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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...

Fans cheer on the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Thursday took another step forward on a  sweeping bipartisan bill to overhaul the college sports world.  The  measure , clearing its second procedural hurdle on a  77-22 vote, would set national standards for college athletes’ compensation, provide certain antitrust protections to the NCAA, establish a five-year eligibility timeline for athletes and bar professional athletes from competing in college athletics. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington state championed the bill, with Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt of Missouri and Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware as original cosponsors.   Senators will now move ahead with debating and possibly amending and conducting a final vote on the measure. ‘Reason to the craziness’ Cantwell took to the S...

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...