The States

This episode of The States covers a new voters' poll on student loan debt risk, a Fauci diary entry showing his influence on Gov. Roy Cooper's 2020 North Carolina school reopening delay, Second Amendment litigation developments including a Supreme Court gun ban case and NRA bus tour, Illinois' new e-bike safety law, Virginia and Arizona communities reconsidering Flock camera contracts, Pennsylvani...

Greg Bishop covers where Meta's $17 billion state settlement money could go, how tariffs are driving up back-to-school costs, New York City's extended deadline on its second-home tax amid ongoing litigation, inflation's status as voters' top midterm concern, what to expect from the Fed chair this week, and headlines from Pennsylvania, California, and Missouri. States are beginning to learn how muc...

On this episode of The States, mail-in ballots, ICE cooperation, student visas, inflation, Meta's $17.1 billion settlement, SpaceX's $100 billion Louisiana facility, and new midterm polling. A new The Center Square's Voters' Voice poll finds 63% of registered voters are concerned about the growth of socialism in American politics, with New York Governor Kathy Hochul and NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani we...

The Trump administration announced a 90-day suspension allowing 300,000 metric tons of imported beef at 25% below current market prices to lower grocery costs, drawing criticism from cattle ranchers and rural-state lawmakers who say the move won't meaningfully lower prices given the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low. Noble Predictive Insights' Voters' Voice poll (2,500 registered voters, Aug. 1...

Florida Tax Watch launched a Property Tax Resource Center to help voters evaluate a November constitutional amendment that would raise the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028, cutting local government revenue by an estimated $12 billion annually within five years. Florida Tax Watch's Kurt Wenner said the measure doesn't restrict local governments from raising mi...

The U.S. national debt topped $40 trillion Wednesday, up from $39 trillion just five months ago, with the government adding more than $90,000 per second and fiscal year 2026 deficit spending projected to hit $2 trillion. Watchdog groups called the figure "intergenerational theft," noting the U.S. now spends more on debt interest than national defense, while House Budget Committee Chairman Jodey Ar...

A Center Square investigation found the NEA spent more than $51 million and the AFT more than $41 million on political activities and lobbying in 2025, with both unions contributing thousands of dollars each to all 16 Democratic members of the U.S. Committee on Education and Labor and no contributions to any Republican committee member. Maryland's Tax Court struck down the state's five-year-old di...

President Trump said he'll declare the Strait of Hormuz a U.S. territory after defeating Iran, but no federal agency — including the Department of War — has provided a cost estimate for controlling the waterway, which runs through Iranian and Omani territorial waters that neither country is offering to cede. Gas prices have climbed to $4.06 a gallon nationally, up from $4.01 a week earlier and $3....

A new Urban Institute tool tracking 2023 data found large gaps between eligibility and enrollment in means-tested programs — SNAP had the highest participation rate nationally at about 57-60%, while LIHEAP had the lowest at 17%, with wide state-by-state variation. Senior fellow Linda Giannarelli said non-participation stems from lack of awareness, application hurdles, and underestimating one's own...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, In the past decade, government grants to nonprofits and the number that receive tax money has doubled, raising questions about whether public money is being wasted. Illinois state officials awarded more than $170,000 in taxpayer money to a nonprofit that paid for PTSD injections that don't have strong evidence backing them up. The U.S. Supreme Court...

Hillsdale professor Richard Samuelson discussed the distinction between inalienable rights and government-granted privileges, tracing the Bill of Rights' 1791 ratification and how it secured broader public support for the Constitution. Samuelson said modern technology and past emergencies have repeatedly tested constitutional protections, and warned that civil rights-era government oversight of as...

Facing scrutiny over surveillance concerns and security breaches, Flock announced it's cutting license plate data retention from 30 to 7 days, adding an "evidence mode" for active investigations, letting cities restrict which offense categories other agencies can search, and requiring all customers to adopt upgraded audit-log tools by year's end. CEO Garrett Langley said Flock also added automatic...

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley won Wisconsin's Democratic gubernatorial nomination despite having dropped out of the race, defeating Rep. Francesca Hong and setting up a November matchup against Republican Tom Tiffany, while Sen. Amy Klobuchar won Minnesota's Democratic nomination to face House Speaker Lisa DeMuth. In Connecticut, former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin defeated 78-year-old, 1...

Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut, Vermont, and Alabama held primaries under widely varying voter ID requirements, with attorney Stephen Kaufman arguing that federal and state voter-ID/citizenship-documentation efforts amount to voter suppression rather than integrity measures. The U.S. Senate's Save America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship for federal voter registration,...

The Liberty Justice Center filed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to review a Fourth Circuit ruling that upheld a Maryland school district's policy requiring teachers to use students' preferred pronouns without notifying parents, citing conflict with the Court's earlier ruling in Mirabelli v. Bonta. The group also sent demand letters to Washington, Illinois, New York, and New Jersey over s...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, thirty-one states have opted in to the federal Education Freedom  Scholarship Program, while 19 states and Washington, D.C. have not, ahead of the January 2027 deadline.  California Gov. Gavin Newsom and his wife released the last four years of tax returns late last week, providing a glimpse into their financial life over the last four years of News...

Confidential documents show nearly two dozen state attorneys general, including 21 Democrats, signed a plan as early as April 2024 — nine months before Trump took office — to coordinate litigation against his administration, with a former Republican AG calling the practice a politicized waste of resources. A federal judge in Texas ruled the NFA's registration requirement for short-barreled rifles...

Yesterday several states went to the polls to decide primary contests ahead of November's midterm election. Progressive Abdul El-Sayed defeated Rep. Haley Stevens by roughly 16,000 votes in Michigan's Democratic primary and will face Trump-endorsed Republican Mike Rogers, who leads recent polling 46.7% to 42.3%, in November. In Virginia, retired Army Major General Bert Mizusawa won the Republican...

Former Seattle Police Chief Sean Barnes resigned following communication breakdowns after a mass shooting at the Bite of Seattle Festival left three dead, with public records showing a five-hour delay before officials held a press conference. Text messages obtained by The Center Square show Washington Governor Bob Ferguson was not responsible for the delay, while reporting also revealed Barnes doe...

Welcome to The Center Square Radio Hour, your source for taxpayer centric straight news from across America. I’m your host greg bishop. Be sure to follow all of today’s stories at The Center Square dot com. On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour,   Democratic party fundraising organization ActBlue continues to be scrutinized after questionable campaign contributions are investigated.   Pr...

Seattle's police chief resigns after criticism over the city's response to a deadly mass shooting, raising new questions about public safety and government accountability. Plus, a new national report grades colleges on free speech, New York Governor Kathy Hochul pushes new gun restrictions, Wisconsin's Act 10 returns to court, and President Trump launches the Freedom Haulers initiative to help vet...

The States with Greg Bishop covers today's biggest political and economic headlines from across the country. In this episode: The U.S. Senate prepares to vote on holding Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress following his testimony before lawmakers. Florida launches an investigation into Fauci after the congressional hearing. Illinois ethics investigations continue as lawmakers examine corrupt...

President Donald Trump defends his tariff policy and discusses the conflict with Iran as the Federal Reserve prepares for a critical interest rate decision. We also examine questions surrounding ActBlue donations, hear from Republican Illinois U.S. Senate candidate Don Tracy, and break down the economic pressures shaping the 2026 election. In today's episode: Trump's latest comments on tariffs, ma...

Could taxpayers spend millions of dollars prosecuting animal rights activists who say they were trying to rescue abused dogs? In this episode of The States, Greg Bishop examines the Wisconsin case involving Ridglan Farms, a commercial beagle breeder accused of animal cruelty, and the activists now facing felony burglary and theft charges after entering the property to remove dogs. Center Square in...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, Michigan regulators have approved key permits for Enbridge’s proposed Line 5 tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. In an effort to  escape the proposed California billionaire tax , several notable billionaires might have already cost the state more than $1 trillion in tax revenue by moving to other states, one attorney to the rich told The Center...