TX: US Supreme Court speeds hearing on Texas abortion law
The U.S. Supreme Court signaled interest in providing a quick review of Texas’ six-week abortion ban, giving abortion providers and the state until Thursday to argue whether they should take up the case or not.
US: District attorneys refuse to prosecute some GOP-led state laws
Progressive prosecutors around the country are increasingly declaring they won’t enforce some GOP-backed state laws, a strategy in response to some of the most controversial new changes.
MN: Eased rules unleash ‘bulge’ in Minnesota eviction cases
Advocates for Minnesota tenants and landlords agree they’re seeing more eviction cases, coinciding with the gradual easing of a moratorium designed to prevent widespread evictions during the pandemic.
NM: New Mexico sets crisis care standards for hospitals
Citing “enormous, ongoing and unsustainable” strain on the state’s health care system, the New Mexico Department of Health allowed hospitals to set priorities for treatment when beds are limited.
NE: Nebraska to spend M on ads luring new workers
Nebraska launched a $10 million marketing campaign funded by federal CARES Act money targeted to lure people from Kansas City, Denver, Chicago and Minneapolis. The state has 50,000 job openings.
FL: Florida families reach M settlement with school in Parkland shooting
The families of 52 people injured, killed or traumatized during the 2018 mass shooting at a school in Parkland, Florida, have reached a $25 million settlement with the Broward School District. The families alleged the school district was negligent.
LA: Civil rights groups demand second Black-majority district in Louisiana
Civil rights organizations demanded that Louisiana lawmakers redraw election districts to make it likelier a second Black person can be elected to Congress. The state is about 32% Black but has only one Black congressional representative.
WI: Wisconsin has the highest rate of Black imprisonment
One in every 36 Black adults in Wisconsin is in prison—a rate that is the highest in the nation and more than twice as high as the national average, according to a national report.
WA: Judge denies last-minute effort to block Washington’s vaccine mandate
A last-ditch effort to halt Washington Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee’s vaccination mandate for state employees and healthcare workers was rejected by a judge who ruled that Inslee acted within his legal authority.
OR: More Oregonians took their lives under Death with Dignity Act in 2020 than any other year
A record 370 people received prescriptions in 2020 under the Death with Dignity Act, according to data compiled by the Oregon Health Authority, up 25% from 2019. The law allows the terminally ill to end their own lives
MI: Dozens of Michigan schools still use Native American slurs, imagery
Schools and sports teams across the country have dropped Native American mascots and imagery, but in Michigan, several K-12 districts continue to use questionable monikers such as warriors, chiefs and braves.
CT: Unrestricted online gambling set to begin in Connecticut
Unrestricted online gambling in Connecticut begins this week, inaugurating the broadest expansion of legalized wagering in the state since two Native American casinos opened in the 1990s.
IL: Lax regulation of Illinois nursing homes resulted in poor resident care early in pandemic
For years, including the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois officials failed to properly oversee nursing homes, including not enforcing staffing requirements, according to a consultant’s investigation.
NJ: New Jersey has its first B month in sports betting
New Jersey’s sports betting industry became the first in the nation to take in more than a billion dollars’ worth of bets in a single month, in September, as football season sent more gamblers to online bets.
MD: Maryland gets redistricting proposal
Maryland Republican Gov. Larry Hogan has pledged to support a redistricting proposal from a bipartisan commission, but legislative Democrats have the final say.
TN: Tennessee Republicans eye broad approach to COVID special session
As Tennessee lawmakers inch toward a special session to roll back COVID-19 restrictions, House Republicans are eyeing a wide array of legislation—from curtailing the governor’s emergency powers to restricting private businesses’ ability to mandate vaccination.
AR: Arkansas reports smallest daily COVID case increase in months
The numbers of COVID-19 patients who were in Arkansas hospitals, on ventilators and in intensive care all fell as the state posted its smallest daily increase in cases in almost four months.
WY: COVID cases surge in Wyoming prisons
Testing found 148 total cases of coronavirus across Wyoming’s five state prison facilities, up from 19 two weeks ago. Unvaccinated staff drove new infections among employees and the incarcerated.
VA: Virginia sues landlords over vouchers
Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, a Democrat, sued 29 landlords accused of refusing renters with federal housing subsidies. The lawsuits are the first under a 2020 state law.
HI: Hawaii employers looking for help as pandemic lingers
Thousands of people in Hawaii are still unemployed. Compounding the situation is that those who are unemployed might not have the skills to fill open jobs.
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