NM investment in mental health has yet to create an impact

FBI probe of Ohio voting rights group expands to include an affiliated national advocacy network; Extreme heat could be a player during this summer’s World Cup; Small Water Systems Lose Ground as Federal Support Wavers

Spartanburg County Council to meet Monday regarding data centers

Down Ballot Staff Reports Spartanburg County Council called a special meeting for Monday, June 22 at 9:00 am to possibly give a first reading of a data center moratorium ordinance, according to the agenda.

Tennessee health department warns parents their children will be reported to immigration officials

By Anita Wadhwani (Tennessee Lookout) Published: June 11, 2026 Pediatricians and public health care providers on Wednesday said they feared life-threatening consequences for children with critical illnesses who rely on a specialized public health care program as Tennessee moves forward with a directive to verify and report their immigration

In prisons and jails, a lack of sleep may harm health and safety

By Amanda Watford (Stateline) Published: June 11, 2026 For many incarcerated people, getting a full night’s sleep is almost impossible. Bright lights, loud noise, overnight head counts, early morning meals and other routine features of prison and jail operations can make restorative sleep nearly impossible, according to a new

Alaska resident defends run for U.S. Senate against state investigation

They spent years in solitary confinement in Mississippi despite suicide risk; New Orleans public defender, deputy constable both out of a job after allegedly soliciting cash to fix traffic ticket.

Top NC Democrats want more information about GOP threats over a campus voting site

By Lynn Bonner (North Carolina Newsline) Published: June 3, 2026 North Carolina Democratic Party Chairwoman Anderson Clayton and N.C. House Democratic Leader Robert Reives said Wednesday the public needs to know who pressured the Republicans on the Jackson County Board of Elections to oppose a campus early voting site.

‘If it ain’t broke.’ Bladen halts change that could have diluted Black votes.

by Sarah Michels, Carolina Public Press June 3, 2026 Bladen County’s Black residents aren’t having it. They showed up in droves to a Monday board of commissioners meeting in Elizabethtown to object to a proposed election change that some feared would have reduced minority representation. The commissioners never

Recycling batteries is as simple as stopping in for a latte

As Seas Rise, Louisiana Faces a Choice: Plan for Movement or Let Crisis Decide; Young survivors of gun violence find therapy helps. But will California do more? Bay State's slow adoption of EV chargers through federal program is ‘mystifying’ to transit advocates

Kentucky company purchases 9 weeklies in Western NC and North Georgia

Down Ballot Staff Reports Kentucky-based Paxton Media Group purchased nine newspapers from Georgia-based Community Newspapers, Inc. The weekly publications included in the sale are The Franklin Press (NC), The Highlander (NC), Mitchell News-Journal (NC), Smoky Mountain Times (NC), Clay County Progress (NC), Cherokee Scout (NC), The Graham

NCDEQ awards $25 million in community recycling infrastructure grants for Hurricane Helene recovery

Funding supports projects to build resilient waste reduction, recycling, and composting programs in storm-damaged communities

More cities are pressing pause on data centers as local backlash grows

By Robbie Sequeira (Stateline) Published: May 28, 2026 Hearing backlash from residents, cities and counties across the country in recent weeks have blocked planned data centers amid concerns over rising electricity prices and environmental harms. The local actions come as state lawmakers also are looking to limit or repeal the

USDA Extends Pause on Loans for Controversial Digesters That Turn Manure Into Biogas

Anaerobic digester loans showed “significant delinquency rates,” the U.S. Department of Agriculture said, while environmental groups see the technology driving an expansion of large-scale animal farming operations.