The States

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...

Gun ban debate in Virginia, Non-citizens on the voter rolls, and Pres. Trump touts the Ratepayer protection pledge. Virginia Citizens Defense League President Philip Van Cleave said two of four lawsuits against the state's assault firearm and magazine bans have won injunctions, with the broadest one (issued July 21) blocking all law enforcement and prosecutors statewide from enforcing the law. Van...

Congress debates budget reform, taxes can't make up U.S. deficit according to the Tax Foundation, New Orleans' prosecutor drops charges against Louisiana AG, and Nashville places moratorium on data centers. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee examined proposals to prevent government shutdowns, including a bipartisan Lankford-Hassan bill that would require Congress to stay in sessio...

Illinois Attorney General race, suspected Medicaid fraud, California's billionaires' tax, and governors' across the country speak. Illinois Republican AG candidate Bob Fioretti called for Democratic State Rep. Carol Ammons and her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, to resign following federal corruption charges against them, and said the incumbent AG's office has been too hands-off on p...

Arizona's primaries, AI in government transparency, Illinois FOID card challenge, Michigan's Line 5 project, and states with the best schools. Arizona voters are deciding primaries for governor, attorney general, and superintendent of public instruction, with polls suggesting Republican Andy Biggs will emerge as Governor Katie Hobbs' November opponent over David Schweikert.   Reveal's Jeff Wolff d...

A U.S. service member's remains were found in northern Iraq, bringing the death toll since the Iran conflict began on February 28 to 18, as CENTCOM conducted its ninth consecutive night of strikes and continues enforcing a naval blockade of Iranian ports. Gas prices have risen to just over $4 a gallon nationally, up from $3.14 a year ago, coinciding with the escalating conflict. In Illinois, Repub...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, first the Colorado Attorney General's Office refused to accept payment for public records related to their lawsuits. Then, they delayed processing the request until after Attorney General Phil Weiser secured the Democratic nomination for governor. Now, his office wants to charge a total of $5,129.88 for those same records, an increase of $4,840.29 c...

Tennessee corporate incentives, Arizona primaries next week, and wildfires across Canada send smoke through several states. Tennessee has awarded more than $760 million in grants to about 585 companies over eight years to attract jobs, including a $30 million grant to Starbucks for a new Nashville headquarters, drawing criticism from groups calling the program "corporate welfare." The state has cl...

The Illinois Attorney General's office spent more than $2 million on private attorneys in recent years, mostly defending two lawsuits against prison officials, despite having roughly 450 in-house attorneys. Several contracted firms and their attorneys donated to AG Kwame Raoul's campaigns, and a watchdog group says the contracts raise integrity concerns even though the donations were legal and com...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, The trusts that fund Social Security benefits for retired seniors, survivors and people with disabilities face insolvency in the next six years. Washington Attorney General's Office spokesman told reporters there was “no story”  about AGO and legislative communications over the millionaire's tax, dismissing the investigation as “misinformation” and...

Illinois gun ban upheld by Appeals court, new AI regulations, Gov. Newsom addresses DOJ investigation and takes aim at President Trump, school fraud nationwide, and tax holidays. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Illinois' assault weapons and magazine ban 2-1, with the case expected to move to the U.S. Supreme Court. Illinois' new AI regulation law requires large AI providers to publish...

Lawmaker indicted for wire fraud in Illinois, Texas utilities navigate challenges, Washington Attorney General Office staff emails, and Ph. D. Economist Orphe Divounguy discusses housing market. Illinois State Rep. Carol Ammons and her husband, Champaign County Clerk Aaron Ammons, were federally indicted on kickback and obstruction charges tied to campaign funds and taxpayer grants. The case has d...

President Trump says the U.S. will likely strike Iran again, casting doubt on the ceasefire and floating a new blockade on the Strait of Hormuz. Oil prices jump over 6% following renewed U.S.-Iran tensions.   North Carolina State Auditor Dave Boliek discusses the work of the Auditor's Office including using AI to uncover wasteful spending, including a $61 million bridge project with no constructio...

Free speech settlements, population shifts, unemployment trends, and AI safety legislation.   The Center Square's Kim Jarrett joins to discuss the University of Tennessee's board voting in June to pay $1.9 million to settle with a professor fired last September over a personal social media post about Charlie Kirk's death; the board cited cost savings and didn't address the free speech questions ra...

Government Accountability Office estimates billions lost to fraud, U.S. colleges educating Chinese state-linked executives, egg price fixing lawsuit, the end of DOGE, and Michigan passes a state budget. Sam Shulman, Director of Research at Strategy Risks, joins to discuss a report examining Missouri State University's MBA pipeline for Chinese state-linked executives. The program trained over 1,500...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision on Monday, ruled that states can accept and count mail-in ballots received after the federal Election Day. American voters overwhelmingly support their country’s founding ideals – yet the majority also believe that the U.S. is failing to live up to them, according to new polling.  About half of Americans are...

We mark America's 250th birthday with a look at the Declaration of Independence's origins, the economics of the 4th of July, state independence rankings, and a new poll on how Americans view the country's founding principles today.   Hillsdale College professor Richard Samuelson breaks down what really drove the Declaration of Independence — it wasn't just about tea taxes, but the fight for self-g...

Pennsylvania's teacher pension fund falling short, SCOTUS agrees to hear Illinois gun case, polling shows divide in voters' confidence in the future of democracy, and states' firework taxes. The Center Square's Mark Stricherz reports Pennsylvania's teacher pension fund is $41 billion short and only two-thirds funded, and the Pennsylvania Public School Retirement System blames private equity return...

SCOTUS upholds transgender athlete bans and defends birthright citizenship, Diana Russini traffic stop footage, state budget debates, and Trump's economic approval rating falling.  The U.S. Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender athletes in women's/girls' sports — Greg connects with Dr. Stanley Goldfarb of Do No Harm and Shannon Minter from National Center for LGBTQ Rights to get their re...

SCOTUS rules states can count ballots after election day, states debate budgets, Colorado public records requests, tort reform, and Los Angeles superintendent resigns.  The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in Watson v. Republican National Committee that states can continue counting mail-in ballots received after Election Day, as long as they are postmarked by Election Day, allowing the practice to con...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, California will stop funding a state-wide database intended to uncover police misconduct and use-of-force records. Tennessee taxpayers are handing $30 million to Starbucks to open new corporate offices in the state. But at least 70 times, companies that promised to create jobs in exchange for government subsidies haven't held up their end of the bar...

On this edition of the Center Square Radio Hour, State financial aid continues to expand within higher education, allowing money to go to eligible noncitizen students. The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision on Thursday, agreed that a regular drug user cannot be stripped of the right to possess a firearm. As many states rushed to redraw congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterms, half o...

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that occasional marijuana users can own firearms — what does that actually mean for gun owners? Plus: voter pessimism hits a new high ahead of midterms, state unemployment numbers, SNAP fraud costs, and California's billionaire tax heads to the ballot. A unanimous Supreme Court ruled in favor of Ali Hamani, a man found with marijuana and a pistol, protecting his Second...

Foiled terror plot, Supreme Court gun ruling, data center concerns, public employee payouts, and state tax news headline today's episode of The States. A West Virginia lawmaker speaks out after learning he was named as a target in a domestic terror plot tied to Sunday's UFC fight on the White House lawn. The Supreme Court rules on a case examining the intersection of gun rights and drug offenses....