Madyson Fitzgerald

Rev. David Black stood in front of a Chicago-area ICE facility and began to pray.

The masked ICE agents on the roof responded by firing pepper balls, with one striking him in the head

religionnews.com/2025/10/07/i...

like I know this is about the tequila heist last year in which his trucks and supply were stolen, but this headline makes it look like he’s about to confess drinking them all

For Gen Z adults, the oldest of whom are now reaching their late 20s, suicide is taking more lives than 10 years ago — when millennials were the same age.

stateline.org/2025/10/02/s...

Analysis from @tim-henderson.bsky.social for @stateline.org

Illegal street takeovers — with stunts and noise — are growing as states try to crack down • Stateline Illegal street takeovers, where drivers block roads to perform stunts, have become an increasing concern in cities across the country.

This year, at least four states have considered legislation aimed at expanding penalties for exhibition driving and street takeovers, Amanda Hernández reports.

https://stateline.org/2025/10/08/illegal-street-takeovers-with-stunts-and-noise-are-growing-as-states-try-to-crack-down/

Medicaid patients lose quick access to basic care after Planned Parenthood cuts and closures Second in a five-part series.When Margaret Crawford found out her reproductive health care provider was closing soon due to federal funding cuts, she scheduled an appointment for her annual exam. But ...

The only two Planned Parenthood clinics in Louisiana are set to close today. I talked to providers and advocates from coast to coast — California lost 5 clinics in July — about what the "defunding" provision means for patients in low-income communities. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/medi...

California, New York could become first states to enact laws aiming to prevent catastrophic AI harm • Stateline California and New York could become the first states to establish rules aiming to prevent the most advanced, large-scale artificial intelligence models — known as frontier AI models — from causing ca...

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law I recently wrote about that aims to prevent people from using powerful artificial intelligence models for potentially catastrophic activities.

via @stateline.org
stateline.org/2025/09/10/c...

Fewer households, businesses will get high-speed internet under revamped federal plan • Stateline Tens of thousands of homes and businesses without internet access will not receive it.

This week, @stateline.org reported on how a Biden-era project to expand high-speed broadband to rural regions is being significantly changed by the Trump administration, disqualifying hundreds of thousands of locations from access: stateline.org/2025/09/22/w...

1/3

Republican push for tips on Charlie Kirk posts drives firings of public workers • Stateline Hours after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Suzanne Swierc shared two thoughts on her private Facebook page — that the killing of the right-wing activist was wrong, and that his death reflected “the vio...

After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, Republicans have been actively soliciting tips and info on social media comments about Kirk, helping drive a wave of firings in academia and government. My story for @stateline.org on free speech in this moment

stateline.org/2025/09/26/r...

Firefighter arrested at Washington state wildfire released by ICE • Stateline A wildland firefighter who was arrested by immigration agents while fighting a wildfire in Washington state has been released from detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his attorneys ...

A wildland firefighter who was arrested by immigration agents while fighting a wildfire in Washington state has been released from detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, his attorneys said Wednesday.

stateline.org/2025/09/24/f...

What the South Tells Us About Medicaid’s Future

📢 Southern states offer a stark preview of what shrinking safety nets and new Medicaid work requirements could mean nationwide.

Stateline's @acvollers.bsky.social will be joining @chjreportinghealth.bsky.social for a conversation on the future of Medicaid.

Register today: bit.ly/FutureofMedicaid

Fewer households, businesses will get high-speed internet under revamped federal plan • West Virginia Watch Tens of thousands of homes and businesses without internet access will not receive it.

Trump has scaled back a Biden-era program that aimed to close the digital divide, especially in rural areas, reports @amelianews.bsky.social and @maddyfitz.bsky.social.

Fewer households, businesses will get high-speed internet under revamped federal plan • Stateline Tens of thousands of homes and businesses without internet access will not receive it.

West Virginia, ranking last in internet connectivity, could have achieved universal broadband under a massive federal program meant to close the digital divide.

Then the Trump administration changed the rules. My latest with @amelianews.bsky.social for @stateline.org:
stateline.org/2025/09/22/w...

Fewer households, businesses will get high-speed internet under revamped federal plan • Stateline Tens of thousands of homes and businesses without internet access will not receive it.

From @maddyfitz.bsky.social + @amelianews.bsky.social: Under a revised federal broadband program, thousands of households, businesses and community buildings across the country will be disqualified from the government’s push to provide more internet access.

stateline.org/2025/09/22/w...

"State AI legislation has been sponsored by both Democrats and Republicans and has been approved with bipartisan support, a reflection of broad concerns over its expanding use in health care." (@stateline.org)

As AI enters exam rooms, states step up oversight • Stateline A bipartisan group of Pennsylvania state legislators recently hatched a plan to regulate the use of artificial intelligence in health care. Four Pennsylvania House Democrats and one House Republican p...

From @acvollers.bsky.social: More than a dozen states this year have passed laws regulating AI in health care.

stateline.org/2025/09/17/a...

SpaceX, Amazon will get a slice of PA broadband funding Thousands of Pennsylvanians will get internet access via satellite through the state's $793M broadband expansion effort. Critics say it's a gamble.

BEAD in PA: Amazon, SpaceX won a slice of Pennsylvania's $793M broadband funding. Critics are worried about reliability.

via @spotlightpa.org
www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/09...

DOJ is sharing state voter roll lists with Homeland Security • Stateline The U.S. Department of Justice is sharing state voter roll information with the Department of Homeland Security in a search for noncitizens, the Trump administration confirmed.

DOJ is sharing voter rolls with Homeland Security.

Justice demanded data from at least 22 states. Ten have shared public info or told DOJ how to get it.

Homeland Security says it will comb through for ‘illegal aliens.’

via @jonshorman.bsky.social @stateline.org

stateline.org/2025/09/12/d...

California, New York could become first states to enact laws aiming to prevent catastrophic AI harm • Stateline California and New York could become the first states to establish rules aiming to prevent the most advanced, large-scale artificial intelligence models — known as frontier AI models — from causing ca...

California and New York could become the first states to establish rules aiming to prevent the most advanced, large-scale artificial intelligence models — known as frontier AI models — from causing catastrophic harm.

@maddyfitz.bsky.social reports:

stateline.org/2025/09/10/c...

Walz announces order to ensure vaccine access after FDA restricts COVID vaccine • Minnesota Reformer Minnesota is joining a growing list of Democratic-leaning states standing up for vaccines and access to them in the face of an emerging anti-vaccine ideology in the federal government under prominent ...

Gov. Walz issued an executive order directing the Minnesota departments of Health and Commerce to protect vaccine access and coverage, regardless of rollbacks and rapid changes from RFK Jr's HHS. minnesotareformer.com/2025/09/09/w...

Stein paves way for wider use of AI across NC government • NC Newsline Gov. Josh Stein's order creates an AI accelerator and establishes oversight teams to govern the technology's use across NC agencies.

ICYMI: North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is creating a council to study and begin using artificial intelligence within state government.

via @ncnewsline.com
ncnewsline.com/2025/09/02/s...

Colorado's prisons are full. A 2018 law requires efforts to reduce their population. | Colorado Newsline Criminal justice reform advocates are pressing Colorado corrections for more details on their efforts to reduce the state's prison population.

Colorado’s prisons are full. A 2018 law requires efforts to reduce their population.
By @lindseytoomer.bsky.social

Meta suppressed research on child safety, employees say The company’s lawyers intervened to shape research that might have shed light on risks in virtual reality, four current and former staffers have told Congress. Meta denies the allegations.

A German teen told Meta's child safety researchers his under-10 little brother had been sexually propositioned multiple times on its VR platform.

Meta deleted the evidence.

New internal whistleblower docs indicate that was part of a broader cover-up: www.washingtonpost.com/investigatio...

States break with FDA restrictions on COVID vaccines, ensuring broader access • Stateline Several states announced this week that they would be breaking with restrictive eligibility policies unveiled last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines...

Several states, including Colorado, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York and Pennsylvania, announced that they would be breaking with restrictive eligibility policies unveiled by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on the newly approved COVID-19 vaccines.

stateline.org/2025/09/05/s...

Many Black, Latino people can't get opioid addiction med. Medicaid cuts may make it harder. • Stateline Pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods are less likely to dispense buprenorphine — one of the main treatments for opioid use disorder — even though people of color are more likely to die from op...

From @nhassanein.bsky.social: Pharmacies in Black and Latino neighborhoods and those with more residents on Medicaid are less likely to regularly dispense buprenorphine, according to a new study.

stateline.org/2025/09/08/m...

Subscribe • Stateline

So there's this really cool newsletter that has policy news from all 50 states + DC...

And it's curated by me! Stateline Daily is your morning cheat sheet for the latest in state and local policy news.

Sign up today — or else (just kidding.....):
stateline.org/subscribe/

enshittification | noun | when a digital platform is made worse for users, in order to increase profits

Firefighters question leaders’ role in Washington immigration raid • Stateline Wildland firefighters were stunned when federal immigration authorities last week raided an active wildfire response in Washington state, arresting two firefighters and sidelining crews for hours.

Following an immigration raid at an active wildfire in Washington state, wildland fire professionals are raising alarms that the leadership team in charge of the fire response may have sent their crews into an ambush.

stateline.org/2025/08/31/f...

More states guarantee students the right to school-day religious instruction off campus • Stateline Many states are working one route to faith-based education by allowing kids to attend off-campus religious instruction.

States including Iowa, Montana, Ohio and Texas have passed laws guaranteeing parents the right to have their children leave campus for religious instruction.

Increasingly, states are finding ways to carve space for religion in public school.

stateline.org/2025/09/02/m...

This would be a big win for tech firms and it would render moot a 2020 state court ruling that found that Uber drivers are not self-employed. That ruling allowed drivers to receive unemployment benefits other labor protections.

Uber’s offer to help fund public transit in PA comes with a catch Transit agencies across Pennsylvania, most notably SEPTA in Philadelphia, say they need more state money to stay afloat.

ICYMI: Uber is trying to sell PA lawmakers on a partial solution to the two-month budget impasse. Uber will only support expanding the state’s 6% sales tax if the commonwealth classifies app-based drivers or couriers as independent contractors (@spotlightpa.org).

www.spotlightpa.org/news/2025/08...