State News

Millions of federal taxpayer dollars will be headed toward Arizona for getting rid of lead pipes. $28.65 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is intended to help "identify and replace" the pipes in the state, as the Environmental Protection Agency considers any quantity of lead in water people drink to be potentially dangerous. 

The Ohio House could take up a bill this week that would force clear language on ballots for potential property tax increases and stop school districts from using individuals to challenge tax assessments. House Bill 344 could be on the House agenda when it meets Wednesday after it passed the chamber's Ways and Means Committee on a Republican-majority 10-6 party-line vote.

Taxpayers could be on the hook if electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian fails to resume progress on its multi-billion dollar Georgia plant. Rivian announced on March 7 that it would be pausing construction on its $5 billion manufacturing plant that is supposed to be built just east of Atlanta, Georgia, worrying lawmakers and taxpayers in the state that the plant may never be built. However, local authorities had given the company up to $1.5 billion in subsidies and tax incentives with the expectation that Rivian would bring in jobs and tax revenue.

Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) endorsed Dave McCormick in the Pennsylvania U.S. Senate race over the weekend.

Biden administration Secretary of State of State Antony Blinken on Friday visited Tuscon to participate in a "roundtable on synthetic drugs." Despite visiting an emergency services call center and a passport office, he did not visit the southern border. A State Department itinerary of Blinken's schedule on Friday reveals he was slated to arrive at the Tucson Passport Center at 11:20 a.m. for a "meet and greet" with local employees.

School Library Journal (SLJ) promoted We Are Kid Lit Collective's 2024 summer reading list, which includes recommendations for books about gender identity for children as young as three to five years old. SLJ, a professional resource for school librarians and educators, shared the release of We Are Kid Lit Collective's recommendations for their yearly summer reading book list in a post on the Facebook platform on Thursday.

Arizona voters could play a critical role in deciding the state's border policies in November. Senate Republicans said earlier this week in a news release that legislation to give local, county, state law enforcement power to arrest people crossing into the United States illegally could be on the ballot as a referral from the Republican majority legislature.

Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr sent a letter to the City of Savannah on Friday which declared their new gun ordinance "void" due to its failure to adhere to state laws precluding local governments from establishing their own firearm regulations. The Savannah firearms ordinance in question, which reportedly had the support of Moms Demand Action, legally mandated firearm owners to report stolen or missing firearms within 24 hours, keep guns under lock and key while when they are transported in generals and required guns be kept out of sight and locked up if left in an unattended vehicle.

The Dave McCormick for U.S. Senate campaign released a Friday statement castigating U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) for his failure to condemn the antisemitic encampment at the University of Pennsylvania, deriding the Democrat for engaging a children's television character on social media rather than condemn the anti-Israel protests. McCormick's campaign explained their challenge to Casey in response to "Casey's continued silence on the antisemitic encampments rocking college campuses across Pennsylvania and the country."

Pennsylvania remains one of a few states where poll workers don’t process ballots before Election Day. Supporters of pre-canvassing, as it's called, believe giving counties more time to open envelopes and prepare ballots for counting will deliver faster results.

The Anti-Defamation League gives the University of Virginia an "F" in its Campus Antisemitism Report Card as the pro-Palestinian protesters mark another day of demonstrations on campus. As anti-Zionism demonstrations continue to creep up on college campuses across the nation, the ADL has been active in keeping score of antisemitic incidents prior to the latest campus uprisings, with the goal to serve students and their families information on the “current state of antisemitism on campus” and how those institutions respond.

A federal judge denied a motion filed by 20 Arizona State University students seeking to have their suspensions lifted after they were arrested for trespassing during anti-Israel demonstrations on campus.

A panel of three Arizona Court of Appeals judges heard oral arguments on Thursday in Kari Lake’s Rule 60(b) appeal of her election lawsuit. Lake's attorney, Kurt Olsen, alleged that Maricopa County Co-Elections Director Scott Jarrett told numerous lies. Lake’s team filed the Rule 60(b) motion requesting a second trial based on newly found evidence, but the trial court judge, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson, greatly limited the scope of her second trial and then ruled against her.

More than 30 Ohio municipalities will share in nearly $2 million in taxpayer funds in the state’s first effort to reduce the amount of salt used on the roads during the winter. State officials hope the new program will reduce runoff into streams, rivers and lakes.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission looks ahead with a new executive director, but recent turmoil has legislators even more skeptical of the agency’s competence. The commission has its sights set on tightening up policies and working more with the legislature, but critics want deeper changes.