline.
Private equity’s growing footprint in home health care draws scrutiny
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Help at Home employed nearly 800 caregivers scattered across every county in Alabama, helping 1,100 older and disabled clients with activities such as bathing, housework and meal preparation. And then suddenly, it was gone. Alabama’s largest provider of home care services said it abruptly left the state last fall because the state’s […] The post Private equity’s growing footprint in home health care draws scrutiny appeared first on Stateline.
No more prizes for killing ‘nuisance’ animals under these hunting contest bans
Last weekend, 50 hunters gathered in New York’s Mohawk Valley to take aim at the local coyotes. A hunting club offered prizes for the largest male and female carcasses, paying out $400 to the winning contestants. The event was among the last sanctioned animal hunting contests in the state, following lawmakers’ passage of a ban on such […] The post No more prizes for killing ‘nuisance’ animals under these hunting contest bans appeared first on Stateline.
Amicus briefs in Colorado’s Trump ballot case flood US Supreme Court
This story first appeared in Colorado Newsline. Read more of their reporting on the Trump 14th Amendment case here. Constitutional law experts, state elections officials and a long list of Republican political figures are among those who have flooded the U.S. Supreme Court with their views on a landmark Colorado ruling blocking former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot under a Civil War-era insurrection clause.
US Supreme Court schedules oral arguments in abortion pill access case
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on March 26 in the case that could significantly curtail access to a prescription drug used for both abortions and miscarriage care. The case centers on when and how patients can access mifepristone, a pharmaceutical the U.S. Food and...
Agriculture built these High Plains towns. Now, it might run them dry.
This story, the first in an occasional series about water challenges facing the American heartland, is a partnership between Stateline and the Kansas Reflector. MOSCOW, Kan. — Brownie Wilson pulls off a remote dirt road right through a steep ditch and onto a farmer’s field. He hops out of his white Silverado pickup, mud covering nearly […] The post Agriculture built these High Plains towns. Now, it might run them dry. appeared first on Stateline.
More states offer health care coverage for certain immigrants, noncitizens
Gabriel Henao fled Colombia to escape a guerrilla group who, he said, twice threatened to kill him. After some time in Mexico, he arrived in Colorado in July 2022, settling in Fort Collins. His severe stomach pain started when he was in Mexico, he said. It was debilitating and left him bedridden for days at […] The post More states offer health care coverage for certain immigrants, noncitizens appeared first on Stateline.
Shortage of prosecutors, judges leads to widespread court backlogs
Still reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic, court systems in many states are working to clear their case backlogs. Some court systems have moved cases faster using virtual court proceedings, court data dashboards and online jury selection. In other states, lawmakers are stepping in. The pandemic worsened problems that already had caused state and local court […] The post Shortage of prosecutors, judges leads to widespread court backlogs appeared first on Stateline.
Most states provide lawyers for this critical death penalty appeal. Not Alabama.
This story first appeared in the Alabama Reflector. A person facing capital punishment in Alabama has several rounds of appeals. One, a post-conviction process known in Alabama as Rule 32, allows defendants to raise questions about the process that led to their death sentence. But almost alone in the nation, Alabama does not recognize a […] The post Most states provide lawyers for this critical death penalty appeal. Not Alabama. appeared first on Stateline.
The US needs homes. But first, it needs the workers to build them.
The United States needs an estimated 7 million more homes to house everyone who needs shelter. But to build all those homes, experts say, America would need many more construction workers. “The biggest challenge that the construction industry is facing, to put it tongue in cheek, is that people don’t want their babies to grow up to […] The post The US needs homes. But first, it needs the workers to build them. appeared first on Stateline.
Democratic governors ask Congress for immigration aid to reverse years of ‘inaction’
WASHINGTON — Nine Democratic governors sent a letter to President Joe Biden and congressional leaders Monday, requesting federal aid and urging changes to immigration law as their states take in an overwhelming number of asylum-seekers. “The sustained arrival of individuals seeking asylum and requiring shelter and assistance, due to lack of Congressional action on infrastructure […] The post Democratic governors ask Congress for immigration aid to reverse years of ‘inaction’ appeared first on Stateline.
Years after public outcry over unspent funds for needy families, Tennessee has $717M stockpile
This story first appeared in the Tennessee Lookout. Five years ago, a conservative think tank made an explosive revelation: Tennessee leaders had allowed a key anti-poverty program to amass a $730 million surplus — dollars from the federal government that never reached the struggling families for whom they were earmarked. Fast forward to today: The […] The post Years after public outcry over unspent funds for needy families, Tennessee has $717M stockpile appeared first on Stateline.
Wastewater tests show COVID infections surging, but pandemic fatigue limits precautions
Although it’s spotty and inconsistent in many places, wastewater testing is pointing to a new wave of COVID-19 infections, with as many as one-third of Americans expected to contract the disease by late February. With pandemic fatigue also in full force, and deaths and hospitalizations well down from peaks in 2021 because of high vaccination […] The post Wastewater tests show COVID infections surging, but pandemic fatigue limits precautions appeared first on Stateline.
Critics say public universities are spending too much outside the classroom
Spending on administrative expenses at U.S. public universities has outpaced spending on academic roles in recent years, leading some students and alumni to question how wisely schools are allocating student tuition money and scarce state dollars. A conservative-leaning group that tracks higher education dollars found that administrative spending — which it defines as including such things […] The post Critics say public universities are spending too much outside the classroom appeared first on Stateline.
Kids are flooded with social media and news. Some states want to help them question it.
Young people may be digital natives, but many of them aren’t equipped to deal with the increasing onslaught of disinformation and deepfakes appearing in their social media feeds. A growing number of states think they have an antidote: media literacy education. The goal of media literacy, sometimes called digital citizenship or information literacy, is to […] The post Kids are flooded with social media and news. Some states want to help them question it. appeared first on Stateline.
‘Shell game’: When private equity comes to town, hospitals can see cutbacks, closures
Peggy Malone walks the quiet halls of Crozer-Chester Medical Center, the Pennsylvania hospital where she’s worked as a registered nurse for the past 35 years, with the feeling she’s drifting through a ghost town. The sprawling hospital serves the diverse and densely packed Philadelphia suburb of Upland, and a large proportion of its patients earn […] The post ‘Shell game’: When private equity comes to town, hospitals can see cutbacks, closures appeared first on Stateline.
Maine court declines to rule in Trump ballot case before US Supreme Court
This story first appeared in Maine Morning Star. The Maine Superior Court declined to rule on the appeal of Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ earlier decision to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot. In a decision filed on Wednesday, Judge Michaela Murphy returned the question of Trump’s eligibility to Bellows, ordering […] The post Maine court declines to rule in Trump ballot case before US Supreme Court appeared first on Stateline.
Native nations with scarce internet are building their own broadband networks
On the Hopi Reservation’s more than 1.5 million acres of desert landscape in northeast Arizona, most residents live in villages atop arid mesas. Below ground, there’s a network of copper wires that provides telephone and internet service. Hopi Telecommunications in 2004 bought the company that had installed them, but has been struggling ever since to upgrade the […] The post Native nations with scarce internet are building their own broadband networks appeared first on Stateline.
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