Off the Kuff / Mother Jones: “Nearly 4,200 women in Texas managed to access abortion care via telehealth in a single month — despite an almost total ban. ‘Anti-abortion extremists thought we’re going to ban abortion and trap people where they live, and they’re not going to get care,’ says Lizzy Hinkley of the Abortion…

Facing South: “There are 31 National Forests in Southern states covering 13.6 million acres. For every 1% reduction in forests in the Southeastern U.S., water treatment costs increase by 1.7%. Under Trump’s ‘reorganization’ plan announced March 2026, 57 of the Forest Service’s research facilities will close — 74% of the total. In Mississippi alone, 5…

Facing South: “Labor unions added 166,000 workers in 13 Southern states in 2025, with Georgia registering the biggest gains: 62,000 more union members than in 2024. Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Virginia also saw small increases. Southern states continue to lag significantly — about 4.9% of workers in the South belong to a union, vs. 12.7%…

Alabama Political Reporter: “A newly released state audit of the Alabama Department of Corrections documents repeated failures. Auditors found only two evaluations of the Community Corrections Program during the entire audit period — neither met the statutory annual requirement. This was a repeat finding from prior audits, meaning the issue was already flagged and not…

Alabama Political Reporter: “A traveling exhibit detailing the murder of Emmett Till and the activism sparked by his mother Mamie Till-Mobley opens today at the Civil Rights Memorial Center. ‘We begin with the past and Till’s life as a young man, but we also incorporate the present component,’ said Lauren Blanding, manager of the Civil…

Off the Kuff: “The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on the legality of a constitutional amendment voters approved last week that allows Democrats to implement a more favorable congressional map ahead of the midterms. Attorneys for the Democrats were peppered with tough questions by the justices, signaling some skepticism. Republicans argue that Democratic-controlled…

Off the Kuff: “Texas’ newly redrawn congressional map is officially cleared for use, after the U.S. Supreme Court formally overturned a lower court’s ruling Monday. Texas took up this unusual mid-decade redistricting effort after President Trump pushed the state to help shore up the GOP’s narrow majority. Judge Jeff Brown had written in a 160-page…

Alabama Political Reporter: “During a kickoff event for the Alabama Workers’ Week of Action, labor and community organization advocates discussed labor campaigns and events planned across the state. The event featured representatives of United Campus Workers, Jobs to Move America, Alabama Arise, the Southern Workers Assembly, UAW and CWA. Luis Robledo highlighted that Hyundai-Kia was…

North Carolina state Representative Carla Cunningham has switched her voter affiliation from Democrat to unaffiliated. She lost her March primary bid after Democrats and Gov. Stein actively campaigned against her — punishment for giving House Republicans the one vote they needed to override Stein’s veto of a bill mandating cooperation between state sheriffs and federal…

The Tennessee Attorney General’s office has succeeded in indefinitely delaying a legal challenge to the state’s widespread abortion ban from going to trial. A two-week non-jury trial was supposed to start Monday in Davidson County Chancery Court, the culmination of a legal challenge that began in September 2023. The state filed a TRAP 3 appeal…