By Jacob Fischler, Stateline September 15, 2026 The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday kept in place a lower court’s order blocking President Donald Trump’s embattled plan to place new restrictions on mail ballots for this year’s midterm elections. The unsigned, one-paragraph order upheld a Massachusetts federal court’s injunction on a U.S. Postal Service rule until after…

By Anna Claire Vollers, Stateline September 16, 2026 A growing number of states are making an equal split between parents the default child custody option in divorce cases. Louisiana and Mississippi this year joined at least five other states that have adopted the so-called 50-50 standard — four of them since 2021, as more legislators rework divorce-related…

By Julie Appleby Sep 16, 2026 A long-running lawsuit challenging what it means to be an employee and therefore have access to work-based health plans is being closely watched by health policy analysts. Its outcome could spur the availability of lower-cost but potentially skimpier health coverage that skirts some consumer protections. Court papers indicate a…

By Sarah Jane Tribble Sep 16, 2026 When Josh Fleig, Louisiana’s chief innovation officer, learned his state had set aside $20 million a year, for five years, to invest in startup rural health companies, his reaction was not surprising: “Wow!” In rural America, where people are often reported to be sicker with poor access to…

TribCast: Weighing the impact of Paxton’s political baggage by Eleanor Klibanoff, The Texas Tribune September 15, 2026 As the GOP Senate nominee, Ken Paxton’s history of alleged personal and professional improprieties have been dredged up and splashed across the internet by his opponent. Paxton has emerged relatively unscathed from more than a decade under indictment…