A Scottsdale city ordinance on housing is raising red flags among some Republicans in the state legislature.
Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci and Majority Leader-Elect Michael Carbone are asking for the city to revise Ordinance No. 4651, which explains how the city would go along with two housing bills recently signed by the governor, according to State Affairs.
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After delays and lobbying from business groups around the country, the U.S. Department of Commerce and Intel announced a deal Tuesday morning to release nearly $8 billion in direct CHIPS Act funding.
The $7.86 billion directly impacts Intel’s commercial semiconductor manufacturing and advanced manufacturing projects in Ohio, Arizona, New Mexico and Oregon.
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The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced Tuesday it would offer a pilot program for green burial sections at three national cemeteries.
The agency said the program provides veterans with burial options that minimize environmental impact. The three national cemeteries participating are National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona; Pikes Peak National Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.
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Christians helped push President-elect Donald Trump across the finish line on Election Day, a survey found.
Trump received the majority of the Christian vote, while Vice President Kamala Harris received the majority of the non-Christian vote.
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The Canadian government’s ongoing plan to permanently store 50,000 tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste in the Great Lakes basin near Ontario has sparked bipartisan opposition from lawmakers in Michigan and other Midwest states.
Led by U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and U.S. Reps. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., and John James, R-Mich., 15 lawmakers in total signed a letter urging the authors of the fiscal year 2025 national defense bill to include an amendment opposing the project.
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U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has threatened to issue a subpoena when he becomes chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations if three federal health agencies continue to withhold data on the adverse health effects wrought by the COVID-19 vaccine.
In a letter addressed to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Department of Health and Human Services, Johnson demanded that the agencies preserve all records referring to the development, safety, and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, and to produce the records without redactions by Dec. 3.
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After a wild week with three negative votes, the Tampa Bay Rays are a team without a permanent home and may have played their last innings in St. Petersburg.
The Tampa Bay Rays said a deal to build a $1.3 billion stadium in St. Petersburg is dead after two of their partners decided to defer votes on bond issues to fund the taxpayer part of the deal, about $600 million.
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The outgoing president of the Ohio Senate is expected to be the incoming speaker of the House of Representatives for the first time in more than a century.
Senate President Matt Huffman, R-Lima, received unanimous support from House Republicans in a closed-door meeting earlier this week. Huffman could not run for reelection in the Senate due to term limits and won election to the House earlier this month.
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The average American’s energy bill could increase from 25% to 70% in the next 10 years without intervention from policymakers, according to a new study from Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Jack Kemp Foundation.
According to reports, America is facing an energy crisis, with demand for energy soaring due to the proliferation of AI and hyperscale data centers, which can use as much energy as almost 40,000 homes; the boom in advanced manufacturing, and the movement toward electrification.
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The Federal Emergency Management Agency is facing scrutiny for its spending on diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
Lawmakers at a House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday pressed FEMA head Deanne Criswell on FEMA’s DEI spending.
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Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order “to protect Texans from the coordinated harassment and coercion by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).”
The order directs the Texas Department of Public Safety to target and arrest anyone implementing CCP influence operations like “Operation Fox Hunt,” an initiative of the PRC to forcibly return people to China it’s identified as so-called dissidents living in the U.S.
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October brought Arizona’s lowest inflation rate in years with the Phoenix metro area inflation rate being 1.56% year-over-year – a decrease from 2.27% in August – according to the Common Sense Institute.
“This latest reading ends the over 2-year streak of inflation above the standard target of 2.0% annually,” reads the CSI report. “Historically, the Phoenix Metropolitan Statistical Area has experienced significant inflationary pressures, notably in June 2022, when inflation in Phoenix peaked at a record high of 13%, well above the national rate of 9.1%. This trend made Phoenix one of the fastest-inflating areas in the U.S.”
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In the wake of the devastation impacting southwestern Virginia following Hurricane Helene, Gov. Glenn Youngkin is requesting additional federal assistance to support recovery efforts.
Youngkin submitted a request for $4.4 billion in federal support on Friday to President Joe Biden, President-elect Donald Trump and congressional appropriators. The governor said the aid would support recovery efforts, which damaged farms, homes, businesses, “critical” infrastructure and tourism assets.
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A majority of Americans support President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to declare a national emergency over the border crisis, according to a new poll. Declaring such an emergency would allow Trump to utilize the military to secure the border and help with his plan to deport violent criminal foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally.
The Napolitan News Service survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by pollster Scott Rasmussen Nov. 18-19. It asked: “President Trump has said that he will declare a national emergency because of the illegal immigration problem. This would let the Trump Administration use military force to help with a mass deportation of illegal immigrants. Do you favor or oppose declaring a national emergency to address the problem of illegal immigration?”
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Citing discrimination against nonminorities in farming assistance programs, the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty has filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiff Robert Holman’s litigation against the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
He’s a corn and soybean farmer.
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Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes may run for governor in 2026, which would create a primary challenge against incumbent Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, according to multiple news outlets.
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October tax revenues were higher than last year but fell short of predictions, according to the Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration.
State collections for October were $22.6 million more than last year. The year-to-date numbers are 1.4% or $72.4 million above budget, according to the department.
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The U.S. Department of Defense’s annual audit once again resulted in a disclaimer.
That means the federal government’s largest agency – with a budget of more than $840 billion – can’t fully explain its spending. The disclaimer this year was expected. And it’s expected again next year. The Pentagon previously said it will be able to accurately account for its spending by 2027.
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Federal pricing data released this week for consumer and producer prices shows that inflation rose last month.
Harvard professor and former economic advisor to President Barack Obama Jason Furman said the consumer data could show a “resurgence of inflation” not to the ultra high levels in recent years but to more recent elevated data.
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Eight candidates competed for the three open seats on the Arizona Corporation Commission – three were registered Republicans in the race, three were Democrats and two were affiliated with the Green Party.
All three of those candidates endorsed by Arizona’s Republican party claimed the available seats with Rachel Walden receiving 17.89% of the votes, Rene Lopez receiving 17.37% and Incumbent Lea Marquez Peterson receiving 16.89% at 99% of precincts reporting.
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Pressure from a Columbus-based policy group has forced five university-based Ohio law schools to stop race-based scholarship or internship programs.
The Buckeye Institute announced law schools at Cleveland State, Ohio State, Akron, Cincinnati and Toledo stopped the programs after it announced an investigation.
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Wisconsin’s new 3-cent per kilowatt hour state tax on electricity sales for electric vehicles starts Jan. 1.
Any owner, operator, manager, or lessee of an EV charging station must now register with the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s Online Business Tax Registration if the charging station is subject to the tax.
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The deaths of at least four Georgia men with mental disabilities at the Fulton County Jail are “symptomatic of a pattern of dangerous and dehumanizing conditions,” the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The 97-page investigation also said inmates were not protected from harm by other inmates and the living conditions were “unsanitary and dangerous.” The conditions violate the Eighth and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Justice Department said in a release.
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Six bills under consideration in the Michigan’s House Criminal Justice Committee would reform state law to limit judges from requiring bail as a condition of release for some accused criminals awaiting trial.
Among other changes, House Bills 4655-4656 and 4658-4661 would stiffen the criteria for imposing detention conditions on a person accused of a low-level crime awaiting trial, denying judges the ability to factor in a defendant’s criminal history, prior failures to appear in court, or potential danger to the community.
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The state of Florida is suing current and former federal employees personally for allegedly ignoring storm victim households solely because of their political affiliation.
Attorney General Ashley Moody sued current and former Federal Emergency Management Agency officials for “conspiracy to discriminate” against Florida hurricane victims because they expressed support for President-elect Donald Trump.
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A 28-year-old man in Houston, Anas Said, has been indicted and arrested on charges he attempted to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), a federally designated foreign terrorist organization (FTO).
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Texas Department of Public Safety troopers continue to apprehend human smugglers and rescue unaccompanied minors at the border through Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star.
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A Tennessee woman is challenging a law that requires her to be a veterinarian to serve as an animal chiropractor.
Dr. Laura Colman, of Clarksville, has a doctorate in chiropractic and a certificate in animal chiropractic from the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association, according to the lawsuit filed on Colman’s behalf by the Beacon Center.
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Frank Stiner was excited when he received the invitation to Titans House in late October along with his cousin as they prepared to buy seats at the new Nissan Stadium.
They are original seat holders from the first hour tickets in Nashville went on sale, in the fifth row of the end zone, and were excited to continue that family tradition by expanding their ticket base from two to four.
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The Pacific Legal Foundation and physician organization Do No Harm are suing Tennessee over racial quotas required to serve on the state’s boards and commissions.
The 13-page lawsuit filed in U.S District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee says laws that require the governor to appoint members based on race violate the 14th Amendment.
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Florida officials say 34.6 million visitors spent time in the Sunshine State in the third quarter of this year, eclipsing the previous third quarter record by 1.7% and giving the state three consecutive quarters of record growth.
That comes despite Hurricanes Debby and Helene making landfall in the quarter. Milton, in the just started fourth quarter, made it three hurricanes in 66 days.
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State Rep. Penelope Tsernoglou, D-East Lansing, introduced four House bills that would expand the allowable uses for on-demand ballot printing and clarify statutory language that was missed when implementing Michigan’s Proposal 2 of 2022.
HB 6052 would allow clerks to use on-demand ballot printing for same-day registration voters in a clerk’s office or in election day voting centers. It would also allow on-demand ballot printing for ballots printed in a language other than English so that clerks could avoid having to pre-print large numbers of non-English ballots.
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Arizonans have passed a law that would allow both commercial and residential property owners to be eligible for a tax refund if they can provide proof that the city failed to enforce public nuisance laws affecting their property.
At 90% of precincts participating, 58.6% of voters approved Prop. 312. This proposition has received a national audience as one of the laws encouraging law enforcement to criminalize homelessness put forth following the 2023 ruling by SCOTUS striking down protections for homeless individuals.
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The Ohio Chamber of Commerce and nearly 20 business groups from four states want the Biden administration to start handing out money from the CHIPS Act immediately.
In a letter, the groups from Ohio, New York, Oregon and New Mexico want the money distributed now. Intel has said the money is critical to its plan for the ongoing development of its massive manufacturing facility in central Ohio that could lead to 3,000 direct jobs and thousands of other related jobs.
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Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction Superintendent Jill Underly said she plans to ask for more than $4 billion in new state spending on the state’s schools, which was termed an “additional $3 billion” in the upcoming 2025-27 biennial budget.
The figures are just a request at this point before Gov. Tony Evers offers his proposal and then legislative budget writers in the Republican-led legislature begin their process.
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As President-elect Donald Trump is making cabinet picks and Congress orients its new members, Virginia is gearing up for its next elections.
One week after election day, campaign announcements for 2025 are popping up across the commonwealth. Virginia is one of just a handful of states that holds major elections in off years, so while special elections to replace state Sens. John McGuire, R-Goochland, and Suhas Subramanyam, D-Loudoun – both elected to Congress last week – are the most immediate, they’re just the beginning of the political contests Virginians will see in 2025.
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The Arizona state Legislature is seeing some new leadership in its upcoming session.
In private meetings in and around the capitol on Tuesday, members voted on their picks to run the show. State Rep. Steve Montenegro will succeed outgoing Speaker Ben Toma. Montenegro won with 18 votes and ran against State Rep. Joseph Chaplik and current Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci.
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Multiple state attorneys general have requested the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals to affirm a federal court dismissal of an indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against President-elect Donald Trump.
Florida AG Ashley Moody led a multi-state brief; Texas AG Ken Paxton filed a separate brief.
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An economist for the University of Tennessee said the state is growing but the labor force participation rate has declined.
Dr. Don Bruce, director of the university’s Boyd Center for Economic Business and Research, told the State Funding Board at its November meeting that Tennessee employment is up by 195,000 since March 2020.
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With thoughts focused on the holiday season, small business owners in Ohio continue to struggle with finding employees.
But that’s not the only issue.
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The youth vote has been a liability for the Republican Party since 2008.
But on Election Day, President-elect Donald Trump made the largest gains of any Republican since George W. Bush, winning 11% more voters aged 18 to 29 than he did in 2020.
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Virginia’s legislative watchdog agency presented a stark review of ongoing financial management and staffing issues at the Virginia Department of Health to legislators Thursday.
Republican and Democratic state legislators alike were surprised at the severity and extent of the department’s issues, calling the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission staff’s findings “very sobering,” “shocking” and “disturbing.”
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Ohio plans to spend $17.5 million in taxpayer funds to get people to and from work.
The state announced a series of grants Friday to fund workforce transportation efforts in both rural and urban areas across the state as part of the Ohio Workforce Mobility Partnership Program.
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Republicans have taken back control of the Michigan House, flipping the chamber they lost in 2022 and ending Democrats’ governing trifecta.
Republicans will likely work to change the series of Democrat pieces of legislation implemented over the past two years, such as repealing Michigan’s Right To Work law, passing gun safety restrictions, handing out corporate subsidies in efforts to boost electric vehicle manufacturing and adoption in the state, and allowing state regulators to override local zoning laws and public choice to expand green energy projects across the state.
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One of Wisconsin’s Republican state representatives says that so many schools went to taxpayers for more money Tuesday shows the state’s system to pay for schools is working.
Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukehsa, said there’s nothing wrong with giving local taxpayers more control over their local schools.
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Florida Republicans maintained their supermajority in both chambers of the Legislature after Tuesday’s elections.
House Republicans gained one seat for an 85-36 advantage, while the composition of the Senate remains the same with 28 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
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Former President Donald Trump’s win on Tuesday puts a question mark on his upcoming criminal case in Georgia.
Trump was indicted on 18 counts accusing him of interfering with the 2020 presidential election. Two of the charges against Trump were dismissed in September. He has pleaded not guilty to the rest.
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U.S. Sen Bob Casey Jr. says he hasn’t lost his reelection bid just yet.
In a statement posted to social media, the two-term senator said 100,000 provisional and overseas ballots remain uncounted – a detail supported by the Department of State on Thursday.
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While Democrats picked up seats in the Ohio House and Senate, Republicans keep their veto-proof super majority in both the House and Senate following Tuesday’s election.
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A new Arizona law giving power to the state to jail and deport migrants who have crossed the border illegally will be going into effect after voters approved the proposition with 62.93% in favor at 97% of precincts reporting.
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