Category: State News

Minnesota Trans Inmate Being Transferred to Female Prison, Awarded Nearly Half-Million Compensation

A transgender inmate, identifying as female, will soon be transferred to a women’s prison, Minnesota’s Department of Corrections (DOC) announced on Thursday. Christina Lusk is presently housed at the Minnesota Correctional Facility (MCF) in Moose Lake from a 2018 drug conviction. Since 2008, Lusk has identified as a woman. In 2022, Lusk sued the Minnesota…


Tennessee Bill Banning Drag Shows in Front of Children Unconstitutional: Federal Judge

The Tennessee law that prohibits drag shows in front of children is unconstitutional, a U.S. judge ruled on June 2. The Adult Entertainment Act “is both unconstitutionally vague and substantially overbroad,” U.S. District Judge Thomas Parker, a Trump appointee, said in the ruling. The law makes it a criminal offense for a person to “perform adult…


Hawaii Governor Signs Bill Barring Guns at Beaches, Hospitals

Hawaii’s governor on June 2 signed a bill that prohibits carrying guns at certain places, including beaches, hospitals, and movie theaters. The lengthy list of places at which gun possession is banned under SB1230 also includes nursing homes, restaurants that serve alcohol, and stadiums. Describing shootings as “a public health crisis,” Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat, said…


Bible Banned From Utah School District After Parent Issues Complaint

A number of schools in a Utah district removed the King James Version of the Bible from some library bookshelves after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a committee the Good Book contained “vulgar” or “violent” content for younger children, officials said Friday. The Davis School District—a public system with…


Utah School District Bans Bible in Some Schools

A number of schools in a Utah district removed the King James Version of the Bible from some library bookshelves after a parent frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools convinced a committee the Good Book contained “vulgar” or “violent” content for younger children, officials said Friday. The Davis School District—a public system with…


Houseboats Catch Fire at Popular Destination Lake Powell on Utah-Arizona Line

More than half a dozen house boats momentarily caught fire at a popular boating destination on the Utah-Arizona line on Friday, igniting while tourists and jet skiers stood by before the flames were extinguished. The decks of boats docked at Wahweap Marina on Lake Powell smoldered as black plumes of smoke wafted into the air…


America Needs a Transfusion – Part II

Commentary In Part I, I said China should not wake a sleeping elephant, that democracies are slow to react, but once aroused, their citizens united, those who attack them, Germany and Japan during WW II, soon wish they hadn’t. To this day the Persians wish they hadn’t attacked the Greeks at the plain of Marathon in 490 BC. Fearful…


Michael Jordan’s 1992 Olympic Practice Jersey up for Auction

LOS ANGELES—A sweat-stained jersey worn by U.S. basketball legend Michael Jordan in a practice session at the 1992 Olympic Games will hit the auction block in Los Angeles in June, estimated to sell at between $400,000 and $600,000. The white jersey with red, white and blue trim and ‘USA Basketball’ on the front is signed…


What to Know About the Case of the Missing Missouri ER Doctor Found Dead in Arkansas

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—A doctor in the Missouri Ozarks went missing for over a week until his body was found in an Arkansas lake. But the case remains shrouded in mystery as investigators have released few details to his family or the public. What’s Known So Far Dr. John Forsyth, 49, was last seen alive on…


Post-Mortem Exams Being Performed on 2 Dead Whales Seen Floating Off New York This Week

SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y.—Two dead humpback whales were spotted floating in the waters off New York this week, officials said, part of a troubling rise in whale deaths in the region. Necropsies were being performed Friday to determine what killed the two whales that were first seen Wednesday, one off eastern Long Island and one in Raritan…