New England states are getting hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to “supercharge” efforts to get homeowners to ditch natural gas or oil heating systems and install electric heat pumps.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $450 million to Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island to accelerate a transition to heat pump technology in residential single-family homes and multifamily buildings across the region.
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Tennessee’s State Funding Board approved a nearly $1 million FastTrack Job Training Grant each for Wal-Mart Associates e-commerce fulfillment center in Lebanon and Hyla Mobile in Mount Juliet at its Monday meeting.
The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development grant approval came the same day as Gov. Bill Lee and TNECD Commissioner Stuart McWhorter were in the United Kingdom on what Lee’s staff called a “strategic economic development trip” that was the third international trip Lee has taken with the economic development department.
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An apartment management company is under fire for seemingly leaving residents out to dry amid scorching summer heat.
Attorney General Kris Mayes sent Buenas Communities LLC a cease and desist over one of their buildings allegedly failing to solve the cooling issues for roughly 400 units at Buenas on 32nd. Mayes is giving them a deadline of Friday at 5 p.m. to fix the problems.
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A fourth former executive with the Columbus Zoo pleaded guilty to 15 felony counts connected to a scandal that uncovered funds used for vacations, vehicles, concerts, sporting events and other things over a decade.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Tuesday that ex-CEO Tom Stalf pleaded guilty to 15 felonies, including aggravated theft, conspiracy, telecommunications fraud and tampering with records.
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The fight over who writes the rules for elections in Wisconsin continues.
The Legislature’s rule making body, the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules, on Monday voted to suspend three proposed emergency rules from the Wisconsin Elections Commission that dealt with uniform rules for absentee voting, challenges to candidates and challenges to nominating paperwork.
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Election laws in all seven battleground states will allow Democrats to place onto ballots the name of Vice President Kamala Harris, or another candidate if one materializes.
As President Joe Biden’s supporters rally around Harris to take his spot as the party nominee, Republicans are planning legal challenges. Biden announced his decision via social media Sunday afternoon, with one month until the Aug. 19-22 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
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The ballot propositions descriptions and numbers have been solidified by the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
There are 11 measures that were referred to the ballot by the legislature and three constitutional amendment proposals that required petition signatures that are also slated to make the ballot.
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Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance drew on his Appalachian upbringing to connect with supporters at a rally in Virginia on Monday night, focusing on the region’s depleted manufacturing industry, fentanyl and surging immigration crisis.
Vance, senator from Ohio, stopped earlier in the day in his Ohio hometown. He was announced on the ticket with former President Donald Trump one week to the day earlier.
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President Joe Biden released a vague statement Tuesday morning raising more questions than answers about his health and future in the White House.
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Rumors swirled Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris may select Pennsylvania’s governor as her running mate.
The news comes as Gov. Josh Shapiro himself encouraged Pennsylvania Democrats to unite behind her, just hours after President Joe Biden stepped down from his campaign.
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As Georgia Democrats rally around Vice President Kamala Harris to replace President Joe Biden on the Democratic presidential ticket, Republicans say democracy is threatened.
“They got him. Not today democracy, not today,” posted U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican, immediately following Biden’s announcement.
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The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted prior to the weekend assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, found that likely voters said inflation/price increases (45%), illegal immigration (36%) and the economy/jobs (28%) were the issues that matter most to them heading into the November election.
The poll was conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights from July 8-11 and surveyed nearly 2,300 likely voters, including 1,006 Republicans, 1,117 Democrats, and 172 true (non-leaning) independents. It has a margin of error of 2.1%. The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll is one of only six national tracking polls in the United States.
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Two months after lawmakers passed the commonwealth’s biennial budget containing changes to its tuition assistance program for some military families, legislators reconvened at the Capitol Thursday and passed legislation fully reinstating the program.
Representatives from Veterans of Foreign Wars attended the session and extolled the outcome afterward.
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A bill expected to be taken up by the Ohio House later this year would stop specific foreign countries from buying land near an Ohio military installation or critical infrastructure.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, already passed the Senate with just one no vote and no opposition testimony in committee.
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Georgia Democrats have filed a federal lawsuit against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, saying a measure he signed three years ago that allows him to effectively “sidestep” campaign finance restrictions.
Kemp signed Senate Bill 221 into law in May 2021. Under the so-called “LC Law,” some politicians can chair leadership committees and receive contributions from their members or supporters.
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Phoenix Sky Harbor’s utility plant is expected to get major updates using federal taxpayer dollars.
Thirty-six million from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was allocated to the project as part of the Airport Terminal Program within the law with a price tag of over $1 trillion in total.
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New poll data of registered and potential voters reveals a general consensus that artificial intelligence could pose a threat to people as it further develops.
Artificial intelligence, or AI, is technology broadly used to complete tasks, learn information, and enable computers to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence. Recently, AI technology has become more sophisticated and more widely used at an increasing rate.
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The national debt has surpassed $34.9 trillion for the first time in U.S. history.
It did so as the federal government’s “borrowing binge and spending spree continues,” EJ Antoni, an economist with the Heritage Foundation, said.
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President Joe Biden on Sunday succumbed to pressure from leaders of his own party and suspended his reelection campaign. Several organizations have explained the process to replace him as the Democratic nominee.
“There is no formal line of succession for a presidential nominee,” BallotPedia explains. Harris “would not automatically assume the role.”
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In his first campaign trail stop since surviving an assassination attempt and accepting the party nomination at the Republican National Convention, Donald Trump on Saturday appealed to auto workers in Michigan.
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A hotline established to combat suicide in Ohio received nearly 340,000 communications in the two years since its launch.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced the two-year statistics for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, saying the service has grown to provide more call centers than any other state.
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Two Wisconsin lawmakers have introduced legislation that would require cities or counties that use ballot drop boxes to have them under 24/7 video surveillance.
The proposals of state Rep. Scott Krug, R-Rome, and state Sen. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, would also require police officers or deputies be on hand when the ballots are collected.
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Pennsylvania has a mine pollution problem. America has a critical mineral shortage.
And both problems may get solved as researchers find these critical and strategic elements in the polluted waters that come from acid mine drainage. If all goes well, Pennsylvania could become a leader in boosting national security — while potentially creating billions of dollars in value from environmental hazards.
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If recent polls and fundraising totals are to be believed, Florida incumbent U.S. Sen. Rick Scott will likely keep his seat in the GOP column.
Scott is leading in both the polls and fundraising efforts against his Democrat challenger Debbie Mucarsel-Powell ahead of the general election on Nov. 5.
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One year after the Virginia Department of Education rolled out new model policies for the treatment of transgender students, the ACLU has undertaken several lawsuits on behalf of students identifying as transgender, saying the policies violate state and federal law.
One lawsuit was dismissed Monday, and the other two will be heard on Aug. 6 and 20, one in federal court and the other in state circuit court.
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The unemployment rate in Arizona continues to stay below the national average.
The seasonally adjusted rate of 3.3% in June was 0.1% lower than May 2024, even though the U.S. rate was 4.1% compared to 4%. This is a new record low based on how employment numbers have been measured since 1976, as May’s numbers were touted as such.
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Georgia plans to spend about 40% of the $1.5 billion in additional transportation funding lawmakers approved on increasing the Georgia Department of Transportation’s capital construction program.
In January, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp announced a plan to include an additional $1.5 billion in the state’s amended fiscal 2024 budget for the Georgia Department of Transportation for projects that “directly help move commuters and freight.”
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A bill expected to be taken up by the Ohio House later this year would stop specific foreign countries from buying land near an Ohio military installation or critical infrastructure.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott, already passed the Senate with just one no vote and no opposition testimony in committee.
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Former President Donald Trump leads President Biden by 3 points in Michigan and 5 points in Wisconsin, according to the results of a new Emerson College poll.
The poll, conducted July 15-16, surveyed about 1,000 likely voters per swing state. Democrats for the Next Generation sponsored the poll, which has a +/-3% margin of error. It was released Thursday, the final day of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.
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South Carolina transportation officials have approved updates to the state’s bridge program, deciding how to allocate $200 million in additional money state lawmakers approved.
The South Carolina Department of Transportation Commission directed half the $200 million in one-time funding to bridges on secondary roads. The remaining $100 million will go toward bridges on primary and interstate routes.
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A new poll of voters finds two thirds of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, with Democrats equally divided on the question.
The Center Square Voters’ Voice poll found 65% of voters said the country is headed in the wrong direction, 24% said the country is headed in the right direction and 11% were unsure.
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Cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike said Friday a major technology outage is not a cyberattack but is due to a defect in a single content update.
Banks, airlines and other services all across the world were affected by the incident.
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According to court-appointed class attorneys, less than 1% of the nearly 200,000 households involved in the East Palestine train derailment settlement opted out of the $600 million deal.
A court filing after the July 1 opt-out and objection deadline showed 0.09% of the 190,887 households in the settlement class opted out of the agreement. The settlement class includes households in Ohio and Pennsylvania.
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Michigan’s governor, secretary of state and three other officials are facing a lawsuitfiled by the Trump campaign this week over granting some government offices the power to conduct voter registration.
Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer issued an executive order in December meant to designate certain state offices, including the Small Business Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, to act as voter registration agencies.
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Intel is starting up a workforce development program with some help of the state of Arizona in order to bolster the state’s growing semiconductor industry.
The program is meant to train people to become manufacturing facility technicians in a formal apprenticeship, the first of its kind in the United States from the technology company. According to a news release, the apprenticeship will feature educational components from the Maricopa County Community College District.
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President Joe Biden is considering formally supporting reforms to the Supreme Court, including the introduction of term limits for justices and an enforceable ethics code, the Washington Post reported.
Such reforms reflect increasing frustration among Democrats and Joe Biden’s supporters regarding recent controversies involving Justice Clarence Thomas and Justice Samuel Alito, as well as landmark rulings by the court’s conservative majority.
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The ‘Secure the Border Act’ will make it onto the November ballot for Arizonans after the Maricopa County Superior Court shot down a lawsuit from activist groups challenging its legality.
The proposition would make it a state crime to cross into Arizona through an illegal point of entry, as well as other provisions to crack down on the high levels of migrant crossings and the fentanyl crisis.
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A college in Louisville has placed an instructor on unpaid leave after posting on social media he wished the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump succeeded.
“If you’re gonna shoot, man, don’t miss,” John James wrote in all caps on a post discovered Sunday by Libsoftiktok. The statement was made above a screenshot of a news story on the Saturday shooting during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that left the former president and current Republican nominee injured after a bullet grazed his ear.
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There were more than 205,000 illegal border crossers apprehended in June, according to new U.S. Customs and Border Protection data released on Monday.
June’s numbers bring the total number of illegal border crossers this fiscal year to more than 2.4 million.
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A new report from the Florida Legislature’s research arm found a significant decrease in the number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the Sunshine State, but some services still sorely need improvement.
The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability published its annual report on the sexual exploitation of minors in Florida and the data shows there has been an 11% decrease overall since 2020 in child victims of exploitation.A new report from the Florida Legislature’s research arm found a significant decrease in the number of child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in the Sunshine State, but some services still sorely need improvement.
The Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability published its annual report on the sexual exploitation of minors in Florida and the data shows there has been an 11% decrease overall since 2020 in child victims of exploitation.
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Federal lawmakers from Georgia announced legislation they said would help pay for Atlanta’s water infrastructure upgrades.
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both D-Georgia, introduced the City of Atlanta Water Infrastructure Enhancement Act. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Georgia, introduced a companion piece in the U.S. House.
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The group driving the Milwaukee school board recall is now looking to file a class-action lawsuit.
The MPS School Board Recall Collaborative said it has filed formal complaints against the city’s school board with the Wisconsin Board of Ethics, the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Department of Education against Milwaukee’s elected school board members. The group is alleging “malfeasance, illegal and unethical activities that cannot be denied by any of the Board members.”
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The New York Times/Siena College poll just released results from a voter survey taken before the Trump rally shooting, showing President Joe Biden leading former President Donald Trump by just a few percentage points.
The results are causing more chatter about the role Virginia could play in the upcoming election since Biden won Virginia by 10% in 2020. Prior to a May poll by Roanoke College that showed the presidential candidates tied 42%-42%, Virginia was considered reliably blue for Biden – due to his previous performance and to the fact that George W. Bush was the last Republican presidential candidate to win the commonwealth in 2004.
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A plan to ask Ohio voters to strip away immunity from government and public employees for civil rights violations didn’t make it past the first step.
Attorney General Dave Yost rejected a petition for a constitutional amendment because it did not contain a title.
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The National Football League earned more than $13 billion and distributed more than $400 million in 2023 to each team from national revenue, Sportico reported.
The record distribution comes as teams across the league continue to push for public incentives for new stadiums and renovations.
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The ‘Secure the Border Act’ will make it onto the November ballot for Arizonans after the Maricopa County Superior Court shot down a lawsuit from activist groups challenging its legality.
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Tennessee sent federal funding to five small agricultural businesses to help with production increases through the Tennessee Urban Farm and Forestry cost share program.
The program’s goal is to increase access to nutritious food in urban areas of the state.
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The Ohio U.S. Senate race is heating up, with both candidates saying their opponent doesn’t have the state’s interests at heart.
Incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown says he is fighting for Ohio workers and businesses. Trump-endorsed Republican challenger Bernie Moreno, a former car salesman born in Colombia, says he’s fighting for the American dream.
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Four hundred thousand in state taxpayer dollars will be open for assisting Gila County as the Watch Fire persist in eastern Arizona.
The fire is largely impacting the San Carlos Apache Tribe as over 1,000 acres have burned and some people have lost homes, according to Arizona’s Family. The money is coming from the Joint Heat Relief Initiative through the state Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, according to a news release.
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A federal judge sentenced Georgia’s former state insurance commissioner to more than three years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that he participated in a health care fraud scheme.
U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones sentenced John W. Oxendine, 62, of Port St. Joe, Florida, to three years and six months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. The former elected official must also pay $760,175.34 in restitution and a fine of $25,000.
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