SEARCHLIGHT NEWS
Students walk down the hall at a public elementary school. The Trump administration has given states more flexibility in spending some federal dollars. (Photo by Nuria Martinez-Keel/Oklahoma Voice)
By Robbie Sequeira/Stateline
The Trump administration is increasing its efforts to turn more control of federal education money to the states as it continues working to dismantle the Education Department.
Six states have received waivers allowing them to consolidate more than $109 million in federal education funding and bypass certain requirements for local education agencies, Kirsten Baesler, assistant secretary for the department’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, told Stateline in an interview.
COMMENTARY
Delegates, party officials and guests attend the South Dakota Republican Convention on June 27, 2026, at The Monument events center in Rapid City. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
Parties repeat mistakes as Republicans set elections back and Democrats fail to find a key candidate
By Dana Hess
Maybe politics in South Dakota is cyclical. Or maybe the state’s political parties just keep making the same mistakes. Either way, both parties have taken actions, or inactions, that eerily resemble their past actions.
At their state convention in June, Republicans once again chose to jettison their incumbent secretary of state.
FROM STATES NEWSROOM
President Donald Trump delivers remarks on Sept. 11, 2025, in the courtyard of the Pentagon to mark the 24th anniversary of 9/11. Trump has proposed a massive Pentagon spending increase for fiscal 2027. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
By Sam Gauntt
WASHINGTON — Congress is considering a hike of hundreds of billions in dollars in defense spending, which would represent a surge in military funding not seen since World War II.
Whatever the exact level of spending ultimately flows to military installations and defense contractors, some states will likely benefit far more than others, a States Newsroom analysis of federal defense data shows. Just a handful of states makes up a core of military production, topping the lists of federal defense spending, the data shows.
D.C. NEWS
Judge orders Pentagon to resume wind energy project reviews | Alex Brown/Stateline
NATIONAL NEWS
‘I wanted the pregnancy. It was just so scary.’ | Sofia Resnick and Shalina Chatlani/Stateline
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