Maryland
New shoplifting data explains why they’re locking up the toothpaste
CHICAGO — Shoplifting rates in the three largest U.S. cities — New York, Los Angeles and Chicago — remain higher than they were before the pandemic, according to a report last month from the nonpartisan research group Council on Criminal Justice. The sharp rise in retail theft in recent years has made shoplifting a hot-button […]
Federal hostility could delay offshore wind projects, derailing state climate goals
Numerous East Coast states are counting on offshore wind projects to power tens of millions of homes and to help them transition to cleaner energy. But putting wind turbines at sea requires the cooperation of a powerful landlord: the federal government. Soon, that government will be led by President-elect Donald Trump, who has frequently disparaged […]
Despite Trump’s claim, deportations likely wouldn’t ease housing crisis, most experts say
The mass deportations of immigrants that President-elect Donald Trump has promised aren’t likely to make a dent in the nation’s housing crisis, many experts say, despite what he and his supporters claimed during his campaign. Experts say the reasons for that are many. Immigrants in the U.S. without documentation are more likely to live in […]
States go after ‘claim sharks’ that charge vets for help with disability claims
For-profit consultants across the country make millions each year by charging military veterans for help in filing their disability claims with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The practice exists in a legal loophole: It’s illegal under federal law for companies that aren’t accredited by the VA to charge veterans fees for helping file their […]
Maryland is training more health workers to offer abortion care
This story originally appeared on KFF Health News. In the two counties around nurse practitioner Samantha Marsee’s clinic in rural northeastern Maryland, there’s not a single clinic that provides abortions. And until recently, Marsee herself wasn’t trained to treat patients who wanted to end a pregnancy. “I didn’t really have a lot of knowledge about […]
New abortion-rights measures in 7 states could trigger legal, legislative challenges
Widespread support for abortion rights continued to defy partisan labels in Tuesday’s election, but several of the ballot measures that voters approved may face legal and legislative challenges in the coming months. And supporters worry that federal efforts could eventually override the state measures. Voters in seven states — including deep-red Missouri and Montana — […]
More states ban PFAS, or ‘forever chemicals,’ in more products
Legislative momentum against PFAS has surged this year, as at least 11 states enacted laws to restrict the use of “forever chemicals” in everyday consumer products or professional firefighting foam. The legislation includes bans on PFAS in apparel, cleaning products, cookware, and cosmetic and menstrual products. Meanwhile, lawmakers in some states also passed measures that […]
Safe storage and minimum age gun laws would curb violence, study says
The deadliest school shooting in Georgia history occurred earlier this month when a 14-year-old gunman, armed with a military-style rifle, killed two students and two teachers and injured nine others at Apalachee High School in Winder, a city about an hour northeast of Atlanta. And on Sunday, former President Donald Trump was the target of […]
Red and blue states have big climate plans. The election could upend them.
Pennsylvania wants to remain a manufacturing powerhouse. But state leaders also want to reduce climate change-causing emissions from steel mills and other industrial facilities, while cutting back the toxic pollutants that cause health problems in nearby neighborhoods. Thanks to a nearly $400 million investment from the federal government, the state is preparing a massive plan […]
The YIMBY push for multifamily housing hits a ‘nope’ from homeowners
When Minneapolis, then Oregon, then other local and state governments began stripping away exclusive single-family-home zoning over the past five years to allow the construction of multifamily housing, many development advocates predicted the start of a pro-YIMBY revolution. But the “yes-in-my-backyard” movement has stumbled even before it’s really gotten started. In court challenges around the […]
Abortion rights opponents try to derail ballot initiatives
Measures that would protect abortion access are on track to appear on the ballot in 10 states in November, but abortion opponents are engaged in last-ditch legal maneuvering to try to prevent voters from weighing in on the proposals. In Republican-dominated Missouri, for example, the state Supreme Court ruled this week that a constitutional amendment […]
The nation’s last refuge for affordable homes is in Northeast Ohio
At 43, Sharon Reese is a housing market refugee — forced to return to her Ohio hometown after 18 years in Las Vegas, despite a successful career training dancers for nightclub acts. “If you don’t have between $600,000 and $800,000, you’re not buying a house out there,” Reese said. “Las Vegas has a lot of […]