Black lung infections on the rise and more news from the states

Good evening. Tonight we begin with a plea from a union representing mine workers, who are raising alarms as black lung rates have increased to a 50-year high. In Colorado, immigration advocates remain concerned about possible tuberculosis exposure in an immigrant detention facility. 

Across the country, election officials are preparing for possible federal interference in the November elections. 

A judge’s ruling limiting Idaho’s strict abortion ban — set to go before voters in the election —  is expected to be appealed by the state. 

In New Hampshire, a lawmaker’s fight for a change to twice-yearly clock changes is uniquely personal. 

As you’re out and about this weekend, make sure to download and listen to our podcast, Stories from the States. We’ll see you Monday.

The United Mine Workers of America made an “urgent demand” of the federal government for the “immediate, uncompromised” enforcement of previously approved policies and rules that would protect coal miners from incurable black lung disease, West Virginia Watch reports. 

The union’s call comes after new research this month shows that black lung rates have increased to an almost 50-year high after years of decline, with the highest rates of the disease found in miners from central Appalachia. 

“More needs to be done, and it needs to be done now,” said UMWA International President Brian Sanson in a news release. “Miners are wearing masks, they are following rules, and yet they are still breathing in killer dust. We will not stand by while federal regulations are ignored and sat on while our members and coalfield workers pay for it with their lives.”

A federal rule that would have limited the allowable exposure limits for silica dust in coal mines for the first time ever was initially set to take effect in 2025 after being finalized by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Mine Health and Safety Administration in 2024. Implementation has been indefinitely delayed as industry challenges the rule in court.

A 78-year-old priest who has been in immigration detention in Colorado for almost a year continues to present symptoms of respiratory illness with no improvement in his condition, adding to concerns about tuberculosis in the facility, Colorado Newsline reports. 

Edward Nalwamba, a citizen of Uganda who has lived in Colorado for more than two decades, has been in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention since September. For months now, he has presented respiratory symptoms that a medical provider who reviewed his case said could be indications of tuberculosis.

The Aurora ICE facility, operated by private prison company The GEO Group, has had a confirmed active tuberculosis case; immigration advocates believe more people are infected. 

Colorado public health officials have been unable to properly investigate the case, as GEO did not respond to a request for information and access. The state Department of Public Health and Environment issued a public health order this week directing GEO to cooperate with health officials.

More immigration coverage:

A federal judge in Idaho ruled that pregnant women may receive abortions in many cases if there are serious risks to her health or if there’s a high risk she will harm herself, Idaho Capital Sun reports. 

The decision marks a major change to the state’s abortion ban exemptions. U.S. District Court of Idaho Judge B. Lynn Winmill determined U.S. constitutional protections under the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment “establish a narrow but fundamental right to abortion when a pregnancy threatens the woman’s life or health.”

Republican Attorney General Raúl Labrador, whose office defended Idaho’s abortion laws in court, said he plans to appeal the decision.

A voter-led initiative will appear on November ballots this year that, if approved, would overturn the abortion ban and enumerate protections to women’s reproductive healthcare and privacy into law. 

Georgia: Health officials moved to include low-income people living with certain HIV diagnoses among those considered “medically frail,” meaning they would not have to satisfy work requirements to qualify for Medicaid coverage. 

New Mexico: Amid a recent spike in mining claims, a Democratic state senator is calling for a moratorium on new uranium extraction permits, citing community fears and opposition. 

Maryland: A first-of-its-kind state tax on some digital ads has been struck down as a violation of the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act by the Maryland Tax Court.

Virginia: The Shenandoah County School Board unanimously voted to appeal a federal court’s order for the district to remove Confederate names from schools. 

Washington: A judge ruled that prediction market Kalshi is likely violating state gambling laws and ordered the company to drastically scale back operations in the state, including the wagers it now offers on sports and elections.

Oklahoma: In the Republican race for governor, Attorney General Gentner Drummond’s call for his opponent, Trump-endorsed Mike Mazzei, to release health records to the public could help sway voters, experts say. 

Nebraska: Former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom will not appear on the ballot as a nonpartisan candidate for governor this November after a “significant” number of petition signatures were flagged for fraud.

Florida: As more than 1 million people have already voted in the state’s Aug. 18 primaries, advocates are renewing their push to open up the closed primary system to millions registered as No Party Affiliation, or NPA.

Scarlotte Sell plays with a worm who will soon be turtle food outside her Hanover home on July 31. (Photo by Whitney Downard/Pennsylvania Capital-Star)

Like many other 6-year-old girls, Scarlotte is excited to start first grade and laughs easily. She loves digging outside for worms and bugs to feed her pet turtle, Carlos, and running in the yard with her dog, Rocky.

She also has an extremely rare genetic disorder — one of three children in the world with her gene mutation — and requires round-the-clock care to check her gastrostomy tube and catheter.

But getting medically trained caretakers when her dad, Brandon Sell, is away from their home hasn’t always been easy. 

Medicaid reimbursement rates in every neighboring state, from New York to West Virginia, are higher than Pennsylvania, where the average hourly wage for personal assistance services is $20.63. That puts families like the Sells, who live less than 10 miles from the Maryland border, in a bind.

While other states build semi-regular increases for these workers into their system — similar to how pay for legislators increases annually — Pennsylvania requires legislative action. That comes roughly every five or so years, but wasn’t included in this year’s budget despite outreach efforts, said Mia Haney, the CEO of the Pennsylvania Homecare Association. 

Read more from Pennsylvania Capital-Star.

State Democratic officials are preparing for chaos at the polls this November, as President Donald Trump casts doubt on election security and pushes for more federal involvement in local voting, Stateline reports. 

“We’re no longer talking about hypothetical situations,” said Nick Brown, Washington state’s Democratic attorney general, noting the president’s push to nationalize election administration and to question the integrity of upcoming elections.

State lawmakers have introduced new legislation this year with the aim of protecting polling places this November. And behind closed doors, Democratic attorneys general and local election officials have sought to anticipate and prepare for ways the federal government could interject itself into local elections.

At stake is not only whether Republicans will maintain their grip on Congress, but also the control of state legislatures across the country. Democratic gains at either the state or national levels could provide a new check on Trump, who has sought to significantly expand executive power in his second term.

Flock Safety is tightening privacy and oversight controls for its nationwide network of automated license plate readers as more communities pull back from the technology and lawmakers across the political spectrum push for new restrictions, Stateline reports. 

The company announced Thursday that it will recommend that police agencies retain license plate reader data for seven days, down from 30, while adding tools to restrict data sharing between agencies and detect potentially abusive searches. Flock also plans to require law enforcement users to associate searches with case codes and automatically suspend users whose activity is flagged as abnormal.

The changes come amid growing scrutiny of a surveillance network that Flock says has more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and serves thousands of law enforcement agencies and communities.

Related: Most of this Utah county’s license plate camera data is searched by out-of-state law enforcement

President Donald Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene in a lower court decision that halts his $400 million White House ballroom construction unless he receives authorization from Congress, States Newsroom’s D.C. Bureau reports. 

The administration requested the justices grant an immediate stay to a 2-1 federal appeals court decision that sided with historic preservationists who argued Trump doesn’t have the authority to build a 90,000-square-foot ballroom where the White House East Wing stood until Trump ordered its demolition in October 2025.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued the decision on Aug. 7 but delayed the ruling for two weeks to allow the administration time to appeal.

Earlier this year, the Trump administration terminated temporary protective status for hundreds of thousands of Haitian immigrants. As a result, many communities are preparing for a possible surge of federal immigration enforcement. 

In Springfield, Ohio, Haitian immigrants are being targeted by the federal government and forced to wear ankle monitors, according to local advocates. The community became a focus of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign promise to conduct mass deportations when he falsely accused Haitians there of eating house pets. 

In Episode 41 of the Stories From The States podcast, you’ll hear from a reporter with Ohio Capital Journal who has been covering the Springfield community. 

Listen to Stories From The States below, or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Youtube.

The perennial debate over daylight saving time in the U.S. is coming around again, but for one New Hampshire state representative, it’s always been a part of his life, New Hampshire Bulletin reports. 

In fact, the matter has haunted Rep. Timothy Horrigan, a Democrat, since the moment of his birth, on Oct. 3 — or was it Oct. 4? — 1956.

When Horrigan was born in Indiana, there was disagreement within the state about whether to observe standard time or daylight saving time. So though, as his mother recalled, the clock on the delivery room wall showed 12:30 a.m., official records put his first breath at approximately 11:30 p.m. on Oct. 3.

The uncertainty gave rise to Horrigan’s belief that eliminating the twice-yearly time change would be a straightforward way to simplify modern life. 

Horrigan has proposed multiple bills on the topic since 2011, though all have failed. 

The debate is occurring at the national level, too, with opposing measures proposing a national shift to standard time and to daylight saving time currently before Congress. President Donald Trump has favored the latter, deemed the “Sunlight Protection Act.”

If Congress can’t decide, Horrigan, who is running for reelection, hopes to keep the conversation going in New Hampshire.

“It’s an important issue, but it’s sort of a simple issue. … It’s nice having something that’s not quite as partisan, and everybody kind of knows the subject matter and has an opinion,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”