Do you want updates on key elections during today's primaries? Get all the information you need with this Starter Pack generated by Bluesky, featuring relentless coverage from five of our outlets and one of our content partners. #ElectionDay bsky.app/starter-pack...

In Selma and Montgomery on Saturday, thousands are expected to raise their voices against Republicans diluting Black voting power throughout the South, organizers say. Rev. Bernice A. King and members of Congress are scheduled to attend. Follow the Alabama Reflector's ongoing coverage.

What's going on with Alabama's election as lawmakers try to change the voting district maps? Is there a primary next week, or ... ? The answer is yes. Reporter Andrea Tinker with the Alabama Reflector breaks it down for voters: alabamareflector.com/2026/05/13/q...

Tennessee's House Speaker Cameron Sexton is barring all 24 House Democrats from standing legislative committees and subcommittees as punishment for their protest of mid-decade redistricting eliminating the state's majority-Black congressional voting district.

If you haven't yet, sign up for Daybreak by States Newsroom — a 50-state view of the news every weekday morning. Free. No ads. No paywalls. Get the latest on redistricting in the wake of the Supreme Court's recent Voting Rights Act decision and more: www.newsfromthestates.com/newsletter/d...

Tennessee lawmakers passed a new voting map that splits the state’s last majority-minority House district in Memphis across three seats and favors the GOP in all nine US congressional districts in the state ahead of the midterms.

"Two bills that could change primary elections in Alabama — should federal courts allow the use of congressional and legislative maps previously ruled discriminatory – moved closer to passage Thursday, but not without major protests erupting in legislative committees." @alabamareflector.com

"The Trump administration sued Colorado over its law restricting large-capacity magazines for rifles a day after it sued Denver over its assault weapons ban." Lindsey Toomer with @coloradonewsline.com reports:

Alabama's AG is calling for the court to lift a block on the state redrawing congressional districts, citing last week's Supreme Court ruling that weakened a key section of the Voting Rights Act meant to prevent discriminatory voting maps:

A Tennessee congressional map redrawn by Republicans with direction from the White House cuts Shelby County into 3 districts designed to give the GOP complete control over the state... "We’re getting screwed," said Memphis resident Martin Johnson. "It’s trying to split up and dilute the Black vote."

Hundreds turned out for a protest at the Alabama Capitol today, calling the special session on potential redistricting unconstitutional and demanding the state's maps be preserved.

Tennessee House Republicans adopted rules to limit public comment and bar anyone who disrupts meetings from the redistricting session as hundreds showed up to protest at the Capitol. They also voted down proposals to make new maps available to the public for 72 hours:

The Supreme Court's decision today weakening the Voting Rights Act "could reverberate for decades. The court’s conservative majority significantly curtailed the consideration of race when drawing legislative maps." States Newsroom's D.C. Bureau reports: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/us-s...

ICE moved detainees out of an overcrowded Arizona facility before a congressional oversight visit, records show. Lawmakers announced their visit, and the population at the Mesa holding center dropped sharply — then climbed again almost immediately after the inspection. The Arizona Mirror reports:

"Millions of women could face new challenges to voting under President Donald Trump’s SAVE America Act ... The proposal holds potentially outsized consequences for millions of married and divorced women, transgender individuals and others who have changed their names."

Rodricus Lewis, a Navy veteran, died in an Arkansas jail awaiting trial and treatment. “Jailed in Crisis” tells his story, revealing the potentially deadly consequences of Arkansas’ overburdened jail and health care systems. From @arkansasadvocate.com / Investigative Reporting Lab at Yale:

“Jailed in Crisis,” a special series from the Investigative Reporting Lab at Yale and Arkansas Advocate, reveals the potentially deadly consequences of Arkansas’ overburdened jail and health care systems. @arkansasadvocate.com

From Tuscaloosa to Detroit, from Missoula to Tallahassee, we've got reporters on the ground across the country today bringing you the latest from #NoKings demonstrations. Keep up with the latest from @statesnewsroom.com on our live national feed: www.newsfromthestates.com/live-feed/no...

Rhetoric versus reality: The abortion pill — Whether in court briefings or before state policymakers, plenty of talking points about abortion medication are repeated that are not based on scientific fact or evidence. Some of the most common:

The anti-abortion movement has become increasingly frustrated with the Trump administration’s unwillingness to undo a Biden-era policy that allows abortion medication to be prescribed via telehealth. @sofiaresnick.bsky.social reports:

Public funding for crisis pregnancy centers has grown exponentially, but oversight hasn’t. States Newsroom’s investigation is ongoing. If you’ve had an experience with a crisis pregnancy center, please get in touch: [email protected]

Noem will no longer be DHS secretary, Trump announces. Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin to take her place:

Trauma. Missed diagnoses. Fear. Support. People describe their experiences with crisis pregnancy centers as part of our investigative series. Their stories in their own words:

More anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers are tapping into federal funds, such as grants for sex ed programs, teen pregnancy prevention dollars, and housing funds, States Newsroom found:

A States Newsroom investigation found 21 states funneled nearly half a billion dollars to faith-based crisis pregnancy centers. While the magnitude of funding is growing, oversight is not. From our series Billion Dollar Baby Bump:

North Little Rock voters encounter long waits, frustration at one polling place @arkansasadvocate.com @tessmvrbin.bsky.social

Primary in Arkansas today — follow along with the Arkansas Advocate team's live coverage all day long: @arkansasadvocate.com

"The Trump administration is using a law Congress passed in the 1990s after a wave of deadly violence at abortion clinics to prosecute demonstrators and reporters who were at a immigration-related church protest in Minneapolis." — @elishabrown.bsky.social: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

Trump’s border czar announced today an imminent end to the Minnesota surge, claiming success from the federal incursion that brought thousands of agents to the state, ignited massive resistance and resulted in two killings. via @minnesotareformer.com minnesotareformer.com/2026/02/12/b...

New Mexico's land commissioner calls for an investigation into allegations that two girls were buried in the hills surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch. via @patricklohmann.bsky.social / @sourcenm.com sourcenm.com/2026/02/10/n...

Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday said that he expects the federal immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota to wind down soon. via @minnesotareformer.com minnesotareformer.com/briefs/gov-w...

NEW: Tennessee’s speaker of the House took steps that allowed the owners of a payday lending company, Advance Financial, to keep using their stores to boost a now-defunct online sports betting enterprise. W/ @tennesseelookout.com

As regulators investigated a payday lender’s now-defunct sports gambling company, Action 247, Tennessee’s House speaker pushed to change the officials overseeing sports betting. by @friedmanadam5.bsky.social via @tennesseelookout.com & @propublica.org:

"My biggest concern is not having a way to contact someone if we need help, if my phone dies and the power still isn’t on," said Bethany Willard of Adamsville, in West Tennessee. @cstephenson.bsky.social reports on power outages and struggles to stay warm after a Tennessee ice storm.

"A retail worker arrested at a routine immigration check-in. A mother and a student, both asylum seekers, taken into custody. A civil engineer on a work visa and a corrections officer recruit ..." On the ICE crackdown in Maine: mainemorningstar.com/2026/01/23/a... via @mainemorningstar.com

"President Trump unleashed federal agents on Minnesota to be foot soldiers in a brutal retribution campaign that’s violating the most basic freedoms of the United States." Eight weeks under siege in Minnesota — from @minnesotareformer.com:

ICE officials "placed an asylum seeker who is eight months pregnant on a deportation flight Wednesday afternoon, even though she was in medical distress, her attorneys told States Newsroom," Ariana Figueroa reports. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/aclu...

The Trump administration seems intent on blocking local prosecutors from even bringing charges against the ICE officer minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/09/m...

Watch video: ICE officer fatally shoots driver through car window in Minneapolis minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/07/i...

"An ICE officer shot a woman driving an SUV through her car window in south Minneapolis on Wednesday morning. The person is dead, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security." minnesotareformer.com/2026/01/07/i...

After spending 20 years covering the Arkansas Capitol for The Associated Press, Andrew DeMillo is taking over as editor-in-chief of the Arkansas Advocate this week. #arpx

A law set to take effect tomorrow gives Texans the power to sue anyone involved in mailing abortion pills to the state, from drug companies to doctors. HB7 is the latest attempt to test shield laws. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/shie...

Five people answered a summons and paid traffic fines in a county courthouse in Tennessee last week. They emerged in shackles, detained by agents with their faces covered. The latest on ICE in traffic court from @anitawadhwani.bsky.social / @tennesseelookout.com:

A South Dakota-based tribal public broadcasting station— KILI-FM —is selling off its vinyl records. Staff there are concerned about the reliability of an annual funding process after Congress voted in July to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. via @southdakotasearchlight.com

Despite its strong safety record, a key abortion pill is the subject of several conflicting lawsuits. The latest on those cases from @sofiaresnick.bsky.social / @statesnewsroom.com:

A shift in mifepristone regulation could dramatically change abortion access throughout the country, and health advocates and litigators are closely watching how the FDA justifies any changes. By @sofiaresnick.bsky.social / @statesnewsroom.com www.newsfromthestates.com/article/fdas...

"A handful of county-level officials who were involved in a small-town Kansas newspaper raid in 2023 will pay a cumulative $3 million to three journalists and a city councilor ... the Marion County Sheriff’s Office also crafted a statement admitting regret." via @kansasreflector.com

Judges in two separate cases just ruled on the SNAP cutoff—which would start tomorrow—during the government shutdown. One judge said pausing the food program is illegal and another ordered officials to continue providing benefits. Story is developing: www.newsfromthestates.com/article/trum...

Food insecurity can bring heightened risks of preeclampsia, preterm birth and NICU admission, research shows. Without action from Congress, millions nationwide will be cut off from SNAP Saturday, including those who are pregnant or have young children. www.newsfromthestates.com/article/losi...

Looking for an editor for the award-winning news team at the Arkansas Advocate. Details about the job and info on how to apply here: