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Fabian Schmidt chose America long ago. A year after getting trapped in ICE’s net, he still does.

Fabian Schmidt, photographed here on May 26, 2026, sits in his Nashua apartment. (Photo by William Skipworth/New Hampshire Bulletin) Fabian Schmidt sometimes wakes up afraid in the middle of the night, briefly forgetting he’s no longer at the maximum security prison where he spent two months last year. Schmidt, a German green card holder who moved to the United States as a teenager in 2007 and now lives in Nashua, was detained by immigration officials at Boston Logan Airport last year. He spent two months jailed in Rhode Island for what his lawyer calls a paperwork issue involving a decade-old misdemeanor. In the year since he was freed, he’s made little sense of the ordeal other than to say he was caught up in the early days of the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. His profile is different from other prominent targets of the dragnet: He’s European rather than Latin American or Middle Eastern, and he comes from a wealthy background. But as with other instance...
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Platner considering “best path forward” after sexual assault accusation in Politico

Maine's Graham Platner is the Democratic candidate for what's considered one of the nation's most competitive battles for the U.S. Senate. Platner, who is challenging incumbent Sen. Susan Collins, is shown at a rally at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland on April 18, 2026. (Photo by Jim Neuger/ Maine Morning Star) A woman who previously dated Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner told Politico that he sexually assaulted her. Platner denied the allegations.  The oysterman and military veteran has faced a series of controversies during his campaign including alleged unsettling behavior toward previous romantic partners, but the accusations in the Politico story published on Monday amount to the most serious.  Jenny Racicot, 41, told Politico she had an on-and-off relationship with Platner for more than two years before he entered her home in 2021 uninvited while intoxicated and forced himself on her while she repeatedly told him to stop .  Platner said in...
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Do data centers impact our physical health? Studies are few and far between.

Marvell data center in Culpeper County, Virginia. Virginia has the highest concentration of data centers in the world. (Photo by Evan Visconti/Virginia Mercury) Data centers fuel the ever-growing demand for social media, artificial intelligence and streaming services, allowing people to access a plethora of entertainment options and streamline everyday tasks.  And their numbers are growing — another 80 proposed projects cataloged by the Data Center Proposal Tracker would more than double the current 71 active sites in the commonwealth.  An increasing number of Pennsylvanians are concerned about the resource-hungry facilities’ impact on energy prices and water consumption, but there is very little research about potential impacts to physical or public health.  “There are still, relatively, very few studies that directly examine the health impacts of data centers themselves. Much of the evidence comes from related fields,” said Neha Gour, a PhD candidate at George Mason University. ...
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More states try to give patients relief from medical debt

Legislators in at least six states this year have approved measures related to patient medical debt. (Photo by Whitney Downard/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Legislators in at least six states this year have approved measures related to patient medical debt, according to a report on legislative policy trends released Wednesday by United States of Care, a nonpartisan think tank. Many Americans are struggling to afford healthcare. A recent survey found that 46% of adults, regardless of their health care insurance status, reported struggling to pay for medical care last year. Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Oregon and Washington enacted laws this year related to medical debt. Hawaii legislators have approved a measure that is awaiting the governor’s signature, and other states have bills in committee. In 18 states, legislators introduced or approved measures related to preserving no-cost preventive care, and a dozen states weighed legislation related to hospital facility fees, according to th...
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Democrats, Republicans alike focus on states’ rights as a way out of America’s political woes

(Illustration by Alex Cochran for Stateline) Democrats are seizing the mantle of states’ rights to oppose the agenda of President Donald Trump, who has sought to reset Washington’s relationship with the states.  While the party out of federal power has always pushed its agenda in statehouses, Democrats across the country have recently demanded more autonomy for governors and state lawmakers. Liberals, longtime proponents of a stronger central government, are now championing an ideology that evokes odious memories of slavery and segregation.   Many state leaders hope that a renewed focus on federalism could help lower the national political temperature. By shifting more political decisions to the states, they envision a nation less subject to blue-red swings that change the entire course of federal law enforcement, environmental policy and business regulation.  “Otherwise we just end up fighting every four years over red king-blue king,” said Utah state Rep. Ken Ivory, a Republican...
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Cities, towns nationwide revive teen curfews amid summer crowds

A sign at the Mall in Columbia, a suburban shopping center in central Maryland, requires anyone under 17 to be accompanied by a parent or supervising adult on Friday and Saturday evenings. Public spaces and commercial areas across the country are increasingly imposing curfews and other restrictions on young people. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline) As communities prepare for crowded July Fourth celebrations, cities and towns across the country have revived juvenile curfews and increased police patrols in response to an apparent uptick in large teen gatherings and fights organized through social media. Communities in states including California, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have announced or expanded curfews for minors this year, while others have tightened enforcement in downtown entertainment districts, parks and shopping centers where officials say “teen takeovers” have become more common. In Laurel, Maryland, a summer curfew took effect in June...
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America’s 250th birthday is on sale. Where’s all that merch money going?

Merchandise tied to America’s 250th birthday is sold in a stall at Freedom 250’s Great American State Fair in Washington, D.C., on June 30, 2026. (Photo by Sam Gauntt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — What’s more American than apple pie? Capitalism. And an array of merchandise and influence is on sale for the 250th birthday of the United States. An America250 $275 Liberty Lux American Prosperity decorative throw pillow, anyone? How about a $25 Freedom 250 youth tee? America250, a commission  created by Congress a decade ago, and Freedom 250, President Donald Trump’s entity formed last year, each operate on their own respective tracks as a nonprofit and as a limited liability company. Both are employing staff, soliciting corporate donors and spending taxpayer funds.  That means people, businesses and nonprofits are getting a slice of the semiquincentennial pie, some bigger than others. But there is no clear accounting of which entities are getting the bigger shares and no one asso...
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