North Carolina
Some states hope to move climate-threatened species, but others say no way
This story is part two of a two-part series about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. See part one: Federal wildlife managers and ecologists weigh the risks of action — and inaction — to rescue species from climate change. North Carolina might need to move a snail. A tiny mollusk […]
Climate change is destroying habitats. But relocating species could be tricky.
This story is part one of a two-part series about a federal proposal to relocate endangered species outside their historic ranges. Read part two: State wildlife officials have widely diverging reactions to the proposal. Nine years ago, a team of scientists studying a violet-blue, thumb-sized butterfly found only two remaining in a rolling landscape of […]
Urban Areas Are Adding People and Gobbling Up Land in Most States
The percentage of residents living in areas the U.S. Census Bureau calls “urban” grew in 36 states between 2010 and 2020, led by booming cities and suburbs in the South, Southwest, Midwest and California, according to a new Stateline analysis. Among urban areas with populations of at least half a million, the Texas capital city of Austin grew the […]
States Strive to Help SNAP Recipients Cope With Lower Benefits
The white words on a red background are plain. “Important notice: SNAP emergency allotments ending after February.” If there’s any doubt, the Colorado Department of Human Services SNAP webpage adds, “All Coloradans who receive SNAP benefits are going to see a reduction in their monthly benefit amount after February.” In every state, participants in the […]
Feds Push Local Election Officials to Boost Security Ahead of 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Some of the nation’s top cybersecurity leaders are warning state and local election officials of ongoing foreign and domestic national security threats to election systems, urging them to upgrade their defenses ahead of next year’s presidential election. At separate conferences this month, federal officials warned gatherings of the National Association of Secretaries […]
Republicans Have Filed Dozens of Bills to Disrupt Transgender Youth Health Care
Republican lawmakers in more than half the states are continuing a party-line push to restrict doctors and other medical providers from offering some gender-affirming health care to minors, even with parents’ consent. In late January, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, signed legislation making the Beehive State the first this year to ban some medical […]
States, Cities Scramble to Combat Animal ‘Tranq’ in Street Drugs
As a dangerous new additive found in fentanyl and other street drugs surges from coast to coast, health officials in nearly every state are scrambling to track it. Xylazine, a large-animal tranquilizer not approved for human use, started showing up routinely in the drug supply in 2019, but didn’t take off until the coronavirus […]
As 2024 Election Looms, State Legislatures Consider Voting Changes
With their eyes on the 2024 presidential election, state lawmakers around the country are preparing to reshape voting rules in what election experts expect will be another busy legislative season. Republican lawmakers — many of whom are motivated by the mistaken belief that the voting system is riddled with election fraud — are looking to […]
This State Could Be the Last One (for a While, Anyway) to Expand Medicaid
The story has been updated to correct the number of organizations comprising the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas. It is 128. For years, state Sen. Phil Berger says, there was nobody in North Carolina who opposed Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act more vehemently than he did. “If there was somebody in the state […]
Climate Change Is Forcing Cities to Rethink Their Tree Mix
Cities need to plant more trees. But not just any trees. As communities prepare for a massive influx of federal funding to support urban forestry, their leaders say the tree canopy that grows to maturity 50 years from now will need to be painted with a different palette than the one that exists today. “You […]
Supreme Court Admissions Case Could Upend Environmental Justice Laws
In recent years, more states have crafted environmental justice policies to help communities of color plagued by polluted air and water, poor health outcomes and limited access to green space. But now they fear that work could be upended by a pair of pending U.S. Supreme Court cases examining affirmative action admissions policies at universities. If the court […]
Governors Split on Biden’s Call to Pardon Low-Level Pot Offenders
AUSTIN, Texas — When President Joe Biden earlier this month granted blanket pardons to more than 6,500 Americans convicted of marijuana possession under federal law, he urged governors to pardon the much greater number of low-level marijuana offenders in their states. But the response from governors has been mixed. Some Democratic governors are taking steps toward […]