Demonstrators in Reno following the Dobbs ruling in June 2022. (Photo: Kingkini Sengupta) Policy, politics and progressive commentary As someone who over the past 50 years has thought about and written many books and articles on U.S. feminism, I should have been less surprised by the strong electoral backlash to the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs V. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling, a judgment that overturned the 1973 Roe V. Wade decree and thus 50 years of national abortion rights. True, I expected massive street demonstrations and marches after Dobbs was announced, the kind of politi ..read more

U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, speaks at an event outside the U.S. Capitol on June 12, 2024, calling on the Biden administration to use its executive authority to protect people in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program. (Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom) Policy, politics and progressive commentary WASHINGTON — Ashly Trejo Mejia is eager to attend medical school, but she’s not sure she can pursue that dream because of an upcoming court decision that could end the Obama-era program meant to temporarily protect immigrants like her who were brought into the ..read more

(Getty Images) Policy, politics and progressive commentary State funding for private attorneys and expert witnesses who take on post-conviction work, including appeals for death row inmates, is depleted, according to officials, leaving legal professionals struggling to keep their employees and families afloat while ensuring the rights of their clients. “Those bills are just sitting on someone’s desk in the governor’s office,” says Betsy Allen, a Las Vegas attorney who estimates close to half of her practice consists of post-conviction work for the state. She says she’s owed close to $30,000 ..read more

Razor wire along the Rio Grande on the Texas side of the U.S.-Mexico border. (Photo by Ariana Figueroa/States Newsroom) Policy, politics and progressive commentary EL PASO, Texas — Seventeen-year-old Karina Parababire gently rocked her three-month-old daughter as they waited in a migrant shelter before a Friday night bus ride to Chicago. “I want my daughter to have everything that I didn’t have,” Parababire, who traveled up the extremely dangerous route of the Darien Gap while pregnant, said in Spanish. Karina Parababire, 17, with her 3-month-old daughter, Avis, waiting for a bus ride to Chi ..read more

Signage for early voting is shown at Galleria Mall Thursday, May 30, 2024, in Henderson. (Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current) Policy, politics and progressive commentary Nevada’s primary election day was marked by low turnout, excessive heat in the state’s most populous county, and a smooth execution of universal mail-in voting across the state. “Early voting ran smoothly, and Election Day went well,” said Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar. County election workers will still accept mail-in ballots until June 15, but unofficial returns put turnout for the primary at about 14% of registered v ..read more

Sam Brown on the campaign trail in 2022. (Photo by Josh Edelson/Getty Images) Policy, politics and progressive commentary Republican Sam Brown will take on Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen this November. The Associated Press called Nevada’s GOP Senate primary for Brown at 8:11 p.m. Tuesday. The GOP Senate primary had a dozen candidates, but Brown was considered the frontrunner early after securing support from the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Jeff Gunter, the former Trump ambassador to Iceland, who appeared to have the best chance of upsetting Brown, was in a distant second place, ear ..read more

President Joe Biden speaks to a conference hosted by Everytown for Gun Safety in Washington on June 11, 2024. (Screenshot from CSPAN livestream) Policy, politics and progressive commentary WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Tuesday touted his administration’s efforts to reduce gun violence as the second anniversary of bipartisan gun safety legislation he signed into law approaches. “Never give up on hope,” Biden said during an annual conference hosted by the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety. The speech came hours after the president’s son Hunter Biden was found guilty in a federal cou ..read more

A police officer walks near a police station that was destroyed after a battle between Israeli troops and Hamas militants on Oct. 8, 2023, in Sderot, Israel. A U.S. House caucus formed this month with the goal of planning for the region after the Israel-Hamas war ends. (Footage by Amir Levy/Getty Images) Policy, politics and progressive commentary WASHINGTON — A bipartisan group of U.S. House lawmakers has launched an effort to spur planning for what the Gaza Strip will look like the “day after” the Israel-Hamas war, even as agreement over a U.S.-backed ceasefire proposal remains elusive. Dem ..read more

Machiavelli knew from experience and his extensive reading that there was a long history of nations with republican governments falling victim to ambitious individuals who sought to subvert their nations’ practices and institutions so they could rule alone and unchecked. (Photo: Jeniffer Solis/Nevada Current) Policy, politics and progressive commentary A United States president sought to remain in office after his term ended, maintains a worshipful following and has declared he will operate as a dictator only on “day one” if reelected. His cunning and manipulation of American politics and it ..read more

The technology could have a chilling effect on voters, in particular the youth vote, said Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar. (Photo: Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current) Policy, politics and progressive commentary Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar participated in a project with the Institute for Advanced Studies earlier this year that tested the use of chatbots in Nevada.  Speaking on a virtual panel last week with the bipartisan group Issue One, Aguilar said one chatbot was asked “what do I need to do to register to vote in Nevada?” Despite the fact that the state allows for ..read more