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Legal protections for nearly 350,000 Haitians at risk as US Supreme Court nears ruling

The U.S. Supreme Court, on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) By Kaitlin Bender-Thomas/Medill News Service WASHINGTON — Even with a valid driver’s license, Maryse Balthazar knows she lacks protection from what she dreads most: deportation back to Haiti.  Balthazar, a nursing assistant, often hesitates to leave her home in South Florida, worried that something as simple as a broken taillight could upend the life she’s spent 16 years building in the United States. “If you get stopped for a traffic violation, what’s going to happen to you?” Balthazar said. “It’s a fear that lives with me every day.”  Maryse Balthazar, a Haitian certified nursing assistant living in the United States with Temporary Protected Status. (Photo courtesy Maryse Balthazar) Balthazar is one of nearly 350,000 Haitians living in the U.S. with Temporary Protected Status, or TPS. The program allows people from countries facing armed conflict, natural disasters or other extr...
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Miscarriage management remains muddled 4 years after Dobbs

Mylissa McNeill, sitting outside her home in Jacksonville, Ark., earlier this year, says she was denied prompt miscarriage care in August 2022. It was the beginning of a cascade of health problems that she blames, at least in part, on hospitals’ reluctance to provide miscarriage management care that might run afoul of state abortion bans. (Photo by Katie Adkins/Arkansas Advocate) Mylissa McNeill never expected to be a mother. But when she learned she was pregnant in the spring of 2022, at age 41, she and her partner were happy and excited at the prospect of parenting a little girl they planned to name Maeve. On June 24, 2022, about one month after McNeill discovered she was pregnant, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in its Dobbs ruling, eliminating the constitutional right to an abortion and empowering states to outlaw it. Missouri was the first state to enact a ban; at that time, McNeill was living in Joplin, Missouri. In August 2022, McNeill miscarried. It was the be...
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States ease child labor laws ahead of summer hiring season

A fast food restaurant advertises jobs on the first day of summer. The Economic Policy Institute found a handful of states that eased labor laws for teenagers during this year’s legislative sessions. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline) For some teenagers across the country, the summer is the first opportunity to gain work experience for their nascent resume.  In a handful of states, however, teens who find jobs will find fewer protections under child labor laws. Four states — Indiana, Nebraska, Washington and West Virginia — enacted laws this year that weaken child labor protections, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit think tank. In all, 13 states had bills seeking to weaken those protections; some are still under consideration. Another three states saw bills filed this year to increase child labor standards, with one state — Oregon — enacting a new law. Oregon now stipulates that state rules on the total hours a minor can work cannot be less restrictive than ...
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Residents and mining company agree to terms that ends 18 months of litigation

A map of a limestone quarry near Belle Mina in Limestone County. A Limestone County Circuit Court Judge signed an agreement between the firm that operates the mine and residents to end a lawsuit. (Southern Environmental Law Center) Key points The terms require the company to create a buffer and operate within specific hours. It must also notify residents before using explosives to harvest limestone from mine. Judge required the company to alter operations in January to accommodate complaints from residents and churches. A Limestone County Court agreed to the terms that residents and a mining company in Bella Mina negotiated over a dispute regarding the environmental impacts over a quarry. Circuit Court Judge Matthew R. Huggins signed the consent order last week required Grayson Carter & Son, Inc., the firm that owned and operated the quarry, to change its operations and establish a buffer meant to reduce the burden on the surrounding...
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States are changing fire codes to make housing cheaper. Some safety experts are worried.

A construction worker balances atop a roof. States and cities are loosening building code requirements in an effort to lower construction costs and boost affordable housing. (Photo by Robbie Sequeira/Stateline) States and cities are loosening building code requirements in an effort to lower construction costs and boost affordable housing. Some of these changes include allowing low-rise apartment buildings to have just one stairway, reducing how often building codes are updated and rolling back specific electrical or fire safety standards. But critics have raised safety concerns, noting that existing rules were shaped by past tragedies and aim to prevent future harm. For example, having only one staircase could allow a developer to add another unit or expand the size of units, said Nicolle Aube, principal and founder of Civex, a planning and civil engineering consulting firm, and an American Planning Association board member. “But then there’s this flip side, that by removing these ...
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Tuberville files motion to dismiss Montgomery County residency lawsuit

U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville gives an acceptance speech after he wins the Republican nomination for Alabama's governor at his primary election victory tailgate at the Vulcan Park in Birmingham, Alabama, on May 19, 2026. Tuberville on Monday filed a motion to dismiss a Montgomery County lawsuit that questions his qualifications for governor over his residency. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) Key points U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville filed a motion to dismiss the most recent lawsuit that alleges he is not eligible to be governor. It also sought to quash discovery to prevent the Democratic nominee from using what could be found against him. Another court refused to step in after another candidate, Ken McFeeters, tried to challenge Tuberville’s candidacy. Alabama Republican gubernatorial nominee and U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville Monday afternoon filed a motion to dismiss a Montgomery County lawsuit that questioned his eligibility to run for gov...
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US Education Department offers two-year trim on student loan interest rates

The U.S. Education Department will temporarily lower interest rates for student loan borrowers who use the auto pay feature. (Photo illustration via Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Education will temporarily reduce interest rates for federal student loan borrowers enrolled in auto pay starting July 1, the agency  announced Thursday.  Borrowers who enroll in  auto pay — the optional feature that allows a borrower to have their monthly loan payment automatically deducted from their checking or savings account — will see a reduction in their interest rate by one full percentage point from July 1, 2026, through June 30, 2028.  The change means a 6% interest rate would drop to 5%, for instance.  Federal student loan borrowers currently enrolled in auto pay already receive an interest rate reduction of 0.25 percentage points from their servicer. Those borrowers do not need to take any additional action and will automatically receive an extra interest rate reduction of...
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