Nwexx

The White House, south facing, on June 11, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — The three news organizations that President Donald Trump has barred from entering the White House filed a lawsuit against the administration on Monday. CNN, MS Now and Politico wrote in  a joint statement the suit is intended “to protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports or publishes.” “Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists’ credentials because it objected to our reporting,” the statement continued. “Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public’s right to independent journalism free from government interference.” Trump announced last week on social media that he intended to bar journalists from those three news organizations, airing a years-running grievance that he doesn’t believe their reporting is accurate. “I am proud to announce that, effective imme...

Alabamans hold up signs that read “No Data Center” at a County Commission meeting on Aug. 24, 2026, in Hayneville, Alabama, in the Lowndes County Courthouse. (Anna Barrett/Alabama Reflector) WASHINGTON — The rare 2026 issue that draws huge support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress is the same one that’s mobilized many Americans: restrictions on giant data centers. The House has overwhelmingly passed legislation forcing state regulators to consider requirements that data centers absorb the cost of the electricity they use.  But there’s more to be done, say data center critics, and they’re finding there is no easy or even obvious answer about what to do next. Leave it to state and local governments to decide whether and how the centers should function? Should their size be restricted? Should they be banned altogether? The future of data centers has become a flashpoint in this year’s congressional races. It’s woven into the debate about affordability, artificial intellige...

Women gather to listen to President Donald Trump at a Women’s History Month event in the East Room of the White House in March 2025. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month acknowledged a nationwide shortage of estrogen-based hormonal patches, which are prescribed for women experiencing symptoms related to menopause. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) The U.S. Food and Drug Administration says it’s helping manufacturers increase the supply of estrogen-based hormonal patches and acknowledged a current nationwide shortage as more women seek hormonal therapies for symptoms related to menopause. In a release earlier this month, the FDA said it is expediting actions to increase supply, and said all six manufacturers are working to expand capacity and prioritize production of the patches. “The FDA views increased interest in menopause treatment as an important development for women’s health and is working closely with manufacturers to help ensure that the supply of estradiol patc...

Voters at Deering High School in Portland cast their ballot in Maine’s June 9, 2026 primary election. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) Voting rights groups and Democratic officials are looking to defend against what they see as possible election interference from the Trump administration ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, now that they’ve won a major battle over mail ballots. Common Cause, a nonpartisan pro-democracy organization, announced a “voter protection” campaign Thursday that would place thousands of volunteers at polling sites in 25 states. The initiative is designed to counter potential administration moves to intimidate voters, such as ordering troops or law enforcement officers to polling places. The Democratic Party is also upping its voter protection efforts, launching its own initiative this week to deploy 10,000 volunteers to assist voters at polling locations in all 50 states plus seven U.S. territories. Both efforts are described as preemptive effor...

An airplane sits on the tarmac at Mesa Gateway Airport on the evening of April 9, 2026, outside of the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center, an ICE facility where detainees are temporarily housed before they are put on a plane to either be deported or moved to a different ICE facility. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror) WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court Friday struck down the Trump administration’s policy to quickly send noncitizens to countries they are not from, finding that immigrants must have an opportunity to challenge their removal if they fear for their safety. The decision largely upheld a Boston federal judge’s February ruling that found the Department of Homeland Security’s policy unlawful. But the immigration officers can still conduct third-country removals if they follow the proper procedures, such as adequate notice and an opportunity for an immigrant to raise a fear-based claim to that country of removal. Third-country removals, deportat...

Jeffrey Lee, seen in an Alabama Department of Corrections photo, was executed Thursday evening for the murders of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson during a pawn shop robbery in 1998. A trial jury voted 7-5 to sentence Lee to life in prison, but the trial judge overrode the jury and sentenced Lee to death. (Alabama Department of Corrections) The state of Alabama executed Jeffery Lee, 49, Thursday for the murders of Jimmy Ellis and Elaine Thompson during a pawn shop robbery in Orrville in 1998. Lee was executed by lethal injection just over two months after a federal district court rebuffed Alabama’s attempt to put him to death by nitrogen gas, and after an unsuccessful campaign for clemency by death penalty opponents, who said a jury’s initial recommendation of sentencing Lee to life without parole should be respected. “All is well, I just want to say to my family, I love them,” Lee said during his final statement. “To my brothers on life row, I love them.” Media witnesses did not ob...