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Colorado state Sen. Mike Weissman, a Democrat, speaks at a February news conference about immigration enforcement-related bills at the Colorado Capitol. Democratic lawmakers nationwide proposed nearly 250 bills this year in statehouses seeking to limit federal immigration enforcement efforts. (Photo by Sara Wilson/Colorado Newsline) Democratic lawmakers proposed nearly 250 bills in state capitols this year seeking to limit federal immigration efforts as they sought to push back against what they view as federal government overreach.  In a new report tallying 2026 action, State Futures, a nonprofit coordinating hundreds of Democratic lawmakers across the states, tracked 242 pieces of such legislation introduced across 32 states. About a fifth of them passed. Most of the measures address the ramped up immigration enforcement efforts that have defined President Donald Trump’s second term.  Some of those bills have faced Republican opposition and White House challenges. But Democratic g...

Idaho Democratic state Rep. Brooke Green, her toddler Bridger Byington, and her baby Bryson Byington at the Boise River in Boise, Idaho, on August 6, 2026. Opposition to the two ways that Green had her children, IVF and surrogacy, is rising. (Photo by Otto Kitsinger for Stateline) Brooke Green thought she needed a mammogram. Green, a Democratic state representative in Idaho, knew that breast cancer ran in her family and she “just had an inkling” that she should be tested. She was two weeks shy of the day her last remaining embryo would be implanted through in vitro fertilization. It was the one shot she had left to give her firstborn son a sibling, since it took several rounds of in vitro fertilization to get pregnant the first time. The mammogram confirmed her fears: There was in fact a lump in her breast, and a biopsy of the tumor confirmed it was cancer. Worse yet, it was a type of cancer fueled by estrogen and progesterone, two of the main hormones that skyrocket during pregnanc...

A new federal rule is ending Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming hormone therapies and procedures for young people. (Photo by Dana DiFilippo/New Jersey Monitor) A new federal rule will end Medicaid coverage for gender-affirming hormone therapies and procedures for kids under age 18. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced Tuesday a rule that prohibits state Medicaid plans from covering gender-affirming procedures for minors and using federal Medicaid dollars for such care.  The rule also prohibits Children’s Health Insurance Program, or CHIP, funds from being used for kids under 19. CMS is defining such care to include puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical operations. The policy takes effect Oct. 13. The Trump administration asserts that gender-affirming care is dangerous for kids, while many medical groups say it’s safe and can improve the mental health of children and adolescents. Surgical gender-affirming care operations are very rare for chil...

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks Feb. 21, 2025, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. (Photo by Gage Skidmore) WASHINGTON — White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt will step down from her position at the end of August to spend more time with her family, President Donald Trump announced on social media Wednesday. In a post on Truth Social, the president praised Leavitt, the youngest person to serve in the role, as one of his closest aides in the White House and said she will move to an adviser role outside of government. “Our wonderful White House Press Secretary, and one of my most trusted aides, Karoline Leavitt, will be departing her role at the end of the month so she can spend more time with her beautiful young children and family, a decision I totally understand and respect!” Trump wrote. “Karoline will now be one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party, as we work to defy H...

Members of the media set up outside the U.S. Supreme Court ahead of President Donald Trump's expected arrival on April 1, 2026 in Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court was hearing oral arguments to determine if Trump's executive order ending birthright citizenship is constitutional. (Photo by Al Drago/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The American Civil Liberties Union has petitioned a federal court in New Hampshire to reaffirm a ruling that found President Donald Trump’s birthright citizenship executive order unconstitutional, after the president renewed his attempts to redefine American citizenship despite his loss at the Supreme Court. “This case has always been, and remains, about the President’s effort to fashion new exceptions to birthright citizenship,” according to the  ACLU’s Tuesday filing.  Trump last week  signed two executive orders . One seeks to expand the narrow exemptions to birthright citizenship for babies born on U.S. soil. Another aims to end birth tourism, w...

Students study on laptops inside an elementary school in Farmington, Arkansas, on March 19, 2026. School districts nationwide are grappling with which artificial intelligence tools to invest in. (Photo by Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate) As a new school year begins, some classrooms may use artificial intelligence tools to flag a student struggling with classwork, track attendance or try to raise reading scores. But as school districts make decisions on which tools are safe and worth spending thousands or millions of dollars on, some officials feel overwhelmed by the array of choices. Some states and districts have begun offering guidance for vetting AI purchases, but educators and experts say districts are still carrying much of the burden on their own. While school districts have long wrestled with education technology purchases, AI is different because the industry is moving faster than districts and states can keep up with, said Mark Schneider , a nonresident senior fellow at...