Western Wildfires Are Spinning Off Tornadoes—Here’s How Fires Create Their Own Freakish Weather
COMMENTARY | A 2018 fire tornado in California produced winds of more than 143 miles per hour.
Trump Is Sending Fast, Cheap Covid Tests to Nursing Homes—But There’s a Hitch
Experts are split on the utility of rapid tests to detect the disease in asymptomatic patients, which some say could blunt their effectiveness as officials try to halt future spread of the coronavirus in nursing homes.
This Rural Town Swelled With Immigrants. But Will the Census Count Them?
“They’ve saved our community,” Milan, Minnesota's mayor says about a group of people from the Federated States of Micronesia now living in his small town.
Second Night of Unrest in Wisconsin City After Police Shooting of Black Man
STATE AND LOCAL NEWS ROUNDUP | A look at local and state government ties to Idaho militias … Colorado interstate reopens after two-week wildfire closure … Connecticut city to name sewer plant after John Oliver.
Poll: State and Local Governments Get Way Better Marks than Feds for Handling Virus
The survey shows Americans’ approval of the state and local pandemic response fell this month, but it’s still nowhere near the dismal reviews the Trump administration or Congress gets.
Florida’s Cautionary Tale: How Gutting and Muzzling Public Health Fueled Covid Fire
Even as Florida's population grew over the last decade, Florida slashed the funding of local health departments, leaving them with less staff to respond to the pandemic. And some were then told not to speak.
Louisiana Braces for Back-to-Back Hurricanes in Coming Days
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Montana governor seeks help of judge to remove head of public land management … New York City mayor says there is no timeline for indoor dining … California governor did not take pay cut when he said he would.
Minnesota Lawsuit is Latest to Challenge a Face Mask Mandate
Across the country, state and local directives imposing face mask requirements have been met with repeated court challenges.
A Showdown Over Returning to the Classroom
An Iowa school district and teachers union have sued the governor over her mandate requiring schools to reopen for in-person instruction.
Protests Arrive Outside Mayors’ Front Doors
The homes of public officials have become magnets for protests. Not all mayors are pleased.
One State Launches Online Tool to Help Residents Gauge Risk of Exposure to Covid-19
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services launched the "Decision Tool" after contact-tracing data showed an increase in the number of positive coronavirus cases linked to mass gatherings.
For Election Administrators, Death Threats Have Become Part of the Job
In a polarized society, the bureaucrats who operate the machinery of democracy are taking flak from all sides. More than 20 have resigned or retired since March 1, thinning their ranks at a time when they are most needed.
Curbside Pickup Is a Lifeline for Eateries. How Long Can It Last?
At least 100 cities have set up curbside pickup zones for restaurants.
Uber and Lyft Won't Suspend California Service, as Court Grants Reprieve in Labor Law Case
STATE AND LOCAL ROUNDUP | Los Angeles shuts off utilities at “party house” … New Jersey women in prison can pursue lawsuit over abuse … Alaska tribe sues over fishing rights.
Universities Suspend Students, Bust Parties to Enforce Covid-19 Rules
Some universities are reconsidering their decisions to hold in-person classes amid the coronavirus pandemic while others are cracking down on student life.
A Town Turns to Analytic Modeling—and Data-Sharing—to Improve Flood Monitoring
The town of Cary, N.C., is launching a new flood-monitoring system that uses analytic modeling to predict near-term flooding. The data is shared with neighboring communities, warning officials that downstream flooding could be heading their way.
Michigan to Pay Flint Residents $600 Million in Water Crisis Settlement
Tainted water exposed children to dangerous levels of lead and left residents using bottled water for cooking, cleaning, and drinking for years. Now it’s time for the state to “do what it can,” said Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Meatpacking Companies Dismissed Years of Warnings but Now Say Nobody Could Have Prepared for COVID-19
In documents dating to 2006, government officials predicted that a pandemic would threaten critical businesses and warned them to prepare. Meatpacking companies largely ignored them, and now nearly every one of the predictions has come true.
COVID Plans Put to Test as Firefighters Crowd Camps for Peak Wildfire Season
Any outbreak that ripples through a camp could easily sideline crews and spread the virus across multiple fires.
Black History Instruction Gets New Emphasis in Many States
Some state social studies curriculums infuse the Black experience.
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies
Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link
If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.
Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.
If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.
Cookie List
A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:
Strictly Necessary Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Functional Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Performance Cookies
We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.
Sale of Personal Data
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Social Media Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.
Targeting Cookies
We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.