QCA.news - Quad Cities news and view from both sides of the river

Wednesday, June 17th, 2026
	Inflation drives Davenport Mexican restaurant to raise Taco Tuesday prices Azteca Bar and Grill near 53rd and Brady has been serving 99 cent tacos for over a dozen years.
	Junior Achievement of the Heartland names new CFO/COO Junior Achievement of the Heartland has named Amy Barth as Chief Financial & Operating Officer (CFO/COO). She will join the organization on June 22 and has extensive experience in financial leadership, operations and strategic planning. Barth will oversee financial management, operational effectiveness, human resources and long-term sustainability initiatives. This leadership will help strengthen the organization's [...]
	Tropical Storm Arthur is the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season Forecasters say Arthur could generate life-threatening flash floods along the northern Gulf Coast. But it is not expected to strengthen further.
	Greetings from Maputo, Mozambique's capital, shaped by a modernist architecture An impromptu tour of Mozambique's capital city reveals a unique imprint left by architect Amâncio "Pancho" Guedes.
	Morning storms cause damage, power outages across region Severe morning storms cause widespread damage, thousands of power outages, and a train derailment across parts of Iowa and Illinois.
	Severe weather update After seeing heavy rain and strong storms throughout the morning we are still watching for a few severe thunderstorm warnings with 60-70mph winds. The worst of the storms has passed our area, but we are still tracking the chance of more severe thunderstorms late into the morning and lingering into the afternoon. Flash Flood warnings [...]
	Don’t Turn Your Back On Dog Bite Prevention (NAPSI)— If any of the nearly 90 million pet dogs in the U.S. is part of your household, here’s news you may care to consider: Last year, U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employees suffered more than 5,200 dog attacks. What Can Be DoneTo combat this, USPS is sharing vital safety guidance to help pet owners protect mail carriers and ensure uninterrupted mail delivery: a month-long Dog Bite Awareness campaign through June with the theme of “Don’t turn your back on dog bite prevention.” “Every single day, our postal employees serve their communities across dynamic, fast-changing environments,” said Leeann Theriault, employee safety and health awareness manager. “Preventing dog-related incidents requires constant, shared vigilance. This campaign reinforces a vital truth: Animal behaviors can change in an instant, but proactive awareness from both our carriers and the customers we serve can stop painful injuries before they ever happen.” Keep Mail Delivery Safe: Tips for Dog OwnersEven the most predictable pets can act unpredictably when defending territory or feeling startled. Because dogs rely on protective instincts, owners must manage their dogs during delivery times to prevent accidents. Keep your dog in a separate closed room before opening the front door. If you step outside, ensure the door is firmly latched. Always use a leash if your dog is outdoors during mail delivery. Finally, never accept mail directly from a carrier in the presence of your dog, and teach children to avoid doing so, as dogs can misinterpret the interaction as a threat.Sign up for USPS Informed Delivery and See the Mail on Your Electronic Device Before It ArrivesBy using the free Informed Delivery feature, customers can digitally preview incoming mail and packages from a computer, tablet or mobile device. Over 70 million customers have enrolled since the service was launched in 2017. Sign up at informeddelivery.usps.com. This service can help dog owners anticipate when their carrier might arrive.About The Post OfficeThe USPS is an independent federal establishment, mandated to be self-financing and to serve every American community through the affordable, reliable and secure delivery of mail and packages to more than 170 million addresses six and often seven days a week. The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.The Financial and Emotional Damage of a Dog AttackProtecting your carrier protects your wallet. If your dog attacks a postal worker, you could owe thousands of dollars out of pocket to cover their medical care, lost shifts, replacement clothing and emotional distress.“I was walking my route when a dog jumped the fence and lunged at me,” said San Antonio Letter Carrier Fiona Hudson. “I used my dog repellent and mail bag to defend myself, but it was too late. I was rushed to the hospital bleeding, with a broken bone, a severe arm sprain and was barely able to move. While my physical wounds have healed, the trauma of that vicious attack stays with me. Customers must take responsibility and secure their dogs during delivery hours.” Take Action: Unsecured Dogs Stop Mail DeliveryWhen a carrier feels unsafe because of a roaming dog, mail service can be temporarily suspended.Until the carrier feels safe enough to restart delivery, the mail will have to be picked up at the dog owner’s Post Office.If a carrier feels a house or neighborhood is unsafe to deliver to and there is no way to inform residents their mail service has been suspended, the residents will have to contact the supervisor at their local Post Office for more information. The residents would also have to pick up their mail at the Post Office until it is safe to resume delivery.If a dangerous dog issue is not resolved, owners can be required to rent a Post Office Box to receive mail.Armed with Awareness: How Carriers Prevent Dog BitesPostal carriers undergo extensive safety training to spot potential canine hazards. Carriers are instructed to remain vigilant and exercise these precautions:Announce entry. Rattle a fence gate or make a non-threatening sound before walking into a yard.Maintain visual contact. Never startle an animal and always keep eyes locked on the dog.Assume dog poses risk. Avoid petting or feeding any animal on the assumption that any dog has the potential to bite.Block exits. Secure outward-swinging doors with a foot to prevent a pet from escaping.If a dog attacks, carriers are trained to stand their ground, use their mail satchel as a protective shield and deploy dog repellent if necessary. To stay ahead of these risks, USPS also provides carriers with awareness tools, including handheld scanners that feature built-in dog warning alerts and physical warning cards that are placed into mail sorting cases to alert a carrier of a dog at a certain address.Learn MoreDog bite awareness events will be held across the country throughout June, and USPS will share information on social media using the hashtag #dogbiteawareness.Word Count: 813
	Moline City Council discusses River Station building purchase and winter shelter report he Moline City Council is reviewing a $1.65 million downtown building purchase and evaluating a report on its winter emergency shelter operations.
	Top cities for first-time buyers in 2026: Owning vs. renting Top cities for first-time buyers in 2026: Owning vs. rentingFor first-time buyers, the rent-or-own question has become harder to answer in recent years.Home prices have stayed high in many markets, and mortgage rates remain well above their early-2020s lows.But the rent-versus-buy math usually leaves something out. Rent buys flexibility and shields renters from many repair costs, but it doesn’t build home equity.A mortgage payment works differently: Interest, taxes, and insurance are costs, just like rent, while the principal portion chips away at the loan balance. Add any gain in the home’s value, and ownership can build equity through appreciation too.Once you factor equity in, the rent versus buy comparison changes. To find out where that equity-building gives buyers the greatest financial advantage compared to renting, Lower analyzed for-sale and city-level appreciation data from its real estate search platform, Movoto.Key FindingsBuying beats renting in 56 of 136 cities (41%) when comparing three-bedroom ZIP code-level HUD rents against the net cost of owning, which factors in principal paydown and each city’s actual recent appreciation. The other 59% of cities still favor renting, and the median city still tilts that way, pulled down by markets where appreciation was flat or negative.Hartford, Connecticut, leads nationally, with buyers saving +$2,968 per month compared to renters. That was because Hartford had the highest annualized appreciation rate in the study at an 11.1%. This result rests almost entirely on recent home price growth and stands apart from the rest of the dataset. The next-highest advantage is Worcester, Massachusetts, at +$1,640 per month.Midwest and Northeast cities dominate the top of the rankings. Of the 10 cities where buying’s edge is largest, five are Midwestern, including Cleveland (+8.6% appreciation), Dayton (+7%) and Milwaukee (+6.8%). Three are in the Northeast, led by Hartford and Worcester.The study focused on housing markets where home prices fall within Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan limits, which are designed to make homeownership more accessible to first-time buyers with lower down payments and flexible credit requirements.The final analysis includes 136 markets where home prices, rents, and appreciation data could be reliably compared.Lower compared rents against the estimated monthly cost of owning with an FHA loan. That cost included principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and the FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP), which is a standard fee for FHA borrowers.The rent figures used throughout this study are based on Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Small Area Fair Market Rents data for three-bedroom units, measured at the ZIP code level. These annually published rent figures represent the 40th percentile of gross rents for standard-quality units, which are modest, non-luxury rentals. The study used ZIP code-level data to give each city its own rent benchmark rather than a broad metro-wide average.Why City-Specific Appreciation MattersThis analysis uses annualized listing-price changes from Movoto market data for 2023 to 2026 to reflect recent market performance. The tables break out equity from home price growth separately from equity built through monthly payments, making it easier to see what’s guaranteed versus what depends on the market. Lower National RankingsTop 25 Cities: Owning vs. Renting (3-Bedroom)Lower identified the 25 cities across the United States where buying shows the largest monthly edge over renting once equity is counted, focusing on places where homeownership is within reach for first-time buyers.The monthly difference was determined by subtracting the estimated equity-adjusted monthly cost of owning, after crediting any monthly equity built (principal paydown plus recent city-specific listing-price appreciation), from the median rent (3BR). Cities are ranked in descending order by the monthly difference.Buyers still pay the full mortgage amount each month. The net cost figure is an equity-adjusted estimate, not a cash-flow payment. Lower How the Math Works: Hartford, CTHartford leads with 11.1% annualized appreciation. Strong price growth in a market with tight housing supply, which intensified competition among buyers pushed appreciation higher over the period studied, but that trend may not reflect long-term or typical market conditions.Just because Hartford took the top spot doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best market for first-time homebuyers. Other markets where homeownership pays off, like Dayton or Cleveland, might have more opportunity for first-time homebuyers since they don’t depend on such rapid appreciation. Lower Top 5 Cities by RegionWest: Top 5The West has the lowest share of markets where buying has the advantage over renting of any region at just 26%.In most Western markets, appreciation from 2023 to 2026 was modest. The study’s average across cities in the Western United States was well below the national study average, which limits how much the appreciation component offsets mortgage costs.The West region's top two cities, Menifee, California (+$705 per month) and Lancaster, California (+$515 per month), succeed largely because their median rents are relatively high against more affordable home prices.The regional advantage narrows quickly after the top five. Only one additional Western city remained above break-even. Lower South: Top 5The South is the most represented region in the study with 74 cities, 22 of which (30%) favor buying after factoring in equity.Newport News, Virginia, leads the South at +$1,107 per month, powered by a 3.8% appreciation rate and a median rent that runs close to the gross mortgage.Maryland’s Baltimore ranks second in the South at +$990per month. Alabama’s Montgomery also reaches the top five at +$877 per month, helped by a 6.7% appreciation rate against relatively affordable home prices.The top five Southern markets are led by Newport News; Baltimore; Montgomery; Columbus, Georgia; and Jackson, Mississippi, where appreciation and principal paydown offset enough of the monthly mortgage cost to keep buying ahead of renting. Lower Northeast: Top 5Despite having the fewest cities of any region (just 11), the Northeast has the highest rate of markets favoring buyers, at 82%.Hartford, Connecticut, leads the region, and the entire study nationally, at +$2,968 per month. That result is driven by an 11.1% annualized appreciation rate from 2023 to 2026, the highest of any city in this analysis.Hartford is a genuine outlier. The next-highest advantage in the region is Worcester, Massachusetts, at +$1,640 per month, with a more moderate 5.8% appreciation rate. Lower Midwest: Top 5Buying comes out ahead in 19 of 28 cities (68%) in the Midwest, largely due to a combination of low home prices and solid recent appreciation.Cleveland, Ohio, leads at +$1,298 per month. With a gross mortgage of $1,625 per month and an 8.6% appreciation rate generating $1,314 per month in monthly appreciation equity, the net cost of owning is $152 per month against a $1,450 median rent.Dayton and Akron in Ohio, along with Milwaukee, all show the same trend of affordable entry prices and appreciation rates between 6% and 8% that drive meaningful equity accumulation each month. Noblesville, Indiana, is the exception: Higher home prices produce a $3,815 monthly mortgage, but strong 5.8% appreciation compensates for those higher prices, putting it at +$1,115 per month.For buyers focused on the most affordable markets in the study, the Midwest offers the widest selection of options. Lower What This Means For First-Time HomebuyersBuying comes out ahead in 41% of the cities studied once equity building is factored in. But whether buying pays off changes depending on both prices and appreciation.National averages tell you almost nothing about your own city. Appreciation varied widely from city to city between 2023 and 2026, and in some markets it was negative. In those cities, falling home values reduced the equity homeowners built each month, making the net cost of owning higher than the mortgage payment alone suggests. The opposite was true for markets where appreciation was high, as showcased by outliers like Hartford.Past appreciation isn't guaranteed to continue, but in every market, the principal paydown portion of equity is guaranteed by the loan’s amortization schedule, regardless of what home prices do.Keep in mind that rates can change. Rates have risen markedly so far in 2026 following a gradual decline from post-pandemic highs. A lower future rate could improve the math for buyers who refinance, while a higher rate would weaken affordability for new buyers.There are also costs beyond a mortgage when it comes to owning a home. Closing costs, maintenance, and HOA fees can all drive up the total cost of homeownership.Data and MethodologyLower analyzed homeownership costs and rents across U.S. cities with populations of 75,000 or more, focusing on markets where homes are priced within reach of FHA borrowers. Cities were included where the median listing price exceeded $100,000, median gross rent exceeded $900 per month, and the median listing price fell at or below the 2026 FHA national floor of $541,287 (per HUD and Lower.com, effective Jan. 1, 2026). Cities with fewer than 10 active MLS for-sale listings on Movoto were excluded to ensure listing price data reflected a meaningful sample. These filters produced 169 qualifying cities, of which 136 were successfully matched to both ZIP code-level HUD rent data and city-specific appreciation data.Median listing prices and city-level appreciation data come from Movoto, a real estate search platform and Lower company. Homeowners insurance estimates are from The Zebra, with state averages used where city-level data is unavailable. Population and state-level property tax rates are drawn from the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 ACS 1-Year Estimates.Monthly mortgage cost uses a 5% down payment and a 6.52% 30-year fixed rate (Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, June 11, 2026) applied to Movoto’s median listing price, and includes principal and interest, property taxes (listing price multiplied by state effective tax rate, divided by 12), homeowners insurance, and FHA MIP at 0.55% annually. The upfront FHA MIP of 1.75% is rolled into the loan balance.Monthly equity built has two components. Principal paydown is the Month-1 principal portion of the mortgage payment, which is the amount that reduces the loan balance rather than paying interest, as determined by the amortization schedule. Monthly appreciation is calculated as the listing price multiplied by the city-specific annualized appreciation rate divided by 12, where the rate for each city is the annualized listing price change from 2023 to 2026, sourced from Movoto market data. Across the 136 cities in this analysis, the mean appreciation rate is 1.6%, and the median is 1.4%. Thirty-four cities have negative appreciation rates; in those cities the monthly appreciation figure is negative and increases the net cost of owning rather than reducing it. Total monthly equity equals principal paydown plus monthly appreciation. Net cost of owning equals gross monthly mortgage minus total monthly equity. Monthly difference equals median rent (3BR) minus net cost of owning. Cities are ranked in descending order by monthly difference.The rental benchmark is the HUD FY2026 Small Area Fair Market Rent (SAFMR) for three-bedroom units at the ZIP code level, representing the 40th percentile of gross rents for standard-quality units. For each city, the median SAFMR across the city’s primary ZIP codes was used. Cities were matched to HUD FMR areas using county FIPS codes and to SAFMRs using primary ZIP codes, a deterministic method that prevents errors from cities sharing names across different states or metro areas.This study is intended for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, mortgage, or investment advice. City-specific appreciation rates reflect what happened from 2023 to 2026, not what will happen going forward. The ownership cost does not include maintenance, closing costs, potential HOA fees, or the opportunity cost of the down payment. Individual results will vary.This story was produced by Lower and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The marketing job AI can't touch, and why the pay is up The marketing job AI can't touch, and why the pay is up Marketing jobs may be some of the earliest and clearest signals of how AI is reshaping work. For some roles, AI is outright replacing them, and for others, it is accelerating change in what marketing work is conducted and how. Most importantly, it is redefining how and where companies are willing to hire marketing professionals.Marketing was at the top of the list of job functions most exposed to automation and AI disruption. The key skills and roles that build the modern marketing function are also time-consuming and routine. As generative AI tools take off, companies are finding they can deploy them to work faster and more cheaply.However, this isn't the full picture. As generative AI takes flight, the roles most disrupted are those that manage the digital side: content marketing, digital marketing, and marketing technology. On the other hand, those that require a human touch, such as field or event marketing, are in some cases actually seeing employment growth, and paying 6.2% more than they did six months ago. As AI usage grows, authentic human presence, relationship-building, and boots-on-the-ground execution are becoming even more important.Analysis of hiring momentum and role prevalence across 9,000-plus companies shows how organizations are redesigning their workforces to meet the AI moment. Pave’s Hot Job Index scores and ranks jobs from −100 (cooling fast) to +100 (heating fast), providing insight into where organizations are investing at this moment. In short, the higher the score, the more companies value this skill set at this moment.The Marketing Jobs AI Is DisruptingMarketing Technology ManagementComing in at No. 5 on the Cold Jobs list is marketing technology management (martech), with an index score of -66. This job has seen a steady decline since 2023, with Pave data showing a drop in the prevalence of new hires from 0.08% to 0.05%. The dual forces of marketing technology consolidation and AI are amplifying this trend by enabling non-technical people to take on more technical tasks. Pave This job family often rolls up into other functions, with the senior leader wearing multiple hats. This may be another way AI is playing a role, as senior-level leaders are seeing their remits expand; companies may likely be consolidating martech ownership under a hybrid umbrella. Pave Digital MarketingDigital marketing sits at No. 3 on the Cold Jobs list, with a score of -77. These marketers are responsible for planning and executing online campaigns to build brand awareness or convert leads across various channels, such as social media, websites, and search engines. Since Q4 of 2023, hiring for this role has more than halved, from 0.40% of new hires down to 0.19%. Pave While you are seeing fewer of these jobs, that doesn’t mean you will see any fewer online ads anytime soon. In fact, AI tools are making it so quick and easy for non-marketers to build content, design, run, and optimize marketing campaigns that you are likely seeing a flood of new digital advertising.This is another role experiencing upward consolidation, as reflected in the premium companies are paying to new hires at the senior-most levels of this job family. Companies are increasingly hiring career/senior marketers to leverage their expertise and AI tooling to generate digital marketing tasks at scale—and they are willing to pay a premium for it. Pave Content MarketingThe fastest-cooling marketing job on the Cold Jobs list is content marketing, coming in at No. 2 with a score of -80. Hiring for this job has rapidly declined from 0.77% to 0.36% since 2023. As anyone who has used GenAI for their own use cases can attest, it is now easier than ever to generate assets, whether articles, whitepapers, or videos. As quickly as these tools became mainstream, leadership teams around the world began asking to what extent they still need to hire full-time copywriters and content marketers. Pave More interesting is the pay premium for this role. Unlike digital marketing, where only more senior hires are seeing a new-hire premium, content marketing is showing a premium across all three levels. As AI content proliferates and more AI slop is generated, organizations are investing in top talent to orchestrate high-quality content. The job has shifted from creation to strategic content development and curation. Pave The Marketing Job AI Can’t ReplaceAs AI takes over our digital lives, in-person engagement and connection with customers are becoming increasingly more important. Perhaps surprisingly to some, field marketing ranks No. 5 on the Hot Jobs list, with a score of +65—the only traditional marketing role currently experiencing growth.Overall, the share of field marketers being hired has risen from 0.17% to 0.25% over the last few years. The trendline shows continued growth into the latter part of this year. Also of note, Pave’s data found that the overall number of companies with a recent field marketer hire has also increased, from 4.83% to 8.35%. This shows that it is not just existing teams expanding this role; companies are building out brand-new functions. Pave The pay premium data is even more compelling. Entry-level employees are commanding new-hire premiums of 106.2%, showing that companies are competing even at the most junior level of this role. Pave Field marketing's rise isn't despite the AI moment—it's because of it. The more automated and impersonal digital marketing becomes, the higher the value of a human who shows up. In-person touchpoints are now scarcer and more valuable, and companies are hiring.Zooming OutThe ripple effects of AI tools and the transformation of work will be felt for years to come. As AI drives role consolidation, it also opens the door for new roles and expanded opportunities in ways yet to be defined. Marketing jobs may very well be the canary in the coal mine, as AI finds ways to automate time-consuming tasks, other job functions will feel the pressure.This story was produced by Pave and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How can accurate financial reporting help secure grants for nonprofits? How can accurate financial reporting help secure grants for nonprofits?Grants are often governed by strict regulatory frameworks, especially those that come from government agencies. State and private grantors also have their own compliance standards and agreement terms. These requirements ensure that nonprofits use grant funds appropriately and effectively. Some grantors offer grants in the form of reimbursements to prevent fund misuse.Regardless of the grant terms, keeping accurate financial reports improves your relationship with the grantor. Your transparency and accountability improve trust and impact your nonprofit’s reputation. Different grant types come with different reporting expectations. Marshall Jones explains how accurate financial reporting increases the chances of grant approval for nonprofits.Key TakeawaysAccurate financial reporting increases your chances of securing grants because it helps you:Comply with relevant regulations.Manage expenses according to grant terms.Present past achievements through tangible and measurable results.Showcase your trustworthiness and avoid penalties or accusations of fraud.Why Is Accurate Financial Reporting Crucial for Nonprofits Seeking Grants? Marshall Jones Accurate financial reporting strengthens your relationships with grantors, auditors and other stakeholders. Here’s how it can help you secure future grants:1. Meets Regulations and Reporting Obligations Set by GrantorsGrants must follow relevant federal and state regulations, especially if they’re provided by government institutions. The Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act established the government-wide reporting procedure that requires organizations receiving federal funds to publicly disclose their information. Among other requirements, you need to provide your organization’s name, grant amount, funding agency and location. You also need to report the following:Financial data: The expenses you paid for using federal fundsCompliance information: Information that showcases your compliance with federal regulationsProject data: Your progress report or community impactRelevant agencies may collect this information through regular progress reports, site visits and audits.Specific grant requirements will be found in the Notice of Award. With government grants, you’re required to submit a Federal Financial Report annually, unless you’re receiving domestic awards under the Streamlined Noncompeting Award Process or otherwise stated. When required annually, you may need to submit the report for each budget period up to 90 days after the end of the calendar quarter.Grants can come with other requirements, and their stringency depends on the grant type. Restricted grants can only be used for specific purposes as determined by the grantor, while unrestricted grants can often be used at a nonprofit’s discretion. Whichever grant you have, accurate financial reporting maintains transparency and demonstrates compliance with terms and regulations.2. Assigns Costs to the Appropriate Grants, Programs and Operational CategoriesProperly allocating expenses avoids overspending and fund misuse. Having a paper trail with clear, traceable financial records also makes reporting less stressful when deadlines approach. Maintaining thorough documentation involves keeping receipts, invoices, time sheets and other records that support audits. This data proves your reliability in complying with grant terms.Additionally, grant funds often need to be separated from other funds when tracking spending. You can use unique fund codes when monitoring spending to understand which expenses tie to which grant. This level of granularity improves the accuracy of your statements. It also reflects your nonprofit’s financial position, supporting board decisions and public disclosures.3. Presents How Funding Contributed to the Organization’s AchievementsAlongside financial statements, grants may require performance reports, which involve a combination of quantitative and qualitative data. This performance report demonstrates how the funds have contributed to your projects and whether your activities have benefited the community or the environment. It helps create a well-articulated mission statement that captures your nonprofit’s purpose and strategic direction. You should also define specific project outcomes you wish to achieve and their respective indicators.For instance, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires grant recipients to submit a research performance progress report annually as part of the noncompeting continuation award process. Among other requirements, the reports should incorporate:The organization’s accomplishments.Plans for the next year.Produced manuscripts and publications.Involved project personnel.Project challenges, delays and plans to resolve them.Accurate financial and progress reports highlight past achievements and build credibility and stakeholder trust. They tell potential grantors that a nonprofit has made a tangible difference. For instance, you can highlight the number of beneficiaries you’ve served or the number of graduates in your program. Combining qualitative stories with quantitative data enables you to create a strong case for your nonprofit’s mission.4. Avoids Penalties and Funding LossGrant funding is susceptible to fraud, waste and abuse. Inaccurate financial reports raise suspicion about whether you’re using the funds based on the agreement. Using grant funds for personal gain, unjust enrichment or other purposes than their intended use is a form of theft. People involved could be subject to criminal and civil prosecution, where violations can include:False claimsFalse statementsTheft or briberyEmbezzlementMail fraud and wire fraudAccurate financial reports protect your nonprofit and enable you to spot fraud immediately. Regularly reviewing spending, timelines and compliance with grant terms can help you avoid clawbacks, where grantors take back the funds they’ve provided due to noncompliance. These clawbacks are possible for grants with clauses that explain repercussions for unmet conditions and are often nonnegotiable.Additionally, poor financial reporting leads to penalties and failed audits. For instance, the IRS penalizes charities and nonprofits that fail to file their tax return by the due date, costing $20 per day. The same penalty applies for incomplete and incorrect tax returns, with the maximum penalty being the lesser of $10,500 or 5% of the nonprofit’s gross receipts for the year.The Single Audit Act states that grant recipients can be subject to an audit annually to ensure compliance with government regulations. Conducting routine internal reviews, whether monthly, quarterly or during key project milestones, can ensure your spending aligns with grant conditions. Comparing actual expenditures to your budget enables proactive adjustments and prevents overspending or underutilization. Underutilizing funds can also lead to clawbacks.Grant Types and Their Accounting Implications Marshall Jones Some grants come with stricter requirements than others. Payment methods also vary, where some grants pay through reimbursements instead of paying up front. Check the grant terms so you can plan and allocate funds effectively. Grants generally fall under one of the following categories:Government GrantsGovernment grants fund an organization’s ideas or projects that benefit the economy or provide public services. They often support innovative research, critical recovery initiatives and other programs listed in the annual publication of assistance listings. They’re one of the many forms of federal financial assistance. However, they also have the strictest reporting requirements.Government grants come with three award phases:Pre-award phase: This phase includes the grant announcement and the application submissions and review.Award phase: Final award decisions come from the federal agency staff with fiduciary responsibility and legal authority to enter into agreements. They often make award recommendations based on the financial and programmatic reviews of the applications.Post-award phase: Once you receive an award, the federal agency assists and ensures you comply with the grant terms and conditions.Corporate GrantsCorporate grants are provided by companies to nonprofits to support specific missions, initiatives or projects. These grants are often part of the corporate social responsibility initiatives, which also means agreements can include branding or publicity obligations. Companies often award grants based on a nonprofit’s alignment with company goals and community impact objectives.Corporate grants can be part of an ongoing partnership or a one-time donation. They also take different forms:Direct grants: These grants are cash or funding that supports a specific project or program.Matching grants: These grants involve companies matching employee donations on a dollar-for-dollar basis.Challenge grants: These grants involve a company pledging to contribute funds if a nonprofit can raise a specific amount from other sources.In-kind grants: These noncash grants often involve product donations and services that can assist in projects or operations.Getting a corporate grant can increase your nonprofit’s visibility and credibility, especially if the company is well-known and reputable. You can easily build trust with volunteers, donors and other stakeholders, as the award signals that you’re capable of managing significant funding.To increase your chances of approval, you need to demonstrate how you’ve provided tangible results and how you plan to measure success. You also need a detailed budget showcasing how the funds can support your project’s goals. You may have to highlight how your nonprofit can sustain the project after you’ve exhausted the corporate grant.Private GrantsA private grant is funded by foundations or individual donors. It may come with reporting requirements, but tends to be more flexible compared to other grants. Grantors are often willing to provide seed money or general operating support, so you can experiment with new ideas or invest in infrastructure.While private grants have simpler technical requirements, they often have higher relationship gates, where grantors favor nonprofits or organizations with which they have an existing relationship. Networking is often part of an organization’s strategy to secure private grants.Project GrantsProject grants limit funding to specific initiatives or programs. You must often track spending for these grants separately from other sources. Your spending must also align with the approved project scope and timeline. Each grant comes with its own requirements.For instance, a project grant may require projects to be related to a specific field of study. You may also need to demonstrate that your nonprofit has the qualities to complete the project.Operating GrantsAn operating grant is also known as an unrestricted grant, as nonprofits can use this funding to pay for their overhead expenses or general mission. For instance, you can use it for rent, salaries and daily operational expenses. It may have broader conditions than other grants, but still requires careful financial reporting. Because these grants often come from individual donors, there’s typically no standard application process.Operating grants are popular, making the application process competitive and rigorous. Presenting an impeccable track record and demonstrating your trustworthiness through accurate financial reports can increase your chances of approval.How to Ensure Accurate Financial ReportingAccurate financial reporting is feasible by adopting certain strategies:Maintain a centralized documentation system: Having a dedicated location for your financial documents makes it easier to access the right information quickly. This centralization mitigates the risk for human error and helps you avoid missing reporting and filing deadlines.Review and reconcile accounts regularly: Many accounting teams reconcile accounts with long gaps in between sessions or too closely to relevant deadlines. Creating a consistent workflow for account reconciliations improves accuracy and expedites account reviews.Use effective accounting and management tools: Many resources are available to help nonprofits improve financial reporting practices. For instance, a spreadsheet can help you maintain accurate financial records, while budget trackers can help you generate relevant reports. Automation provided by these tools can help you meet grantor deadlines.Leverage accounting services: You don’t always need in-house expertise, which adds to your overhead expenses. Working with professional accounting services can be more cost-effective given their experience, saving you time and resources. These services also help you stay on top of relevant regulations, increasing your chances of securing future grants.Frequently Asked QuestionsNonprofits commonly ask the following questions to further understand grant fund management:What Is Grant Accounting?Grant accounting, also known as grant management accounting, involves tracking how your organization uses the grant funds to make sure you comply with the agreement. Accurate grant accounting enables you to use funds wisely and sustainably, so you can avoid negative repercussions while ensuring that every dollar makes a difference.What Is the Difference Between Fund and Grant Accounting?Fund accounting is the overhead framework, where grant accounting is its subset. Similarly, fund accounting tracks a nonprofit’s financial activities, but instead of focusing on grants, it includes tracking activity across funding sources. For instance, these sources may include individual donations, membership fees and charity crowdfunding. Grant accounting helps ensure you’re spending grant funds according to the terms.What Do Grant Accountants Do?Grant accountants manage your grant funds. Their duties often involve:Tracking grant expenses.Ensuring compliance with relevant regulations and grant terms.Preparing financial reports.Supporting audits and grantor reviews.Accurate Financial Reporting Strengthens Trust With GrantorsAccurate financial reporting helps you secure grants, as it demonstrates your nonprofit’s reliability and trustworthiness. It’s often a requirement of grantors, especially for government grants with strict regulations. Without accurate reporting, you risk fund misuse, overspending, clawbacks and even fraud charges.To increase your chances of securing grants, review the grantor’s requirements thoroughly. Financial reporting requirements may also come with performance requirements that showcase the fund’s tangible impact. Having a centralized system and leveraging accounting tools can help with accurate documentation. You can also work with professional accounting services to make the process easier.This story was produced by Marshall Jones and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The benefits of using an ERP system in manufacturing The benefits of using an ERP system in manufacturingManufacturing businesses are becoming increasingly complex as they fight to stay competitive. Managing diverse product lines and expanding business functions to support growth often leads to fragmented tools and outdated data, creating significant operational challenges.To overcome these hurdles, many manufacturers are adopting enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. An ERP centralizes core business operations by integrating key functions onto a single platform, streamlining processes, and providing real-time insights. Comprehensive integration empowers businesses to enhance communication and foster data-driven decision-making across the organization.Use this ArcherPoint by Cherry Bekaert guide to better understand the benefits an ERP can deliver to manufacturing companies.ERP systems for manufacturing businesses at a glanceAn ERP centralizes a manufacturing company’s core business functions.The ERP can either replace or integrate tools used by manufacturing companies.Finding the right solution and provider is key to getting the best results from your ERP.The right partner can make implementing the ERP solution faster and smoother.What is an ERP system, and how does it work in manufacturing?An ERP system serves as a centralized platform that consolidates a business’s critical functions. It achieves this by either integrating existing tools, replacing them, or combining both approaches. The result is a unified operational environment that eliminates the need to toggle between disparate applications and platforms.Besides centralizing many of your business’s functions, such as supply chain management, accounting, and customer relationship management, an ERP can also:Automate manual processes: An ERP system can automate many tasks, such as production tracking, reporting, and customer updates.Create business-wide standards: Rather than having each person set their own standards, an ERP can provide consistent, high-quality output across the entire business.Improve inventory management: Your ERP can provide up-to-date stock levels, ensuring you always have sufficient inventory to fulfill orders.Provide a consistent infrastructure: Since your team will use the same system regardless of their position or responsibilities, an ERP creates cohesion at every level of your business.Connect business data: Your ERP can collate information from various datasets and departments within your business, improving data accessibility and validity.What are the benefits of using an ERP system in manufacturing?While ERP systems offer substantial advantages to businesses across all sizes and industries, they prove particularly transformative for manufacturing operations, leveraging capabilities specifically suited to their complex needs. ArcherPoint Increased transparencyEven a business that promotes a collaborative culture within its team will experience data-sharing and communication issues when each department uses separate platforms for its needs. Data can lose its formatting and become inaccurate, which takes time to fix.Similarly, if a team member needs information from a platform they don’t have access to or familiarity with, they have to wait for a different team member to assist. This wastes time and decreases efficiency. An ERP system eliminates these problems. By integrating everything into a single platform, you can provide everyone with access to the information they need to make informed decisions.Decreased costsFor manufacturing businesses, boosting profitability hinges on both increasing revenue and effectively decreasing costs. An ERP system facilitates significant cost reductions through several key avenues, including:Fewer software subscriptions: Since an ERP solution provides so many functions, it will likely mean you can cancel subscriptions for software that provides the same functions as your ERP.Faster, informed decision-making: When information is time-sensitive, being able to act quickly with the most current information can make all the difference in how much revenue you generate or costs you cut.Simpler IT maintenance: Rather than managing perhaps dozens of applications and platforms, your information technology team can focus on your ERP system.Accurate job pricing: By providing up-to-date cost information, your ERP enables you to confidently set job prices at your desired margins. It also helps to minimize waste by optimizing resource allocation and production processes.Collectively, these factors contribute to a leaner, more efficient operation, directly impacting your bottom line.Increased efficiencyA leading benefit of leveraging an ERP is that it speeds up many manual tasks by eliminating data barriers and providing a user-friendly interface. This makes it easier to access and share information.The ERP can also automate many tasks that may otherwise have to be completed manually, such as pulling reports, managing production schedules, and streamlining quality checks. By relieving your team from repetitive tasks that require minimal decision-making, you give them the freedom to focus on tasks that require more strategy and consideration.Your ERP can also provide accurate estimates of how long tasks will take, helping you better plan your team’s time. This applies to your machines, too, allowing you to minimize idle time and ensure maximum output. Plus, it can optimize your labor and material utilization, further improving your business’s efficiency.Real-time operational visibilityIt’s often said that information is everything, and this is especially true for a manufacturing company. ERPs can provide live data reports on demand, rather than waiting days or weeks for someone to manually pull a report from historical data. With this real-time visibility over your entire business, you can make timely decisions based on the best data possible.Beyond making decisions for the present, fast access to current data also makes looking to the future easier. User-friendly dashboards and customizable reports based on live data make it easier to forecast your finances for upcoming months and years. This foresight allows you to better plan for the future and meet your long-term business goals.Increased scalabilityThanks to automation, an ERP can help you quickly scale your processes up or down as needed without major changes to your operations. For a manufacturing company, this could mean pulling reports on larger inventory quantities or calculating the most efficient way to buy materials as production levels increase. Whichever way your business is scaling up, there’s a reduced need to hire additional personnel, increase costs, or decrease efficiency as you grow.Since you can easily add new functions and modules to your ERP, you can easily diversify your business functions and products, too.Robust compliance managementWhile an ERP system cannot guarantee compliance or identify specific regulatory requirements, it provides the tools and framework to significantly streamline your operations toward meeting the standards your business targets.When you implement an ERP, you can create workflows and add checks that help your team to comply with various aspects of any relevant standards as they carry out their duties. An ERP can also provide audit trails to serve as proof of compliance with standards or as an internal check to ensure your company is operating in accordance with them. These capabilities can be crucial aspects of certain standards, such as ISO certification and environmental guidelines.An ERP can also offer security features that help you meet data protection standards. It can protect your customer and business data from both internal and external threats while helping your business comply with data protection laws.Enhanced customer satisfactionSince an ERP can help your business operate more efficiently, you’re ultimately better able to meet your customers’ needs. Customers can benefit from your ERP through:Competitive pricingAccurate time estimatesTimely order updatesSince your customer support team will have access to all your business information, they’ll also be able to answer any customer query without having to ask another department for the relevant information.Plus, an ERP can enhance your data protection measures, so your customers can rest easy knowing their information is well-protected.How to choose the right ERP system for your manufacturing businessGiven the unique operational demands of each manufacturing business and the diverse capabilities of ERP solutions, selecting the system that aligns with your specific needs is crucial. ArcherPoint 1. Determine your functional requirementsWhether you’re implementing an ERP for the first time or switching from an existing ERP that doesn’t meet your needs as well as you’d hoped, you need to review which functions you’d like your system to provide.While core accounting and finance capabilities are standard for most manufacturing businesses, it’s crucial to actively determine how your ERP will support and enhance other vital areas, such as supply chain and customer relationship management.2. Ensure your ERP can integrate with your existing systemsIf your goal is to integrate your ERP with existing software rather than replacing it, prioritize solutions with robust integration capabilities. While many ERPs connect with popular business applications, this isn’t universally true for all programs. It is crucial to thoroughly verify compatibility with all your current systems before committing to implementation.Failure to integrate effectively can lead to significant compromises. You might be forced to acquire alternative software, rely on the ERP’s native modules, or undertake time-consuming manual data transfers to successfully maintain centralized data.3. Decide between a cloud or on-premise ERPYour ERP can be deployed on-site or in the cloud, with remote hosting by your provider. You can also choose a hybrid option.Each has its own benefits, so it’s essential to evaluate which one best meets your needs. While on-site ERP solutions can provide better data and system control, cloud-based ERP solutions can typically be:Deployed faster.Updated more frequently and with less disruption to the business.Accessed more easily on a mobile device.With cloud-based ERPs, your manufacturing business will also have the freedom to choose the solution that works best for them, regardless of your location. However, when you choose an on-site solution, you may be limited to an ERP provider that operates in your area.4. Find a partner to help with your ERPBeyond selecting your ideal ERP solution, securing the right implementation partner is crucial for success. An experienced and knowledgeable partner enhances the entire ERP journey, transforming a complex undertaking into a streamlined, efficient process.They offer invaluable strategic guidance and technical expertise, ensuring your investment yields maximum returns. A dedicated ERP partner delivers several distinct advantages:Optimal solution alignment: They leverage their deep industry and product knowledge to help you not just choose, but also configure, the ERP solution that aligns with your unique operational workflows and strategic business objectives.Proactive risk mitigation: ERP implementations can be complex and may introduce challenges, from unforeseen technical issues to user adoption challenges. An expert partner anticipates these common obstacles, guiding you away from costly mistakes and ensuring a smoother transition.Accelerated deployment and go-live: With their specialized methodologies and experienced teams, partners can shorten the deployment timeline, getting your new system operational faster and enabling your business to realize its benefits sooner.Comprehensive user empowerment: Beyond technical setup, a partner’s key role is to empower your team. They provide tailored training and support, ensuring your employees are proficient and confident in utilizing the new ERP program effectively from day one.Understanding these benefits underscores the value of an ERP partner. For detailed guidance on selecting the best partner for your manufacturing business, refer to the following section.How to find the right ERP partnerFinding the right partner for your ERP implementation can be the difference between a fast and successful deployment and an imperfect alignment with your business. To judge whether an ERP partner is right for you, consider their:Experience: An ERP partner who has successfully helped other businesses implement their ERP is likely to deliver the same for your business.Reviews: The opinions and experiences of an ERP partner’s past clients will shed light on what you could expect from them.Industry expertise: Many ERP partners specialize in particular industries. A partner with strong knowledge of the manufacturing sector will be better placed to help your company implement its ERP. Embrace the advantages of an ERP in your manufacturing businessTo address manufacturing complexity, ERP systems centralize operations, driving efficiency and enabling informed decisions. Achieving these benefits requires strategic planning — defining needs, ensuring integration, selecting a deployment approach, and partnering with specialists.With informed choices and expert guidance, your business can streamline operations, optimize resources, and secure a lasting competitive edge.This story was produced by ArcherPoint and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Moles vs. birthmarks: What's normal and what warrants a check Moles vs. birthmarks: What's normal and what warrants a checkMost people have spots on their skin they've never thought much about. A cluster of brown dots on the shoulder, a faint blue-gray patch on the lower back, and a bright red bump that appeared in infancy. These marks are common, and the vast majority are completely harmless. But knowing what each one is, and when its appearance should prompt a conversation with a doctor, is genuinely useful information.Below, Doctronic explains what’s normal and what needs attention when it comes to moles and birthmarks.Key TakeawaysMost adults have 10 to 40 moles, most of which are benign and stable throughout life.Birthmarks fall into two categories: pigmented (café-au-lait spots, Mongolian spots) and vascular (hemangiomas, port-wine stains).The ABCDE checklist (asymmetry, border, color, diameter, evolving) is the standard tool for self-evaluating a mole.Additional warning signs include bleeding without injury, persistent itching, crusting, the "ugly duckling" sign, and any new mole appearing after age 40.Sun protection, monthly self-exams, and annual dermatology screenings (for high-risk individuals) are the core of prevention and early detection.What Are Moles?Moles are skin growths that form when melanocytes, the pigment-producing cells in your skin, cluster together rather than spread out evenly. They appear after birth, usually beginning to show up in childhood and continuing to develop through about age 35. Most adults have somewhere between 10 and 40 moles, the majority of which appear on skin that gets regular sun exposure: the face, neck, arms, and upper back.In their typical form, moles are round or oval, evenly colored (tan, brown, or nearly black), and no larger than a pencil eraser. They can be flat or slightly raised. Most stay the same throughout a person's life, though they may gradually lighten or become less prominent with age.A small percentage of the population, roughly 2% to 8% of Americans, has what are called atypical or dysplastic moles. These are larger than average, have irregular borders, and may display more than one color within the same spot. Having atypical moles doesn't mean cancer is present, but it does mean those moles warrant ongoing monitoring.What Are Birthmarks?Birthmarks are marks present on the skin at birth or appearing within the first few weeks of life. They fall into two main categories based on their cause.Pigmented BirthmarksPigmented birthmarks result from an overgrowth of pigment cells in a localized area.Café-au-lait spots are flat, light brown patches that can appear anywhere on the body. The name comes from French and roughly translates to "coffee with milk," which describes their color accurately. They're common and usually harmless on their own, though a large number of them (typically more than six) can sometimes be associated with a genetic condition called neurofibromatosis.Mongolian spots, now more often called congenital dermal melanocytosis in clinical settings, appear as blue-gray patches, most commonly on the lower back or buttocks. They're more prevalent in people with darker skin tones, are present from birth, and in most cases fade entirely by adolescence.Vascular BirthmarksVascular birthmarks are caused by abnormal blood vessels near the skin's surface.Hemangiomas are raised, bright red marks sometimes called "strawberry hemangiomas" because of their appearance. They're not typically present at birth but usually appear within the first few weeks of life and grow rapidly before slowing down. Most hemangiomas shrink on their own and are gone by ages 7 to 10 without any treatment.Port-wine stains are flat birthmarks that range in color from pale pink to deep red or even purple. Unlike hemangiomas, they are permanent and tend to darken and thicken over time. They appear most often on the face and neck, and some individuals choose to treat them with laser therapy for cosmetic reasons or because of associated health concerns.ABCDE: The Mole Evaluation ChecklistDermatologists use the ABCDE checklist as a practical framework for evaluating whether a mole shows signs that should be looked at more closely.Asymmetry: One half of the mole doesn't match the other.Border: The edges are ragged, notched, or blurred rather than smooth and defined.Color: There are multiple shades within the mole (brown, black, red, white, or blue).Diameter: The spot is larger than 6 millimeters, roughly the size of a pencil eraser.Evolving: The mole is changing in size, shape, color, or texture, or a new symptom like bleeding or itching has appeared.No single criterion is a definitive alarm, but any one of them is reason to book a dermatology appointment rather than wait.Warning Signs That Go Beyond the ChecklistThe ABCDE framework focuses on visual characteristics, but there are other warning signs worth knowing.A mole that bleeds without any injury, itches persistently, crusts over, or develops a scab should be evaluated. These are signs that something may be happening beneath the surface.The "ugly duckling" sign is a useful self-examination concept: Most moles on a person tend to look similar to each other. A mole that looks noticeably different from all your others, the "ugly duckling" in the group, stands out for a reason and deserves attention even if it doesn't meet the classic ABCDE criteria.Any new mole appearing after age 40 is worth showing to a dermatologist. While new moles can form throughout life, they become less common as people age, and a spot that appears later in life should be examined.Melanoma is the most serious form of skin cancer. The American Cancer Society projects approximately 112,000 new melanoma cases in 2026, around 65,000 of which are expected to be invasive. Early detection remains one of the most important factors in treatment outcomes.What to Do About BirthmarksMost birthmarks require no treatment at all. They're benign, and for the majority of people, the only decision is whether to leave them alone or pursue cosmetic treatment if they're in a visible location or affect confidence.Port-wine stains and large congenital melanocytic nevi, a type of pigmented birthmark, may be monitored over time because of a slightly increased risk of changes. A pediatrician or dermatologist can advise on whether any follow-up is appropriate.If a birthmark changes in color, texture, or size, or if it develops raised areas, irregular edges, or new symptoms, those changes should be brought to a doctor's attention.Prevention and Monitoring RoutinesSun protection reduces the risk of mole development and lowers the overall risk of skin cancer. Daily use of SPF 30 or higher sunscreen, protective clothing such as wide-brim hats and long sleeves during peak hours, and avoiding tanning beds all reduce cumulative UV exposure.Monthly self-exams using a full-length mirror and a hand mirror to check hard-to-see areas help build familiarity with what your skin normally looks like. That baseline is what makes it easier to notice something new or changing.Annual skin screenings with a dermatologist are recommended for people at higher risk: those with a family history of melanoma, a personal history of atypical moles, fair skin that burns easily, or significant past sun exposure. For lower-risk individuals, speaking with a primary care provider about the right screening interval is a reasonable starting point.Frequently Asked QuestionsAre moles and birthmarks the same thing?No. Moles form after birth when melanocytes cluster together, while birthmarks are present at or shortly after birth and result from either an overgrowth of pigment cells or abnormal blood vessels. They have different causes and different patterns of development.Can a mole turn into melanoma?Most moles never become cancerous. However, melanoma can arise within an existing mole or as a new spot on normal-appearing skin. Atypical moles carry a slightly higher risk, which is why they're monitored. Using the ABCDE checklist and reporting changes to a dermatologist is the most reliable way to catch problems early.When do hemangiomas go away?Most hemangiomas begin to shrink by around age 1 and continue fading through childhood. The majority are fully gone or significantly reduced by ages 7 to 10. Some may leave behind minor changes in skin texture or color, and in some cases, a doctor may recommend earlier treatment if the hemangioma is near the eye, mouth, or airways.Does SPF 30 sunscreen really prevent new moles?Sunscreen reduces the cumulative UV exposure that contributes to new mole formation and to melanoma risk. It doesn't guarantee that no new moles will ever appear, but consistent use from childhood onward meaningfully lowers the overall burden of UV damage to the skin.What does the "ugly duckling" sign mean?The term refers to a mole that looks distinctly different from the other moles on your body. Most moles on any one person share a similar general appearance. One that stands out from the rest, in size, color, shape, or feel, is worth having examined even if it doesn't fit the classic ABCDE warning criteria.Is it normal to get new moles as an adult?New moles can appear through about age 35 and occasionally beyond, but the rate slows with age. A new mole appearing after age 40 should be checked by a dermatologist, since new spots later in life are less common and warrant evaluation to rule out a concerning change.The Bottom LineMoles and birthmarks are a normal part of human skin, and the vast majority will never cause any health problems. The difference between something harmless and something that needs attention usually comes down to change: A spot that looks different from how it looked before, or a new mark that doesn't look like anything else on your body, is the one worth bringing to a doctor.This story was produced by Doctronic and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The rise of jojoba oil: Why it's becoming more popular in skincare formulas The rise of jojoba oil: Why it’s becoming more popular in skincare formulasAs consumers pay closer attention to what goes on their skin, jojoba oil has become one of the most trusted ingredients in modern skincare, valued for its versatility, compatibility with the skin, and ability to support hydration without heaviness.Most shoppers today already carry a mental list of what they want on their skin and what they'd rather avoid. They're checking labels with the same attention they give to food packaging, scanning for ingredients they recognize and skipping past anything they can't pronounce.Research shows interest in skincare topics has doubled over the past five years, and a growing part of that is people trimming their routines down to fewer products built around ingredients they understand and benefits they can see.Dermatologist Dr. Emma Craythorne told Vogue that today's shopper has gotten a lot more specific about what they expect. "Consumers are no longer satisfied with vague promises of glow and hydration," she said. "They want to understand mechanisms, data and longevity."Jojoba oil has become one of the ingredients consumers keep coming back to, and as Ogee, a Vermont-based certified organic beauty brand, explores below, the reasons behind it go deeper than good marketing.What Makes Jojoba Oil UniqueDespite being called an oil, jojoba is technically a liquid wax, and that puts it in a class of its own among plant-based ingredients. Most plant-based oils are made up of fats, but jojoba's makeup closely mirrors the natural oils your skin already produces on its own.Dermatologist Alok Vij of the Cleveland Clinic describes it as "very close in composition to your skin's normal sebum, or the normal oil secreted by your skin." Because of that natural compatibility, jojoba absorbs readily without leaving a heavy or greasy film behind, and that is what separates it from most other plant-based oils people are used to reaching for.Why It Works Across Skin TypesPart of what makes jojoba oil so relevant to today's skincare conversation is how consistently it holds up across different skin types. Part of what makes jojoba oil so relevant to today's skincare conversation is how consistently it performs across different skin types. For people with dry skin, jojoba oil is valued for its ability to help reduce moisture loss and support the skin's natural barrier without the heavy or greasy feel associated with some other oils.Oily skin tends to respond well for a different reason entirely. Dr. Vij has noted that jojoba won't overhydrate the skin or make it feel oilier, and because it doesn't clog pores, it holds up well even for those who are acne-prone.Board-certified dermatologist Dr. Rachel Nazarian also points to how well it tends to be tolerated by people with more sensitive or reactive skin, which is part of why it continues to get recommended across so many different skin profiles.A Multi-Functional Skincare StapleSkincare enthusiasts and experts tend to agree that jojoba oil rarely gets put to just one use. It shows up in moisturizers and facial oils, where its ability to attract and hold moisture makes it a reliable base. It also works well in cleansing oils and makeup removers, where its mix of fatty acids helps lift away oil-based buildup without leaving the skin feeling stripped.Beyond the face, it finds its way into lip treatments, body oils, and hair care, which is part of why consumers cutting down their routines keep returning to it.Dr. Joshua Zeichner, director of cosmetic and clinical research in dermatology at Mount Sinai Hospital, describes it as "an emollient oil commonly used in moisturizers and cleansing oils" with hydrating and skin-soothing benefits that hold up across a wide range of uses.The Role of Jojoba in Modern FormulationsBeyond what consumers see on the shelf, jojoba oil has become a go-to foundation for formulators building clean, plant-based products.Its natural stability and long shelf life make it a reliable base, which is part of why brands working within certified organic standards tend to look to it first. It also pairs naturally with other botanical ingredients, helping carry their benefits into the skin rather than leaving them on the surface.Dermatologist Dr. Tiffany Libby of Brown Dermatology notes that oils like jojoba, because of how closely they mirror the skin's own natural oils, can help support the skin's lipid balance, making it a strong fit for formulas built around how skin actually behaves.Clean Beauty and the Appeal of SimplicityKeeping a clean, simple skincare routine has become less of a lifestyle choice and more of a standard expectation.Consumers are pushing back on long, unrecognizable ingredient lists and gravitating toward products built around things they can actually understand. Nearly half of consumers now say they prioritize 100% pure and natural ingredients, and 45% specifically seek out non-toxic or clean formulations when shopping.Jojoba oil checks both of those boxes in a pretty direct way. It's a single, plant-based ingredient with a name people recognize, and it does enough on its own that consumers don't feel the need to stack it with a dozen other products to see results.Given that the FDA still does not regulate terms like "clean" or "natural" in beauty, a verifiable, recognizable ingredient carries more weight than any marketing label.What This Means for the Future of SkincareNobody reaches for a skincare product thinking about its chemistry, but more people than ever are thinking carefully about what's actually in it. Beauty has moved closer to wellness, and with that comes a level of personal investment that goes well beyond the bathroom shelf.The global jojoba oil market is projected to reach $255.5 million by 2033, and the demand powering that growth is coming from people who are paying closer attention to their skin health than any generation before them.Jojoba oil has earned that place because it delivers on what it promises, and for a consumer who now treats their skincare with the same care they give to everything else that touches their body, that kind of reliability is hard to walk away from.This story was produced by Ogee and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
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	Make the money moves that actually hold up when markets don’t Make the money moves that actually hold up when markets don’tWhen the market gets shaky, the instinct is to do something. Check your portfolio, read the news, move things around. Mostly, that just wastes your time and sometimes costs you money.What actually helps is having a setup that doesn’t require you to react, Intuit TurboTax reports.Look at your debt without judgmentSit down one evening and write down every debt: the balance owed, interest rate, and minimum payment. That’s the whole exercise.The actual numbers are usually more actionable than a rough mental estimate. Plus, guessing just causes anxiety you don’t need.Focus on making extra payments on the highest interest rate items first, usually credit cards at 20–25% APR. A card at 22% is costing you more than almost any investment that is creating income for you. Paying the credit card balance down is a guaranteed return.Think about setting up an automatic payment once a week, say Fridays, that’s more than the interest. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic amount, just something you can afford that drives down the balance (and doesn’t just pay the interest).Pause and review big purchasesBefore making any major purchase, check to see if the pricing and financing terms still make sense given current market conditions.What felt like a reasonable car payment or appliance financing plan six months ago may look different today if interest rates have shifted or your income has become less predictable. A brief pause to compare options and confirm the terms still work in your favor is one of the simplest ways to protect your financial foundation during uncertain times.Automate one thing and stop decidingThe goal isn’t to make better money decisions every week. It’s to make fewer decisions in total.Set up a small automatic transfer to savings or investments — even $50 or $75 — on a set schedule. When it runs on its own, you stop debating whether you can afford it. It just happens automatically.And if your income isn’t steady, use percentages instead: 50% to bills, 20% to spending, 20% to debt, 10% to investing. Everything works together automatically.Keep your investments simpleVolatile markets generate a lot of opinions. Most aren’t worth acting on.Broad diversified funds are low-cost, require no stock-picking, and don’t need your attention every week. These include stock market indexes that are used by many firms to diversify investments for individuals, but they provide a safe balance without being too aggressive or conservative. Unflashy, but genuinely solid investments.What’s the money for? Long-term money can ride out a downturn in the economy. But short-term money used to cover anything you might need in the next year or two, shouldn’t be in the market at all. Keep those buckets separate, and a bad month won’t force your hand.If you’re wondering whether now is a bad time to start, the market will always give you a reason to wait. There’s just no perfect timing. Think of it this way: Time in the market matters more than timing the market.Retirement planningIf you qualify, Roth IRA and Roth 403(b) plans can be two of your smartest retirement moves. Many Roth IRA accounts give you the option of selecting diversified investment options from aggressive to conservative investments that grow over time. They’re tax-advantaged accounts that provide you the opportunity to grow your savings tax-free.And, if you are also considering a 401(k), check out this article, which compares Roth IRAs to 401(k) accounts.Know what triggers a tax billUnderstanding capital gains rates and resisting the urge to react to market swings can save you significantly come tax time.When you sell an investment at a gain, that’s taxable income. Hold it under a year and it’s taxed at your ordinary tax rate. Over a year and it’s taxed at capital gains rates, which are lower than your ordinary income tax rate.This is worth knowing before a rough market month tempts you to move everything around. Reacting fast can cost you twice: once on the sale and once on the taxes.Also, keep in mind that dividends and reinvested interest also count as taxable income in the year you receive them, even if you never touch the money.You’re closer than you thinkList your debts.Automate one transfer.Put long-term money somewhere diversified and leave it alone.Know the tax consequences before you sell.Those are the most important things to think about. No perfect timing required, just a few quiet habits doing their thing, regardless of an uncertain market.This story was produced by Intuit TurboTax and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How to travel this summer on a budget How to travel this summer on a budgetWhen school’s out and the sun is shining, many of us get excited for summer travel. But nowadays, the cost of a trip can seem prohibitive.According to a new survey of 5,000 Americans commissioned by Current, a consumer fintech banking platform, and conducted by Talker Research, four in 10 respondents are skipping summer travel due to budget constraints.. For those who aren’t planning to travel, most (52%) said they’re not able to afford a trip, and 21% highlighted concerns around the rising costs of travel.But there are ways to explore new places while on a budget. Here’s how you can travel this summer without breaking the bank.1. Be flexibleIf you’re heading to a wedding or friend’s birthday, you may not be able to choose when or where you’re traveling. But if you can be flexible, it often pays off. Shifting your dates to August can help you save upward of 23% this year, says Katy Nastro, a travel expert at Going.“August is typically when summer travel starts to fade,” Nastro says. “This year, we are seeing savings of $175 per ticket traveling the last two full weeks of August versus any time in June. This can really add up for families who are looking to still take advantage of a summer vacation but can be slightly strategic when they travel.”Where you look can matter this year more than ever.“We all have bucket list destinations on our ever-growing wish lists, but sometimes, the strategy to savings is letting the deal decide,” Nastro says. “Try focusing on destinations in the southern Caribbean, coastal Mexico or even the southeast, as we are still seeing savings to destinations like Orlando for just $144 roundtrip this June from New York.”As of mid-May, she says some deals are still available across summer dates, including Washington D.C. to Cabo San Lucas for $350 (50% off) and Indianapolis to Grand Cayman Island for $301 (55% off).You could also opt for a shorter “microbreak” that’s just a few days or a staycation to see your own home in a way. The survey found that 22% of travelers are planning to explore their own city or state, and another 22% will be traveling for a shorter amount of time.2. Consider main economyMany of us look for the cheapest airfare when booking a flight. But opting for main economy instead of basic economy may pay off for two reasons: price drops and better boarding with a bag.Nastro says to take advantage of any savings this year that may happen, even if that means your flight price drops by $25. If you book a basic economy ticket, you won’t be able to take advantage of getting that $25 back in the form of a flight credit to use in the future. But book with the main economy, and you can take advantage of a price drop. (With a basic economy ticket, you typically can’t make changes. You’re locked into the initial price you paid.)Another reason to consider the main economy ticket this year is to get a better boarding position so your bag doesn't get gate-checked, Nastro adds.“With higher bag fees across most U.S. airlines, people will be looking for ways to cut down on checked bags, which means more carry-ons, yet only so much carry-on space,” she says.3. Consider driving instead of flyingFlying is more expensive this year than last, due in part to soaring costs for jet fuel. The average price for domestic airfare as of May 4, 2026, was $380, according to data from Kayak. That’s significantly more than the $290 it was during the same time last year.But that doesn't mean you can't plan a fun memorable vacation. You can drive instead.“Look up places to visit within a day's driving distance to ensure you don't have to travel too far,” consumer finance expert Andrea Woroch recommends, adding that you can use the RoadTripper's app to find sights to visit along the way.Of course gas isn’t cheap right now either: The average driver in the U.S. was paying $4.53 per gallon as of May 14, with drivers in states such as California and Nevada paying more than $5 per gallon, according to AAA. Woroch says to use the Gas Buddy app for help tracking down cheaper gas along your route.4. Strategically use discount gift cardsYou can buy discount gift cards for up to 30% off to restaurants, spas, theme parks like Disney and more to use on your trip to cut costs, Woroch says. You can find gift cards for everything from Southwest Airlines to Panera Bread at warehouse retailers such as Costco and Sam’s Club and on online marketplaces (just make sure they’re reputable). You can also earn free gift cards to use on your trip to cut travel costs toward restaurants, hotels, transportation and activities like TopGolf by using the Fetch app, Woroch adds. It requires uploading photos of your receipts to earn points toward gift cards for a variety of companies, including Uber and Airbnb.5. Consider a new credit cardTravel can often equate to spending more than you typically would — even if you budget. Because of that, you may want to consider opening a new credit card (or secured charge card) to earn rewards on your spending that will help you save in other ways.“Ahead of your summer trip, opening a new credit card is a great way to earn rewards toward your trip,” Woroch says. “Whether that's free cash, points or miles that you can redeem for flights, car rentals, hotels or toward savings.”6. Save elsewhereFigure out where in your budget you can cut back or which daily or weekly splurges you can live without temporarily and put the money you save toward your summer vacation savings.“I say temporarily because it's easier to make a cut when you think about it as a temporary move that you can add back in,” Woroch says. “This could look like cancelling some subscription services or cutting back on take out and cooking at home more or forgoing coffee runs and brewing it at home. Every little bit adds up.”Where you save matters too. If you funnel the extra cash into a traditional savings account, you’ll only earn miniscule interest on your earnings. But if you open a high-yield savings account, your money will work for you even while it’s sitting idly.This story was produced by Current and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Pakistan ends 'luxury tax' on menstrual products, contraceptives. Will prices drop? In Pakistan, taxes on menstrual products can add up. Activists have long worked to change this. Now a new budget wipes out the 18% sales tax. But questions remain about the impact on prices.
	Flash Flood Warning from WED 8:45 AM CDT until WED 2:45 PM CDT Flash Flood Warning in Northwestern Illinois Until 2:45 PM CDT
	Tree blocks 12th Avenue, Moline A post on the Moline Police Department's Facebook page says high winds have caused a tree to fall into the roadway on 12th Avenue, east of 19th Street. 12th Avenue will be closed between 19th and 25th Streets while Moline Public Works clears the area. Drivers are asked to use alternate routes around the area.
	Many homeowners feel traditional lenders don't have their best interests at heart. New data explains why. Many homeowners feel traditional lenders don't have their best interests at heart. New data explains why.A new survey of 1,000 U.S. homeowners reveals a striking disconnect between how the financial industry designs home equity products — and how homeowners actually experience them. The gap has real consequences for both sides.The findings, from an October 2025 survey conducted by Hometap, show that the majority of homeowners approach equity financing through a lens of emotional stress, income uncertainty, and a desire for flexibility. While most lenders lead with rate comparisons and amortization tables, homeowners are actually looking for an empathetic financial partner.Homeowners Tap Into Equity Because Life Happens — Not Because the Timing Is RightHomeowners rarely access equity as part of a pre-planned financial strategy. Instead, they’re usually responding to unexpected life events: a job loss, a parent needing care, an upcoming college tuition bill, a failing HVAC system, or a growing family.According to the survey, 65% of homeowners said their primary concern when financing home expenses is covering unexpected costs. The implication is significant: The majority of people reaching for home equity products need tools that can adapt to unpredictable circumstances, not ones with rigid structures built for stable, predictable financial situations. Hometap Generational differences are pronounced. Millennials and Gen X reported notably lower confidence in traditional products than baby boomers and expressed stronger demand for flexible alternatives. Among millennials specifically, 71% said that a lack of financing flexibility adds to their financial stress, compared to 52% of baby boomers. That gap is consistent with broader research: The NAR's 2025 Home Buyers and Sellers Generational Trends Report found that younger millennials carry the highest rates of student debt among all homebuying generations, shaping a distinct set of financial priorities centered on cost management and versatility.8 in 10 Homeowners Don't Trust Traditional LendersThe survey's most striking finding: 81% of homeowners agreed that traditional lenders don't have their best interests at heart. Hometap That distrust has direct market consequences. According to the survey data, 20% of homeowners have avoided traditional home equity products entirely due to rising rates and costs, while another 11% have delayed using them. When faced with a major funding need, only 8% said they would choose a home equity line of credit (HELOC) first, and just 5% said they would turn first to a traditional home equity loan.Financial decisions often coincide with vulnerable moments — a job transition, a family crisis, a home emergency. When homeowners believe the lender across the table is optimizing for its own returns rather than theirs, avoidance becomes a rational response.What Homeowners Are Actually Asking ForThe survey found that 39% of homeowners said lower fees and closing costs were their top priority when choosing a financing product. The majority, 78%, said they wished there were more flexible options for accessing home equity without monthly payments. Among millennials, that figure rose to nearly 4 in 5."Flexible" in this context means a range of things: adjustable terms, the ability to pause payments when circumstances change, or alternative structures without a fixed monthly commitment. The survey found that 64% say the lack of flexibility adds to their financial stress.Meanwhile, 72% of respondents described the traditional home equity application process as outdated and difficult. More than a quarter said that if traditional options don't meet their needs, they would seek alternative or innovative financing solutions. Hometap Hometap The Trade-offs of Alternative ProductsOne category drawing growing interest is home equity investments (HEIs), which allow homeowners to receive a lump sum in exchange for a share of the property's future value — with no monthly payments required during the investment term.The trade-off is real and worth understanding clearly. If home prices appreciate significantly, the homeowner may give up more long-term value than a traditional loan would have cost, so HEIs are not the right fit for every situation.For homeowners with stable income who can comfortably carry a monthly payment and want to retain full upside on their home's appreciation, traditional products often make sound financial sense. But for homeowners managing income volatility, navigating a job transition, or prioritizing near-term cash flow, trading some future appreciation for financial breathing room can be a rational choice.The data suggests the industry has too often treated traditional products as a one-size-fits-all solution — a posture that may be accelerating the trust deficit. Hometap A Market Signal Lenders Can't IgnoreThe survey data reflects a market in transition. Three-quarters of homeowners said the industry needs new types of financing beyond traditional mortgages, HELOCs, and home equity loans. The generation most critical of current products — millennials — will shape the housing market for the next several decades.Lenders that design products around how people actually live, rather than how financial models assume they live, may find themselves better positioned to capture a share of a market that is actively looking for alternatives.Methodology: Hometap surveyed 1,000 homeowners in the U.S. ages 18 and older through AYTM (Ask Your Target Market) in October 2025.This story was produced by Hometap and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	US Supreme Court’s uneven rulings in election lead-up causing chaos, experts say US Supreme Court’s uneven rulings in election lead-up causing chaos, experts sayWhen the U.S. Supreme Court allowed Texas’ gerrymandered congressional map to take effect in December, its conservative majority wrote that a lower court had “improperly inserted itself into an active primary campaign” when it blocked the map more than three months before the election.Now, as News From the States examines here, the Supreme Court is the one upending elections.For the past two decades, the Supreme Court has advanced the idea that federal courts should not order major changes close to an election to limit voter confusion. Over time the doctrine, first articulated in the 2006 case Purcell vs. Gonzalez, became known as the Purcell principle.But election law experts and one of the court’s liberal justices say the Supreme Court is wielding — or disregarding — the principle unevenly in ways that aid Republicans.In recent weeks, the Supreme Court has effectively allowed last-minute election changes in Southern states that hold major consequences for what districts voters are assigned to and the future of Black political representation across the region.These Republican-controlled states are racing to redraw congressional maps to eliminate majority-Black districts, many of which have elected Black Democrats to Congress. The gerrymandering rush has come even with early voting underway in some states.Wilfred Codrington III, a professor of law at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York, who has studied the Purcell principle, said limiting voter confusion is common sense. But after that general idea, the principle “just falls apart” because the Supreme Court has never answered questions raised by the doctrine — like how close to an election is too close.“The court has not thought through them and it seems like when the court applies them, they’re being applied in partisan ways,” Codrington said, about questions the doctrine raises.April ruling OK’d redistrictingAfter the high court gutted the federal Voting Rights Act in Callais, a landmark decision on April 29 that found Louisiana’s map unconstitutional, it fast-tracked paperwork so the state could quickly redraw district lines.Voting had begun in the state’s congressional primary election, which Republican Gov. Jeff Landry suspended, discarding 42,000 votes already cast.A majority of the court voted to immediately certify its decision instead of observing its typical 32-day waiting period. In a blistering dissent, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote that the justices were disregarding their previous insistence that courts shouldn’t risk assuming political responsibility for a redistricting process that often produces hard feelings.“There is also the so-called Purcell principle, which we invoked only five months ago to chide a federal district court for ‘improperly insert[ing] itself into an active primary campaign,’” Jackson wrote. “The Court unshackles itself from both constraints today and dives into the fray. And just like that, those principles give way to power.”The conservative justices on May 11 then cleared a path for Alabama to move toward implementing a Republican gerrymander that state lawmakers approved in 2023 but was blocked by a lower court. Their decision came a little more than a week before the state’s primary election.Republican Gov. Kay Ivey has called an August special primary election for some of the state’s congressional districts.“The United States Supreme Court’s decision is plain common sense and enables our values to be best represented in Congress,” Ivey said in a statement.‘Like it doesn’t exist’The Supreme Court’s actions this spring stand in stark contrast to its December decision to allow Texas’ gerrymander to take effect. After President Donald Trump urged GOP states to redraw their maps for partisan advantage, Texas was the first state to respond, enacting new lines that could help Republicans pick up five seats.A three-judge district court panel ruled against the map, finding that it was racially gerrymandered. The Supreme Court paused the panel’s decision, finding that the panel likely made serious errors and that the district court was “causing much confusion and upsetting the delicate federal-state balance in elections” amid the campaign season.That language echoed the Purcell decision, which found that an appeals court had erred in blocking an Arizona law requiring a photo ID to register to vote. The Supreme Court’s unsigned opinion cautioned that court orders affecting elections can cause voter confusion.“As an election draws closer, that risk will increase,” the 2006 opinion said.Nearly 20 years later, the Supreme Court made no mention of Purcell in its Callais opinion, which dropped like a political bomb across the South. Since the decision, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, South Carolina and Tennessee have either enacted new maps or are seeking to do so ahead of the November midterm elections.Mark Johnson, a Kansas City-based lawyer with a long history of working on election litigation, noted that Callais was argued at the Supreme Court twice, first in March 2025 and again in October. The justices then waited a long time before releasing their decision, he said, adding that if they didn’t realize the implications of their ruling they were “asleep at the wheel.”“That’s why the Callais case is so disturbing, because a Supreme Court that has by and large followed Purcell just acted like it doesn’t exist,” Johnson said. Ashley Murray // States Newsroom Court legitimacy at stakeSeveral high-profile observers of the Supreme Court have been unsparing in their criticism of the justices’ approach.Steve Vladeck, a professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center and a foremost expert on the court, wrote in an online post that the court’s recent decisions “fatally undermine” the animating purpose of the Purcell principle.“The Court’s own interventions are now wreaking havoc—and a majority of the justices either don’t think it’s their fault, or don’t care that it is. Either way, they don’t seem to mind the inconsistency—in a context in which it’s having the remarkably coincidental effect of benefiting Republicans,” Vladeck wrote.Rick Hasen, a professor at UCLA School of Law and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project, wrote on social media that the Supreme Court in Chief Justice John Roberts’ hands “has become a chaos agent in elections.”Public support for the Supreme Court was dropping prior to Callais. An August 2025 Pew Research Center survey found 48% of Americans hold a favorable view of the court, a 22-percentage point drop from August 2020.In the wake of the decision, Democrats have renewed their calls for court reform. Some have proposed term limits for the justices or expanding the size of the court to dilute its conservative majority. However, major changes are unlikely to become law while the U.S. Senate retains the filibuster and Trump remains in office.For his part, Roberts has taken pains to paint the court as outside of politics. But at a judicial conference in Pennsylvania in early May, Roberts acknowledged the public thinks the justices are expressing policy preferences rather than interpreting the law.“I think they view us as purely political actors, which I don’t think is an accurate understanding of what we do,” Roberts said, according to The Associated Press.Justice Brett Kavanaugh, another of the court’s conservatives, has drawn a distinction between federal courts ordering last-minute changes to elections and states making changes themselves — suggesting that courts shouldn’t necessarily thwart state legislatures that alter rules and procedures in the run-up to elections.In a 2020 concurring opinion about a federal judge who had altered Wisconsin’s absentee ballot deadline amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Kavanaugh wrote that it was one thing for state legislatures to change their own election rules “in the late innings” and bear responsibility for unintended consequences.“It is quite another thing for a federal district court to swoop in and alter carefully considered and democratically enacted state election rules when an election is imminent,” Kavanaugh wrote.Chaotic campaign seasonBut voting rights advocates say Callais is unleashing a wave of voter confusion as Southern legislatures rush to gerrymander.Tennessee’s Republican-controlled legislature passed a map on May 7 that divides the Memphis area among three congressional districts. The move splits a majority-Black district in Memphis represented by U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen, a white Democrat. Cohen announced on May 12 he wouldn’t seek reelection.The state’s primary election is scheduled for Aug. 6. John Partipilo // Tennessee Lookout “This is a year where we’re already in the cycle and they’re going to have to redo everything they’ve already worked on because these districts are completely different,” Matia Powell, executive director of the voting rights group Civic TN, told reporters.The Tennessee Democratic Party and several Democratic candidates, including state Rep. Justin Pearson, who is running for Cohen’s current seat, have filed a federal lawsuit against the map. They argue the new map will cause “significant voter confusion” and severely burden the right to vote.Tennessee Republican Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti argues the Democrats have a solution in search of a problem. Tennessee lawmakers have provided more than $3.1 million to implement the new map and that state officials are already working to meet election deadlines, Skrmetti’s office wrote in a May 10 court filing.“At bottom, this suit is an invitation to play politics, not law,” Tennessee Senior Assistant Attorney General Zachary Barker wrote in the filing.U.S. District Court Judge William Campbell, a Trump appointee, on May 11 declined to immediately halt the map.The Supreme Court has sent states the message that “there are no rules” and that state legislatures are welcome to gerrymander Black representation at any point, said Anna Baldwin, voting rights litigation director at Campaign Legal Center, which has sued over Florida’s recent gerrymander.And the way the court applies the Purcell principle encourages states to make changes close to elections — because courts are more reluctant to block them.“The court is creating a perverse incentive structure that ultimately does make it harder for people who are trying to protect voting rights to prevail,” Baldwin said.This story was produced by News From the States and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Taiwan says Chinese pressure over the island is the "new normal" Taiwan's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said the scholars' passports and mobile phones were confiscated, and they were detained in Mombasa for more than 20 hours before being allowed to leave the country.
	Survey finds 78% of dads are parenting more openly than their own fathers did Survey finds 78% of dads are parenting more openly than their own fathers didFathers pass down so much more than just genes or last names. How a man's father handled stress and vulnerability often became the default behavior his children absorbed. For a lot of men, that meant learning to keep their feelings to themselves.Men have historically been less likely than women to seek mental health support. Grow Therapy's Caregivers Report confirms that women caregivers are consistently more likely than men to seek out mental health support.Grow Therapy surveyed over 1,500 fathers of children under 18 to understand how today's dads are approaching emotional openness and mental health at home. Seventy-eight percent say they approach those conversations more openly than the household they grew up in.A separate Grow Therapy survey of 752 parents and children under 18 conducted from Sept. 29 to Oct. 3, 2025 focused on parents’ understanding of their children’s mental health. That survey also found that fathers were nearly identical to mothers in their confidence in recognizing signs of mental health struggles in their children. 41% of fathers said they feel very prepared and know what signs to look for, compared to 40% of mothers.What this new survey of fathers shows is that wanting to parent differently and knowing how to do it in the moment aren't always the same thing, and there are specific places where old habits still hold.Key takeaways78% of fathers say they approach emotional and mental health conversations with their children more openly than in the household they grew up in.70% actively encourage their children to come to them with emotional or mental health problems, but only 52% say they proactively start those conversations and feel prepared to lead them.Only 35% of fathers selected “express vulnerability openly” as an approach they use or plan to use in parenting, suggesting that many fathers may still be navigating what emotional openness looks like in practice.Only 20% would tell their children if they’ve attended therapy, even though 38% want professional support for their child and 35% want it for themselves.Today's fathers are having the mental health conversations their own dads largely didn'tNearly 4 in 5 fathers describe their approach to emotional and mental health conversations with their children as more expressive than what they experienced growing up. That comparison is often shaped by early models of masculinity, caregiving and emotional expression: 82% said a father or stepfather was their primary male adult figure in childhood.Most fathers in this survey weren't raised in emotionally closed homes. Three-quarters of those who had a primary male adult in childhood felt at least somewhat comfortable bringing emotional or mental health problems to that person. And 70% of all fathers actively encourage their own children to come to them with those same conversations.The 23% who felt uncomfortable opening up to their own father figure are showing up differently for their households. Of those, 51% said their approach is much more expressive and emotionally open than the way they grew up. Fathers who felt less comfortable opening up to their own male figures and fathers who felt comfortable are both choosing to go further, just from different starting points. The data doesn't rank those motivations, but both count.The fathers who had the toughest time opening up to their own dads are actually the most likely to parent differently. Eighty-eight percent of those who felt very uncomfortable opening up to their own primary male adult figure growing up now describe themselves as more emotionally expressive with their own children, compared to 77% of fathers who had a very comfortable relationship with their own dad.Avoiding these conversations is now a fringe position, with fewer than 2% saying they prefer to. Grow Therapy Most dads are starting the conversation, but modeling is the harder stepStarting a conversation about emotions and actually showing emotional vulnerability aren’t the same skill. Showing vulnerability takes practice most adults never got. Few grew up with adults around who modeled it. Data suggests fathers are further along on one than the other.More than half (52%) of fathers say they actively start mental health and emotional conversations with their children and feel prepared to lead them. Many others are engaged but still building confidence: 26% say they try to start these conversations but sometimes feel like they are winging it or unsure of the right words, while 15% say they do not proactively start conversations but make themselves available to listen when their child comes to them.Only 35% of fathers selected “express vulnerability openly” as an approach they use or plan to use in parenting. Showing vulnerability with children can feel like walking a tightrope. Too little, and your child may not see emotional openness modeled. Too much, and your child may take on your stress as their own. Many fathers are still finding that balance. Grow Therapy Dads are warming up to therapy, but talking about it at home is the next frontierMost fathers have made real progress with emotional openness. But therapy is the part of that conversation that still feels personal in a different way.Only 31% of fathers talk to their children about therapy as a normal part of life, and only 20% say they would tell their children if they've attended therapy. Those numbers are low, but they're not surprising. For fathers who didn't grow up seeing it modeled, knowing how to introduce it naturally at home is its own learning curve.But that doesn’t reflect a lack of interest: 38% said professional support for their child would be most helpful to them right now, and 35% said the same for themselves. The willingness to seek help and talk about it is just arriving on different timelines.Fathers also have a desire for more support, with 37% having said books, podcasts or content made specifically for fathers would be helpful. Thirty-one percent wanted a community of other fathers navigating similar situations, and 28% wanted specific language or scripts for starting conversations.Only 20% feel adequately equipped already. Research consistently shows that therapy stigma remains a barrier for men. And this data suggests it hasn’t fully lifted even among fathers who already value mental health care. Grow Therapy What this means for the next generationA 2024 report from the U.S. Surgeon General on the mental health of parents confirms that a parent's own emotional well-being directly shapes the environment children grow up in. Fathers in this survey seem to understand that connection and are working toward it.Many are further along than their own fathers were, and some are still figuring out what emotional openness actually looks like in their day-to-day lives.MethodologyThe survey was conducted by Centiment for Grow Therapy, and fielded from May 11–15, 2026. Results are based on 1,534 completed surveys. The framing of these findings was informed by insights from a father on the Grow Therapy research team. Respondents were screened to be U.S. residents, over 18 years of age, and a father of at least one child aged 18 or younger. Data is unweighted, and the margin of error is approximately +/-3 % for the overall sample with a 95% confidence level.This story was produced by Grow Therapy and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	How deep-red Utah helped launch a portable plug-in solar movement How deep-red Utah helped launch a portable plug-in solar movementUtah state Rep. Raymond Ward was reading a story in The New York Times about a growing trend in Europe, and it sparked an idea to make energy more affordable and portable at home.Plug-in solar panels — sometimes called “balcony solar” — allow people to generate electricity by plugging panels directly into a standard outlet and help cut down on utility bills, without the need for expensive rooftop installations. The relatively cheap technology has taken off in parts of Europe, and a recent Utah law sponsored by Ward has spurred interest across the U.S.Utah lawmakers passed HB 340 last year with bipartisan and unanimous support, becoming the first state to allow residents to plug solar systems directly into residential outlets.“It’s great for anyone who wants a little solar power but does not want to pay $30,000 for a roof install,” Ward, a Republican, told Grist.Ward learned about plug-in solar panels after reading about their popularity in Germany. Balcony panels there added 10% more solar capacity to the grid in just a few months, The New York Times reported, just as Russia’s war with Ukraine was draining energy supplies. Alexandra Schuler // picture alliance via Getty Images Since Ward’s bill passed last year, 30 more states plus the District of Columbia have drafted similar bills, according to information tracked by the plug-in solar lobbying group Bright Saver.“Thank you, Utah,” said Cora Stryker, a cofounder of the California-based nonprofit. “It’s a common-sense, no-brainer thing that should keep sweeping the country.”Maine’s governor signed a similar bill earlier this month. Virginia’s plug-in solar bill currently sits on the governor’s desk awaiting a signature. Colorado and Maryland have legislation approved by both chambers of their statehouses. Bills in Hawai‘i, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oklahoma, and Vermont have passed in one chamber so far.Despite that momentum, U.S. residents still can’t buy plug-in panels from the same big-box stores that sell other consumer electronic appliances, like hair dryers, washing machines, or toasters. That’s because Utah and other states also need rules and regulations for the panels, because while they sound simple, they flip the way the electrical utility system works on its head.Residential households are only designed to pull power off the grid, through wires to outlets, and into plugged-in devices. Balcony solar does the opposite by creating power and pushing it backward into the outlet and “upstream” through a home’s wires, Ward explained. “Utilities tend, in general, not to want anybody else to make power,” he said.Power providers also have concerns about safety, the lawmaker said. If line workers are trying to repair an electrical line they think is switched off, for example, but a condo’s solar panels are still pushing electricity through that line, it could put those employees in danger of getting electrocuted.To Ward, those problems were solvable. “The electricity is the same over [in Europe] as it is over here,” he said. “All the same rules of physics work and have proved to be safe.”But U.S. residents can’t smuggle balcony solar systems over in a suitcase from Europe, because North America uses different plugs and voltages.Ward collaborated with Utah’s largest electricity provider, Rocky Mountain Power, to craft language for his bill so that the plug-in movement in Utah can be homegrown.A spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power noted the utility took no position on Ward’s bill. “We remain concerned that some products entering the market may not meet the requirements of the bill,” the spokesperson wrote in an email, “potentially creating electrical hazards for utility workers.”The legislation removes liability for utilities, and owners of plug-in panels can’t ask for payments for the electricity they send back to the grid. It also requires a company called Underwriters Laboratories, often shortened to UL Systems, to develop safety certification for plug-in panels.UL develops all kinds of safety standards for consumer products, building materials, and other goods. But Utah’s legislation marked the first time they were asked to test plug-in panels, and the company got to work over the summer. Kenneth Boyce, vice president of engineering for UL, said he was surprised to see his company named in Utah’s legislation.“But we take it very seriously,” Boyce said.The company issued a white paper in November outlining potential hazards with the panel systems themselves as well as how they might interact with a typical home’s wiring. From there, it developed product-level requirements that will allow the UL mark to appear on certified products.“We’re … making sure we keep [consumers] safe while they get the benefits of participating in the energy transition,” Boyce said. “We can do both.”UL’s researchers tested ways to ensure that plug-in panels don’t make circuit breakers explode, or that GFCI plugs that are supposed to trip and switch off — commonly found in bathrooms, kitchens, and outdoors — don’t fry and malfunction without the residents’ knowledge.No plug-in systems have been certified by UL to date, Boyce said. “We expect that will change soon,” he said, noting he’s heard from multiple manufacturers. He expects the UL stamp to appear on U.S. panels in “months, maybe even weeks.”Some inventive individuals, including the popular Utah YouTuber JerryRigEverything, have cobbled together their own plug-in systems. They use components that are individually UL certified, like panels, cords, and inverters. But all the components combined into a balcony system haven’t been tested and green-lit for safety, Boyce cautioned. Courtesy of EcoFlow For those willing to take the risk, a global company called EcoFlow, whose product is shown above, is one of the most popular online retailers for plug-in panels in the U.S. They’re currently in conversations with UL about how to certify their product, according to Ryan Oliver, a spokesperson for EcoFlow.They’ve sold portable solar systems for about four years in Europe, “where they’re very popular,” he said.An inverter, which brings electricity from the solar panels into the home and shuts down generation to ensure safety, currently costs about $300 on EcoFlow’s website. A system that includes a battery to store solar energy costs $1,200. And compatible solar panels run between $250 to $1,000, depending on the size of the array.“It’s consistent with Utah’s values of wanting to supply your own energy, and letting people make their own decisions around meeting their needs,” said Josh Craft, director of government relations and public affairs for Utah Clean Energy.Craft, pictured below, said he’s experimenting with his own plug-in system at home, donated by EcoFlow. “It works. It’s fun,” he said. “I have foldable panels set up on my patio roof.” Bethany Baker // The Salt Lake Tribune The panels could also amp up an entirely new market for clean energy. Their surge in popularity comes at a time when the Trump administration is slashing subsidies for wind and solar projects, even as energy bills are expected to spike due to demands from data centers and artificial intelligence, Craft noted.Utah code resulting from Ward’s bill caps power output from plug-in systems at 1,200 watts, which means they won’t offset all the electrical use from a typical household.On his YouTube channel, JerryRigEverything reported that his array saves about a dollar a day on his electricity bill. Craft figures his system, which is combined with a battery, cuts down his power bill by about 10%, but he hasn’t tested it while running an air conditioner.In just the last few weeks, Ward said he’s had conversations with lawmakers in Hawai‘i, Washington, Minnesota, and Colorado about how to facilitate plug-in solar in their states. With Maine adopting a similar policy and several other states close behind, Utah’s experiment is already spreading.“Heck yeah,” Ward said.This coverage is made possible through a partnership between Grist and The Salt Lake Tribune, a nonprofit newsroom in Utah.This story was produced by Grist and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	Severe Thunderstorm Warning from WED 7:35 AM CDT until WED 8:30 AM CDT Severe Thunderstorms with Damaging Winds Impacting Northwestern Illinois and East Central Iowa Until 8:30 AM CDT
	Marine Highway 35 Workshop to spotlight freight, jobs and investment Marine Highway 35 Workshop to spotlight freight, jobs and investment to unite river community and municipality leaders.
	Orion trustees delay band shell repairs until after Fall Fest Orion trustees discussed the odds of being able to repair and repaint the band shell before the Aug. 1 celebration of the nation's 250th anniversary.
	Senate to proceed with intel chief confirmation hearing despite Trump's call to delay The Senate Intelligence Committee said it will move ahead with the confirmation process for Jay Clayton as Director of National Intelligence Today. But President Trump is calling for a delay.
	Concrete This is Roald Tweet on Rock Island.It's there, everywhere. Our skyscrapers rest on it, it lies under the wheels of our cars from New York to San…
	'Rejected': How federal prisons stonewall grievances and deny care for years People who go to prison keep one important right — to file a grievance over their treatment: from abuse to denied medical care. But in the vast majority of cases, those efforts go nowhere, according to an analysis of federal data by The Marshall Project and NPR.
	Movies and TV shows casting across the US muratart // Shutterstock Movies and TV shows casting across the US The glitz and glam of Hollywood captures the attention of Americans starting from an early age. Beyond celebrities' Instagram Stories and red carpet poses, there are actors out there paying their dues and honing their craft in pursuit of a sustainable career or a fulfilling sideline. Submitting to casting calls is a big part of that journey.Whether you're a working actor or an aspiring one, you might be curious to know which movies and TV shows are casting roles near you. Backstage compiled a list of projects casting right now across the U.S., and which roles they're looking to fill. Grusho Anna // Shutterstock 'The Tarot Oracle' - Project type: vertical series- Roles: --- Astra Wisdom (lead, female, 18-25)--- Jack Bennett (lead, male, 23-30)--- Alan Habsburg (supporting, male, 45-55)- Roles pay up to: $4,800- Casting locations: Baldwin Park, CA; Los Angeles, CA- Learn more about the vertical series here Dpongvit // Shutterstock 'Love in the Wind' - Project type: feature film- Roles: --- Luke (lead, male, 18-30)--- Savannah (lead, female, 18-30)- Roles pay up to: $1,000- Casting locations: Los Angeles, CA; Austin, TX- Learn more about the feature film here Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock 'Ghost' - Project type: feature film- Roles: --- Photo Double for Black Male Actor, Shaved Head, 6'2-6'3 (background / extra, male, 23-50)--- Photo Double for White/Latino Male Actor, 6'0-6'2 (background / extra, male, 25-50)- Roles pay up to: $262- Casting locations: New York City, NY; Brooklyn, NY; Queens, NY; White Plains, NY; Yonkers, NY- Learn more about the feature film here Grusho Anna // Shutterstock Untitled Friendship Feature Film - Project type: feature film- Roles: --- Young Sara (lead, female, 6-12)--- Young Sarah (lead, female, 6-12)- Roles pay up to: $1,514- Casting locations: nationwide- Learn more about the feature film here Grusho Anna // Shutterstock 'Friends with Biases' - Project type: documentary series- Roles: --- Politically Open Americans (real people, 21-55)- Roles pay up to: $1,600- Casting locations: nationwide- Learn more about the documentary series here Media_Photos // Shutterstock 'Ex-Libris' - Project type: scripted show- Roles: --- Clara Vance (lead, female, 18-25)--- Zoe Chen (lead, female, 16-25)--- Harper Blythe (lead, female, 16-25)- Roles pay up to: $400- Casting locations: Dorchester, MA; Boston, MA; New York City, NY; Providence, RI; Concord, NH- Learn more about the scripted show here Tikkyshop // Shutterstock Aishah Sofey Skit - Project type: scripted show- Roles: --- Stunt Double (supporting, female, 18-35)--- Bodyguard (supporting, male, 18-40)- Roles pay up to: $500- Casting locations: Los Angeles, CA- Learn more about the scripted show here guruXOX // Shutterstock 'School Jam' - Project type: feature film- Roles: --- Zara (supporting, female, 14-15)--- Olivia (supporting, female, 14-15)--- Diego (supporting, male, 14-15)- Casting locations: New York City, NY; Philadelphia, PA; Jersey City, NJ- Learn more about the feature film here Media_Photos // Shutterstock 'Trust the Man' - Project type: feature film- Roles: --- Young 1960s Military Types (lead, male, 25-45)--- Gay Bar Patrons (lead, male, 24-45)- Casting locations: Jersey City, NJ; Montclair, NJ- Learn more about the feature film here Media_Photos // Shutterstock 'The Gilded Age' Season 4, Extras - Project type: scripted show- Roles: --- Speech Attendees (NON SAG-AFTRA covered) (background / extra, female, male, 18-70)- Roles pay up to: $187- Casting locations: New York City, NY; Jersey City, NJ; Brooklyn, NY; Queens, NY- Learn more about the scripted show here Grusho Anna // Shutterstock YouTube Video Series - Project type: scripted show- Roles: --- Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (day player, female, 18-24)--- Police Officer (day player, male, 30-50)--- Delivery Driver (background / extra, 18-25)- Roles pay up to: $900- Casting locations: Los Angeles, CA- Learn more about the scripted show here Gorodenkoff // Shutterstock New Dating Show - Project type: reality TV- Roles: --- Singles With A Secret (real people, 21-37)- Casting locations: nationwide- Learn more about the reality TV show here KinoMasterskaya // Shutterstock 'Lights Out: Who's Out' Vertical Thriller Series - Project type: vertical series- Roles: --- Richard (lead, male, 40-50)--- Mia (lead, female, 25-30)--- Liam (lead, male, 25-30)- Roles pay up to: $4,800- Casting locations: Worldwide- Learn more about the vertical series here Grusho Anna // Shutterstock 'Cupertino' - Project type: scripted show- Roles: --- Background Talent (background / extra, 18-28)- Casting locations: New York City, NY; Passaic, NJ; Kearny, NJ; Lyndhurst, NJ; Newark, NJ- Learn more about the scripted show here Grusho Anna // Shutterstock The Movie Lovers'' - Project type: feature film- Roles: --- Katherine (supporting, female, 30-40)--- Various Roles (supporting, 18+)- Roles pay up to: $800- Casting locations: Austin, TX- Learn more about the feature film here This story was produced by Backstage and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	El Niño is here, so what does it mean? An El Niño has formed amid the warmer-than-normal waters in the tropical Pacific. Now it's a question of how intense the phenomenon will be, and where effects like heat and drought will strike.
	Trump's Iran agreement dominates G7 but big questions remain The U.S.-Israel-led war in Iran has rocked the global economy and decimated Trump's standing at home
	Severe Thunderstorms Expected Today in Quad Cities: Two Rounds of Storms Bring Hail, Wind, Tornado Threat First Alert Day issued as a strong weather system brings damaging hail, gusty winds and isolated tornado potential through Wednesday evening
	UN chief visits Haiti, where a new 'gang-suppression force' will be deployed U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres's visit to Port-au-Prince comes as gang violence persists. According to U.N. data, 2,300 people have been killed in Haiti this year, with another 100 kidnapped.
	U.S. strike on an alleged drug boat kills 1, leaves 2 survivors The U.S. military attacked a boat accused of smuggling drugs in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, killing one man and leaving two survivors. This brings the number of people who have been killed in boat strikes to at least 208.
Tuesday, June 16th, 2026
	Illinois End of Life Options Act faces challenge from lawsuit HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) - A lawsuit has been filed to attempt to stop a controversial assisted suicide bill from becoming a law in Illinois. The Illinois End of Life Options Act would allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to certain terminally ill patients. It is scheduled to become a law on September 12. However, a [...]
	High school baseball and softball: June 16th Watch highlights from Pleasant Valley vs Ankeny Centennial, Cal-Wheat vs Central DeWitt baseball, and Muscatine vs Central DeWitt softball.
	River Bandits fall to Timber Rattlers 11-6 The Quad Cities River Bandits fall to Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 11-6 in game one of the series.
	Florida’s GOP AGs used to intervene in utility rate cases, but no longer Duke Energy Florida's office located in St. Petersburg. (Photo via Duke Energy's website)As electricity cost increases outpace other measures of inflation, attorneys general around the country have intervened to stop what they consider exorbitant rate hikes: Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes stepped in after Arizona Public Services asked to raise rates by more than 14% last fall. In Michigan, Attorney General Dana Nessel filed testimony in March to slash an 85% rate hike by energy provider DTE. And in North Carolina, Attorney General Jeff Jackson just urged state regulators to reduce Duke Energy Carolinas’ proposed rate increase. But after Florida Power & Light hit its 12 million customers with a nearly $7 billion rate hike last year, Florida Attorney General James Uthemier made no such move. Neither had his predecessor, now-U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody, when rates from Florida’s four investor-owned utilities (IOUs) soared during her six years in office. How much? From December 2020 to January 2026, Tampa Electric raised its utility bills by 86%, Duke Energy by 49%, and Florida Power and Light (FPL) by 45%, according to Food & Water Watch. (The fourth IOU is Florida Public Utilities Co., a much smaller provider serving North Florida). The first line of defense for Florida energy ratepayers is supposed to be the Florida Public Service Commission (PSC), a five-member board appointed by the governor. He selects those members from a pool of nominees submitted by a joint state House-Senate committee subject to confirmation by the Senate. Critics contend the panel has been toothless in fighting such increases for decades, however. That’s when an attorney general can wield the power of his or her office to intervene. “As attorney general, I sued utility companies,” said former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist when speaking at a St. Petersburg mayoral forum last week. “I sued power companies,” he continued. “I sued insurance companies. Why? Because the Public Service Commission was supposed to regulate them, [and] was not regulating them hardly at all. They would rate virtually every rate increase that came to the Public Service Commission to receive. Now, suing them probably was popular among constituents, but it sure wasn’t popular with those companies. But I’m proud to have done it.” “Florida is in the midst of an affordability crisis, and that includes housing and insurance and people’s utility bills. And we’ve watched the utility bills for Florida rate payers go up and up and up,” said Susan Glickman of the CLEO Institute, a nonprofit that works to advance clean energy policies across Florida. Although the PSC is statutorily charged with protecting consumers, “the attorney general becomes the backstop for this continued gouging of ratepayers,” Glickman said. “So, it would be really vital for our state attorney generals to do what they’re doing in North Carolina and Michigan and intervene in these rate cases to protect people.” There is no evidence that Moody ever contemplated doing so when she was attorney general, even though her tenure saw more than $1.25 billion in rate hikes. That included PSC approval of a $692 million rate hike by FPL effective in 2022 and another $560 million effective in 2023, as reported by the News Service of Florida. Her campaign did not reply to a request for comment. When Florida GOP AG’s intervened in rate cases In 2009, then-Florida Republican Attorney General Bill McCollum supported the Florida Office of Public Counsel’s petition to oppose FPL’s proposal to increase base rates by approximately $1.3 billion annually over two years. The result was a freeze of base rates paid by customers through the end of 2012. (That office represents ratepayers in PSC cases.) In 2005, when Crist served as attorney general, he filed petitions with the PSC to intervene on behalf of Florida consumers and taxpayers to oppose rate hikes proposed by FPL and Progress Energy Florida (which later became Duke Energy). FPL ultimately agreed to freeze rates for four years. “The utility companies are entitled to make a profit,” Crist said at the time, “but not exorbitant profit borne on the backs of our people and our businesses.” Florida U.S. GOP Sen. Ashley Moody speaking in St. Petersburg at the Florida Holocaust Museum on June 15, 2026. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) Like many elected officials in Florida, Moody has received significant campaign contributions from the major investor-owned utilities since she began her first campaign for attorney general in 2017. Campaign records show that the utility industry spent nearly $300,000 to support her runs for attorney general in 2018 and 2022. And she has raised more money from the electric power utilities (around $90,000) than any other candidate for Senate this election cycle, according to Open Secrets, a D.C. nonprofit that tracks money in politics. All told, Moody has received $431,000 in campaign contributions from the IOUs, according to a report released in February by the CLEO Institute. Although formidable, that’s well below the amounts taken by Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson ($1.86 million) and U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, the Florida GOP’s leading candidate for governor ($1.13 million). “Ashley Moody is a corrupt career politician who never challenges a utility rate hike because the utility monopolies keep spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to elect her,” said Alex Vindman, one of her Democratic opponents in the race for U.S. Senate. “Moody is fighting for large corporations and not you. While the large corporations and special interests continue to bankroll her Senate campaign, I refuse to take a dime in corporate PAC money because my focus is on lowering costs for Floridians and ending the corruption in D.C.” One Florida Republican incumbent who hasn’t taken in any major contributions from Florida’s public utilities is Uthmeier. His PAC shows contribution from FPL of $5,674 for in-kind services from April of 2025. All told, Florida investor-owned utilities have donated more than $23 million to the Republican Party of Florida since the 2018 election cycle, according to the CLEO Institute report. Those companies have given about $3.7 million to the Florida Democratic Party and its affiliates during that period. Can an intervention by the attorney general really make a difference? Bradley Marshall is an attorney with Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental legal organization. His group is appealing FPL’s nearly $7 billion rate hike, which went into effect in January, to the Florida Supreme Court. “The AG’s office certainly has resources that we and other intervening parties lack, even compared to the Office of Public Counsel (which is pretty small given the size of the State),” Marshall wrote in an email. “That being said, it would depend on whether the AGs intervened in the rate case to truly fight for consumers or to make a utility-friendly ‘settlement.’ If the AGs had intervened to truly fight for Florida consumers, I do think it would have helped and potentially made a difference. How big of a difference would be just speculation on my part, though.” Former Miami-Dade Democratic state Sen. José Javier Rodríguez will face Uthmeier in the election for attorney general in November. He says it’s not just a campaign slogan, but part of the job description, that the attorney general is supposed to be “the people’s lawyer.” “That is not a partisan statement,” he said. “Before General [Pam] Bondi, it was routine for our attorney general, even if some were more robust than others in terms of bringing legal actions, at least if there was a case in front of the PSC, they would show up and do something. Advocate on behalf of the people.” The Uthmeier campaign did not return a request for comment. The current members of the Florida Public Service Commission via the PSC’s X account. The last time the PSC denied FPL a base rate increase was in 2010. In response, then FPL Group Chairman and CEO Lew Hay lashed out, accusing the commission of reinforcing “investor perceptions that the regulatory climate in Florida continues to deteriorate and is increasingly hostile to investment.” The net effect of that vote was that four of those five PSC members were gone within months. Other attorneys general boast of saving ‘billions’ in rate hikes The work by attorneys general around the country to stop rate hikes saved ratepayers real money. In March 2025, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel announced that she had helped save Michigan ratepayers $41 million after successfully arguing before the Michigan Public Service Commission in two cases. Her office said earlier this month that she has saved Michigan consumers more than $4.6 billion by intervening in utility cases since taking office in 2018. In Connecticut, Attorney General William Tong announced last month that his office was “going to scrutinize every profit, every bonus, every perk and every padded expense” in a $503 million rate increase for 2027 that Eversource Energy, the state’s largest public utility company, has requested. In North Carolina, Attorney General Jeff Jackson testified before the North Carolina Utilities Commission earlier this month against Duke’s request for a 10.95% return on equity (ROE), arguing instead that it should earn a 7.4% return. Meanwhile, in Florida, FPL’s four-year rate plan approved by the PSC was guaranteed a midpoint ROE of 10.95%, with an allowed fluctuation ranging between 9.95% and 11.95%. The Phoenix reached out to Duke Energy, FPL, and TECO for comment. “All political contributions made by Duke Energy come from shareholders, not customers. Each contribution is done in accordance with campaign finance laws and are publicly reported,” a spokesperson for Duke told the Phoenix. “Duke Energy Florida is implementing its third rate reduction of 2026 from June through September, lowering residential customer bills by a total of approximately $50, or 25%, for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy used when compared to January.” A spokesperson for TECO declined to comment. FPL did not respond at all. Courtesy of Florida Phoenix
	Bettendorf City Council approves construction of new pump track at Middle Park The new attraction will be designed by the American Ramp Company.
	Inflation drives Davenport Mexican restaurant to raise its Taco Tuesday prices Azteca Bar and Grill near 53rd and Brady has been serving 99 cent tacos for over a dozen years.
	Man pleads guilty in fatal 2020 East Moline stabbing Kerry Clark has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the 2020 death of 64-year-old Rodney Griffin.
	What's ahead as Gov. Pritzker signs $56 billion budget? Gov. JB Pritzker signed a $56 billion budget into law, promising relief for working families.But some House Republicans say the money in the budget won't go to the right places. Illinois Capitol Bureau chief Alex Whitney takes a look at what could be ahead for the biggest budget in state history.
	Moline plans to move forward with acquisition of RiverStation Building, discusses financing Tuesday night, at a committee of the whole meeting, city leaders talked about the next steps for acquiring the building located at 1601 River Drive.
	Rain along Gulf Coast could become the first named storm of Atlantic hurricane season The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the system is expected to bring intense rain to southern states including Texas and Louisiana this week.
	Illinois 40 Bridge, Hennepin Canal Trail closed for construction Construction started Tuesday and will replace the bridge deck, according to a media release.
	Rock Island man pleads guilty to 2020 murder of East Moline man A man involved in the 2020 stabbing death of a 64-year-old East Moline man has entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
	Illinois bets on biodiesel: Expanding the market for domestic soybeans The surge highlights how global oil shocks, brought on by the U.S. war with Iran, and trade uncertainty have increased interest in homegrown energy alternatives.
	New Illinois e-bike regulations go into effect next month Starting on July 1, there will be regulations on high-speed motorized bikes on sidewalks. At the start of 2027, vehicle registration enforcement will go into effect.
	Rock Island man arrested, charged with sexually abusing 13-year-old girl A 20-year-old LeClaire man is facing charges after authorities allege he sexually abused a 13-year-old girl over the course of 45 days between March 1 and May 25.
	Blackhawk Bank & Trust reopens Valley Center branch, Moline Blackhawk Bank & Trust has reopened ts Valley Center branch at 4100 44th Ave., Moline, a news release says. The Valley Center location has undergone a complete rebuild, adding about 3,860 square feet to the facility and creating a modern banking environment designed to better serve customers and the surrounding community. The updated branch features [...]
	Georgia Rep. Collins will challenge Ossoff in high-profile Senate matchup The Collins-Ossoff matchup will be closely watched nationally as the major political parties vie for control of the Senate.
	Georgia results: Collins will face Sen. Ossoff; Trump's pick loses governor runoff In an upset, Georgia Republican voters rejected President Trump's preferred nominee for the competitive open governor's race. They also picked Rep. Mike Collins to face Sen. Jon Ossoff.
	Humane Society of Scott County faces overcrowding; adoption fees waived through July 3 The Humane Society of Scott County says overcrowding has become an issue at the shelter. Since June 1, 210 animals have come through the shelter doors. Of that number, only 124 have been returned or welcomed into a new home. According to a Facebook post, within 48 hours, the shelter took in 53 animals. "Not [...]
	Davenport Speedway will host summer nationals in mid-week racing On Wednesday, June 17, the DIRTcar Summer Nationals late models return to the Davenport Speedway for the 31st running of the Iowa Governor’s Cup. The year 2026 is the 40th anniversary for the DIRTcar Summer Nationals. This year’s tour started June 9th. Thus far, race wins have gone to Shannon Babb(2), Jason Feger, and Brian Shirley. The [...]
	Galesburg donates retired police SUV to student training program A retired Galesburg police SUV is getting a second life, this time as a hands-on training tool for students exploring careers in law enforcement.
	Lee County passes data center moratorium No data centers will be built within the county for at least a year.
	Demolition begins on 2 buildings in downtown Muscatine due to structural issues A road closure is in place while crews work on bringing the buildings at 201 and 203 East 2nd St. down.
	Advocates say WIC funding cuts could impact thousands of Iowa families Millions of dollars that support children and pregnant women in low-income households are at risk after the U.S. House passed a cut in funding that would impact WIC benefits.
	Rock island man arrested in connection with Tuesday homicide in East Moline Officers were sent to the Crowne Forest Apartment complex in East Moline at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday to investigate a report of a man who had been shot.
	QC Severe weather chances rising for Wednesday There's a moderate risk for severe storms with tornadoes around a large part of Illinois on Wednesday. All modes of severe weather will be possible, including tornadoes around the Quad Cities.: Similar to last Thursday, our afternoon and evening severe weather threat will depend on what happens Wednesday morning:
	Anti-tethering bill for companion animals advances in NC House, but its future is uncertain Duke, the dog H657 is named after, was found chained up outside next to another dog that had died. (Photo: People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.)A bill that would establish minimum standards of care for domestic dogs and cats unanimously passed the North Carolina House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, but its future is uncertain as the session moves toward its end. House Bill 657 would require owners to provide care, exercise, food, shelter, space, water, and veterinary treatment for “companion animals,” which the bill defines as only domestic dogs and cats. The bill was named after Duke, a dog who was rescued after being found chained outside next to another dog who had starved to death. H657 would prohibit owners from tethering animals outside in extreme weather conditions, including in temperatures below 32 degrees and above 85 degrees Fahrenheit. A first violation would be a class three misdemeanor, and a second violation would be elevated to a class two misdemeanor, neither of which involves jail time or significant fines. Committee members questioned whether the punishment is sufficient, since under the state’s current animal cruelty law, depriving animals of “necessary sustenance” is a more serious class one misdemeanor. “I think people who are cruel to animals are cut below the rest of us, just to be blunt about it, and I’d like to see some of them tethered to a tree for a couple three hours, just to see what it is like,” Rep. Abe Johns (D-Wake) said during Tuesday’s committee meeting. Rep. Stephen Ross (R-Alamance), one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said he worked with various organizations with concerns about the bill to create exceptions for dogs used for hunting, sport or shepherding. The committee also passed an amendment that allows domestic companions to be tethered by veterinarians or groomers when needed. Despite those carve-outs, Nathen Honaker, an attorney representing the North Carolina Sporting Dog Association, told the committee the group remain concerned about the ambiguity of the bill and doesn’t think it’s necessary because current law should cover the problem. Senator to constituent: Puppy mills bill will be blocked to punish supporters “We’ve got standards in this bill that mention what’s appropriate for the age of the species, or what’s appropriate for an animal with this particular type of muscle tone. There’s a lot of ambiguity in those standards,” Honaker said. “The current standard is, if you’re causing an animal pain, you’re guilty of a serious misdemeanor.” Laws that would set minimum standards for care or breeding of domestic animals have faced an uphill battle over the years at the General Assembly. An attempt to outlaw puppy mills in 2013 died in the state Senate, despite the backing of the governor and his wife. Groups that advocate for breeders, farmers and hunters who hunt with dogs have also objected to animal welfare bills over the years. A spokeswoman for The American Kennel Club said they need to evaluate the amendments made to the bill Tuesday before taking a position on it. Duke was rescued by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. (Photo: PETA) PETA, one of the largest animal rights advocacy organizations, is backing the proposal. “North Carolinians have been sounding the alarm for years about inadequate animal protection standards,” said PETA Senior Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch. “With dogs throughout the state being left to suffer on chains and in pens outdoors 24/7 through all weather extremes, Duke’s Rescue Act is a long-overdue step in the right direction.” Courtesy of NC Newsline
	To fight elder fraud, a top Utah law enforcer is meeting with seniors around the state Mark Hirata, an assistant U.S. attorney for Utah, gives out stress balls at the Midvale Senior Center on June 16, 2026. (Annie Knox, Utah News Dispatch) Utah’s top federal prosecutor took the stage inside a senior center Tuesday to warn that artificial intelligence is helping scammers target older adults in increasingly sophisticated ways, impersonating their banks, the IRS and even their grandchildren. Addressing the crowd of about 50 at the Midvale Senior Center, U.S. Attorney for Utah Melissa Holyoak said AI is “supercharging” scams. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The Tuesday stop would be unusual for a high-ranking federal official if it weren’t one in a series Holyoak is making around the state. She’s already made the same pitch in 13 other Utah counties and plans to have hit all 29 come July, her office said. U.S. Attorney for Utah Melissa Holyoak speaks at the Midvale Senior Center on June 16, 2026. (Annie Knox/Utah News Dispatch) She’s focusing on prevention to help turn the tide on skyrocketing financial losses to fraud targeting adults over 60. Nationally, the total reported by victims in the age group climbed from $600 million in 2020 to more than $3 billion in 2025, according to the Federal Trade Commission. The change was driven in part by large individual losses of more than $100,000. Holyoak was FTC commissioner from 2024 to 2025 and said she worked with the agency on the initiative to raise awareness in Utah. She said imposter and investment schemes are responsible for most of the financial damage, but romance scams are also common. Speaking to the mostly gray-haired audience as they tucked into plates of meatballs and salad, Holyoak made a case for skepticism. She urged them to stay calm and ask for detailed information when someone calls or writes seeking financial information, including when the voice on the other end sounds urgent, legitimate or even like someone they know. “They want you to be panicked, so that you will give them information, give them money, give them whatever you need to do to have this problem go away,” Holyoak said. Sally Smith is pictured outside the Midvale Senior Center on June 16, 2026. (Annie Knox/Utah News Dispatch) According to the FBI’s 2025 internet crime report, Utah ranks 27th for its total of losses reported by those over 60 years old, at nearly $66 million. Across all ages, Utah’s rate of complaints ranked 18th. Mark Hirata, an assistant U.S. attorney, led the Midvale group Tuesday in a game of “fraud bingo” with squares containing warnings such as “Beware of random calls claiming you owe money” and “Ask to have information sent. Check it out!” Sally Smith, 79, of Midvale, asked a question during the event about how people can prepare and protect themselves against AI scams. But her concern about the rapidly advancing technology and its effects on society, politics and everyday life are bigger, Smith said afterward. “To me, it’s not just a matter of not clicking on it,” Smith said. “It’s, how do you know what is real or not real?” The event followed a global day of awareness for elder abuse on Monday. For tips on protecting yourself from fraud and information about what to do if it happens, read the IRS warning about elder fraud. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Utah News Dispatch
	New Mexico lawmakers eye ‘really robust’ Children’s Cabinet under next governor Legislative Finance Committee program evaluators Josh Chaffin, left, and Sarah Dinces, right, present before the interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee about the state's 32,000 disengaged young people on June 16, 2026 in Albuquerque. (Joshua Bowling/Source NM)As members of a New Mexico legislative committee Tuesday afternoon discussed the troubling finding of a recent report — that some 32,000 young people statewide neither work nor go to school — longtime state lawmakers in the room broached the idea that New Mexico’s next governor could revitalize the state’s Children’s Cabinet.SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The April Legislative Finance Committee report said that many of the disconnected New Mexicans between ages 16 and 24 are more likely to navigate the criminal justice system, make lower salaries and experience worse health outcomes. Surveyed youth cited housing instability, a lack of skills or training, health conditions and disabilities, low wages and obligations to care for relatives as the main five reasons why they weren’t seeking employment. At an interim Legislative Health and Human Services Committee meeting in Albuquerque, LFC program evaluators who worked on the April report told lawmakers that the majority of the state’s efforts focus on preventing youth from becoming disconnected rather than reconnecting those who have already dropped out of school or left the workforce. “These agencies are working in silos and they’ve never had a mandate to work together on this issue,” LFC program evaluator Josh Chaffin told state lawmakers, adding that the report’s recommended goal of reconnecting 3,200 youth statewide to schooling or the workforce is more than feasible. In the full report, Chaffin and his colleagues wrote that while New Mexico has a Children’s Cabinet that brings together agency heads from several state departments to discuss child well-being policies and priorities, it’s primarily focused on early childhood, public schools and family stability and it “does not explicitly target or organize services around disconnected youth ages 16 to 24.” Committee Vice Chair Sen. Linda López (D-Albuquerque), who first assumed office in the late 1990s, said the report was a “validation” of what many New Mexicans have seen anecdotally. “I know when this came out in the news, here’s a validation of what many of us have known over the years. Here it is in black and white,” she said during the committee hearing. She added that she has seen the state’s Children’s Cabinet — which was established under Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson as a conglomeration of state agency heads who would review and offer policy recommendations regarding the state’s children — vary in effectiveness. Former Republican Gov. Susana Martinez effectively dismantled it, López said. “So we had eight years of nothing,” she said of Martinez’s tenure, adding that when a new governor takes office next year, state lawmakers could “get the fire lit” under that person to assemble a strong Children’s Cabinet and work toward solving the disconnected youth issue. Rep. Elizabeth “Liz” Thomson (D-Albuquerque) had the last word on the topic and admonished her colleagues to pursue the matter regardless of who wins the Nov. 3 general election. Democratic nominee and former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is set to face Republican nominee and former Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull in the November election. Former longtime Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima is running for the office as an independent. “Let’s all commit to encouraging the next governor to have a really robust Children’s Cabinet,” she said. Courtesy of Source New Mexico
	Man faces first-degree murder charge in East Moline homicide Early Tuesday morning, officers found a victim with multiple gunshot wounds at an East Moline apartment complex.
	Iowa astrophysicist part of team making breakthrough white dwarf discovery For the first time, a NASA X-ray space telescope has captured the innermost surroundings of a white dwarf star. Here's what it means for future scientific research.
	Fired nursing home whistleblower drops lawsuit against her former employer Marvin 'Pete' Jacobs died Feb. 19, 2023, at the Fonda Care Center in northwest Iowa. According to state inspectors, he died after the care facility staff failed to suction his airway. (Facility photo via Google Earth; inset photo courtesy of the Jacobs family) An alleged whistleblower who reported she was fired from a nursing home after being instructed to “keep your mouth shut” about a resident’s death has dropped her lawsuit. Tylene Schultz had sued the Fonda Specialty Care nursing home, its parent company, Care Initiatives, and licensed practical nurse Becky Manning in Pocahontas County District Court. In April 2025, the portion of the lawsuit dealing with Manning was dismissed. Recently, Schultz’s attorney, Molly Hamilton, filed papers with the court dismissing the remainder of the lawsuit. Hamilton said Tuesday the lawsuit was dismissed due to a recent agreement between the parties that includes a confidentiality provision. The case had been scheduled to go to trial in August 2026. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. In her lawsuit, Schultz had alleged that in the summer of 2022, she was hired at Fonda Specialty Care by its then-administrator, Jennifer Blair, to work in the home as a certified nursing assistant. On Feb. 18, 2023, according to the lawsuit, the home scheduled a temp-agency nurse, Manning, to work the overnight shift due to a shortage of staff nurses. During the shift, a resident with a tracheostomy died about 2:25 a.m., the lawsuit claims. State records indicate the resident who died was 87-year-old Marvin “Pete” Jacobs, who had undergone a tracheostomy and needed regular suctioning of his airway. The lawsuit alleged Jacobs died because throughout the shift, Manning refused to numerous requests to suction Jacobs’ airway. “Despite multiple requests by Schultz to suction the resident — over 10 times, from 6 p.m. on Feb.18, 2023, to 2:25 a.m., Feb.19, 2023 — Manning would not suction the resident, nor did she attempt to use the suction machine,” the lawsuit claims. Schultz alleged she tried to call “supervisory level staff” who worked for the home, but none of the individuals answered the calls. She also alleged she asked that someone call 911, but Manning told her no physician was available at that hour to provide an order for a hospital evaluation. In her lawsuit, Schultz alleged she and another CNA remained with Jacobs as he “pointed to his neck, coughed, gagged, struggled to breathe, and turned colors from the lack of oxygen, until he finally passed away.” According to the lawsuit, after Schultz left the home at the end of her shift, Blair told her, “Keep your mouth shut and keep your opinions to yourself,” along with instructions that she should not communicate with Jacobs’ family. Later that day, Schultz was summoned to a meeting with Blair at Fonda Specialty Care. During the meeting, the lawsuit claims, Blair — who was allegedly was aware Schultz planned to call state regulators and report her concerns with Jacobs’ care — informed Schultz she was being fired due to “resident complaints.” In her lawsuit, Schultz alleged she was “fired for making a complaint to the ombudsman and the Iowa Department of Inspection of Appeals due to the suspected abuse and/or neglect of the resident … and not based on any resident complaints.” The state subsequently cited Fonda Specialty Care for “failing to ensure that a resident who needs respiratory care, including tracheostomy care and tracheal suctioning, is provided such care,” and fined the home $10,000. The penalty was then reduced 35%, to $6,500, due to the lack of an appeal in the case. Manning was criminally charged with felony wanton neglect of a resident of a health care facility and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor wanton neglect. Manning also entered into an agreement with the Iowa Board of Nursing in which she agreed to indefinitely suspend her practice of nursing. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch
	NU regents to consider Clarkson-Nebraska Medicine next steps, 4.25% tuition increase University of Nebraska President Dr. Jeffrey Gold, right, speaks with state senators and NU regents after a forum with dozens of Nebraska state senators regarding NU's proposal to buy out the share of Nebraska Medicine owned by Clarkson Regional Health Services. At center is Dr. Bill Lydiatt, Clarkson's CEO, and at left is State Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte. Jan. 14, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)LINCOLN — The University of Nebraska Board of Regents will move one step closer Thursday to becoming the sole owner of Nebraska Medicine while considering whether to increase tuition as part of NU’s next annual budget. The regents will consider two related agenda items that would effectively reduce the $500 million needed to proceed with sole Nebraska Medicine membership to $300 million. Nebraska Medicine is the hospital, clinical and medical services partner to the University of Nebraska Medical Center. Rather than paying the full sum to Clarkson Regional Health Services for its 50% stake in the nonprofit, the other $200 million would serve as an “in-kind donation” back to NU. The University of Nebraska Board of Regents. Dec. 5, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Regents and Clarkson had originally agreed that, as part of the deal, Clarkson would donate $200 million back to NU, earmarked for the $2.19 billion “Project Health,” a longstanding NU endeavor to build up the future of health care and train the next generation of professionals. NU will still be on the hook for the full $500 million because of the earmark. NU has also agreed to pay Clarkson another $300 million to purchase related properties. Asked whether NU had raised enough funds in the past five months to close the transaction by June 30, the NU spokesperson said yes but did not elaborate. The spokesperson did not respond to multiple requests to confirm how the funds were raised. NU President Jeffrey Gold, in January, said raising funds would include debt restructuring and monetization of real estate bought under the agreement. Dr. Gold and regents committed to lawmakers that no taxpayer dollars, tuition or research funds would be diverted for the deal. ‘Everything’s lined up’ The deal is still expected to close by June 30. An NU spokesperson said regents might have to meet one more time this month to vote on amended nonprofit governance documents. “I think everything’s lined up, far as I know,” NU Regent Paul Kenney, board chair, told the Nebraska Examiner on Tuesday. “I think everything’s progressing as it ought to.” Regent Paul Kenney of Amherst, chair of the NU Board of Regents. April 23, 2025. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) NU leaders and regents first announced the Nebraska Medicine deal Jan. 2 after more than a year of behind-closed-doors conversations, which were subject to multiple nondisclosure agreements. After initially setting a vote for one week after the announcement, state lawmakers requested more time. Regents delayed to Jan. 15, when they unanimously voted in favor of the deal. At the time, the now-former leaders of the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors protested the transaction and filed a lawsuit the following week seeking to block the deal. Gold, the regents and Clarkson leaders shortly after replaced most board members and inserted Gold, Clarkson CEO Dr. Bill Lydiatt and another Clarkson representative alongside interim UNMC Chancellor H. Dele Davies as chair. All supported the deal, and the judge overseeing the case accepted a Nebraska Medicine-led motion to drop the suit. The Jan. 15 vote effectively allowed NU to proceed toward closing the deal while consolidating much of the future ins and outs of the transaction in the hands of Kenney. Kenney said his message to Nebraskans who might have asked questions over the past five months has been informing them about the history, status and success of Nebraska Medicine. a nonprofit under the NU-Clarkson banner since 1997. Third-straight tuition hike? Also Thursday, regents will consider approving NU’s $1.14 billion operating budget for the next year. The budget includes a legislatively approved 0.6% increase in state appropriations and a proposed 4.25% tuition hike. This would be the third straight year that regents have raised tuition after freezing tuition rates for three academic years during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Regents increased tuition by 3.5% in 2024 and 5% last year. The then-leaders of Nebraska Medicine, including Dr. Michael Ash, the nonprofit’s CEO, at right, and Lance Fritz, now-former chair of the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors, hosted a forum Thursday with dozens of state lawmakers ahead of a University of Nebraska Board of Regents vote to buy out the 50% share of Nebraska Medicine co-owner, Clarkson Regional Health Services, the next day. Jan. 14, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) NU Regents Kathy Wilmot of Beaver City and Rob Schafer of Beatrice opposed the budget last year in part due to the tuition increase. Gold, in a media statement, said raising tuition isn’t a decision made “lightly” and that NU strives to “deliver an extraordinary educational experience for each of our students. “The budget the board is set to consider reflects that commitment,” Gold said. “It preserves and strengthens our need- and merit-based scholarship programs, while ensuring we can continue providing an outstanding education that remains among the most affordable within our peer university group.” The budget would maintain free tuition for undergraduates whose families make $65,000 or less and appropriate an additional $1.5 million to expand the “presidential scholars” program, a free ride plus $5,000 annual stipend for high-performing Nebraskans based on the ACT. Kenney said regents looked across fellow Big Ten universities when examining tuition. He said NU campuses, compared to peers, would still have the second-lowest rates in the Big Ten. Said Kenney: “We want affordable tuition, but we also have to be able to compete in the marketplace.” Other agenda items This year, regents also hope to fund salary increases for UNMC and University of Nebraska-Lincoln faculty, plus staff across NU, after freezing salaries amid budget cuts. The latest proposal calls for 3% merit salary bumps for non-union employees. Interim University of Nebraska Medical Center Chancellor Dele Davies. Jan. 15, 2026. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner) Faculty at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and the University of Nebraska at Kearney, who are unionized, will receive raises subject to collective bargaining contracts. After finalizing more than $40 million in cuts last year, NU’s latest proposed budget calls for another $8 million in cuts. An NU spokesperson said the expected reductions include previously approved voluntary faculty separations and other past approved spending cuts. The spokesperson did not specify how much in new cuts would be needed. Also on Thursday’s agenda: A detailed proposal to move forward with an NU system-wide institute on advanced artificial intelligence. Confirmation of Dr. Davies as UNMC’s next permanent chancellor. Davies has served as interim chancellor since July 2024, when Gold assumed the presidency after 10 years as the medical center’s chancellor. Major renovations to UNL’s Selleck Quadrangle housing complex and dining hall. The project, estimated to cost $368 million, would be funded through internal bonds and cash reserves. Construction would begin next year with the first phase done by August 2030 and the second and final phase completed by August 2032. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Nebraska Examiner
	Illinois bill would ban drivers from wearing smart glasses An Illinois bill would ban drivers from wearing smart glasses. Illinois is the first state in the nation to ban drivers from wearing the AI-powered glasses. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias says distracted driving is the 'drunk driving' of our generation. In 2024, more than 3,200 people were killed and 315,000 hurt in crashes involving [...]
	Economy, healthcare costs among top concerns for rural Iowa communities A declining rural economy and the high cost of healthcare are top concerns for rural Iowans, according to a panel of community leaders. Pictured here is the town of Exira in western Iowa. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch)A panel of rural Iowans said Tuesday that a declining rural economy and high cost of healthcare are top concerns as the nation celebrates its 250th anniversary. The community leaders spoke as part of the Rural Listening Project-250, a multistate research project assessing what rural Americans care about, and said strong community involvement will be the best way to influence change. In a series of polls and listening sessions, researchers asked rural communities in Alaska, Iowa, Utah, Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Indiana, and Montana questions about urgent challenges facing rural America, concerns of federal overreach, modern functioning of the U.S. Constitution and the state of politics. Overall, respondents expressed concerns of executive overreach, a desire for age and term limits in office, a feeling that corporate money in politics was a “major threat” to decision-making and distrust in both major political parties. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The majority of Iowa panelists said that while they have been independents in the past, they have recently aligned themselves with one of the major parties. Tammara Baker, a small business owner in Chariton, said she registered as a Democrat to vote in the recent primary election, but also because she was “very frustrated and disgusted” with the “extraordinary and frivolous spending” of the currently Republican-dominated government. Doyle Turner, a retired farmer from Woodbury County, said he recently registered as a Republican to vote in the primary election, after nearly 20 years as an independent. “The super majority that the Republicans have in our state Legislature is really hurting us,” Doyle said as explanation for his decision. “They don’t work across the aisle at all.” Independent voters, who comprised 36% of respondents in the research project, said both Democratic and Republican parties are responsible for an “authoritarian trend” in the country. Seventy percent of independent voters in the research said the country has been “moving in a more authoritarian direction ‘over the last couple of decades.’” Larkin Christy, a city council member from Kellogg, said rather than a political party, he wanted to vote for someone who actually cared about the issues that he feels are plaguing his community: education, health and cost of living. “We all are one nation under God. It’s always been that way,” Christy said. “It should be that way, but for some reason, in our country, in our 250th year, it seems like we are being pushed to believe this narrative that it’s red versus blue … you just vote all red or you vote all blue, and you hope that one of those parties fixes the problems. “For far too long we’ve been able to see the results don’t work out that way, so I think this is a good year for us, as Iowans, to flip that script,” he said. Rural economy Christy said as a 26-year-old homeowner in rural Iowa, he is living part of the American dream. But, he said those opportunities are drying up in Iowa as it becomes more difficult to make it in a small town. He said as the cost of living increases, rural towns have fewer job opportunities to make up the difference. Corporations outcompete the local companies and as more businesses close down, families leave town, school districts shrink and are less able to meet the educational needs of Iowans. Baker, a 65-year-old living in Chariton, said the effects are also felt on older Iowans on fixed incomes. She said they want to stay in their rural towns, but often can’t find local jobs to pay for the increases in their property taxes and insurance premiums. “I feel a lot of people in this area feel like the government is not listening to all of us and people are really struggling,” Baker said. “It’s a very difficult situation for all of us in rural Iowa – we love the lifestyle, but it also does not offer a lot of opportunity, unfortunately.” Turner, a farmer and rancher, said the agricultural economy has also contributed to the rural decline. He blamed the government subsidies for row crops, the vertical integration of livestock industries and a general trend to scale up the family farm. “We need to get back to where we’re adding value to our products, because that’s where the real profit is, and that’s where the opportunity is, and that’s where we can bring our kids back and keep our kids here,” Turner said. Rural health Christy said Iowa water quality and its potential ties to the high cancer rates, is a factor affecting people’s decisions to stay in the state or move elsewhere. Jesica Santana Colon, a cancer survivor, nurse and mother of a child with cancer, said she doesn’t know if the high nitrate levels in her well water caused her cancer, but she does know that the cost of treating her cancer and keeping it at bay is high. Santana Colon said she had to travel over and hour from her hometown of Logan to get adequate care, and she has struggled to find health insurance that will accept her preexisting conditions. “I don’t have the answers at this moment on what we need to fix, but I can tell you, as a nurse that’s employed dealing with cancer, taking care of people with cancer, we definitely have an epidemic here,” Santana Colon said. Abi Calvert, a medical social worker from Sioux City, said she worries the changes to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act authorized by the 2025 enacted One Big Beautiful Bill Act, will “make it harder to get the care that we need.” A KFF analysis estimates roughly 80,000 more people in Iowa will become uninsured because of the law. Calvert said this will impact all Iowans as they deal with higher health insurance premiums across the market and busier hospitals when uninsured Iowans can no longer access routine care. “I shouldn’t have to beg my leaders to help me and my family members for the healthcare that they deserve,” Calvert said. “I feel like our leaders have been letting us down – by taking away the care that we need – to score political points. We need leaders to step up and just put everyday Iowans first.” The Rural Listening Project found that across the board, respondents were “eager” for major reforms, like term and age limits, to repair political institutions. The project also found that rural voters said money and corporations have too much sway in politics, with many saying politicians are corrupt and “only care about staying in office.” The panelists from rural Iowa said they believe the problems in their communities will be “solved from the bottom up.” To them, that means more community pride, greater involvement in their local governments and a willingness to speak up. “You can only ignore people with small voices for so long until those small voices come together and create one big voice,” Christy said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Courtesy of Iowa Capital Dispatch
	Rock Island man faces first-degree murder charge in East Moline homicide Early Tuesday morning, officers found a victim with multiple gunshot wounds at an East Moline apartment complex.
	University of Iowa researcher helps with breakthrough study on white dwarf stars Dr. Dustin Swarm discussed why the white dwarfs are so difficult to study and what the team learned about them thanks to a high-powered x-ray telescope.
	Prosecutors say a Davenport couple severely abused a child. Now, the biological mother wants him back New court documents detail allegations that a 10-year-old Davenport boy was secretly confined, deprived of basic needs and physically abused, leading to injuries doctors say could have been fatal without immediate care.
	Man no longer missing Rock Island police say The Rock Island Police Department is asking the community for help in finding a man reported missing.
	NJ panel OKs bill to boost state oversight of struggling hospitals Lawmakers advanced a bill Monday to increase penalties and state oversight of struggling hospitals in New Jersey following the closure of Heights University Hospital in Jersey City earlier this year. (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor)The state health commissioner would have far more power to regulate and significantly fine struggling hospitals in New Jersey under a proposal advancing in the state Assembly in the wake of a Jersey City hospital closure earlier this year. Democrats who make up the majority of the Assembly Health Infrastructure Committee voted in favor of a bill Monday that would allow the health commissioner to block operations at healthcare facilities that are facing bankruptcy or major regulatory violations. The bill would also permit the state to ask a court to appoint someone to run the facility if the owners don’t take prompt action to address problems. It would prohibit future hospitals from being developed on land they lease through certain arrangements, and it calls for some regulatory violation penalties to be increased by nearly 50,000%, from $25 to $12,500. Republicans on the committee abstained, echoing concerns raised by the New Jersey Hospital Association that the bill, introduced June 1, is overly broad and unnecessary, given extensive state regulations already in place. A Senate version of the bill has yet to have a hearing. A similar measure introduced in the Senate in May was also inspired by the Jersey City hospital closure . Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (D-Hudson) said the shuttering of Heights University Hospital in Jersey City highlights the need for additional state controls. Heights University, long known as Christ Hospital, closed in March in a way the state alleges violates state law. The state Department of Health is now in court with its owners, Hudson Regional Health, with the two sides clashing over the state’s hospital closure process. Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (Photo by Anne-Marie Caruso/New Jersey Monitor) Brennan testified Monday that Jersey City is “now considered a healthcare desert.” “Its closure creates concerns about reduced healthcare access, longer emergency room wait times at neighboring hospitals, increased travel time for patients, and greater strain on the remaining Hudson County healthcare facilities,” she said. Brennan said Hudson Regional ignored the state’s closure process, depriving Jersey City residents, workers, community leaders, and policymakers of a chance to plan for future healthcare needs. The bill would ensure this process takes place in the future, she said. But Christine Stearns, representing the hospital association, said New Jersey already has a robust system of acute care oversight and many of the proposed new controls in the bill lack specificity. The association is most concerned about the plan to allow judges to appoint a temporary operator or receiver of a hospital, she said, something that could “destabilize” complex hospital operations and erode the care the state aims to protect. “Closure of Christ Hospital did raise important questions about hospital oversight, financial stability, and continuity of care. However, one hospital’s experience should not define the regulatory framework for every hospital in New Jersey,” she said. Hudson Regional Health, which runs three other hospitals in Hudson County — several on sites it leases in ways the bill would prohibit going forward — has insisted Heights University was financially unsustainable without more state support. A spokesman did not immediately return a request for comment on the bill. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of New Jersey Monitor
	Kennedy, Turner tout Trump policies during stops with Barrett in Mid-Michigan U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte). June 16, 2026. \| Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan AdvanceAfter hosting U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Lansing the day prior, U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett on Tuesday welcomed the heads of the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Lansing area to make the case for the Trump Administration’s policies. DHHS Secretary and anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. sat down with the Charlotte Republican at Country Mill Farm for a discussion with members of the Michigan Farm Bureau hosted by the America First Policy Institute. The panel largely centered on Kennedy’s food-as-medicine approach to health, with Kennedy speaking out against ultraprocessed foods, promoting locally grown fruits and vegetables and pointing to the Trump Administration’s efforts to promote nutrition in medical education. U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. at an event hosted by the America First Policy Institute in Charlotte, Mich. June 16, 2026. \| Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance “If it comes in a package, you probably shouldn’t be eating it, particularly if it looks like it belongs in the package and that it will last many hundreds of years in that package. Those are not things you should be putting in your body,” Kennedy said. “And then the other thing I would say is, you know, patronize local farms, buy local produce, go to the farmers market, encourage your school to your kids’ schools to develop programs where they can get fresh apples and fresh cherries and buy them directly from the farmers, because that’s what’s going to keep farms like this in production and in profit.” Near the end of the discussion, two individuals were escorted out by security for challenging Kennedy on Medicaid cuts and the high cost of health insurance. @michiganadvance Two women were escorted out of a panel discussion featuring DHHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) for challenging the secretary on Medicaid cuts and insurance costs. #rfkjr ♬ original sound – Michigan Advance While the One Big Beautiful Bill Act cut spending on Medicaid by nearly $1 trillion over the next decade, Kennedy falsely said “we cut nothing from Medicaid,” pointing to a report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office which estimates Medicaid spending would increase 47% over the next 10 years. Health policy experts told FactCheck.org, a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, that this increase is due to population changes and increasing healthcare costs, and that increased spending does not mean there were no cuts to begin with. Responding to the question of health insurance, Barrett pointed to his Care Over Profits Act which would require insurance companies to use 85% of revenue from insurance premiums on medical care and quality improvement and penalize agents and brokers who fraudulently create or modify Affordable Care Act marketplace plans without a patient’s consent. Following Kennedy’s stop in Charlotte, Barrett toured The Residences at Walter French alongside Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) and Lansing Mayor Andy Schor. A former middle school, the building was redeveloped into affordable apartments, with 19 units reserved for residents who were formerly unhoused. The project broke ground in 2023, before opening its doors in January 2025. Turner told reporters the Trump Administration is focused on ensuring Americans can achieve the dream of homeownership, while Barrett discussed efforts in Congress to improve access to housing, noting he had cosponsored legislation to bar large companies from purchasing single-family residences. Barrett also pointed to his American Dream Act, introduced alongside Rep. John McGuire (R-Va.), which incentivizes older Americans to sell properties valued under $500,000 to first-time homebuyers. Lansing Mayor Andy Schor, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett (R-Charlotte) and Michigan House Speaker Matt Hall (R-Richland Township) at a tour of The Residences at Walter French. June 16, 2026. \| Photo by Kyle Davidson/Michigan Advance Blitz of cabinet visits signals White House buy-in for Barrett Michigan’s 7th Congressional District, which Barrett represents, is one of the most politically competitive congressional districts in the nation, with the nonpartisan Cook Political Report rating the district as a “toss-up.” Speaking with Michigan Advance Tuesday afternoon, Andrea Bitely, a political consultant and the owner of Bitely Communications, said while the cabinet secretaries’ visits were not campaign stops, they were designed to showcase to residents of the district what Barrett’s been working on and that he has support from the White House. From energy to housing to healthcare, the White House is focused on bringing people to the Lansing area that are relevant to the major issues Michiganders are facing, Bitely said. While the Democratic primary to challenge Barrett is heavily competitive, with former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink, retired Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam and political organizer William Lawrence competing for the nomination, Barrett is unopposed. “There is no Republican primary, which means Barrett is the candidate, and so the Trump administration is doing everything they can to hold on to the U.S. House,” Bitely said, noting that it’s common for presidents to send cabinet-level secretaries to stops in highly competitive seats. Courtesy of Michigan Advance
	Suspect faces 1st-degree murder charge after fatal shooting in East Moline A 21-year-old man is being held in Rock Island County Jail on a charge of first-degree murder after gunfire in East Moline, according to a news release from the East Moline Police Department. At 6:30 a.m. Tuesday, June 16, East Moline police were dispatched to the Crown Forest Apartment Complex, 1275 45th Ave. Court, for [...]
	Ben Newcomb, former Augustana athletic director and head football coach, dies at 91 Newcomb led the Vikings to the CCIW title and their first-ever berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs in 1975.
	NC lawmakers seek $5 million to study psychedelic medicines Psilocybin mushrooms hold promise for some suffering from PTSD or severe depression. Senate Bill 1018 would establish a Breakthrough Therapies research fund and appropriate $5.4 million to study similar psychedelic medicines. (Photo: iStock/GettyImages)Long before Rep. Allen Chesser (R-Nash) was a member of the North Carolina House of Representatives, he was a member of the U.S. Army National Guard. He completed over 100 combat missions in Iraq as a turret gunner. “I was fortunate enough to make it home, but many of us didn’t make it home. And even those of us that did make it home still fight battles on a daily basis, and unfortunately, some of us are still losing those battles,” said Chesser. Chesser said the country loses between 17 and 44 veterans to suicide every single day, which underscores the need for newer, better interventions for mental health. He believes psychedelic drugs could help. Senate Bill 1018, which has bipartisan backing, would establish a Breakthrough Therapies research grant fund and appropriate $5.4 million to study psychedelic medicines to treat military veterans, first responders and other trauma-impacted populations. Rep. Allen Chesser (R) is joined by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and advocates at a June 16, 2026 press conference to support the research of psychedelics. (Photo: NCGA livestream) “Psychedelic-assisted therapy, chemical compounds like MDMA for PTSD, and psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression have shown in clinical trials results that traditional medicines cannot match,” Chesser told reporters during a Tuesday press conference. Sen. Bob Brinson (R-Beaufort), a U.S. Army veteran, is a primary sponsor of the bill in the Senate. Brinson said momentum is building at the federal level to cut through the red tape and speed up research, review and access to breakthrough therapies. President Donald Trump in April signed an executive order for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to fast-track the review of psychedelic medicines for severe cases of depression and anxiety. “We know not every veteran is broken. But we also know that for veterans who do need help, no single treatment works for everyone,” Brinson said. “I believe scientifically proven medical treatment should be an all-of-the above opportunity for those who need them.” Sen. Sophia Chitlik (D-Durham) signed onto the bill when a combat Marine with persistent PTSD in her own district told her he had to leave the country to get access to breakthrough therapies. “Study after study, including from our own NIH, have shown that psychedelics can yield durable, measurable results for treating trauma and depression,” said Chitlik. “I watched for years these incredible scientific developments scale. In some cases, just two to three supervised sessions of MDMA have effectively cured PTSD.” With 600,000 veterans living in North Carolina, Chitlik said it makes sense for the state to play a leading role in advancing innovative treatments when the “inevitable reclassification of psychedelics” occurs at the federal level. Gina Giorgio, founder of the advocacy group Carolinas for Care, said the FDA has already designated seven psychedelic medicines as breakthrough therapies and more than 30 states are advancing legislation to be ready. Beyond medical marijuana, a bipartisan group of NC legislators wants to study psychedelics “For the North Carolinians who have spent years cycling through medications and therapies that haven’t worked, hope is the thing that keeps them here. Psychedelic-assisted therapies are giving that hope back to people,” said Giorgio. Chesser pushed to pass similar legislation three years ago, only to see the bill stall in committee. He’s hopeful that as more members have had a chance to learn more about the benefits of psychedelic medicines, they will find the funding to study them. Courtesy of NC Newsline
	Kick off summer fun at the Henry County Fair It's a sure sign of summer as the sights and sounds of rides, food, exhibitions and animals fill the Henry County Fairgrounds! Bradleigh Reed joined Our Quad Cities News with all the fun of the Henry County Fair. For more information, click here.
	21-year-old arrested on murder charge after shooting A 21-year-old Rock Island man was arrested on a murder charge after a shooting in East Moline Tuesday.
	New study finds New Mexico underestimates, fails to investigate federal food assistance fraud These two New Mexico smoke shops each received more than $400,000 in 2025 in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Payments, according to the Legislative Finance Committee. (Photo courtesy Legislative Finance Committee)New Mexico legislative analysts tasked with assessing fraud among state recipients of federal food assistance reported Tuesday that the state’s low fraud rate may be misleading and stems from a failure to collect data and investigate fraud allegations. The Legislative Finance Committee’s 78-page report, six months in the making, resulted from a $50,000 appropriation Republican state legislators secured in November. At the time, the Legislature had just agreed to allocate up to $162.5 million in state funding to pay Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits amid a federal government shutdown. New Mexico has the nation’s highest SNAP reliance rate — 21.5% — of any state in the country and typically oversees more than $90 million a month in federal SNAP benefits that go to more than 445,000 New Mexicans, or roughly one in five. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. The Legislative Finance Committee’s report, which analysts presented to lawmakers on Tuesday during an interim Legislative Committee meeting in Ruidoso, found that New Mexico’s fraud rate was .04%, far less than the national average of between 1% and 2%. But analysts stressed that figure underestimates the state’s actual fraud rates and buttressed their assertion by providing examples of “high-risk” SNAP transactions they said the New Mexico Health Care Authority, including its inspector general’s office, should have caught. “The HCA Office of the Inspector General is under-investigating and under-identifying potential SNAP fraud,” LFC analyst Clayton Lobaugh told lawmakers. The transactions the LFC flagged include an estimated $85 million annually that New Mexico SNAP recipients spend in other states. While recipients can spend SNAP dollars wherever they like, repeated out-of-state SNAP spending likely means recipients are violating the state’s requirements that recipients live in New Mexico. The LFC review also found two smoke shops in the state that each collected more than $400,000 in SNAP payments in 2025 — suspiciously high amounts for businesses that don’t primarily sell food. The LFC did not name the smoke shops but included photos of them, including one with a large sign announcing that it accepted SNAP debit cards. The federal USDA authorizes SNAP retailers, though analysts said the state could have flagged the smoke shops to the USDA. In addition to those specific cases, the report also looked closely at how the HCA’s Office of the Inspector General handled fraud allegations it received through a state telephone and email tipline. Between fiscal years 2018 and 2023, the office received 9,953 tips but completed only 312 investigations, according to the report, which amounts to roughly 3%. The HCA also disqualifies the smallest percentage of SNAP recipients after findings of potential fraud than any other state in the country, according to the report. For instance, in fiscal year 2023, only 18 SNAP recipients were disqualified, amounting to 0.004% of the state’s SNAP recipients. That same year, the national average disqualification rate was 0.1% — a rate 250 times higher than New Mexico’s. Early results of NM SNAP study show few fraud cases brought to court HCA Secretary Kari Armijo told lawmakers that she largely agreed with the LFC report’s findings, including that the inspector general’s lack of fraud investigations “is an area that the agency needs to do better on.” But she said the inspector general’s office often doesn’t investigate cases that allege small amounts of fraud, based partially on local prosecutors’ unwillingness to bring criminal charges unless large amounts of money are stolen. And investigating fraud takes a long time, which also means the agency might be trying to only go after major cases. “We have an investigation backlog right now,” she told lawmakers. “Investigations don’t get cleared quickly. They take a lot of time.” Republicans in both chambers of the Legislature said the report shows New Mexico’s food system “is broken” and accused the HCA of willfully enabling fraud. A system that rarely verifies, seldom audits, and barely investigates fraud is a system designed to fail,” House Republicans said in a statement Tuesday morning. But LFC Chair Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces) noted during Tuesday’s hearing that the median income of SNAP households is roughly $30,000, less than half the $77,000 median salary statewide. SNAP fraud that comprises a fraction of overall spending should not be used as reason to restrict eligibility, he said. “These are households — without this help — their ability to sort of go and make it through a day, much less a week, much less a month, much less a year, is very, very challenging,” he said, “particularly as we see elevated fuel costs, which are going to translate into elevated food costs, because of the war on Iran.” Courtesy of Source New Mexico
	Burlington man sentenced to 10 years in prison for having over 9.5 pounds of meth Michael A. Patoir, 48, was sentenced on June 10 for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, according to a media release.
	Treasury officials harangued over switch to new tax platform that delayed state refunds Michigan Deputy Treasurer Kavita Kale answers questions during a Michigan House Oversight Committee meeting in Lansing, Mich. June 16, 2026 \| ScreenshotIssues with the state’s new tax processing system, which was transitioned away from a 40-year-old legacy system to an updated platform last year, were at the center of a tense Tuesday meeting of the House Oversight Committee. Members of the committee from both sides of the aisle aired numerous grievances with the new GenTax platform and some of the headaches it had caused this year for their constituents — namely, late or delayed tax refund payments and incorrect tax adjustment letters. Meanwhile, Kavita Kale, the state’s deputy treasurer, noted that the platform had enhanced tools to mitigate risk, prevent fraud and offer more system integrity than its aging predecessor. Kale, who was joined by Theresa Newtown, the state’s director of revenue compliance, and Katina Litterini, Michigan’s director of the tax administration services division, did, however, acknowledge flaws in the system and some of the issues facing taxpayers in the year following the system update. Officials from the department promised improvements, and pointed to a notice on the department’s website acknowledging the setbacks. They also told House Oversight members that they would waive penalties for affected taxpayers.SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. “We have heard your concerns regarding delayed refunds, difficulty reaching the department, and the resulting strain on your offices and your constituents,” Kale said. The GenTax software, produced by Fast Enterprises, is described as an “off-the-shelf” product, which typically means that it does not need heavy customization to fit the tax or accounting needs of governments, businesses or organizations. Litterini said it was a national leader in tax system modernization, and is used in half of the U.S. state revenue agencies. Litterini said the new system provided the state with e-services for taxpayers and filers, like document uploads, but also offered new avenues for residents to reach out directly to specific Michigan Department of Treasury divisions. Out of the 5 million returns it collected during the 2025 tax season, which were due in April, the new system paid out more than $3 billion in refunds. Of those 5 million returns, Litterni said the system processed 90% of those returns automatically, which means a tax department official did not have to manually intervene in processing. Only 10% of those returns required intervention, mostly on the basis of needing more information or an identity check. In terms of fraud prevention, Litterini said the new system was an improvement for the department in identifying reporting inconsistencies or physical address match errors. That said, Litterini did say that the department, through its implementation of the new system, experienced customer service issues. According to a report published Monday by WDIV-TV, 5% of tax filers were still waiting on refunds from the department, and that amounted to nearly 250,000 people. Melissa Snyder, the division administrator with the individual income tax division, told the TV station that the changes were necessary but were not without their growing pains. Katina Litterini, Michigan’s director of the tax administration services division within the Michigan Department of Treasury, answers questions during a Michigan House Oversight Committee hearing in Lansing, Mich. June 16, 2026 \| Screenshot There were also at least 27,000 erroneous notices sent to taxpayers this year from the Treasury department, with some noting that filers owed taxes when they did not — another system growing pain due to faulty fields or mismatched information. Some of the withheld refund issues had less to do with the program itself, Litterini said, than it dealt with the way the federal Internal Revenue Service initiated its state income tax levy program. Litterini noted that the federal program is used to send existing tax debts to the states, and automatically applies Michigan refunds toward that debt. It had been paused during the COVID-19 pandemic and the debt exploded to $18 billion this year. Michigan offset $8 million of that debt thus far. “The impacted taxpayers may not receive a refund, or the refund may have been reduced as a result,” Litterini said. The adjustment letters were caused by a calculation field that was misread by the new system, Litterini added, and while 27,000 letters were issued, that represented just 1% of Michigan taxpayers. A jam up in their customer service division occurred as they fielded complaints on those issues. This year, Litterini said that there was one instance of 65 individuals who each called more than 100 times, resulting in 11,000 phone calls. In an effort to field more phone calls with faster resolutions, Litterini said the state was moving to another upgraded system with a streamlined process and quicker responses. The department also took what it called was immediate action on the erroneous letters. “We have listened to their feedback, we have taken a lot of recommendations, and we’ve worked collaboratively to come up with a better solution for 2026 this upcoming 2027 year for the notice of adjustment letters,” Litterini said. Lawmakers on the House Oversight Committee were not necessarily impressed. Several noted that they had received hundreds of complaints from constituents on the full spectrum of issues that had plagued the new GenTax system, and that they still couldn’t get relief. House Oversight Chair Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) said the problem really boiled down to people expecting money from the state when they needed it most, and that the delays were hurting low-income families. “One of the individuals contacted through another representative, they were going to be evicted because they were expecting that money to come to them,” DeBoyer said. “The official response from Treasury was, ‘well, there’s no court case filed yet for eviction, so we don’t see that as a hardship.’” Michigan House Oversight Committee Chair Rep. Jay DeBoyer (R-Clay) questions members of the Michigan Department of Treasury during a House Oversight Committee meeting in Lansing, Mich. June 16, 2026 \| Screenshot DeBoyer also said that while taxes are often complex, not all of the returns filed with the state are that complicated, and that even easy returns were jammed up due to missing field information or problems with the new system. “The issue we’re seeing is that you have individuals who’ve received a letter that are uncertain whether or not they owe or they don’t owe,” DeBoyer said. “Then they receive letters that may say that they owe right after the fact of the erroneous letter, and then they’re saying that you owe that money, and here’s the penalty and interest on the late payment.” Kale said that the department has heard the concerns and solved many of the problems, but she admitted that in some cases, the department was not entirely clear on what was happening with those returns. “It did not work out well for the 27,000 letters, but we were proactive, and we want to be good fiscal stewards,” Kale said. “And to that end, we met with our partners, sorted it out within 30 days, we rectified the issues, and then followed up with those communities. … It’s not picture perfect, we get that, but we’ve also done everything we can to do better.” When asked if the department would consider waiving penalties and interest on the erroneous tax demands as they are sorted, Litterini said yes, the department already considered that for those negatively affected by the letters, and that residents were made aware. Courtesy of Michigan Advance
	At 250, the Declaration of Independence still sparks hard questions in class At 250, the Declaration of Independence still sparks hard questions in classAmong longtime history teacher Karalee Wong Nakatsuka’s most prized possessions are two nearly identical T-shirts with very different meanings.One comes from Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution, celebrating the Founding Fathers’ signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and their fight for freedom from the British Crown.The second is from Ford’s Theater in Washington, D.C., where an assassin killed President Abraham Lincoln 89 years after the Declaration’s signing. The Civil War, fought to free the nation’s nearly 4 million enslaved people, had effectively ended five days before the president was shot.Both T-shirts bear the slogan: “Created Equal.”It’s not lost on Nakatsuka, the child of Chinese immigrants, that the nation took its time bestowing the same universal gift from the Declaration — “All men are created equal” — on African Americans.And this isn’t an abstract concept to her mostly Asian eighth-grade students at First Avenue Middle School in Arcadia, California, who are struggling to process news about birthright citizenship, ICE arrests and deportations in their Los Angeles suburb.“From the beginning,” she said, “we talk about the Declaration.”As its 250th anniversary nears, teachers like Nakatsuka face the challenge of bringing the nation’s founding documents and the Revolution alive while presenting an accurate account of what happened — and what it all means today.Add to that the task of teaching in a politically divided nation that now holds a microscope to the founders, casting them as less-than-heroic slaveholders and capitalists even as advocates for patriotic education urge teachers to exalt them as godlike heroes.At East Kentwood High School in western Michigan, history teacher Matthew Vriesman takes an approach similar to Nakatsuka’s, challenging his students to look past their preconceptions of documents like the Declaration and ask: “Who was it originally for? Who is it for now?”The 250th, he told The 74 for this article, is a perfect time to get students to think deeply about the Declaration’s vision of “all men created equal” and ask: How’s that experiment going?“If you really think about it, high school history class is an incredible opportunity,” Vriesman said. “This is the last time where people in this country are forced to sit and think and write about the founding values. This is the last time.”Civics teachers ‘are not OK’Americans in 2026 — and this generation especially — could probably use a lesson in those values.Just 47% of adults in a recent survey could correctly identify why the original 13 Colonies declared independence from Britain in 1776. And in a recent survey of Gen Z, the youngest of whom are now in high school, researchers at Tufts University found that they hold troubling attitudes toward democracy. Nearly 1 in 3 displayed “dismissive detachment,” with low confidence in our governing system and higher-than-average support for authoritarianism. Nearly two-thirds displayed a “passive appreciation” for democracy, saying they trusted the government but were complacent about politics.As the Declaration’s 250th anniversary looms, teachers say they’re working in a climate of increased scrutiny and uncertainty. In a recent iCivics survey, more than half said teaching basic civics concepts now feels “difficult,” with nearly 6 in 10 worrying about potential backlash for teaching something the “wrong way.” About 20% said they’ve experienced actual backlash for lessons they’ve taught. More than 1 in 3 said they’ve changed or removed lessons they typically teach because of the climate in their school or community.“Civics teachers are not OK, and that stinks, no matter what year it is,” said Emma Humphries, chief education officer of the nonprofit group iCivics, which produced the survey. “But it’s really awful when we should be in a more celebratory mood.”The group designs curricula and games about civic education and history. In preparation for the anniversary, iCivics created a campaign called We Can Teach Hard Things, which features the tagline, “We don’t stop teaching algebra when working with polynomials gets hard. Nor should we stop teaching civics when explaining the rule of law gets hard.”Despite the pressures, teachers say they’re diving in, with about 8 in 10 saying the Revolutionary period and the founding documents are “high priorities” for their classrooms. The founders, the Declaration and the American Revolution are by far teachers’ favorite historical topics, according to a 2024 survey by the American Historical Association.Teaching ‘historical empathy’As her fifth-graders toured the hushed galleries of the Revolution Museum in Philadelphia one recent morning, teacher Samantha Dowis watched as they thrilled to the muskets, the outfits and to Gen. George Washington’s actual tent, even if they were light on how it all fit together.Their tour guide led them from room to room, and the students could easily tell her who Washington was and that he’d crossed the Delaware River to their native New Jersey. But at the Battle of Trenton exhibit, when asked who the Hessians were, not a single hand went up. They were German mercenaries hired by the British to fight the Colonists.Dowis said she wasn’t worried. They’d barely begun learning about the Revolution, and were only now getting a sense that 2026 is somehow a significant anniversary. Greg Toppo // The 74 For younger students, she and others said, the challenge in teaching history turns on getting and keeping their attention and emphasizing compelling narratives built around political ideals — while often battling against misinformation or just random bits they encounter online.“I feel like we teach them more now than when we were younger,” Dowis said. “They learn more content now than I remember from when I was in school.”From an early age, kids understand concepts like voting rights, she said. So when the lessons turn to the colonies, realizing “they didn’t have a say in government” and rebelled, that resonates.Dowis, who grew up nearby in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Bridesburg, said her students occasionally want to talk about fraught issues of race and slavery. She avoids politics if she can, but if students ask questions about how different races or groups of people experienced history, “we definitely talk about it,” she said. “We make sure to hear everybody’s perspective, and not just one voice.” By the time they leave Dowis’ fifth grade classroom in Maple Shade, New Jersey, they’ve learned about enslavement not just in the American colonies, but among the Mayan, Incan and Aztec cultures, among others.While many adults learned history with a heavy emphasis on names, dates and significant battles, educators now often say they take a more story-centric approach that invites students to experience what’s often called “historical empathy,” putting people into the shoes of those who lived history.“The more we can put it in terms of everyday people, and help people relate to those individuals, we find, the more successful we can be,” said Michael Hensinger, who oversees K-12 education for the Revolution Museum. “It can be really hard to relate to a general, a king, queen, somebody like that, which is often the lens through which a lot of history was taught when I was growing up.”So the museum frontloads stories of everyday people, soldiers and citizens alike, who found themselves caught up in war, such as Joseph Plumb Martin, a Connecticut teenager who joined the state militia in 1776 and defended New York City before re-enlisting for the war’s duration.The museum also highlights the story of London Pleasants, an enslaved 15-year-old in Virginia who in 1781 joined Loyalist forces under the command of Benedict Arnold. Two years earlier, the Crown had offered protection to slaves who fled to the British lines.“I think a lot of young people aren’t necessarily hungry for Revolutionary War history, but they are really fascinated by stories,” said Tyler Putnam, the museum’s senior manager for gallery interpretation.“Kids are curious,” said Lauren Tarshis, author of the young adult novel “I Survived The American Revolution, 1776.” “Right now, they’re going on YouTube and watching real stories about these things,” she said, not all of them historically accurate.Tarshis’ deeply researched “I Survived” series has grown to 25 books since 2017. Instead of shying away from difficult topics in history, she said, young people invite them in if there’s hope at the end.The Digital History Group’s Reading Like a Historian program leverages their curiosity with primary sources — maps, letters, paintings, diary entries — to help students answer key questions such as: Who actually shot first at the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775?Students start with a painting commissioned 200 years later by the Lexington Historical Society that offers a heroic image of colonists fighting back against the British. Then they examine a 1775 engraving by one of the American fighters showing colonists fleeing the scene. After that they read an account from a British officer who admits his men were firing without orders but who believes the colonists shot first. Finally, they read an account from colonists who, unsurprisingly, blame the British. Students must wrestle with competing accounts to try to make sense of it all.“History has never been uncontested,” said Joel Breakstone, a former Stanford History Education Group director who co-founded the group.‘A fundamentally good country’In 2026, teachers like Vriesman, whose district sits south of Grand Rapids, Michigan, must also help students understand U.S. history through the lens of new federal immigration policies that undermine their sense of “created equal.” The area has seen several immigration raids and arrests, prompting students recently to walk out of school in protest.Nonetheless, he said, each year he is impressed with his students’ willingness to embrace the Declaration’s ideals before he even tackles the document itself. His school district is among the most diverse in Michigan, with students from around the globe, bringing different religions, worldviews and life stories to class. But when pressed to share their beliefs, he said, virtually all hold “basic Enlightenment values.”All of his students, “from Somalia to farm country,” say they agree that people should be able to raise their families how they’d like and not be afraid to live in a society based on who they are or where they hail from.Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness — “They literally create this before they even know what the Declaration of Independence really is,” he said.That’s despite the fact that many students when they’re younger learn something more akin to a “founding myth” than actual U.S. history, said one of his students, 18-year-old Christina Le.“The founders are really seen as mythological figures in a sense, and they’re portrayed as more heroic,” she said. “But when you start studying them more, you see them more as flawed human beings who eventually brought that into the Constitutional Convention, even though they were trying to create these ideals.”Le, whose parents emigrated from Vietnam around 1999, said it’s important to understand the founders as “men who were created through the context of the Revolutionary War.” They fought the war based on ideals of liberty, she said, but refused to acknowledge the broader issue of whose liberty they were fighting for. “And we’re kind of still seeing the effects today.”Her classmate, 17-year-old Hawathiya Mulual, said she began thinking deeply about liberty and equal rights in middle school. She was just 11 in 2020, when police in Minneapolis killed George Floyd, triggering a racial reckoning nationwide around the use of police force on people of color.The child of Sudanese and Ethiopian refugees, Mulual said her interest in U.S. history and government took root “when you saw justice was so hard to achieve. Why was it so hard to condemn those police officers involved?”The 250th anniversary takes place at a time when history itself is under extreme political pressure. President Donald Trump last year signed an executive order pushing schools to promote “patriotic education,” and the U.S. Department of Education recently announced grants designed to promote “informed patriotism and love of country.” Matthew Hatcher // Getty Images Museums have protested as the administration pushes to rewrite historical displays to downplay the role of slavery. In Philadelphia, the National Park Service in January removed a set of large explanatory panels detailing the U.S. slave trade at the President’s House Site, where both George Washington and John Adams once lived. The city sued, and a federal judge, likening the administration to the propaganda-spewing Ministry of Truth in George Orwell’s “1984,” ordered the display to be reinstated while litigation over the move continues.While 2026 may seem for many a far cry from the U.S. bicentennial celebration in 1976, when the nation came together for fireworks, concerts and parades of tall ships, the Revolution Museum’s Putnam noted that politics divided those celebrations, too. The festivities of 1976, he said, fell on the heels of massive American traumas, such as the 1960s fight for civil rights, the end of the Vietnam War in 1975 and the Watergate scandal, which forced President Richard Nixon to resign in 1974. Tony Korod // Sygma via Getty Images What’s perhaps different, he said, is that this time around, a generation of historic scholarship has uncovered narratives of Native American, Black and women’s voices as part of the nation’s founding. “Even though those people were advocating for inclusion in 1976, there wasn’t the sort of social or scholarly body of material to say, ‘Oh, you’re interested in Black soldiers? Here’s a book that will help you tell a Revolutionary story.’”All the same, Trump has taken the opportunity to assert that U.S. students are “taught in school to hate their own country, and to believe that the men and women who built it were not heroes, but villains,” placing teachers in a political bind that’s mostly undeserved, said Brian Kisida, an associate professor at the University of Missouri and codirector of its Arts, Humanities, & Civic Engagement Lab.Kisida recalled giving a recent keynote address to the Missouri Council for Social Studies and wandering around the conference, listening in on teachers’ talks. “I thought there would be a little bit more left-wing-coded stuff” on offer, he recalled. “I didn’t see any of it.”Actually, he said, he was impressed with many of the presentations. “I would categorize most of the stuff as actually really damned good,” he said.Kisida’s recent research suggests that how U.S. history is taught these days can’t easily be reduced to a definitive narrative. On the one hand, a 2025 Education First survey found more than 1 in 3 high schoolers say their teachers “often” or “almost daily” argue that America is a fundamentally racist nation. But more than half say their teachers regularly discuss the progress made toward racial equality since the 1970s.He has also found that teachers, as a group, are actually more pro-America than the general public with 62% saying the U.S. is “a fundamentally good country.” Just 55% of adults overall said the same. The Education Next survey led by Kisida also found that 82% of teachers say it’s important for kids to learn about the U.S. Constitution and its core values, versus 75% of adults more broadly.But Kisida, who studies civics education, said familiarity with the Constitution is not enough. Holding up a pocket-sized Constitution, he said, “The people that stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, lots of them had these in their pockets.” Brent Stirton // Getty Images To go deeper, he said, we’ve got to understand why it’s important to enshrine ideas such as the separation of powers. “We have to do a better job of explaining why these principles embedded in the Constitution and other American values are actually essential to democratic life and sustaining the American experiment.”‘The whole story of our founding’Vriesman, the Michigan history teacher, said that while teachers in most places worry about the school board looking over their shoulder, on a day-to-day basis they’re more worried about keeping students engaged. And most students, he said, can easily see through patriotic narratives. “If we describe a world to them that doesn’t actually resonate with their reality — some of the overly patriotic, ‘You have to know about these 10 guys who solved all the world’s problems’ — that’s not a compelling argument.”His student Le laughed when asked about “patriotic history.” “I don’t really know how else to put it, but I think it’s stupid,” she said. Part of the fun of studying history is studying “struggle and resistance” — and the art, music and culture that they produce.“You don’t really love America and American ideals if you decide to ignore everything that America has done to rectify these issues that have been there since the beginning,” Le said. “I think that’s really the beauty of history. How boring would it be to only see one perspective, only one idea, that America has always been like this?”By now, most students are well aware of the founders’ inconsistencies, said Will Colglazier, a history teacher at Aragon High School in San Mateo, California. They know that many were slaveholders who espoused equality but had a narrow conception of who it was for.To deepen their understanding, he asks his students to double down on the details and read “a ton of documents” that, for instance, juxtapose Thomas Jefferson’s views on liberty with his views on slavery and race. They read a letter in which he writes of whipping one of his slaves.“You can’t unsee that,” Colglazier said. “You can’t un-know that once you read it. And I think that is something that’s new to them. It becomes more real and interesting.”All the same, those details shouldn’t become a roadblock to learning about the founders, said Ian Rowe, CEO and co-founder of Vertex Partnership Academies, a charter school in New York’s South Bronx neighborhood. Courtesy of Matthew Vriesman In response to what he and others saw as incomplete portrayals of U.S. history, he helped create 1776 Unites, which highlights stories of Black achievement from throughout our history. Rowe is also a senior fellow at the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute, but the curriculum is not associated with the overtly conservative 1776 curriculum developed by Hillsdale College.“You have to tell the whole story of our founding,” Rowe said, “warts and all. And you have to show how documents like The Declaration, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, all of it, have enabled the country to move in a direction that is unparalleled in the world.”At Vertex, students each morning stand and recite the preamble to the Constitution: “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”Those 52 words are key to the school’s mission of self-improvement, said Rowe. They point to a key truth: “We are active participants in the development of our society,” he said. “We are active participants in securing the blessings of liberty. It’s not left to someone else.”This article was co-published with The 19th, a nonprofit newsroom reporting on gender, politics, policy and power.This story was produced by The 74 and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.
	The Other Brothers, June 28 Fronted by guitarist, harmonica player, and vocalist Eli Clark, who performs alongside bassist Johnny Parrish and drummer Jason Kadiwhompus, the acclaimed blues artists of The Other Brothers perform at Davenport's Gypsy Highway Bar & Grill on June 28, their exhilarating concert set co-presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society.
	Radkey, June 27 Performing locally in support of their sophomore album Green Room and singles including "Games (Tonight)," "Better Than This," and "Strays," the sibling punk rockers of Radkey headline a June 27 concert at Rock Island's RIBCO, the young musicians praised by Atwood magazine for their “thick, slick rock and roll sound built on power chords and hypnotic vocal melodies.”
	“Dancing Queen: Songs of ABBA,” July 1 On July 1, audiences at Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse are invited to sing, dance, and relive the golden age of pop with Dancing Queen: The Songs of ABBA, a celebration of joy, sparkle, and nostalgia featuring such unforgettable tines as "Waterloo," "The Winner Takes It All," "Fernando," and the timeless "Mamma Mia."
	“Go Your Own Way: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac,” July 2 Celebrating the beloved pop and rock band responsible for sales of more than 120 million to date, the touring concert event Go Your Own Way: A Tribute to Fleetwood Mac comes to Rock Island's Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse on July 2, taking audiences through a tour of the ensemble's classics from their Great Britain origins to their American debut and the addition of Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham.
	Julie Doiron, June 26 Hailed by Pitchfork as an artist who "has remarkable control over her voice, folding simple sentences like origami to reveal surprising detail," Canadian singer/songwriter Julie Doiron headlines a June 26 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, The Guardian adding that in her most recent album I Thought of You, Doiron's "smoky vocals blend hope with pain on this laid-back album of lost love and new beginnings."
	Iraqi soccer fans celebrate end of 40-year World Cup drought The Iraq national men's team hasn't played a World Cup in 40 years; a drought that ends Tuesday night, to the excitement of soccer fans in Dearborn, Michigan, home to a large Iraqi diaspora.
	Pa. school nurses push for more staffing support, funding Rep. Lisa Borowski (D-Delaware) pushes to increase school nurse staffing on June 16, 2026. (Photo by Whitney Downard/Pennsylvania Capital-Star) Natalie Javitt is a Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association intern. Middle school nurse Kacie Blum said she had nearly 12,000 visits to her office this past academic year, seeing 60 to 75 students a day. Blum’s local urgent care sees around 35 patients a day with multiple providers on staff, she said. Providing care for students with diabetes, cystic fibrosis and cerebral palsy, along with working on individualized health plans and clinics, are a few things Blum is tasked with each day. But she said it’s only possible for her to deliver consistent and reliable care if she has the time and capacity to do it. “There’s little room for a bathroom break, a lunch break or the planning periods I’m supposed to have for the administrative side of my day,” said Blum, who received the 2025-2026 School Nurse Excellence Award for Pennsylvania’s South Central Region. Pennsylvania is one of 12 states that has a school nurse staffing mandate. Other states like Alabama and Vermont require there be one school nurse for every 500 students. Blum, who works at York Suburban Middle School in York County, was one of 20 school nurses who traveled to the Capitol Tuesday to demand an update to Pennsylvania’s 75-year-old public school code governing nurse-to-student ratios and state funding for medical needs. A House bill proposed by Rep. Lisa Borowski (D-Delaware) would increase reimbursement rates and the required number of nurses per student in schools. Currently, the code prescribes one school nurse per 1,500 students. That ratio would be cut in half to one nurse for every 750 students under Borowski’s House Bill 2285, bringing it in line with CDC recommendations. Pennsylvania reimburses public schools for health service costs with a flat funding structure. The bill also seeks to increase this reimbursement rate by 30% per the average number of students to offset rising medical and service costs. And it proposes limiting reimbursement to the school’s cost for providing care. Borowski proposed the bill after meeting Leigh Ann Coary, a school nurse in the Tredyffrin/Easttown School District, that raised her concerns about nurses being stretched too thin. On an average day, Coary said, she sometimes sees more than 100 students, making it challenging to meet their individual needs and multitask. “If I’m dealing with a medically-fragile student, I cannot also be in another hallway responding to an allergic reaction,” Coary said. “If I’m on the phone with a parent about a student in crisis, I cannot simultaneously be running to an emergency. When we are shortstaffed the question becomes, ‘Who is left waiting?’” Coary said school nursing laws should be updated to better reflect the unpredictability and variety of health crises students experience today. The bill modernizes reimbursement instead of relying on an outdated funding system, but policies won’t matter if staffing shortages aren’t addressed, she said. Coary continued that nurses need to be recruited and retained by school districts so they don’t have to cover as many students. Delaware County school nurse Leigh Ann Coary raised concerns about staffing ratios to Democrat Rep. Lisa Borowski, inspiring proposed legislation. (Photo by Natalie Javitt/Pennsylvania Capital-Star) The nursing shortage is a national issue felt in the state, with a survey finding a 19% vacancy rate for registered nurses in Pennsylvania hospitals. Borowski said she expects the shortage to factor into lawmakers’ deliberations over the bill. But she said the staffing ratio ensures children have access to care even amid the shortage, and increasing funding would improve care by actually covering costs. “I don’t know how one person can accommodate the needs of so many students in one day,” Borowski said. Blum said increasing reimbursement rates is more cost effective than paying litigation costs should something go wrong if there aren’t enough nurses to help in an emergency. She said Pennsylvania’s school code is archaic and written for a different era, as the last time the reimbursement structure for school health funding was updated was in 1991. “The work I do inside the walls of my school trickles out into my students’ homes and the streets of their neighborhoods,” said Whitney Roach, a nurse from Philadelphia County. “School nurses are uniquely qualified and trusted to improve the health and well being, not just of schools, but of entire communities.” The House Education Committee passed the bill with a party line vote in March. Courtesy of Pennsylvania Capital-Star
	Neptune's Core, June 27 With the artists, according to WLUW, "bringing young, bright energy to the Chicago music scene," the alternative rockers of Neptune's Core headline a June 27 concert at Davenport's Raccoon Motel, the band's latest album Called Upon praised by Unclear Magazine as "a collection for growth, pain, joy, and everything in between."
	Carolina Liar, July 2 With the band's album Coming to Terms hailed by Consequence of Sound as a recording that "screams like a banshee leaping out of it’s cage and tasting freedom for the first time," vocalist/guitarist Chad Wolf and drummer Brian Ulery bring their touring outfit Carolina Liar to Davenport's Raccoon Motel on July 2, Blender adding that the artists' debut LP was "a handful of skyscraping, modern-rock behemoths."
	Resignation, rescinded: Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest to stay on Richard Charest is shown at a Rhode Island House Committee on Finance hearing on Feb. 3, 2026, related to the sale of Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital to the Centurion Foundation. (Photo by Michael Salerno/Rhode Island Current)Rhode Island Health and Human Services Secretary Richard Charest isn’t retiring after all. At least, not on July 3, as McKee’s office previously announced. Details of the reversal were first reported in a June 10 social media post by the Providence Journal’s Katherine Gregg and confirmed independently by Rhode Island Current. Kerri White, a spokesperson for the umbrella health and human services agency, said the decision came from “thoughtful discussions” between the agency and McKee’s team about the need for continuity in the leadership team. “With major priorities underway – including new federal laws impacting Medicaid, the Rural Health Transformation Project, and the long-term acute care hospital work – maintaining stable leadership is important,” White said in an email. Charest was unavailable to comment. McKee said he asked Charest, 74, to “stay as long as he could,” praising his cabinet leader for his five-year record with the state, first at the Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, and then as head of the sweeping health and human services agency that encompasses a $5 billion Medicaid program along with social and health programs for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents: children, low-income families, veterans and people with mental health needs and disabilities. “I asked him to come on for a year, it’s been five years so he’s given me more than I asked for,” McKee said in an interview Friday. “But I said, ‘Look, stay on as long as you can, we’ve got some things we need to address.’” As he continues in his $238,597-a-year job, Charest will be charged with keeping track of state spending of the $156 million federal grant for rural healthcare, along with implementing massive policy and funding changes for federal Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance programs. In announcing his retirement in April, McKee’s office praised Charest for distributing grants to primary care practices, coordinating overdose prevention efforts and setting up an outpatient behavioral health program. But Charest faced criticism last fall for reaching out to Prime Healthcare, his former employer and owner of Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, to gauge its interest in buying Roger Williams Medical Center and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital when a deal was already pending to another operator. Charest served as president and CEO of Landmark from 2007 to 2017, including through its receivership and sale to Prime. McKee on Friday referenced their shared Woonsocket connections — the governor ran a health and fitness center in Woonsocket for 30 years — as the start of their relationship. “I know him personally,” McKee said. “He’s done good work.” The McKee administration had not begun interviewing candidates to replace Charest, with the temporary plan to promote someone internally as an acting secretary akin to the Rhode Island Department of Transportation, McKee said. Bob Rocchio took over as interim director of the transportation department in March after longtime director Peter Alviti Jr. retired. McKee did not say how long Charest will extend his tenure with the state but suggested it may be short. “We’re going to extend it a little bit and we’ll see what happens,” he said. A new timeline for Charest to retire has not been determined, White said in an email Monday. Charest, who has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Northeastern University and a master’s degree in health care administration from Bryant University, also runs his own consulting firm, 180 Degree Solutions LLC, according to his 2025 financial disclosure statement filed with the Rhode Island Ethics Commission. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX. Courtesy of Rhode Island Current

Wednesday, June 17th, 2026

Tuesday, June 16th, 2026