Government + Politics
Small territory in eastern Oregon put under quarantine for bird flu risk
A new poultry quarantine has been declared in eastern Oregon after avian flu was detected across the border in Idaho. The U.S. Department of Agriculture imposed the regional quarantine, which affects a small area in Malheur County south of the farming community of Nyssa. Dr. Ryan Scholz, Oregon state veterinarian, explained Thursday that the quarantine […]
As ‘trigger law’ looms, new Wyoming clinic preps to provide abortions in conservative bastion
UPDATE: A fire damaged the Wellspring Health Access clinic in Casper, Wyoming, early on May 25. Police suspect the fire was arson. The project’s leader told KHN the damage would be repaired and the clinic would still open. CASPER, Wyo. — A modest, tan building sandwiched between a gas station and a small apartment house near this […]
Idaho Secretary of State: Preliminary election audit results show low margin of error
The results of a hand count of randomly selected ballots from the May 17 primary election in three Idaho counties showed little to no margin of error in the reported vote count, according to a press release from the Idaho Secretary of State’s office. It is the first post-election audit since the passage of Senate Bill […]
Infant formula stockpile for the U.S. suggested by FDA chief
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government should consider creating a stockpile of infant formula to avoid the possibility of future shortages, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told a Senate committee on Thursday. Commissioner Robert Califf said during his third hearing on Capitol Hill about the months-long shortage that his agency and lawmakers […]
Analysis: This negotiating season, will teacher pay raises meet expectations?
Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on May 26, 2022 Some teachers already know what kind of raises they can expect this year. In Nampa, administrators and union negotiators are just starting to talk about dollars. Idaho school districts and charters have a windfall for teacher salaries: in Nampa, the new money comes to slightly more than […]
Rep. Troy to take government relations post at University of Idaho
Rep. Caroline Nilsson Troy, R-Genesee, has accepted a position lobbying for the University of Idaho and will appoint a substitute legislator to finish the remainder of her final term in office, which expires at the end of the year. Troy was named special assistant to the president for state and government relations, University of Idaho […]
U.S. Senate Republicans block bill requiring agencies monitor domestic terrorism
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Republicans on Thursday blocked a bill that would require federal agencies to monitor domestic terrorism incidents, including those potentially related to white supremacy. The failure of the Senate procedural vote showed again how difficult it is for Congress to agree on any response to U.S. gun violence. It followed a racist […]
Remote voting in the U.S. House hits a second anniversary, but it may be its last
After two years of a temporary provision to allow remote voting in the U.S. House, the top 36 users of the proxy voting system are all Democrats, though Republicans have also taken advantage of it. Proxy voting was meant to keep crowds of House members smaller and thereby limit the spread of COVID-19, back in […]
Billionaire donors from East Coast groups left big impression on Idaho primary races
In the first four months of 2022, political action committees in Idaho took in more than $4 million in donations and spent more than $3.3 million on campaigns across Idaho. Groups in Virginia and Washington, D.C., poured at least $391,000 into advertisements and mailers leading up to the May 17 primary — and thousands more […]
Frustrated Democrats call for GOP help on federal gun laws after mass school shooting
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday implored Senate Republicans to work with Democrats to pass bipartisan gun control legislation, following a mass school shooting that took the lives of 19 children and two teachers in Texas. Tuesday’s massacre was the nation’s second-deadliest mass school shooting since another at Sandy Hook Elementary […]
FDA chief outlines ‘egregiously unsanitary’ conditions at Michigan baby formula plant
WASHINGTON — The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration told Congress on Wednesday that he’s found no evidence of intentional delay or malfeasance within the agency — though it took months to act on a whistleblower report of what he called “egregiously unsanitary” conditions at an infant formula plant in Michigan. FDA Commissioner […]
Idaho’s first post-election audit takes place this week, following new law
Following the passage of Senate Bill 1274 during the legislative session earlier this year, the Idaho Secretary of State’s office announced the counties and precincts across Idaho that were randomly selected for the state’s first post-primary election audit, according to a press release. The audit is conducted to check that the equipment and procedures used […]