Washington
In face of threats, election workers vow: ‘You are not disrupting the democratic process’
Hundreds of election workers in Washington state’s second-largest county were busy opening mail-in ballots earlier this month when one of them came across a plain white envelope. As she cut it open, white powder leaked out. She carefully took off her gloves, put them down, backed away and called her supervisor. Workers evacuated the building […]
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lists wolverines as ‘threatened’ under Endangered Species Act
After more than two decades of petitions by wildlife conservation groups, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has listed wolverines as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. The decision marks a win for conservation groups, who have petitioned for a federal listing since 1995 and have gone through six rounds of successful litigation […]
States that send a mail ballot to every voter really do increase turnout, scholars find
Lately, a rough consensus has emerged among people who study the impact of voting policies: Though they often spark fierce partisan fighting, most changes to voting laws do little to affect overall turnout, much less election results. But one fast-growing reform appears to stand out as an exception. When every registered voter gets sent a […]
Active-duty military would work without pay in shutdown, White House warns
WASHINGTON — The White House is warning that a partial government shutdown would mean 1.3 million active-duty armed services members must keep working without receiving paychecks and hundreds of thousands of Pentagon employees would face furloughs. The Biden administration on Tuesday blasted what it’s now calling an “Extreme Republican Shutdown,” saying it would undermine national […]
It may have just gotten harder to protect minority communities from pollution
In recent years, some states have invested in air quality monitoring, applied extra scrutiny to permitting decisions and steered cleanup funding to minority communities that have borne the brunt of pollution for decades. Now, in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision striking down race-conscious college admissions policies, state lawmakers are facing a […]
Towns could save themselves from wildfire — if they knew about this money
PACKWOOD, Wash. — Last year, Don Pratt fled from his home as a wildfire swept down the mountainside here in Washington’s Cascade Range. “Heading out, I thought it was the last time I was going to see the house,” he said. As residents evacuated and smoke engulfed the small mountain community, fire crews with bulldozers […]
Afghan refugees who aided the U.S. stuck in legal limbo, two years after Kabul’s fall
WASHINGTON — Two years ago, Farzana Jamalzada and her husband made the difficult decision to separately flee Afghanistan, after U.S. troops withdrew from the country and the Taliban took over. It took days for the couple to be reunited at an airport in Qatar, where Jamalzada would show people a picture of her husband on […]
Stifling prison heat used to be just a Southern problem. Not anymore.
While sweltering heat in prisons without air conditioning has long been an issue in the South, extreme heat waves worsened by climate change are expanding the problem into Northern states. In recent years, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin have seen extreme heat in prisons. Many of these states lack the necessary infrastructure for […]
Leader of U.S. House progressives apologizes for Israel comments
U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Washington Democrat and the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, apologized Sunday for saying at a progressive activist conference a day prior that Israel is “a racist state.” Jayapal’s impromptu response to pro-Palestine protestors at the Netroots Nation conference in Chicago sparked backlash from members of both parties on Capitol […]
R.I. loses its size distinction if D.C. becomes a state. Here’s what we could gain.
The legacy of Rhode Island's non-conformist, independent heritage has led to expensive, often dysfunctional arrangements. These divisions are perhaps not necessary; as different as we are, we are still very, very small.