State News

The state of Ohio plans to use donated driving simulators to teach people living in or entering the country illegally in Springfield safe driving skills in hopes of easing ongoing traffic issues throughout the community.

Attorneys representing Jose Ibarra, the Venezuelan illegal immigrant sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student killed while jogging on the University of Georgia campus, on Tuesday formally requested a new trial for their client. Ibarra was found guilty of all charges related to his murder of Riley by Athens-Clarke County Superior Court Judge Patrick Haggard on November 20. The judge rendered his verdict after Ibarra waived his right to a trial by jury, and instead allowed the judge to determine his fate at a bench trial.

The day before the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear arguments in a case that could decide the availability of puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones and surgical removal of healthy breasts and genitals for gender-confused minors, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments on another transgender issue: eligibility rules in private athletic competition. The hypotheticals from the justices got creative, with one speculating that bowling leagues could bar Catholics from competition if the high court upheld USA Powerlifting's ban on athletes in women's competition who have completed male puberty.

With the construction of the Ultium Cells LLC battery cell plant in Lansing nearly finished, General Motors announced it will sell back its stake to its joint venture partner LG Energy Solution. According to a news release, the transaction does not change GM’s ownership interest in the Ultium Cells LLC project, in which GM and LG have invested a total of $7 billion U.S. taxpayer dollars, sourced from a Department of Energy loan program.

Pennsylvania taxpayers spent $1.3 million to build Temple University’s “Center for Anti-Racism,” inside an existing school building. Now entering its third year, the center’s work has largely consisted of conferences and speakers. The $1.3 million state-funded center appears to operate out of a room in Mazur Hall, a pre-existing building on campus.

A new moderate Republican group, Conservative Agenda for Arizona (CAA), emerged recently in Arizona. Its leadership and advisory board are mainly Republicans associated with the party's moderate wing, including outgoing Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer. Richer started a PAC for GOP fraud deniers soon after he took office and said during the Republican primary this year that he intended to vote for Joe Biden instead of Donald Trump for president.

An Ohio woman received two and a half years in prison after being indicted for killing and eating a cat. Allexis Ferrell pleaded guilty on Monday to cruelty to companion animals.

The top two election officials in Richmond, Virginia, resigned on Wednesday after a report claimed their office misappropriated $500,000 on expenses, including alcohol, unnecessary hotel stays, private security, and a luxury remodeling of office space leased by a government agency. Their resignations will reportedly take effect on December 31. Richmond General Registrar Keith Balmer resigned on Wednesday, with the Richmond Electoral Board reportedly accepting both his resignation and the resignation of his deputy, Jerry Richardson. This comes just one week after Richmond Inspector General James Osuna released a report claiming their office wasted almost $500,000 in taxpayer money.

State officials hope Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger's retirement will not impact the chip manufacturer's $20 billion plan for central Ohio. While Gelsinger officially retired after 40 years with the company and stepped down from the board of directors, several national media outlets reported he was forced out by the board as the chipmaker has struggled in the past several months.

A semiconductor manufacturer announced Monday it will close its Tempe, Arizona factory in September of next year. The announcement came less than one year after the Biden-Harris administration announced $164 million in incentives to convince the company to expand its facilities in other states. Microchip Technology Inc. announced in a Monday quarterly call that the company would shut down its semiconductor manufacturing facility in Tempe, which will reportedly impact about 500 employees, as a cost-saving measure as executives instead look to the company's facilities in Colorado and Oregon.

Virginia State Senator Glen Sturtevant (R-Midlothian) revealed on Saturday he intends to file legislation that would prohibit institutional buyers, like hedge funds and private equity groups, from purchasing single-family homes in the commonwealth. In posts to the social media platform X, Sturtevant noted that Redfin found in August that one in six homes in the United States are purchased from such institutional buyers, and revealed that the figure increased to 11 percent of home purchases in Virginia Beach and 9 percent in Washington, D.C.

Tom Horne, the Arizona State Superintendent of Education, reportedly stated Monday that the alleged abuse of the state's Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) system by two Colorado residents was first flagged by his office, which reported it to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes for possible criminal prosecution. Mayes announced on Monday that a grand jury indicted Johnny Bowers and Ashley Hewitt with filing fraudulent applications for 50 students to receive scholarships that help families send students to a school of their choice.

One of the remaining defendants in the Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' racketeering trial of musical artists associated with Young Slime Life (YSL) and Young Thug was reportedly stabbed at the Fulton County Jail on Sunday as the district attorney seeks to conclude the trial. Young Slime Life co-defendant Deamonte Kendirck was stabbed at the Fulton County Jail by another inmate, WABE reported his attorney revealed Monday after the rapper, who performs using the stage name Yak Gotti, appeared in court with multiple staples in his head on Monday.

Minnesota House of Representatives candidate Aaron Paul, a Republican, filed an election contest lawsuit on Friday that seeks to bring a new election in House District 54A. The election in District 54A proved to be one of the closest elections in Minnesota this year. After a recount was conducted last week, State Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, led Paul by just 14 votes in the race for the Scott County legislative seat.

The Tampa Bay Rays ownership said in a letter that a $1.3 billion deal to build a new stadium in St. Petersburg is still in effect and the team is awaiting decisions by local officials on the bonds to help pay for the project. The letter sent to the Pinellas County Commission on Friday said team Co-President "Brian Auld did not waver from our commitment to the new ballpark project" and blamed the commission for not honoring the spirit of the agreement reached in July to build a new stadium and multi-use development in the historic Gas Plant District.