MS Free Press: “Standing inside a shuttered hospital’s abandoned emergency room in Newton County, Miss., on Monday night, Democratic candidate for governor Brandon Presley blamed Gov. Tate Reeves for the fact that more than half of the state’s rural hospitals are in danger of closing. “This is the reality that Tate Reeves has chosen to…

NY Times: “The two emergency medical technicians who first arrived to treat Tyre Nichols after he was severely beaten by Memphis police officers did not provide any care for 19 minutes after getting to the scene, a regulatory agency concluded on Friday as it voted to suspend their licenses. Members of the Tennessee Emergency Medical…

Political Wire: “Southern Democrats are banding together to urge President Joe Biden to select Atlanta for the 2024 Democratic National Convention, arguing the choice would solidify the party’s gains in Georgia and demonstrate commitment to the entire region,” NBC News reports. “Atlanta is one of the three finalists to host the convention, along with New York City…

NBC News: “The decision by prosecutors to pursue domestic terrorism charges against opponents of a police training center outside Atlanta is drawing criticism, with some legal experts saying it’s a potentially dangerous overreach that could be viewed as politically motivated…. One man was fatally shot by police in the confrontation after he opened fire and wounded a state…

HuffPo: “Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that he plans to defund diversity, equity and inclusion programs in every Florida university, another move in his push to upend higher education in the state. The governor and potential 2024 presidential hopeful laid out a list of higher education “reforms” his administration aims to carry out, including banning DEI programs that…

WaPo: “Students arrived in some Florida public school classrooms this month to find their teachers’ bookshelves wrapped in paper — or entirely barren of books — after district officials launched a review of the texts’ appropriateness under a new state law. School officials in at least two counties, Manatee and Duval, have directed teachers this…

Political Wire: “Cementing what has been in the works for months, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley will formally announce she is running for president and will seek the Republican nomination for her party’s 2024 ticket,” the Charleston Post and Courier reports. “According to an invitation soon going out to her backers, Haley’s advertised ‘special announcement’ will…

NY Times: “After heavy criticism from Gov. Ron DeSantis, the College Board released on Wednesday an official curriculum for its new Advanced Placement course in African American Studies — stripped of much of the subject matter that had angered the governor and other conservatives. The College Board purged the names of many Black writers and scholars associated…

Reuters: “The specialized police unit that included the five Memphis officers charged with the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols was disbanded on Saturday as more protests took place in U.S. cities a day after harrowing video of the attack was released. The police department said in a statement it was permanently deactivating the SCORPION unit…

WDRB: “The share of unionized workers in Kentucky ticked up in 2022, bucking the national trend, according to federal data released this month. It marks the first increase in the state’s share of union workers in six years, though the rate is still well below the level of unionization in Kentucky prior to 2017’s right-to-work…