Indiana health officials announce COVID-19 testing expansion
Indiana will increase free COVID-19 testing across the state through a partnership with Gravity Diagnostics.
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Last troops exit Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war
The United States has completed its withdrawal from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war and closing a chapter in military history likely to be remembered for colossal failures, unfulfilled promises and a frantic final exit that cost the lives of more than 180 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members, some barely older than the war.
Report: Most federal election security money remains unspent
Congress provided hundreds of millions of dollars to shore up the nation’s election system against cyberattacks and other threats, but roughly two-thirds of the money remained unspent just weeks before last year’s presidential election.
Feds report most rental assistance has still not gone out
States and localities have only distributed 11% of the tens of billions of dollars in federal rental assistance, the Treasury Department said Wednesday, the latest sign the program is struggling to reach the millions of tenants at risk of eviction.
Joining Trump at border, Indiana GOP congressman eyes path to power
At the invitation of Donald Trump, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks recently led a small group of House Republicans out to the former president’s New Jersey golf club, where they dined on beef tenderloin, posed for photos and briefed him on strategy for the 2022 midterm elections. Whatever that future may hold, Banks, 41, is working aggressively to play a prominent role in it.
No jail time in 1st riot sentence; Oath Keeper pleads guilty
An Indiana woman on Wednesday became the first defendant to be sentenced in the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol and avoided time behind bars, while a member of the Oath Keepers extremist group pleaded guilty in a conspiracy case and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in a major step forward for the massive investigation.
Cox, Friedman: Federal, state protections for manufacturers of COVID-19 products
In order to protect and encourage innovation in the pandemic response effort, both the secretary of Health and Human Services and the Indiana Legislature have enacted protections from liability for those making products aimed at helping in the fight against COVID-19.
New laws: Legislature makes moves despite COVID
The Indiana General Assembly convened in-person for its 2021 session with COVID-19 protocols in place. Here’s the full list of legislation it enacted this year.
Trump DOJ seized data from House Democrats in leaks probe
The Justice Department under former President Donald Trump seized data from the accounts of at least two members of the House Intelligence Committee in 2018 as part of an aggressive crackdown on leaks related to the Russia investigation and other national security matters, according to a committee official and two people familiar with the investigation.
Longtime developer Chambers named Indiana secretary of commerce
Longtime commercial real estate developer Brad Chambers has been named Indiana’s secretary of commerce, Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Monday morning.
Families urge legal changes to prevent more police killings
Parents and siblings of Black men killed by police urged people during a discussion in the city where George Floyd was killed a year ago to join them in pursuing legal changes they say can make similar deaths less likely in the future.
Biden orders better access to legal services for poor, minorities
The president wrote in a memo that the pandemic “has further exposed and exacerbated inequities in our justice system” as legal services were curtailed. He added that the problems “have touched the lives of many persons in this country, particularly low-income people and people of color.”
Holcomb claims Rokita seeking to expand power of attorney general’s office
As part of his battle with the Legislature over executive powers, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb is accusing Attorney General Todd Rokita of creating a legal fiction in order to expand the attorney general’s “authority beyond his statutory duties and powers.”
Supreme Court throws abortion fight into center of midterms
In agreeing to hear a potentially groundbreaking abortion case, the Supreme Court has energized activists on both sides of the long-running debate who are now girding to make abortion access a major issue in next year’s midterm elections.
General counsel of state insurance department promoted to top job
Gov. Eric Holcomb appointed Amy Beard to succeed Stephen Robertson, who’d been insurance commissioner since 2010.
More than 2.3 million Hoosiers now fully vaccinated
The state of Indiana said nearly 2.3 million Hoosiers had been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. More than 2.5 million had received the first dose of a two-dose vaccination.
Monroe, St. Joseph counties lifting mask orders with new CDC guidance
Two Indiana counties are lifting their local mask mandates after federal health officials eased mask-wearing guidance for those fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The health departments for the counties that include South Bend and Bloomington are rescinding those local orders, while Indianapolis officials are keeping the city’s mask mandate in place.
Indiana sees big cost jump with new prison medical contract
Indiana could pay about 50% more a year for prison medical services with a new contractor picked by state officials.
Civics education law touted as helping keep the republic strong
House Enrolled Act 1384, authored by Cicero Republican Anthony Cook, mandates that a civics curriculum be developed and implemented into Indiana middle schools starting with the 2023-2024 academic year. The bill rode through the Statehouse collecting only one no vote and was signed into law April 8 by Gov. Eric Holcomb.
After veto override, governor turns to courts
In the legal brawl between Gov. Eric Holcomb and the Indiana General Assembly over who has the power to call the Statehouse into a special session, the Marion Superior Court will first have to determine which lawyers are actually representing the executive branch.