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Free prison, jail calls linked to lower costs, better outcomes in new report

Telephones inside a Missouri state women’s prison where incarcerated people pay per-minute rates to call loved ones. More than 330,000 incarcerated people nationwide now have access to free prison or jail communication services, according to estimates from Worth Rises. (Photo by Amanda Watford/Stateline) A growing number of incarcerated people across the country now have access to free phone calls and other communication services, a shift some advocates say is strengthening family connections, improving prison conditions and easing reentry after release. A new report from Worth Rises, a nonprofit that advocates in opposition to the prison industry,  found that an estimated 330,000 incarcerated people nationwide now have access to free prison or jail communication services, including phone calls, video calls and electronic messaging in some jurisdictions. For decades, incarcerated people and their families often paid steep rates for phone calls and other communication services throug...
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Trump taps former career ICE official to lead agency

An Immigration and Customs Enforcement ICE officer's badge and weapon are seen in Washington, D.C., on August 30, 2025. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)  WASHINGTON — Long-time federal immigration official David Venturella will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency spearheading President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Venturella will replace outgoing ICE acting Director Todd Lyons, who last month announced he would leave his position by May 31, the DHS official told States Newsroom on Wednesday. Venturella will also take on the role on an acting basis. ICE has been without a permanent, Senate-confirmed director since Trump first took office in 2017. Venturella will oversee an agency that has come under intense congressional and public scrutiny after federal immigration agents shot and killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis in January.  The deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti led to...
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Q&A: What’s going on with Alabama’s primary elections?

Rep. Chris England, D-Tucsaloosa, speaks during a special session on redistricting on Friday, July 21, 2023 in Montgomery, Alabama. Alabama officials have scheduled primary elections for August in four congressional districts after the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed the state to use map that the courts previously ruled was discriminatory against Black voters. (Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector) The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday allowed the state of Alabama to use 2023 a congressional map that had previously been ruled racially discriminatory against Black voters. The move, which is still being litigated in courts, led state officials to call new primary elections in a handful of congressional districts.  Here’s a quick explainer on what’s going on.  Q: Is the May 19 primary election still happening? A: Yes. Secretary of State Wes Allen said Tuesday the scheduled election will “proceed as normal.”  Q: So what has changed? A: Using the earlier map, as state Republican officials...
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Trump’s FDA commissioner exits after pressure from anti-abortion groups

The main entrance of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Building 1, which houses the commissioner’s office, in Silver Spring, Maryland. (Photo by Michael J. Ermath/FDA) WASHINGTON — U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary on Tuesday became the latest member of President Donald Trump’s administration to leave their post this year.  “I want to thank Dr. Marty Makary for having done a great job at the FDA. So much was accomplished under his leadership,” Trump wrote on social media. “He was a hard worker, who was respected by all, and will go on to have an outstanding career in Medicine. Kyle Diamantas, a very talented person, will be put in the Acting position.” Diamantas was working as the deputy commissioner for food, leading the program that focuses on nutrition and food safety. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wrote in a social media post that Makary “pushed forward critical reforms and helped advance our mission to Make America...
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How the Strait of Hormuz affects the price of filling your gas tank

Unleaded gas is $4.09 per gallon at the Marathon station on Point Street in Providence, Rhode Island on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) On paper it makes little sense. Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, roughly 7,000 miles from the United States, is restricted and gasoline prices in this country soar?  The strait is the major export route for oil produced by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iraq, Bahrain and Iran, according to the  International Energy Agency. But since Feb. 28, when the Iran war began and the narrow passageway between Oman and Iran became a battleground, U.S. gasoline prices have soared — and the prices of consumer products and services are poised to jump as well.  Most oil passing through the strait goes to Asian markets, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And due to greater domestic production, the U.S. is importing less crude oil from the Persian Gulf than it has in 40 years,  E...
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Protests planned over U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing Alabama redistricting

A person holds a sign saying "No New Map" at a rally against redistricting at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama on May 4, 2026. Protests are planned in Selma and Montgomery on Saturday in opposition to Alabama's efforts to use maps that critics say dilute Black voting power. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) At least two protests are planned for Saturday in response to efforts by the state to revert to congressional maps previously ruled racially discriminatory. An event in Selma on Saturday will include faith leaders who will pray for participants.  A second is scheduled on Saturday afternoon in Montgomery, featuring speakers discussing the status of voting rights in the U.S. and the impact of the special primary election bills signed by Gov. Kay Ivey last week . Eric Hall, a cofounder of Black Lives Matter and is one of the members on the committee organizing the event , said in an interview Tuesday the gatherings aim to educate voters; make people aware o...
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Trump nominates ousted FEMA chief to return

The Federal Emergency Management Agency, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Photo by Shauneen Miranda/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday nominated Cameron Hamilton to run the Federal Emergency Management Agency, a former acting chief who was fired in 2025 shortly after he told a congressional panel FEMA should continue to exist. The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee will likely schedule a hearing in the coming weeks for Hamilton to testify about his goals for the agency as part of the confirmation process.  The panel will then schedule a vote on whether to send his nomination to the floor, where Hamilton will need to secure approval from a majority of senators before he would become FEMA administrator.  Taking on that role will be no easy task, especially since Trump has  spoken repeatedly during his second administration about reducing the size and scope of the agency.  “We want to wean off of FEMA and we want to bring it down to the state le...
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