The North State Journal: “South Carolina will close state offices on Tuesday to mark Confederate Memorial Day. The observation of the holiday is every year on May 10. South Carolina is among a handful of states in the South with such an official holiday. State offices in Alabama and Mississippi closed down for their Confederate…

NY Times: “It was the equivalent of: “Show your work.” To help explain its puzzling rejection of dozens of math textbooks, the state of Florida released nearly 6,000 pages of reviewer comments this week and revealed an often confusing, contradictory and divisive process. A conservative activist turned textbook reviewer was on the lookout for mentions…

CNN: “Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed a bill Thursday criminalizing abortion-inducing drugs that are provided via mail. The measure, known as HB2416, establishes criminal penalties for offenders, but would not apply to the patient who was provided the abortion drugs. The legislation sets strict parameters around abortion-inducing drugs. The drugs “may be provided only by…

Political Wire: “Republicans in the Louisiana House advanced a bill Wednesday that would classify abortion as homicide and allow prosecutors to criminally charge patients, with supporters citing a draft opinion leaked this week showing the Supreme Court ready to overturn Roe v. Wade,” the Washington Post reports. “The legislation, which passed through a committee on a 7-to-2 vote,…

The TX Tribune: “At a time when Texas is poised to outlaw the vast majority of abortions if the nation’s highest court overturns constitutional protections for the procedure, a recent University of Texas at Austin poll shows most Texan voters think access to abortion should be allowed in some form. Texas would make performing most abortions a…

WUNC: “A photography exhibit that was canceled by UNC Chapel Hill is now open at the Chapel Hill Public Library. The exhibit, “Tarred Healing,” was supposed to open in February at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. Durham-based photographer Cornell Watson explained his photos reflect the Black community in Chapel Hill….

The North State Journal: “U.S. Rep. Ted Budd continued to stretch out his lead in the upcoming May 17 Republican U.S. Senate primary, according to two new polls released in the past week. In a poll released Monday afternoon by the Club for Growth, Budd earned 43% of the vote among likely Republican primary voters,…

AR Times: “Former legislator Denny Altes, a former Fort Smith Republican legislator who also served for a time as one of Governor Hutchison’s most undistinguished appointees as state drug director, has been charged with a felony. The state court system doesn’t currently carry details beyond the notice above, but Talk Business, quoting sources, said it relates to…

ABC News: “An administrative law judge in Georgia on Friday ruled that GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene can stay on the ballot for the state’s 14th Congressional District following a challenge to her reelection candidacy. A group of Georgia voters had argued that Greene was not eligible to run for reelection under the “disqualification clause”…

Austin American-Statesman: “Gov. Greg Abbott wants Texas to challenge a 1982 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that requires states to offer free public education to all children, including those lacking legal immigration status. That ruling, known as Plyler v. Doe, struck down a Texas law that had denied state funding to educate children who had not been “legally admitted” to the United…