Health
U.S. sues Pensacola furniture store, insurance company, over vaccine mandates
The federal government has filed lawsuits against two companies for refusing to grant religious exemptions to workplace COVID vaccine mandates, including one case involving a worker in Florida. That matter involves an assistant manager at a Hank’s Furniture store in Pensacola, which fired the worker on Oct. 31, 2021, after rejecting her request for a […]
Government shutdown won’t affect health care or most benefits for veterans, VA says
WASHINGTON — Veterans who rely on government health care and other assistance can continue to see their doctors and receive education and pension benefits despite a possible, and likely imminent, partial shutdown that will temporarily cease many federal operations. The Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday released guidance on what functions will continue and not […]
DeSantis betrays Florida, insists the solution to climate change is burning more fossil fuel
Back when dinosaurs ruled the earth and I was in high school, I was part of a singing group that traveled around to Panhandle churches and performed religious songs. No, really! I’m not making that up! No one would have confused me with Andrae Crouch. You could accurately describe my singing style as “monotone baritone.” […]
FL among states with highest rate of adults under 65 without healthcare, CDC survey says
Florida is the second state with the highest rate of adults under 65 who say they don’t have any kind of healthcare coverage, according to newly released data from a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey. The CDC released on Tuesday 2022 data from its Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System telephone survey, which tracks […]
The farm bill is on the verge of expiring. Congress is months away from a new version
WASHINGTON — As the deadline for Congress to pass a new farm bill looms this weekend, staff members of the House and Senate Agriculture committees say it will be months – if not longer – until they reach agreement on a new bill. Lawmakers must rewrite the sweeping farm bill every five years to set […]
Health departments in other states are giving out the new COVID-19 shot. Will Florida?
As Gov. Ron DeSantis campaigns on COVID-19 vaccine distrust, local health departments in other states have started doling out the updated shot. Meanwhile, the Florida Department of Health has not made public any plans to follow suit. Two weeks have passed since Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo advised people under 65 to skip the updated vaccine […]
As child poverty doubles, states launch or expand their own tax credits
The federal pandemic-era child tax credit expansion lifted millions of children out of poverty in the second half of 2021. But Congress allowed it to expire at the end of that year, and new U.S. census data shows the child poverty rate more than doubled in 2022, erasing the record gains that were made. “It wasn’t surprising […]
Anti-abortion Democrat runs for president to show graphic imagery in campaign ads
The morning of March 25, 2022, had started out like any other workday for Terrisa Bukovinac, as she and fellow anti-abortion activist Lauren Handy headed over to protest the Washington Surgi-Clinic in Washington, D.C. — until they asked the driver of a medical waste truck for a box that would change their lives. Inside that […]
Gerontocracy in U.S politics endangers the country
For the second time in two months, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suffered some type of health crisis, stiffening and freezing up during a press conference. McConnell – one of the longtime political powerhouses of the U.S Senate – was unable to answer questions directed to him. In each case, he stood motionless at a […]
Tuberville opponents plant hundreds of signs outside U.S. Capitol in protest of blockade
WASHINGTON — More than 300 signs dotted the lawn outside the U.S. Senate Tuesday, each bearing the name of a military nominee blocked this year by Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama in protest of a Pentagon abortion policy. Multiple Democratic senators delivered comments Tuesday at the sign installation organized by the progressive VoteVets Political Action Committee, which […]
Michigan congresswoman pushes ‘Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights’
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, re-introduced legislation Tuesday aimed at improving the lives of U.S. restaurant workers. The “Restaurant Workers Bill of Rights” would raise wages and improve work conditions for restaurant staff. Tlaib, who also pushed this legislation last year, held a press conference Tuesday alongside U.S. House colleagues and […]
A men’s movement takes reins in a nationwide quest to end abortion
Wendell Shrock doesn’t believe in condoms. “We should leave the uterus to God,” the street preacher from Tennessee tells States Newsroom in front of an abortion clinic outside of Atlanta, mid-morning in late July. Sweat drips from his cowboy hat into his salt-and-pepper beard that stretches halfway down his red-plaid shirt. The retired police officer […]