Massachusetts State

Columbus, OH

New Jersey State

Washington State

GOBankingRates

More than 1 million workers nationwide earn the federal minimum wage of $7.25 or less. Even more workers earn the minimum wage in their states, but these state minimums vary greatly.  Read More:...

9 States With the Highest Minimum Wages in 2024

North Carolina State

Axios Raleigh

After losing voters for most of the last six months, the Democratic Party has seen a bump in affiliated voter registrations since President Biden ended his re-election campaign, per an analysis by Western Carolina University political professor Chris Cooper.Why it matters: Vice President Kamala Harris' presidential campaign saw an influx of both volunteers and donations in its first week — pointing to momentum building in the Democratic party around her candidacy. Zoom in: The latest voter registration numbers in North Carolina are also evidence that Harris' campaign launch is giving the party a modest but much-needed boost in the state. It's "potentially...

NC Democrats see voter registration bump since Biden-Harris switch

Colorado State

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David Heitz

A bill quietly introduced this spring in the Colorado legislature to decriminalize the possession of drug paraphernalia obtained by harm reductionists has become law. As low-key as the legislation was introduced, the bill was signed into law without fanfare June 6. It garnered little to no media attention.

Colorado legalizes needles, pipes for meth and crack if obtained by harm reduction group

California State

TheDailyBeast

A California state senator, fed up with the Democratic Party’s supermajority in the Golden State’s legislature, announced she is defecting to the Republican Party. Sen. Marie Alvarado-Gil was elected in 2022 to represent California’s fourth senate district, which includes parts of the Sierra Nevada mountain range and the agrarian Central Valley. Alvarado-Gil made the party switch announcement on Thursday, after serving two years of her four year term. “I was elected to serve the public, not a political ideology,” Alvarado-Gil said in a statement. “The status quo under a supermajority Democratic rule in the legislature is simply not working for this state.” In an interview with Sacramento Bee opinion columnist Marcos Bretón, Alvarado-Gil said the “last straw” was the attempt to pass reforms to Proposition 47—a decade-old ballot initiative that downgraded some property crimes like shoplifting, forgery, and writing bad checks to misdemeanors. Read it at Sacramento BeeRead more at The Daily Beast.

California State Senator Defects From Democratic Party

Denver, CO

In addition to collecting more than 8,000 used needles in the past year from Denver drug users, the Harm Reduction Action Center passed out 10,000 meth pipes and “snort kits,” according to a newsletter sent to its supporters Thursday. They also connected about 1,700 people to medical, mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Denver group hands out 10K meth pipes, ‘snort kits,’ connects 1,700 to treatment annually

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville Today

A historic marker could be erected to honor the victims of the racist mass shooting at the Dollar General store in Jacksonville’s New Town neighborhood nearly a year ago. If approved by the Jacksonville City Council, a marker would be installed at Kings Road and Canal Street on Aug. 25, a day before the first anniversary of the shooting, when a white gunman took the lives of three Black people.

Memorial considered to honor Dollar General victims

More dangerous substances are entering the Denver drug supply, Harm Reduction Action Center warned in a newsletter this week. “The Iron Law of Prohibition posits that as law enforcement becomes more intense, the potency of prohibited substances increases,” HRAC Executive Director Lisa Raville wrote in the newsletter. That is exactly what is happening, she said.

Dangerous substances entering Denver drug supply

Ohio State

The Lantern

On Tuesday, licensed Ohio dispensaries began legally selling non-medical marijuana to consumers; however, the drug’s possession, growth and/or usage are still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus. Credit: Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times/TNS [Original caption: Four citizen-led petitions with proposals to update Dallas’ charter hit the 20,000 valid signature threshold to make it on the Nov. 5 election ballot, including one that would ban police officers from arresting or citing people carrying less than four ounces of marijuana.] As of Tuesday, students 21 and older can now legally purchase marijuana in Ohio.

Dispensary sales of recreational marijuana began Tuesday; possession and usage still prohibited on Ohio State’s campus

Florida State

Alaska State

It's primary Tuesday in Florida, the nation's third most populous state. Voters will also go to the polls in two of the three least-populated states: Alaska and Wyoming. Alaska has a unique system where all candidates appear on a single ballot and the top four finishers advance. The general election is then decided by ranked choice voting.

Overview and Live Results: Florida, Alaska, and Wyoming primaries

Louisiana State

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The Lens

During my childhood, when my family visited relatives “across the river,” in Bayou Plaquemine, Bayou Goula, Caddo, the Pointe, and White Castle, my siblings and I would sometimes race up and down the levees, some distance away from the cows grazing there. At the summit of the hill, you could see the Mississippi River waters through stands of trees and brush. It never occurred to me that our “playground” was the living testimony of Black men, prisoners of the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola whom the state of Louisiana had re-enslaved in the convict leasing system.

No longer ‘half slave, half free’

Montana State

Wyoming State

WyoFile

To increase the genetic diversity of an island population of grizzly bears , Wyoming and Montana wildlife managers recently worked together to import fresh bloodlines into the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

Two Montana grizzly bears trucked to Wyoming to bolster genetic diversity, help states’ delisting case

Georgia State

Daily Coffee Press

According to officials with the Southern District of Georgia, two recently unsealed federal indictments have charged 23 defendants in a series of broad conspiracies involving the use of drones to smuggle methamphetamine, marijuana, and cell phones into state prisons in Georgia.

23 Defendants Charged in Federal Indictments for Drone-Smuggling Drug Operation in Georgia

Pennsylvania State

CBS Philly

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. showed up too late to testify Tuesday in a court case in Pennsylvania where Democratic activists are trying to bar him from the ballot for president in the premier battleground state, prompting testy exchanges between the judge and Kennedy's lawyer.Lawyers for the two Democratic activists who filed the challenge say Kennedy's candidacy paperwork states a fake home address — an allegation being aired in other state courts — and falls short of the signature-gathering requirement applied by state law to third-party candidates.Kennedy showed up an hour and 40 minutes late, blaming a canceled...

RFK Jr. shows up too late to testify Pennsylvania ballot challenge

This year’s area of low oxygen in the Gulf of Mexico is larger than average, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced on Thursday. The “dead zone” is approximately 6,705 square miles , as measured last week. Within NOAA’s 38 years of measuring the dead zone, this year’s assessment marks the 12th-largest area of low to no oxygen, which can kill fish and marine life.

Gulf ‘dead zone’ larger than average, larger than expected for 2024, scientists announce

Floyd County, GA

According to officials with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI), three former officers from the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDC), one GDC investigator, and a former Floyd County deputy have been charged for the aggravated assault of an inmate at the Floyd County Jail.

Five Former Georgia Law Enforcement Officers Charged With Aggravated Assault Against Inmate

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Dianna Carney

Sandy Paws Rescue Inc., a foster-based rescue in Massachusetts, recently introduced Juney, an inspiring dog who has been through so much in his short life and is now looking for a forever home. Juney's story is one of remarkable resilience and the unwavering spirit of a dog who has overcome unimaginable adversity.

Meet The Sweet Dog Who Survived a Machete Attack Now Looking For Love

Reuters

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Friday struck down a rule adopted by President Joe Biden's administration designed to raise pay for tipped workers, citing a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that curtailed federal agencies' ability to issue regulations.

US appeals court scraps Biden tipped wages rule

Arkansas State

Nebraska State

USA TODAY

Voters in Nebraska will decide to broaden or limit abortion access in the state after two dueling measures made it onto the November ballot Friday.

Opposing measures to expand or limit abortion access in Nebraska make November's ballot

Chicago, IL

Foodie in Chicago

(CHICAGO) In July, Democratic National Convention (DNC) officials predicted 50,000 visitors to Chicago and a $150 million boost to the economy. But are restaurants feeling the bump in business thanks to the convention?

DNC in Chicago: Some Restaurants Left Hungry for Expected Business Boom

Winder, GA

A 50-year-old former jailer has been charged by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) with cruelty to inmates and violation of oath of office. On Sunday, July 21, the Barrow County Sheriff’s Office requested the GBI to investigate an incident involving one of their jailers, Lolita Lightner of Winder, Georgia.

Former Jailer at Georgia County Jail Arrested

NewsBreak

Eliminate the tipped minimum wage? Both sides debate Massachusetts Ballot Question 5.

The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $15 an hour — unless that job includes tips. Under current state law, tipped workers like restaurant servers can be...

Eliminate the tipped minimum wage? Both sides debate Massachusetts Ballot Question 5.

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