In the relentless nightmare that is the post-Roe United States, it can be hard to find the bright spots for abortion rights. Maternal mortality rates in states with abortion bans are increasing. South Carolina, which already has a draconian six-week abortion ban in effect, is now debating whether to ban nearly all abortions in the state. The future of mifepristone access remains murky and tenuous…
Source
A Republican lawmaker who watched as Trump supporters broke into and ransacked the U.S. Capitol in 2021 wants to send Arizona protesters to prison for rioting if they damage property. Under the proposal from state Sen. Mark Finchem, R-Prescott, Arizona’s legal definition of a riot would be changed to include when two or more people “recklessly use force or violence” in a way that damages…
Source
The prolific construction of massive data centers that house the physical computing power for artificial intelligence (AI) is galvanizing resistance in localities across the United States. Communities are fighting back against the billionaire tech and financial power behind these projects and their numerous harms, from their noise and pollution to their hyperconsumption of water and electricity.
Source
Three Democratic members of Congress said they were horrified that immigrants were being stuffed into holding cells “like sardines” at a Mesa Immigration and Customs Enforcement holding facility they showed up to without warning on Thursday night. The visit came in the wake of the Arizona Mirror’s reporting on Thursday detailing how the Arizona Removal Operations Coordination Center…
Source
In a country characterized by antiquated systems for regulating how electricity is produced and transported to homes and businesses, one utility in Arizona may be the most outdated. In 1903, almost a decade before Arizona became a state, a group of landowners around Phoenix secured a federal loan for a dam on the Salt River. The dam collected water to irrigate farms and produce hydroelectric power…
Source
A signature piece of voting legislation championed by President Donald Trump may not have much of a future in the U.S. Senate, but in Florida, the future is here. Earlier this month, Republican lawmakers in Trump’s home state approved a sweeping overhaul of the state’s voter registration system, one that mirrors the core idea behind the federal SAVE America Act: requiring proof of citizenship…
Source