Policy
This coverage will look at how public leaders establish new policies in a range of crucial areas of government – health, education, public safety, for example – and how these policies impact people’s lives through better services, effective regulations and new programs. This will include stories examining how state and local government approaches policymaking around emerging areas, including artificial intelligence.
The state will spend $75 million moving more people with mental illness from jails to treatment facilities. “You’re not coming out better after three years at our jail,” said one sheriff.
Schools across the nation are encouraging students to use artificial intelligence. In San Diego, Calif., teachers help students learn the benefits and consequences of AI use in daily life.
Texas challenged federal supremacy by creating a state crime for illegal entry into the U.S. The courts will decide whether it's constitutional — and whether other states can follow Texas’ lead.
Insurance companies are increasingly using aerial images instead of human inspectors to analyze properties. But residents are frustrated by the practice as images get misinterpreted or capture the wrong home.
Fear and confusion in the aftermath of disasters create fertile ground for misinformation. Social media and AI can amplify it, but there are ways to weather the storm.
Far too often, family courts award shared custody to fathers accused of domestic violence. Hundreds of children have been murdered. There’s much that policymakers could do to prevent some of these tragic outcomes.
At least 11 states have enacted laws to restrict the use of PFAs in apparel, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics and menstrual products. Since 2007, 30 states have approved 155 PFA policies.
The initiative commonly known as the Oregon Rebate would increase the minimum tax on large businesses by 3 percent and send the cash to all residents, guaranteeing them a minimum income.
Pittsburgh has a new policy that bars city employees from using generative AI tools with sensitive data from residents. But every state and locality has their own set of rules as there is no federal law to regulate the development and use of AI.
An approved measure was supposed to require Internet providers to offer basic broadband interconnectivity to low-income residents for $15 a month. But a consortium of providers and telecom firms argue that should be the FCC’s job.
Spokane, Wash., Public Schools banned students from using their phones in class at the start of this school year. Teachers have found the new policy to be a “nonissue” that has resulted in better engagement, even when phones are allowed.
The state has opened a handful of gasoline distribution sites, where residents can go to get 10 gallons for free, to help the state recover from the recent Category 3 storm. But lines to get the free gas are long and supplies are limited.
We continue to underfund them, their student bodies are becoming more diverse, and their values are under political assault. We need to preserve the cultural significance of these important institutions.
The Florida Department of Health issued a letter to local TV stations last week, demanding that they remove ads supporting the state’s abortion amendment within 24 hours or the department would seek criminal charges.
The San Joaquin Valley, Calif., school district plans to buy about 20 Flex Farms, a self-contained system that circulates nutrient-rich water to as many as 288 plants, so that students can learn a new way to grow food.
Louisiana’s criminal justice system now treats all 17-year-olds as adults. Lawmakers lowered the age from 18 to curb teen violence, but nearly 70 percent of the 17-year-olds arrested in the state’s three largest parishes aren’t accused of violent crimes.
Proposition 33 would allow cities to limit rent increases. Some economists doubt that’s a good idea.
Many insurance companies in metro Atlanta are denying essential coverage to businesses in “high crime” areas, which are also predominantly areas of low-income residents of color.
Connecticut State Sen. James Maroney is leading efforts to establish a nationwide consortium to discuss policy measures in response to artificial intelligence technologies.
The virus that could mutate into the next human pandemic has been found in herds in at least 14 states. Without sufficient testing, we need to be careful about moving cows from one location to another.
Struggling with addiction, PTSD and other service-related traumas, far too many of them run afoul of the law. States could do more to help those at risk.
The Santa Fe School Board unveiled a plan that will provide teachers with artificial intelligence tools to help in the classroom, in some cases allowing students to use AI on assignments as a “co-pilot to enhance human creativity.”
Future in Context
As the nation nears its 250th anniversary, a longtime broadcast journalist and historian calls for addressing economic inequities, corporate monopolies and restoring effective governance to grow stronger.
As president, Trump signed a sweeping criminal justice reform measure. During the campaign this year, he's returned to his roots as a tough-on-crime politician.
With reductions in federal aid, Texas ended Medicaid coverage for more than 2 million residents, mostly children. State officials acknowledge some errors but people looking to get back on the rolls must now join a backlog of more than 200,000 applicants.
By the time federal crime rate statistics are published, they're already out of date. A new online resource provides a month-to-month view of crime rates.
The former steel capital has already made the transition to advanced manufacturing. Its combination of tech talent, universities and power sources make it well-equipped to be a leader in AI.
In the 2022 general election, just 42 percent of eligible Texas voters cast a ballot, making it one of the worst states in the nation for voter participation.
A new bill asks Gov. Kathy Hochul and state legislators to overhaul New York’s broken guardianship system. It cites a ProPublica investigation that found the elderly and infirm living in dire conditions while under court-mandated oversight.
Regional library systems provide vital services for small and under-resourced communities. But what happens when political divisions threaten to dismantle them?
They do better in school, parents have to spend less money on food and all households benefit from lower grocery prices.
