Housekeeping: Poisonous gasses A Norfolk Southern freight train that derailed along the Ohio-Pennsylvania border on February 3 spewed millions of pounds of toxic materials into the environment, killing wildlife, pets, and forcing evacuations. Five of the cars carried vinyl chloride, a potent carcinogen used in the production of plastic material. While this is bad enough […]
North Carolina voters elected two new Republican state supreme court judges in November, ousting two Democratic justices and tilting the balance of the court from 4–3 Democratic to 5–2 Republican. Now, the newly-conservative court announced it will rehear—and likely overturn—cases decided by the former Democratic majority. Background The court had been a bulwark against the […]
Kansas Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected a state constitutional amendment last year that would have stripped residents of abortion rights. Now, less than six months later, the Republican-controlled state legislature is considering bills to undermine the will of the voters by limiting or outright banning abortion. The most extreme, HB 2181, is a total abortion ban with no exceptions […]
Oklahoma Cutting teacher pay Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) reappointed the new state superintendent of public instruction, Ryan Walters, to be secretary of education, giving him nearly complete power over Oklahoma’s education policies. While serving in both positions, Walters will receive two salaries adding up to over $160,000 a year. The two positions are distinct under state […]
You may have heard about the protests against Atlanta’s “Cop City” and the police shooting of an activist last week. What you may not know is that the efforts to oppose the police training center are about more than a dislike of cops. The resisting coalition brings together people fighting for the environment, for environmental […]
Hospital closures 54% of Mississippi’s rural hospitals are at risk of closing in the near future, driven by rising costs and depleted savings. “The lack of access to healthcare for many Mississippians is currently a crisis, not a new crisis, but one that has been fermenting—and is getting worse,” the Mississippi State Medical Association said […]
Audio of post The Supreme Court last week announced it will hear 11 new cases this term including one regarding religious liberty, one about home equity theft, and a third relating to free speech. Groff v. DeJoy Gerald Groff was an evangelical Christian employed by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) until he resigned to avoid […]
NEW: AUDIO OF POSTS I am experimenting with making an audio version of posts for those who are too busy to read the whole thing or simply prefer listening over reading. Here is today’s post in audio form LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT The LAPD is under increased scrutiny for killing three men—two Black and one […]
Note: This list only accounts for unique bills; duplicate or similar versions in another chamber (state House or Senate) are not listed separately. KANSAS Senate Bill 12, sponsored by Sen. Mike Thompson (R) and Sen. Mark Steffen (R), criminalizes providing gender-affirming care to individuals under 21 years of age. KENTUCKY House Bill 30, sponsored by […]
Florida Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) promoted a judge who lost re-election after refusing to allow a minor to terminate her pregnancy. Judge Jared Smith, then serving on the Hillsborough County Circuit Court, heard the case of a 17-year-old who was trying to get an abortion without her parent’s consent last year. Under a 2020 […]
