Open Newswire

COLUMBIA — South Carolina judges could allow a pregnant woman convicted of a crime to stay in her home until and after the baby is born under proposed legislation making its way through the Statehouse. The bill gives judges the discretion to put a pregnant woman who is not a danger to herself or the […]

(The Center Square) – A certified public accountant that works with nonprofits says if they’re getting public money, they should have internal controls to avoid potential fraud, waste or abuse of taxpayer funds Increased scrutiny continues to be on how federal tax dollars are being managed by states. Oftentimes, taxpayer funded programs are executed by nonprofits and non-government organizations, or NGOs. Lisa Stevenson, a CPA with NPO Accountants, said in order to avoid bad findings after the fact, NGOs need to be on the ball with internal oversight. “One of the other easy ones that I feel like doesn't often happen until it gets pointed out is a board member should be reviewing the credit card statement and receipts of the executive director, and not assigning that to a subordinate of the executive director,” Stevenson told The Center Square. “Sometimes it doesn't happen at all.” She said audits are important, but too often they find problems long after the problem started. “I feel really strongly that the internal controls have to be in place to prevent it from occurring, because once it gets detected by an auditor, it's already happened,” she said.. Stevenson said it doesn’t matter how the funds are misused, the non government organization will still be on the hook to pay back the taxpayer. “Let's say it's an executive director and they, you know, commit fraud. They don't care that it's that person they are going to criminally prosecute, but they are still going to hold the nonprofit accountable to repay the money,” she said. One blind spot for taxpayer accountability Stevenson warned about was that federal audits require single audits of how funds are spent by NGOs, but only if they get more than $1 million from taxpayers. That threshold increased from $750,000 in 2024. In the state of Illinois, Stevenson said reporting requirements to the Illinois Attorney General are required at $500,000. “The reason why it’s important is, again, kind of back to because this isn't the organizations’ money,” she said. ###

Other countries are efficiently building regional rail. Minnesota shouldn’t reject future lines because Northstar didn’t work out.  The post The regrettable failure of Northstar commuter rail  appeared first on MinnPost.

Sign up for Chalkbeat Newark’s free newsletter to get the latest news about the city’s public school system delivered to your inbox. The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday unanimously advanced Lily Laux’s nomination to serve as the state’s commissioner of education, moving her one step closer to leading the state’s public schools that serve 1.3 million students. Speaking to senators before the vote, Laux discussed the need to identify the root causes of school budget deficits; expand academic recovery efforts; support schools in implementing artificial intelligence; and fix the state’s aging school buildings. Laux, however, did not mention specific plans or initiatives she would launch as head of the state’s education department, which oversees more than 500 school districts. During Thursday’s hearing, senators questioned Laux for more than an hour about how she would tackle New Jersey’s biggest educational challenges. Senate Majority Leader M. Teresa Ruiz, who represents Newark, said she feels excited about Laux taking the state’s top education role. “I know that with Lily the momentum is going to continue on behalf of students and that to me is the most important part,” Ruiz told Chalkbeat after the hearing. A former deputy commissioner of school programs in Texas, Laux told senators that “everything is on the table” to support Gov. Mikie Sherrill and the legislature’s goals to improve schools and support students. Sherrill nominated Laux to the commissioner’s job earlier this year. Following the Senate Judiciary Committee’s vote on Thursday, the state Senate will hold a final vote at a future date to confirm Laux. “I’ve learned that state agencies can help or hinder [school districts],” Laux said Thursday. “We can work hand in hand to make sure students have real opportunities and measure outcomes in an honest way.” Laux’s nomination comes as districts continue to grapple with changes to the state’s school funding formula that have led to budget deficits in some districts and increases in others, aging and crumbling buildings, and shifting enrollment trends. In Newark, the state’s largest school district, the next commissioner will help shape how state aid is distributed; provide support for the city’s most vulnerable students; oversee initiatives to help improve third grade literacy; and continue monitoring district performance, as local leaders navigate budget pressures and enrollment fluxes. Laux also stressed her commitment to expanding opportunities for students through career and technical education programs, expanding high-impact tutoring efforts, and helping school districts understand new policies and initiatives. She did not go into specifics about her plans but stressed that state data would help drive those discussions in collaboration with Sherrill’s office, the legislature, and school districts. Ruiz and Sen. Vin Gopal, who represents parts of Monmouth County and chairs the Senate Education Committee, also raised the urgent need to fix New Jersey’s oldest school buildings. This month, Ruiz introduced legislation that would create a $10.5 billion bond to fund school construction projects in Newark and other districts, subject to state voters’ approval. Laux said she has not yet met with the Schools Development Authority, the state agency tasked with overseeing school construction projects. Although the state’s education department isn’t tasked with managing school construction, Laux said she wants to ensure that school buildings are meeting students’ needs. Senators also spent a portion of Thursday’s hearing discussing the state’s school funding formula amid ongoing budget deficits in many districts across the state. Laux, who will be tasked with helping modernize the funding formula, said she wants to ensure school funding is supporting student outcomes and performance. “We need to make sure this conversation as a whole is not just about the money, but really about the impact it has,” said Laux about school funding. In Newark, state aid makes up 84% of the district’s budget, but last year, officials with the city school district said they were $34.2 million below what the state defines as adequate funding. Before her nomination to the commissioner’s job, Laux worked for the ILO Group, an education policy and strategy firm that develops educational strategies with state and district leaders. She also spent nearly seven years with the Texas Education Agency, where, as deputy commissioner of school programs, she led the implementation of school finance reform, the agency’s COVID-19 response, and a comprehensive literacy initiative. Jessie Gómez is a reporter for Chalkbeat Newark, covering public education in the city. Contact Jessie at jgomez@chalkbeat.org.

(The Center Square) – Pittsburgh and its eight surrounding counties reported marginal job gains over the last 25 years, according to a new report from the Allegheny Institute for Public Policy. In an analysis of the region and nine other similarly sized metros across the country, the institute found that cities in states without compulsory union rules – under the federal Right to Work Act – grew faster since 2000 and recovered faster post-pandemic. The regions analyzed were Cleveland, Ohio; Hartford, Conn.; Minneapolis; Kansas City, Mo.; Portland, Ore.; Greenville, S.C.; Indianapolis; Charlotte; and Raleigh. The report also studies Dallas, though it noted the region is far larger than the others. Since 2000, the private-sector job market in the southwestern portion of the state has grown by 4.7% – the third-slowest rate recorded in the report. The region is also short 3,600 jobs that existed before COVID-19 led to widespread business collapse. Cleveland and Hartford lagged behind the Steel City on both metrics. Cities in North Carolina – Charlotte and Raleigh – fared the best, adding a combined 689,000 private sector jobs over the last 25 years and 242,800 since 2019 alone. To bolster its observation about right-to-work states and economic growth, the institute pointed to Kansas City, which ranked in the middle of the pack, because 60% of the region lies across the border in Missouri, a state with compulsory union rules. The institute clarified that although it was a “powerful indicator,” other factors, like state government policies, impacted the results. Compulsory union rules factored into an analysis from Rich States, Poor States that ranked the commonwealth 36th in the nation for economic outlook and 44th for economic performance.

(The Center Square) - The Wisconsin Assembly approved a bill that would send $14.6 million in general purpose taxpayer funds to University of Wisconsin-Madison annually for maintenance and debt service on athletics facilities. The bill was labeled a name, image and likeness bill that also would require athletes to disclose to the school any third-party NIL deals but would make those deals exempt from public records. The athletic department is currently required to pay for 40% of the principal and interest costs on athletic facilities from athletics funds. The Assembly approved the bill on a 95-1 vote Thursday, the final day the Assembly was scheduled to be in session. Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, was the lone "no" vote. It remains unclear if the Senate will take up the bill and send it to Gov. Tony Evers. UW-Madison athletics operated with a $4.3 million surplus in its most recent annual NCAA financial report released last month covering the financial year that ended in June 2025. UW-Madison Athletic Director Chris McIntosh told the Assembly Committee on State Affairs recently that football is responsible for 80% of the athletic department's revenue. That was $113.6 million last fiscal year, according to the NCAA report, which showed the football program brought in $72 million in excess during the year.

En este artículo te explicamos dichas diferencias y los trámites para solicitar corte de calle y reserva de aparcamiento.

Una exposición revisa quién protegió el patrimonio en la Guerra Civil y cuestiona el relato oficial del franquismo.

WINDER, Ga. — Georgia’s State Election Board did not move to take control of Fulton County’s elections at a closely watched meeting this week, but at least one board member left the door open for future intervention.  In the aftermath of a widely publicized raid on the county’s election warehouse in January, there has been […]

Desertos chilenos perfurados em busca de lítio. Rios desviados para resfriar servidores. Montanhas de lixo tóxico que podem atingir 5 milhões de toneladas em 2030. Emissões da Amazon superam as de Nova York. Uma análise das falácias do “utopismo tecnológico” The post IA: Assim os “impérios digitais” destroem o planeta appeared first on Outras Palavras.

Robin Vos, who has led the Republican charge in Wisconsin during his record-long stint as state Assembly speaker and blocked much of the Democratic governor's agenda, announced he will retire at the end of the year. Wisconsin Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos leaving office at end of the year is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Гэты дзень у беларускай і сусьветнай гісторыі.

Безбедност новинара више није само физичка заштита, већ сложена пресечна тачка правне отпорности, дигиталне хигијене и психолошке подршке.

(The Center Square) – More than 550 training schools for commercial driver’s licenses have been closed, the U.S. Department of Transportation says. Following 1,400 sting operations by 300 investigators across all 50 states, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration found many lacked qualified instructors, had fake addresses, and did not properly train prospective drivers for things such as transporting hazardous materials. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said some teachers were licensed or permitted for school buses, not the trucks requiring CDLs they taught students to drive. Some driving instruction was in vehicles not matching the prospective CDL licensure. Trucking associations told The Center Square the Transportation Department is to be commended. The Commercial Vehicle Training Association, the nation’s largest association representing professional truck driver training programs, said through Chairman Jeff Burkhardt, "CVTA has been the tip of the spear in identifying noncompliant providers and pushing for meaningful federal oversight. Our ELDT Task Force has worked tirelessly to clean up this industry and help usher in a new era of safer roadways and greater opportunity in trucking. We commend Secretary Duffy and Administrator Barrs for transforming these long-standing concerns into real enforcement that protects the public and supports reputable schools." ELDT is an acronym for entry-level driver training. From the 150,000-member Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association, President Todd Spencer in an email to The Center Square said, “Shutting down hundreds of sham trucking schools that fail to meet even basic federal standards is a significant step toward protecting the motoring public and defending the professionalism of America’s truck drivers. “For years, CDL mills have fueled a destructive churn driven by the false narrative of a nationwide truck driver shortage. Rather than fix retention problems and working conditions, some in the industry chose to cut corners and push undertrained drivers onto the road. That approach has undermined safety and devalued the entire trucking profession.” Proper testing was another common fault. While standards can fluctuate from state to state, some investigators had schools admitting failure to meet their respective state’s norms. “We mobilized hundreds of investigators to visit these schools in person to ensure strict compliance with federal safety standards,” said Administrator Derek Barrs of the motor carrier administration. “If a school isn't using the right vehicles or if their instructors aren't qualified, they have no business training the next generation of truckers or school bus drivers.” There were 109 training providers voluntarily removed from the Training Provider Registry upon hearing the sting operations were coming. There were 448 notices of proposed removals for schools failing to meet basic safety standards. Another 97 training providers are still under investigation for compliance. “For too long, the trucking industry has operated like the Wild, Wild West, where anything goes and nobody asks any questions,” Duffy said. “The buck stops with me. Under President Trump, my team is cracking down on every link in the trucking chain that has allowed this lawlessness to impact the safety of America’s roads. American families should have confidence that our school bus and truck drivers are following every letter of the law and that starts with receiving proper training before getting behind the wheel.”

The Florida Senate voted Thursday to rename the Palm Beach International Airport after President Donald Trump. The House passed its version of the measure earlier this week, sending the bill directly to Gov. Ron DeSantis desk for consideration. The Senate vote took place as a poll conducted by the Palm Beach Post as of 1 […]

Mississippi has five data center projects and potentially more in the works. The AI boom across the country is helping drive demand for construction workers, especially high-skill positions such as electricians and HVAC technicians.

A claim circulating online questions whether the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office is using Flock Safety cameras. The post Does the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office use Flock Safety cameras? appeared first on El Paso Matters.

يتناول هذا النص الحكاية العجيبة لصعود البلطجي صبري نخنوخ، المقرّب من النظام المصري، الذي تقدم أواخر العام الماضي 2025 بطلب لردّ اعتباره، عن الفترة التي قضاها في السجن، وهو ما يعني محو الآثار القانونية للحكم الجنائي بحقه، بل ربما يتجاوز ذلك بمطالبة النظام بالتعويض عنه، فيتمكّن بعدها من الوصول إلى البرلمان، أو المناصب العامة، أو حتى الوزارة، وهو احتمال سوداوي لكنه غير مستبعد. The post السيرة العجيبة لبلطجي مصري مقرب من النظام appeared first on السفير العربي.

Um dos destaques da semana é “Isso Ainda Está de Pé?”, novo longa dirigido e estrelado por Bradley Cooper O post Nos cinemas: Confira os filmes que entram em cartaz nesta quinta (19) apareceu primeiro em Mídia NINJA.

لم يعد شهر الصوم، في السنوات الأخيرة، ضيفاً خفيفاً على حياة اليمنيين، بعد أن صارت متطلباته فوق المستطاع، مشيراً إلى حال المتكلم من عمال المياومة أنه لم يتمكّن فيها من توفير الحد الأدنى من متطلبات الاحتفاء بهذا الضيف. The post رمضان في اليمن: من سعادة الاحتفاء إلى شقاء الحدّ الأدنى من متطلباته appeared first on السفير العربي.