Nwexx

Volunteer clinic escorts stand in a line before a kneeling anti-abortion demonstrator at a clinic in Louisville, Ky., in 2021. Advocates from each side of the abortion issue have pushed for Congress to either codify the Hyde Amendment into law or codify its repeal, but neither side has been successful. (Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images) In the early months of 2022, Democrats in Congress came close to passing an appropriations bill that did not include a provision barring federal funding for abortions — maybe the closest it had ever come in more than 40 years. But those who wanted the Hyde Amendment included won the battle in the end. Three months later, the U.S. Supreme Court made its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health to allow states to regulate abortion access. That year, the 50-year precedent of a constitutional right to abortion ended, and the 50-year precedent of no federal tax funding to pay for abortions endures. The Hyde Amendment was first passed Sept. 30, 1976, th...

Watches are on display in a Swatch store on April 3, 2025, in Miami Beach, Florida. The Swiss company, and other in 60 countries that make up more than 99% of U.S. imports, is subject to Trump administration tariffs tied to labor standards. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Small businesses will once again challenge President Donald Trump’s tariffs in federal court this week as they continue to feel the squeeze of the administration’s roller coaster policy on import taxes. Spice importer Burlap & Barrel and rare watch importer Collective Horology will argue Wednesday in the Court of International Trade in New York City that the Trump administration did not properly establish forced labor cases against dozens of U.S. trading partners before levying duties on goods that numerous American importers buy. The Office of the United States Trade Representative  announced in late July that products from 60 top U.S. trading partners will be tariffed at 10% or 12.5%, depe...

Icons for popular AI virtual assistant apps are seen on a smartphone screen. (Photo illustration by Getty Images) The challenges and dire threats surrounding the unchecked growth of artificial intelligence appear unlikely to move Congress or President Donald Trump to act as the U.S. Senate enters its last week before the midterms.  The rapid emergence of the technology has sparked a host of policy debates, with some warning of an existential threat to humanity, requiring urgent attention. But the only action Congress could plausibly take before November’s elections is a relatively toothless measure aiming to control the massive consumer electricity costs of AI. “A lot of people are afraid of the dark and change is difficult,” said Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va. “The amazement of AI just dumbfounds us all.” The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a plan to urge states to protect consumers from paying higher electricity costs from data centers. A lot of Democrats are balking at the...

The White House on June 11, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The Trump administration has, once again, infuriated lawmakers from both political parties by using a controversial maneuver to cancel funding previously approved by Congress.  The $810 million in the “pocket rescission” would have gone to refugee assistance programs at the Department of Health and Human Services, a Treasury Department program that provided “debt forgiveness to foreign countries that make climate change-related investments for coral reefs and tropical forests” and a grant program at the Minority Business Development Agency, among several others.  The decision by the White House budget office to cancel the funding could make it much more difficult for negotiators to reach agreement on the dozen full-year government funding bills later this year.  Those bills cannot become law without bipartisan support, a requirement that’s unlikely to happen if Democrats believe the...

A collection of signs advertising cash for homes is shown earlier this month at an event in Kansas City, Missouri, celebrating a new state law regulating real estate wholesalers. Critics say these businesses can be predatory, especially for poor, minority and older homeowners. (Photo by Kevin Hardy/Stateline) WE BUY HOUSES. CASH 4 HOMES. FA$T CA$H. The signs, text messages and mailers promise cash, quick sales and a seamless means of unloading unwanted homes.  But advocates say the business of buying homes for cash can confuse vulnerable homeowners and rob them of home equity. And now, many states are cracking down.  Wholesalers often solicit directly, calling or door knocking looking for sales. But they’re best known by the signs lining curbs and utility poles. Real estate wholesaling operates distinctly from the traditional real estate market of listings, showings and agents. Wholesalers look to get unlisted homes under contract at a discount and then sell or assign that contract...

Fourth graders sit at their classroom tables in Oklahoma City. A new government watchdog report raises concerns about oversight of education spending and absenteeism data. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice) The U.S. Department of Education’s suspension this year of a comprehensive monitoring process puts billions of K-12 dollars at heightened risk of undetected waste, fraud and abuse, according to a new report by the nonpartisan U.S. Government Accountability Office. The congressional watchdog’s report also raised concerns about the reliability of federal absenteeism data, noting that absenteeism rates were reported above 100% in some schools. Officials from the Department of Education told GAO the department suspended its consolidated monitoring of Elementary and Secondary Education Act requirements while it develops a new approach. But as of August, the department had not provided a timeline for resuming the reviews or details on an alternative for making sure states co...