Dallas Morning News: “Four of Texas’ leading Democrats met last month to sort out which of them is the best choice to run for the Senate seat held by Republican John Cornyn and to potentially develop a slate that would contend for other statewide offices. There was a major obstacle. They all were steadfastly interested…

WaPo: “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have banned intoxicating products made from hemp,a legal cannabis plant that has fueled a billion-dollar industry in the state but raised concerns about the safety of the largely unregulated gummies, drinks, vapes and joints found in smoke shops and gas stations. The legislation…

The Guardian: “A Republican member of South Carolina’s state house who prosecutors say used the screen name “joebidennnn69” has been arrested and charged with 10 counts of distributing sexual abuse material involving children. RJ May was arrested at his Lexington county home after a lengthy investigation and was ordered on Thursday by a federal judge to…

NY Times: “When Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas approved legislation this week to spend $50 million in state money researching ibogaine, a powerful psychedelic, he put the spotlight on a promising, still illegal drug that has shown promise in treating opioid addiction, traumatic brain injury and depression. Interest in ibogaine therapy has surged in recent years,…

HuffPo: “Pro-Trump Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) pitched creating “Alligator Alcatraz,” a migrant detention center in the middle of the Everglades wetlands, home to several diverse wild and plant life. “If somebody were to get out, there’s nowhere to run, nowhere to hide — only the alligators and pythons are waiting. That’s why I…

HuffPo: “Texas will require all public school classrooms to display the Ten Commandments under a new law that will make the state the nation’s largest to attempt to impose such a mandate. The bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott, is expected to draw a legal challenge from critics who consider it an unconstitutional…

NY Times: “On the grounds of the Arkansas State Capitol, just behind a large stone tablet etched with the Ten Commandments, is a grassy meadow designated for a second state-sanctioned project. This one, envisioned as a long wall of luscious green plants, will serve as Arkansas’s “Monument to Unborn Children.” In 2023, an artist named…

NY Times: “It wasn’t until early this spring that he started to notice something unfamiliar coming through the door: aches that lingered, fevers that wouldn’t break, discolored patches of skin that didn’t make sense. At first, he blamed it on a bad flu season, but the symptoms stuck around and then multiplied. By late March,…

NY Times: “Indian Creek Village, the island community that is home to Jeff Bezos and several other billionaires, has faced strong pushback in its quest to discharge its sewage through the neighboring town of Surfside. But Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida has now signed legislation that will prevent Surfside from intervening. Like other communities in South…

Alternet: “A federal appeals court on Friday unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that found Louisiana’s law requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms to be unconstitutional, marking a significant setback for the state’s efforts to enforce the controversial measure. In a 3-0 decision, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed…