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A mother holds hands with her son on a swing set. At least seven states have passed laws making equally shared parenting time the legal default in child custody cases. (Photo by Troy Bennett for Maine Morning Star) A growing number of states are making an equal split between parents the default child custody option in divorce cases. Louisiana and Mississippi this year joined at least five other states that have adopted the so-called 50-50 standard — four of them since 2021, as more legislators rework divorce-related laws that remained mostly unchanged for years. The 50-50 custody issue does not break down cleanly along partisan lines: The Mississippi bill was sponsored by Republicans, the Louisiana legislation by Democrats. Both states’ laws explicitly codify a custody guideline that many courts in other states follow. Supporters say a formal 50-50 custody standard makes divorce proceedings more equitable for fathers — who historically have been awarded less custody time than mot...

Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority Chairman William Green (left) and authority member Dick Brewbaker, a former Republican state senator, listen during an AETFA meeting on September 16, 2026. (Andrea Tinker/Alabama Reflector) Members of the Alabama Educational Television Foundation Authority Wednesday voted to fund a survey conducted by a Republican-leaning polling group amid disputes over its purpose and funding. The survey, coming after an attempt by some authority members to disaffiliate Alabama Public Television from the Public Broadcasting Service, will be conducted by Cygnal , a polling firm that mainly works with Republican candidates, including U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s gubernatorial campaign. After the meeting, Ferris Stephens, a member of the AETFA, said Cygnal was chosen because it’s a “very reputable company” and the questions provided by the company “speak for themselves.” GET THE MORNING...

Kevin Warsh, now chair of the Federal Reserve, testifies during his Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs confirmation hearing in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on April 21, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates Wednesday for the first time in three years as inflation continues to dog the economy, largely driven by soaring gas and fuel oil prices while the war in Iran drags on. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted  12-0 to increase its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, reaching the new range from 3.75% to 4% and making the cost of borrowing more expensive for Americans. The committee released an upbeat statement touting economic growth at “a solid pace.” “While uncertainty remains elevated owing, in part, to geopolitical developments, domestic spending has been resilient. Productivity growth is strong, and capital investment is robust...

A Treasure Coast Community Health Center clinician in Florida conducts a dental exam on a child. Four in 10 pediatricians surveyed by researchers at the American Academy of Pediatrics report immigrant families retreating from healthcare for their kids amid President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. (Photo courtesy of Treasure Coast Community Health Center) Four in 10 pediatricians reported kids in immigrant families are avoiding coming in for healthcare out of concerns around immigration status, according to a new survey published Tuesday. More than 1,600 pediatricians responded between April and June to the survey by American Academy of Pediatrics researchers. In the survey, pediatricians were asked whether over the past year, their patients or the families they care for avoided seeking medical care for their child due to concerns around the immigration status of a household member. They were also asked the same about sending kids to school and about applying for safety net...

Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Kash Patel, left, greets Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley as Patel arrives to testify during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing in the Hart Senate Office Building on Sept. 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — FBI Director Kash Patel sidestepped questions about FBI agents at polling places in the midterm elections at a U.S. Senate hearing Tuesday that also featured a tense exchange between GOP Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey. With the November midterm elections fast approaching and the parties jockeying for control of Congress, several Democratic senators wanted assurance from Patel, under oath, that the FBI would not send agents into polling places. “Do you pledge that you will not, in any way, interfere in the will of the American people when they go to the polls in November?” Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, asked. “I pledge unequivocally t...

The U.S. Department of Education building in Washington, D.C. on Aug. 23, 2026. (Photo by Niki Kelly/Indiana Capital Chronicle) WASHINGTON — Three former U.S. Education Department secretaries and the union representing agency workers on Tuesday  urged the department’s top watchdog to investigate the cost and impact of mass firings last year.  Former U.S. Education Secretaries Arne Duncan and John B. King Jr., who led the department during the Obama administration, and Miguel Cardona of the Biden administration and Rachel Gittleman, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 252, sent a letter including a formal request to Mark Priebe, acting inspector general of the Education Department.  “We need a full picture of the fraud, waste and abuse carried out by this administration as they continue to play politics rather than doing their jobs to serve the American people,” Gittleman said at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. Democratic mem...

Georgia Power’s Plant Bowen, a coal-fired power station in Bartow County, Georgia, on July 28,2026. (Photo by Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will revoke limits on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants that run on coal and natural gas, according to regulatory documents Administrator Lee Zeldin signed Monday. The administration framed the action to repeal 2024 limits on greenhouse gas emissions from virtually all power plants other than wind, solar or hydro-powered as lowering energy costs, which the war with Iran has driven up, as energy producers will save at least $310 million on compliance. The move could produce a tenfold increase in coal power, the agency said. “Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices, but this is just the beginning,” Zeldin said in the release. “We are working to go even further so that American energy can be fully unleashed. Realizing the full potential of American energy means more jobs, lower prices, ...

Voting at the Portland Expo in Maine’s June 9, 2026 primary election. (Photo by Jim Neuger/Maine Morning Star) WASHINGTON — Department of Homeland Security officers may have broken state laws carrying out the Trump administration’s orders to find noncitizens voting illegally in federal elections, Democratic senators alleged Monday following a whistleblower complaint. U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the whistleblower detailed the department’s “Unlawful Voter Initiative,” in which U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services immigration officers combed through state voter rolls, sometimes pretending to be the voter to access records.  U.S. citizens were also swept up in the efforts due to faulty data and pressure from top officials to meet a quota of five investigations per hour, or 12 minutes per inquiry, according to the  whistleblower’s account.  “We just got more proof of (President Donald) Trump’s vile schemes to rig our elections,” said Schum...

A mother and daughter are pictured at a protest against arrests of immigrants at green card appointments in Salt Lake City. Two lawsuits filed Monday challenge new federal guidance that could affect green card applicants who have used Medicaid or food assistance. (Photo by Annie Knox, Utah News Dispatch) States, cities and counties filed a pair of lawsuits Monday challenging new federal rules that will allow immigrants’ use of safety net resources to be taken into account for green cards and other applications to stay in or enter the country. The new federal policy goes into effect Friday and broadens the discretion of immigration officers reviewing applications for green cards, certain visas or admissions into the U.S., allowing officers to consider enrollment in public benefits, such as housing and food assistance, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, as something called “public charge.”  When officers determine a person could become dependent on government benefit...

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., amid fog on Dec. 10, 2024. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Both chambers of Congress return to Capitol Hill this week for a brief session before heading back to the campaign trail until mid-November.  The House will be in for one week and the Senate for three, giving Republicans little time to enact any laws or confirm nominees before voters decide whether to give them another two years in power.  Lawmakers have already agreed to fund the government through Dec. 11, pushing off any need to reach bipartisan agreement on the dozen annual appropriations bills or risk a government shutdown.  But they haven’t reached compromise on several other measures and are unlikely to do so until at least the lame-duck session, which spans five weeks in November and December.  Left undone Congress has so far opted not to approve legislation that could provide tens of billions in additional funding for the Defe...

The U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 13, 2026. (Photo by Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump tried to maintain power following his loss in the 2020 election by exerting pressure on state election officials to, in some cases,  “find” the votes . Loyalist Republicans in Congress then  attempted to deny Joe Biden the Oval Office when lawmakers gathered to certify the Electoral College,  bringing to light  loopholes and deficiencies in the law that could have denied voters their choice.  Similar flaws exist for U.S. House elections.  With concern mounting among GOP lawmakers they may lose control of that chamber following November’s midterm elections, it is not a stretch to imagine state officials could, once again, receive calls from the White House or powerful Republicans in Congress. What’s less understood is that the House itself has the ability to investigate and potentially overturn the results of any...

Missouri Republican state Rep. Cecelie Williams, flanked by Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe and Democratic state Rep. Raychel Proudie, speaks in April about legislation that clarifies the right to divorce while pregnant. In recent decades, most of the states that have tweaked their divorce laws have made it easier, not harder, to get one. But that may be changing. (Photo by Steph Quinn/Missouri Independent) Cerina Fairfax, a Virginia dentist and mother of two, spent nearly two years living in the same house as her husband while she was trying to divorce him. Virginia state law required couples with children, like the Fairfaxes, to wait a year before being allowed to file for divorce. Cerina’s husband, former Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax, had also tried different legal tactics to prolong the process. In March of this year, a judge granted Cerina sole custody of their children and ordered Justin to move out. A few weeks later, with just days left before his move-out deadline, Justin fa...