United States

United States


Gov. Laura Kelly calls for Medicaid expansion, offers tax cut plan that speeds up end of grocery tax

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly renewed her call Wednesday to expand Medicaid and countered an anticipated single-rate flat income tax for individuals with a plan that would instead cut taxes by doing things like accelerating the phasing out of the state’s sales tax on groceries.  Kelly said in her annual State of the State address that […]

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Tennessee governor, music leaders launch push to protect songwriters and other artists against AI

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee on Wednesday unveiled new legislation designed to protect songwriters, performers and other music industry professionals against the potential dangers of artificial intelligence. Lee made the announcement while standing in the middle of Nashville’s famed RCA Studio A, a location where legends such as Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson […]

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LGBTQ+ advocates’ lawsuit says Louisiana transgender care ban violates the state constitution

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawsuit to block enforcement of Louisiana’s new ban on transgender health care procedures for anyone under 18 was announced Monday by LGBTQ+ advocates. The lawsuit was prepared by Lambda Legal and others on behalf of five Louisiana minors and their parents, identified in the filings by pseudonyms. Lambda Legal said […]

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US retail mortgage lender loanDepot struggles with cyberattack

BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. retail mortgage lender loanDepot is struggling to recover from a cyberattack that impacted its loan processing and phone service. In a filing on Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said data was encrypted by the “unauthorized third party” who broke into company systems. It said certain unspecified […]

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Is Georgia’s election system constitutional? A federal judge will decide in trial set to begin

ATLANTA (AP) — Election integrity activists want a federal judge to order Georgia to stop using its current election system, saying it’s vulnerable to attack and has operational issues that could cost voters their right to cast a vote and have it accurately counted. During a trial set to start Tuesday, activists plan to argue […]

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Delaware hospital system will pay $47 million to settle whistleblower allegations of billing fraud

DOVER, Del. (AP) — Delaware’s largest hospital system will pay more than $47 million to settle whistleblower allegations by its former compliance officer that it provided kickbacks to outside doctors in return for patient referrals, resulting in fraudulent Medicaid billing.  The settlement announced Friday comes nearly seven years after Ronald Sherman filed his whistleblower lawsuit, […]

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Whistleblower allegation: Harvard muzzled disinfo team after $500 million Zuckerberg donation

A prominent disinformation scholar who left Harvard University in August has accused the school of muzzling her speech and stifling — then dismantling — her research team as it launched a deep dive in late 2021 into a trove of Facebook files she considers the most important documents in internet history. The actions impacting Joan […]

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Whistleblower says utility should repay $382 million in federal aid given to failed clean coal plant

ATLANTA (AP) — A former employee is suing to force a Mississippi utility to repay $382 million that the federal government gave to build a failed coal-fueled power plant. Kelli Williams, a former construction manager for Atlanta-based Southern Co., filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the company and its subsidiary Mississippi Power Co. in 2018. That […]

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States sue Meta claiming its social platforms are addictive and harm children’s mental health

Dozens of U.S. states, including California and New York, are suing Meta Platforms Inc. for harming young people and contributing to the youth mental health crisis by knowingly and deliberately designing features on Instagram and Facebook that addict children to its platforms.  A lawsuit filed by 33 states in federal court in California, claims that […]

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The Supreme Court leaves in place a court victory for PETA over North Carolina’s ag-gag law

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday rejected North Carolina’s appeal in a dispute with animal rights groups over a law aimed at preventing undercover employees at farms and other workplaces from taking documents or recording video. The justices left in place a legal victory for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in […]

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US appeals court to hear arguments over 2010 hush-money settlement of Ronaldo rape case in Vegas`

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo’s lawyer urged a U.S. appeals court Wednesday to reject an appeal and uphold stiff sanctions against a lawyer for a woman trying to force the international soccer star to pay millions more than the $375,000 in hush money he paid her after she accused him of raping her in […]

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Whistleblowers who reported Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI want court to continue lawsuit

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A group of whistleblowers who reported Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to the FBI said Monday they are not giving up their own legal fight against the Republican after his acquittal on corruption charges at his impeachment trial. Four of Paxton’s former advisers have asked the Texas Supreme Court to resume […]

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