Civil Rights & Immigration
Anti-democratic moves by state lawmakers raise fears for 2024 election
In Wisconsin, Republican lawmakers are threatening to impeach both the state’s election administrator, who is highly regarded nationally, and a state Supreme Court justice despite a ruling by the state’s judicial commission that the justice had done nothing wrong — effectively nullifying a recent statewide election she won, Democrats say. In North Carolina, a bill […]
Workers at 38 GM and Stellantis auto suppliers called to join UAW strike
This story originally appeared in the Michigan Advance. Workers at a total of 38 auto parts plants will join the United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against Detroit Three auto manufacturers: Ford, General Motors and Stellantis. All the parts distribution facilities for General Motors and Stellantis across the country were called to the stand up and […]
Biden administration offers temporary protection to Venezuelan migrants
WASHINGTON — U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced late Wednesday that the agency will expand protected status to nearly half a million Venezuelan nationals, allowing them to live and work in the United States. The move comes after multiple requests from cities that have struggled to house asylum seekers and calls from […]
States see influx of migrants from India, Venezuela and China
This story originally appeared in Stateline. NEW YORK — A late-pandemic surge of new arrivals from India, Venezuela and China, reflecting people with legal visas and those fleeing across the United States’ southern border seeking asylum, helped bring more than 900,000 new immigrants to the U.S. between 2021 and 2022, according to a Stateline analysis […]
As violent political rhetoric escalates, Colorado election workers keep democracy going
This article is part of U.S. Democracy Day, a nationwide collaborative on Sept. 15, the International Day of Democracy, in which news organizations cover how democracy works and the threats it faces. To learn more, visit usdemocracyday.org. In June, the notorious conspiracy theorist and election denier David Clements appeared during a gathering in Chaffee County. […]
Menendez, other U.S. Senate Democrats vent frustrations after new ruling against DACA
WASHINGTON — A federal judge Wednesday declared illegal the Biden administration’s revised version of a program that protects hundreds of thousands of people brought into the country as children from deportation, and U.S. Senate Democrats, advocates and the White House on Thursday decried the decision. “I think that Congress should act, but it has been […]
A men’s movement takes reins in a nationwide quest to end abortion
Wendell Shrock doesn’t believe in condoms. “We should leave the uterus to God,” the street preacher from Tennessee tells States Newsroom, in front of an abortion clinic outside of Atlanta, mid-morning in late July. Sweat drips from his cowboy hat into his salt-and-pepper beard that stretches halfway down his red-plaid shirt. The retired police officer […]
Women with serious pregnancy complications sue over state abortion bans
Women and physicians in Idaho and Tennessee have sued their home states after they say they were denied abortion care despite being diagnosed with serious, life-threatening medical conditions while pregnant. The lawsuits are led by the Center for Reproductive Rights, an advocacy organization based in Washington, D.C., which also helped a patient in Oklahoma file […]
U.S. Senate hearing on book bans probes censorship attempts in local libraries
WASHINGTON — U.S. senators at a committee hearing Tuesday discussed the consequences of book bans and parents’ desire to control what their kids read — though they also acknowledged it’s not an issue for Congress to settle. The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony about book bans, focusing on how censorship limits liberty and literature. The […]
Pennsylvanian sworn in as the first woman to serve as U.S. Archivist
WASHINGTON — Pennsylvania native Colleen Shogan was sworn in as the 11th Archivist of the United States on Monday, marking the first time a woman has been appointed to oversee billions of the nation’s records and artifacts since the role was created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts administered the […]
Enforcement-only approaches to homelessness don’t make us safer
Across the state of Colorado — and much of the country — homelessness is on the rise. At the last point-in-time count, Boulder County had over 800 homeless or housing-insecure residents, with around 450 in the city of Boulder itself. By comparison, July’s point-in-time count recorded over 9,000 people experiencing homelessness in Denver, a 31% increase […]
Alabama’s experiment with death
This commentary originally appeared in the Alabama Reflector. Alabama will soon attempt to suffocate a death row inmate. It could be several months away. Maybe longer. And it’s never been done to a human being before. But despite that — and despite Alabama’s record of incompetence in carrying out executions — it’s almost certain the […]