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With Workers Scarce, Some States Seek to Loosen Child Labor Laws
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In the past two years, lawmakers in at least 11 states have sought to loosen child labor laws to help employers fill empty jobs, even as federal officials and news investigations suggest that many minors working in manufacturing, meatpacking and construction jobs are being exploited or hurt. The unemployment rate sits at […]
States Are Learning on the Fly About Sports Betting Addiction
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The states that have legalized sports betting are reporting record levels of wagering and revenues, but with that growth comes questions about gambling addiction and whether regulators and sportsbooks are doing enough to fight it. Two dozen states have active online sports betting, and other states are on the verge of joining […]
GOP Leaders in Some States Want to Add Abortion Ban Exceptions
Read more Stateline coverage on how states are either protecting or curbing access to abortions. NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With Tennessee’s so-called trigger law already on the books, the state enacted its abortion ban almost immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in June. Yet even as anti-abortion legislators and advocates celebrated, they considered […]
GOP Lawmakers Aim to Criminalize Drag Shows Where Children Could Be Present
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It was trivia night at Tribe, an LGBTQ club in Nashville, and drag queen Tracey Ottomey was quizzing the crowd on pop music, Christmas movies and Queen Victoria. At the same time, pop music videos — widely available on YouTube and other platforms — played on screens around the bar. One audience […]
To Reduce Trash, Some States Charge the Companies Producing It
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Nashville is growing, and so are its piles of trash. The Middle Point Landfill, in nearby Murfreesboro, collects most of the solid waste in Middle Tennessee, but it could be full by the end of the decade, sending Nashville and other communities scrambling for a place to put their garbage. Republic Services, […]