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SCOTUS skeptical that state abortion bans conflict with federal health care law; Iowa advocates for immigrants push back on Texas-style deportation bill; new hearings, same arguments on both sides for ND pipeline project; clean-air activists to hold "die-in" Friday at LA City Hall.

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"Squad" member Summer Lee wins her primary with a pro-peace platform, Biden signs huge foreign aid bills including support for Ukraine and Israel, and the Arizona House repeals an abortion ban as California moves to welcome Arizona doctors.

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The urban-rural death divide is widening for working-age Americans, many home internet connections established for rural students during COVID have been broken, and a new federal rule aims to put the "public" back in public lands.

New Texas Laws Take Effect Today

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Thursday, September 1, 2011   

WACO, Texas - Today marks implementation of most new laws passed by the 82nd Texas Legislature - a session famous for wrestling with a $27 billion budget shortfall. While Gov. Rick Perry and Republicans who dominated the House and Senate claim success in balancing the budget without raising revenues, Democrats predict many Texans will be dissatisfied with the results.

Former state Rep. Jim Dunnam, D-Waco, who headed the House Democratic Caucus and is now a senior fellow with the Texas First Foundation, says families not only will feel the squeeze from sweeping cuts to education, health care, nursing homes, and other necessities, but also will soon realize that the budget was never truly balanced...

"We were always a pay-as-you-go state, and this new Republican majority is basically a borrow-and-spend government. They get to claim they balanced the budget, but if you take the math to any third-grader they'll realize it's just borrowing from their future."

The Legislature "passed the buck," Dunnam says, by relying on "clever bookkeeping," such as accelerating future tax collections, deferring payments to school districts until the next biennium, and underestimating growth in Medicare and student populations.

"They basically said 'we're going to ignore the facts as we know them' - and when the Legislature convenes again in 2013, there's going to be some real problems with the budget. They will have used all the accounting tricks that they can - and it'll be time to pay the piper."

Focus was diverted from the budget crisis by social issues such as abortion, family planning and immigration, Dunnam says. Perry set that stage in January by elevating several measures to "emergency" status, including a voter photo ID bill, a pre-abortion sonogram requirement and a ban on so-called "sanctuary cities." The sanctuary-cities bill failed to pass and the sonogram legislation was blocked this week by a federal judge.


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Rep. Crystal Quade, D-Springfield, the House Democratic floor leader, called Missouri politicians "extremist" on social media after they passed the most restrictive abortion ban in the country and defunded Planned Parenthood. (Fitz/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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The Missouri Legislature has approved a law to stop its Medicaid program, known as MO HealthNet, from paying Planned Parenthood for medical services …


Environment

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A round of public testimony wrapped up this week as part of renewed efforts by a company seeking permit approval in North Dakota for an underground pi…

Social Issues

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Air travelers could face fewer obstacles in securing a refund if their flight is canceled or changed under new federal rules announced Wednesday…


The Iowa Movement for Migrant Justice calls Senate File 2340 a "ridiculous stunt," passed in an election year "to mobilize voters using fear and anti-immigrant sentiment." (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

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Advocates for immigrants are pushing back on a bill signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds in the last few days of the legislative session, modeled on a …

Environment

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An environmental group is suing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect the Arkansas mudalia snail under the Endangered Species Act. In …

Currently, more than 2.7 million Californians live within 3,200 feet of an operational oil well. (MSPhotographic/Adobe Stock)

Environment

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Leaders concerned about pollution and climate change are raising awareness about a ballot measure this fall on whether the state should mandate buffer…

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A coalition of climate groups seeking cleaner air at the rail yards and ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach will hold a "die-in" rally tomorrow at Los…

Health and Wellness

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By Marianne Dhenin for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Shanteya Hudson for Georgia News Connection reporting for the YES! Media/Public News …

 

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