Attorney Peter Renn argued on behalf of Roe on Thursday before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. (Screen capture) This story was first published by Idaho Reports on May 9, 2024. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments Thursday in Pasadena, California, regarding an Idaho law that would prevent transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity. The Idaho Legislature passed Senate Bill 1100 in 2023. In the lawsuit Roe v. Critchfield, the lower court declined to issue an injunction in the case, meaning it would go into effect. The lower c ..read more

In this file photo from May 2021, an early voting drop box was available to voters outside Boise City Hall. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun) Friday is the last day to request an absentee ballot in Idaho for the upcoming May 21 primary election.  The deadline is in place to ensure there is enough time to mail absentee ballots to voters, allow voters to fill them out and return the completed ballots to county elections officials before polls close at 8 p.m. local time on May 21, the day of the primary election.  Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Registered Idah ..read more

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., right, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., stand for the national anthem during the statue dedication ceremony for civil rights leader Daisy Bates in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on May 8, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) WASHINGTON — Efforts by a small group of far-right U.S. House Republicans to remove Speaker Mike Johnson from his leadership role failed Wednesday night, ending weeks of infighting about whether the Louisianan should remain the head of that chamber. Republican lawmakers joined by Democrats vo ..read more

U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf testifies before the U.S. Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee on May 8, 2024. (Screenshot courtesy of the U.S. Senate livestream) WASHINGTON — The commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said at a congressional hearing Wednesday the agency is preparing for the possibility the strain of avian influenza affecting dairy cattle could jump to humans, though he cautioned the probability is low. Robert Califf told senators on the panel in charge of his agency’s funding that top officials from the FDA, Agriculture D ..read more

From left, a lead pipe, a corroded steel pipe, and a lead pipe treated with protective orthophosphate. Lead pipes cause health problems and drive up water bills. (Photo courtesy Environmental Protection Agency) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has set aside $28.6 million to identify and replace lead pipes in Idaho. There is no safe lead exposure level for children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Lead in drinking water is a public health crisis that must be addressed so people can trust what comes out of their tap,” Casey Sixkiller, administrator for EPA ..read more

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, center, and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, right, both Republicans, speak to reporters on the steps of the U.S. Capitol on May 7, 2024. (Jennifer Shutt/States Newsroom) WASHINGTON — Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene and Kentucky’s Thomas Massie left a meeting with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday, saying the “ball is in his court” on whether they hold a floor vote to remove him from leadership. Greene filed the so-called motion to vacate in late March and has been using it as leverage ever since to try to get Johnson to move furt ..read more

TikTok Inc., the U.S. company that operates the popular social media service, and ByteDance, its parent company, filed suit on May 7, 2024, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit over a law requiring ByteDance to sell its subsidiary or face a ban from U.S. app stores. (Photo illustration by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) TikTok and its Chinese parent company on Tuesday challenged a recently enacted federal law banning the short-form video platform from the United States if it is not sold to a non-Chinese owner. TikTok Inc., the U.S. company that operates the popular soc ..read more

Idaho Gov. Brad Little's then-budget chief Alex Adams presents to the Legislature's Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee on Jan. 9, 2024. (Screenshot courtesy of Idaho in Session) Idaho Gov. Brad Little on Tuesday announced that he named his budget chief Alex Adams to direct the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare. Adams, Little’s budget chief since 2019, has served as interim Idaho Public Charter School Commission director, executive director of the Idaho Board of Pharmacy and formerly worked in the pharmacy industry. Adams replaces interim health department director Dean Cameron, a lon ..read more

A piece of cowboy art in Gardiner, Montana. As legislators across the 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid consider imposing work requirements on enrollees, Montana has a potential bipartisan model: a voluntary work program that helps Medicaid recipients by providing them with job training and career guidance. (David Goldman/Associated Press) Two decades ago, Jeff Beisecker and his family returned to Great Falls, Montana, from a religious mission to the Philippines. Beisecker had no health insurance and no steady source of income, and neither did his wife. Fearful of being without covera ..read more

This year, all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature are up for election. (Otto Kitsinger for the Idaho Capital Sun) With every seat in the Idaho Legislature up for election this year, the process for winning a seat starts with the May 21 party primary elections.  Voters across the state will head to the polls later this month to pick their party’s nominee for the Nov. 5 general election. Not all voters will have a contested race on their primary ballot this month – but there are races and issues across the state to keep an eye on. This year there are several interesting trends shaking thin ..read more