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Tariff-related turmoil of 2025 created a new demand for manufacturing space. City-designated Alliance Logistics District will span nearly 1,400 acres.

Tim O'Hare has been Tarrant County Judge since 2023.

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Maria Lazar says she wants disagreements on the Court to be more respectful.  At a Tuesday forum hosted by the Marquette University School of Law, Lazar attempted to distance herself from the highly politicized Supreme Court campaigns of recent years, painting herself as an independent judge who, while leaning more conservative […]

A new review suggests exercise might not help osteoarthritis after all. But don’t write off exercise just yet. Here’s what you can do to ease the pain.

COLUMBIA — A hardline faction of the state House’s GOP supermajority wants to impeach the Democratic chief prosecutor for two Midlands counties. It’s unclear whether legislators even have that authority. So, a House Judiciary panel voted Tuesday to find out. Members of the House Freedom Caucus accuse 5th Circuit Solicitor Byron Gipson of misconduct in […]

Barbara Dugas-Patterson, a banking leader for 30 years, came out of retirement to take a leadership role at a Fort Worth bank.

The federal government is spending more on contracts for Indigenous business, while finally tackling ‘Black cladding’ fraud. But those reforms don’t go far enough.

Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools. A controversial proposed law that would require public schools to track and report the immigration status of their students advanced in the Tennessee House on Tuesday despite pushback from educators and immigrant advocates. House Bill 1711 is the second piece of legislation currently in the Tennessee General Assembly that could require educators to report the legal status of public school students in the state. It is not yet clear how the bills could be implemented without running afoul of federal education policy and endangering the more than $1 billion in federal education funding Tennessee currently relies on to help fund its public schools. A 1982 U.S. Supreme Court case, Plyler v. Doe, established a longstanding legal precedent that it is unconstitutional to deny children access to a public education based on their immigration status. Last year, Tennessee Senate Republicans passed Senate Bill 836, which was aimed at overturning the Plyler precedent, despite objections from Democrats and some Republicans who criticized the effort to draw children into a political debate over immigration issues. The House companion bill stalled in committee over concerns it would jeopardize Tennessee’s federal education funding. The House sponsor, Majority Leader William Lamberth, requested further guidance from the U.S. Department of Education. .subtext-iframe{max-width:540px;}iframe#subtext_embed{width:1px;min-width:100%;min-height:256px;} fetch("https://raw.githubusercontent.com/alpha-group/iframe-resizer/master/js/iframeResizer.min.js").then(function(r){return r.text();}).then(function(t){return new Function(t)();}).then(function(){iFrameResize({heightCalculationMethod:"lowestElement"},"#subtext_embed");}); That guidance is forthcoming, Lamberth said earlier this year, and Republican leaders want to push forward with the bill this year. The U.S. Department of Education has not returned a Chalkbeat Tennessee request for comment, though, nor has it taken a public position on the legislation over the past year as lawmakers have discussed the issue. House Bill 1711 is written as a trigger law, which means Tennessee public schools would not be required to track and report the immigration status of students until the Plyler precedent has been overturned. Tennessee Republicans have passed similar trigger laws on other issues in the past, such as the state’s abortion ban that was inactive until the fall of Roe v. Wade. Rep. Elaine Davis, a Republican from Knoxville, is sponsoring the legislation. Davis on Tuesday argued that local officials need to know the immigration status of people accessing public benefits, such as public education, social services, and public medical benefits for financial accountability. “We are a nation of laws,” Davis said. “We have a social contract with each other. Part of that duty and responsibility is to make sure we’re not ripping each other off. If people are here taking advantage of services and dollars we have specifically set aside for our citizens and our communities, that to me is a violation of our laws.” Tennessee public schools are largely funded through sales taxes, which are paid by all consumers in a community regardless of immigration status. A Tennessee teacher testified against the bill on Tuesday, arguing the bill would “introduce fear and distrust in our schools.” “Do you want schools to focus on positive student academic outcomes, or do you want schools to be an instrument of immigration enforcement?” said Betsy Hobkirk, who has been an elementary school teacher in Knox County for 15 years. “How would immigrant status data be collected in an educational system that is already overtaxed? It would divert resources away from our mission of educating children.” Melissa Brown is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Contact Melissa at mbrown@chalkbeat.org.

WASHINGTON — Tributes poured in across the country for the revered civil rights figure the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., who died Tuesday morning at 84. The two-time Democratic presidential hopeful and Greenville, South Carolina, native died peacefully, surrounded by his kin, according to his family.  Jackson, who was active in the civil rights movement […]

Los trabajadores de la red de transporte público incluyendo al Trolebús, Cablebús y Tren Ligero podrían pronto frenar el sistema de transporte masivo de la Ciudad de México si no se atienden sus demandas. Su sindicato, la Alianza de Tranviarios de México, ATM, es uno de los sindicatos democráticos más antiguos de México. Los 2,700 trabajadores están luchando por aumentos salariales, seguridad laboral, contratación y capacitaciones para expandir y mantener la infraestructura de transporte de la Ciudad de México. El sindicato ha puesto como fecha límite el 3 de marzo.

Pemerintahan Prabowo Subianto mencabut izin usaha 28 perusahaan di Sumatera Utara, Sumatera Barat, dan Aceh, pada 20 Februari buntut dari audit dan evaluasi terkait bencana banjir parah. Belakangan berseliweran berbagai wacana soal pengambilalihan pengelolaan perusahaan-perusahaan ini kepada badan usaha milik negara (BUMN).  Narasi pemulihan dan perlindungan lingkungan seakan tenggelam, yang muncul malah aspek ekonomi. Berbagai […] The post Pasca Cabut Izin di Sumatera, Seriusi Pemulihan Bukan Malah Alih Kelola appeared first on Mongabay.co.id.

Iowa Auditor Rob Sand said an audit found no issues with Iowa’s Education Savings Account program — but said delays in receiving information prevented auditing staff from conducting a thorough investigation. Sand held a news conference Thursday about the audit, which he said did not reveal any spending issues or irregularities occurring in the ESA […]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a new rule allowing longer deadlines for coal ash cleanup. The post Trump EPA delays coal ash cleanup. Why that matters for Hoosier health appeared first on Mirror Indy.

The Florida House on Tuesday backed down from its proposal to block emergency funds from being used on illegal immigration enforcement following harsh criticism from the DeSantis administration. This represents a massive pivot from the GOP-dominated House’s original proposal to exclusively use the Emergency Preparedness and Response Fund on natural disasters, an idea blasted as […]

FRANKFORT — The Kentucky House passed a pair of Republican education bills Tuesday that would impose a new accountability and assessment system for public school students and allow state colleges and universities to fire faculty for financial reasons. One has the backing of the Kentucky Department of Education, while the other is opposed by university […]

Sign up for Chalkbeat Tennessee’s free newsletter to keep up with statewide education policy and Memphis-Shelby County Schools. Memphis mom Erica Smith vividly remembers the day two years ago that her phone wouldn’t stop ringing while she was at work. On the other end of the line were four different teachers from Ida B. Wells Academy. Her fourth grade daughter, they said, had fallen asleep and wouldn’t wake up. The school’s teachers showed up then, when her daughter was diagnosed with a sleep disorder and needed assistance getting back on track academically. They showed up again when she struggled to cover her daughter’s basketball fee, and when some families in the South Memphis neighborhood needed help putting food on the table. They showed up again just last week, when the school attendance specialist picked her daughters up and drove them to school when Smith had a transportation issue. “It’s more than teaching with that school,” she said. “They really have wholehearted care about our children.” But now, the close-knit school may be shuttered. Ida B. Wells is one of the five district schools that has been targeted for closure in a larger Memphis-Shelby County Schools facilities plan. Smith and other parents credit the small classes for serving their children better than larger neighborhood public schools. But low student enrollment is one of the main reasons the district is considering closing Ida B. Wells, which opened in 1963, at the end of this year. Only 84 students currently attend the K-8 school, which is built to hold almost 500. Memphis-Shelby County leaders plan to close up to 15 schools in the next three years because of rising facilities costs and chronic underenrollment. The school board is expected to vote on the first five closure recommendations — including Ida B. Wells, Georgian Hills Elementary, Frayser-Corning Elementary, Lucy Elementary, and Chickasaw Middle — next Tuesday. At a January community hearing on the closure proposal, parents questioned why a higher performing MSCS school is being targeted. Ida B. Wells students earned the highest state score for academic growth last year and slightly outperformed the district-wide average on reading and math tests. Smith worries those results can’t be replicated at other MSCS schools, especially for students with specific needs like her daughter. “Another teacher is going to basically learn her all over again, and it’s going to be hard,” Smith said. But MSCS leaders say chronic underenrollment is preventing students throughout the district from receiving the highest quality resources and staff. Higher building costs means less money for what goes in the schools, facilities director Michelle Stuart said. “Nobody wants their school to close,” Stuart said recently. “But I have recognized that people are understanding the logic of not having half-empty buildings,” she said, because the district can add more staff and programming to full schools. Parents, staff criticize district options for Ida B. Wells students Ida B. Wells Academy is nestled in a quiet residential neighborhood with narrow streets south of East E.H. Crump Boulevard. On a school day afternoon, laughter and chatter can be heard from outside the school walls. On one side of the building, there’s a vibrant mural featuring the school’s namesake, a dedicated investigative journalist and NAACP co-founder. Bright blue letters by the school’s front door spell out “vision, leadership, responsibility.” Ida B. Wells is an open enrollment school, meaning any MSCS family can apply to attend regardless of their home address. Some current parents are wary of their neighborhood options, which is where they say their children would likely end up if the school closes. Linda Farmer is the grandparent of a Wells sixth grader. If MSCS closes the school, her grandchild will attend Booker T. Washington next year. But she said she’s wary of moving her grandchild to a school with a larger population that combines grades 6-12. “They never should have put the youth in there alongside the teenagers, because it made it more dangerous,” Farmer said. Ida B. Wells has a multicolored mural featuring the school namesake, a dedicated journalist and NAACP cofounder. MSCS parents raised similar safety concerns at the closure hearing for Chickasaw Middle School in December, as the district proposed a merger with nearby Westwood High School, and again at a hearing for closing Lucy Elementary. In their long-term facilities plan, MSCS leaders say they want to lean more on those grade combination structures to boost building enrollment. Interim Superintendent Roderick Richmond argues that those models increase stability and continuity for students. “I can enter school in the sixth grade, and I can establish relationships with my teachers and the leaders, so that for six years I can be in one feeder pattern and in one school,” he said. “We understand some of the parental concerns, but this is not a new way of looking at structuring schools.” Opponents to the Ida B. Wells closure say the school has a unique culture that can’t be replicated elsewhere. Louis Morganfield has been the building engineer since June, but he’s worked in MSCS for the past six years. “I walk those halls and I see the difference,” he said of the South Memphis school. “I haven’t seen one fight. I don’t hear any screaming and hollering at the kids. Teachers give them a look, and they get right in line.” According to 2024-25 state education department data, fewer than 10 students were disciplined at Ida B. Wells Academy. Overall, close to 16,000 MSCS students were disciplined that year. Morganfield is running for the District 9 seat on the local school board in May because he’s been frustrated with the closure process. And he feels more MSCS schools should be like Ida B. Wells: small and tightly run. “It’s teaching [students] to stand up to Goliath with reading and writing,” Morganfield said. “The world is going to put obstacles in their way. But because of what they are learning at Ida B Wells, they’re going to be able to jump over, go around the obstacles, and they are going to do what they need to do to be successful.” Farmer, the grandparent of an Ida B. Wells student, said she thinks the district hasn’t talked to families enough. “The majority of the time they don’t listen because they already made their decision,” she said. But district leaders say they’re taking feedback from families seriously. MSCS board members have been frequent attendees of the community listening sessions held in the past few months. “Ida B. Wells is an amazing school,” board member Michelle McKissack said in a board meeting last week. “But there are 84 students across nine different grades. That is not serving the greater Memphis community.” Smith says the Ida B. Wells teachers and staff are like extra parents to her two kids. And they’re reliable mentors and supporters for parents, too. “They’ll tell me I’m doing a good job. They always stay to give me a hug,” she said. “I don’t want to lose that.” Bri Hatch covers Memphis-Shelby County Schools for Chalkbeat Tennessee. Reach Bri at bhatch@chalkbeat.org.

(The Center Square) – A series of new anti-DUI bills is being introduced this year in the California Legislature. Most of the new legislation seeks to target drivers convicted of vehicular manslaughter while under the influence. “I’ve seen the tragedy that’s associated with it, and the reality of how frequently this problem presents itself,” Assemblymember Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale and one of the authors of the DUI-related legislation, told The Center Square in an exclusive interview on Tuesday. “It’s a very significant part of our culture, although we’ve made improvements since the ‘80s, where it was still funny to see people drunk and get behind the wheel of a car. It's no longer funny.” One of the bills Lackey authored this year, Assembly Bill 1686, makes it possible to convict someone of a felony if they are convicted of one to two DUIs within 10 years. Currently those convicted of one to two DUIs within a 10-year period can have both of those DUIs prosecuted as a misdemeanor. Lackey, who said he is a non-drinker, said he was trained at the beginning of his 28-year career as an officer in the California Highway Patrol to detect what impairment looked like. “These people didn’t seem to be drunk and still meet the criteria for being under the influence,” Lackey told The Center Square. “I thought, ‘We might be a little strong-handed on this,’ until I saw crash after crash after crash. Being a non-drinker, it was an eye-opener.” Among the two other bills, Assembly Bill 1687 would impose stricter punishments on drivers who are convicted of vehicular manslaughter by revoking their driving privileges for eight years, as opposed to three years, which is allowable under current law. Another bill introduced by Lackey and other lawmakers, Assembly Bill 1685, would make it easier for repeat offenders convicted of manslaughter to have their drivers’ licenses revoked. Current law allows two points to count against a driver convicted of manslaughter. The bill would allow three points to count against a driver. “We’re trying to attach more accountability, generally speaking,” Lackey told The Center Square. “What we’re trying to do is attach consequences, and I know people get uncomfortable with that. But I’m telling you, when you lose a loved one, there needs to be a consequence for that.” According to data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles, DUI convictions between 2014 and 2017 went down. In 2014, the number of total DUI violations in the state numbered at 84,797, which decreased every year until 2017, when it fell to 70,691. The number of first-time DUIs was 75,441 in 2014, which went down to 62,937 in 2017. Despite the fall in numbers of DUI-related crashes, drunk and high drivers in California still pose severe risks on the roads. CalMatters reported in 2025 that drivers under the influence caused a 50% increase in alcohol-related crashes where someone died. Additional data from the California Department of Motor Vehicles shows that between 1980 and 2021, the number of alcohol-involved crash fatalities has also gone down, from 2,684 in 1980 to 1,344 in 2021. However, of those numbers, the number of drug-only car crashes in which someone was killed went up, from 152 in 1980 to 524 in 2021. The effort from Lackey and fellow lawmakers, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, and Sen. Bob Archuleta, D-Pico Rivera, follow related legislation passed last year that Petrie-Norris introduced. That bill, Assembly Bill 366, was passed and signed into law in October 2025. “What this bill does is require that anyone who is convicted of a drunk driving offense install a breathalizer or an ignition interlock device,” Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, D-Irvine, told The Center Square on the Assembly floor on Tuesday. “The reason it’s super important for us to apply this to all convicted folks with DUIs is we know it works. It’s a common-sense approach for us to protect Californians and save lives.” Archuleta, who co-authored all three of the bills targeting DUI penalties, was not available for an interview on Tuesday.

Senate Democrats have launched an investigation into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s decision in January to disregard human health impacts when calculating the costs and benefits of regulating the harmful air pollutants ozone and PM2.5. Led by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., the Democrats last week sent a letter to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin requesting documents […]

In this week's episode, our host talks with Robert Moore, CEO of El Paso Matters, about the federal government briefly pausing air travel into El Paso. What does it say about the federal government, border security and the lives of El Pasoans?

The TEA agreement followed findings that Austin ISD routinely missed legally required deadlines to evaluate students for special education services. The post Austin ISD exits state oversight of special education after years of scrutiny appeared first on Austin Current.