Newsweek: “The gubernatorial race in Virginia remains close with just two weeks remaining until voters elect their next governor on November 2. Statewide voter surveys conducted in recent weeks have shown a tightening race between Democrat Terry McAuliffe and Republican Glenn Youngkin, the leading candidates on the ballot. Both candidates have received endorsements from top…

Politico: “In his bid to hold his Georgia Senate seat, Democrat Raphael Warnock collected a stunning $9.5 million over the last 90 days. Democrat Val Demings, who’s challenging GOP Sen. Marco Rubio in Florida, amassed an eye-popping $8.5 million. In South Carolina, Republican Sen. Tim Scott brought in $8.4 million. All across the Senate map—…

NC Policy Watch: “The chance to win $1 million did not lead to increased vaccination rates against COVID-19, according to a new study published Friday that examined the states that held vaccine lotteries earlier this year. There was a “near zero” association between those cash drawings and additional vaccinations in states like Colorado, which held five drawings among…

PBS: “Rutherford County, Tennessee, has detained a record number of children, some as young as 7 years old, in past years. Some were arrested for playground fights, others for cursing. In one 2016 case, four elementary school-age girls were detained for failing to intervene in a fight. A disproportionate number of the children involved and…

NY Times: “The three white Georgia men accused of murdering Ahmaud Arbery have already come in for harsh judgment from the highest of places. Donald Trump called the slaying of Mr. Arbery, an unarmed Black man, “disturbing.” Barack Obama described it as an example of enduring racial injustice. Brian Kemp, Georgia’s Republican governor, called it…

AR Times: “The Arkansas Society of Freethinkers provides an update today on the status of a lawsuit over the Ten Commandments monument at the state Capitol. Opponents point out the display on public grounds unconstitutionally mixes church and state and endorses one religion over others. Attorney Gerry Shulze will share the history of the lawsuit and look…

NY Times: “Twenty years ago, Judy Bolden served 18 months in a Florida prison. She has been free ever since, but she is still barred from voting by the state until she pays all court fines and fees associated with her conviction. When Ms. Bolden sat to be photographed by The Times earlier this year,…

Lexington Herald Leader: “A controversial law that established school choice for Kentucky students was ruled unconstitutional Friday by Franklin Circuit Court Judge Phillip Shepherd. House Bill 563 passed in March, establishing a “school choice program” to allow students to attend schools outside of their district. Proponents of the law said they plan to appeal Shepherd’s…

BBC: “Elation greeted Dontae Sharpe as he walked out of prison a free man, 26 years after being wrongly convicted of murder. But proving his innocence was only the first step down a long road. As he tries to rebuild his life – and to hold the system accountable – there’s still one thing eluding…

NY Times: “The Biden administration will ask the Supreme Court to block a Texas law that bans most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy while a challenge to it moves forward, a spokesman for the Justice Department said on Friday. Last month, in a separate case brought by abortion providers, the Supreme Court allowed the…