Indiana passes 50K COVID-19 cases as daily count hits 2-month high
Indiana surpassed 50,000 reported cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, the Indiana Department of Health reported, as the daily count of reported cases hit a two-month high.
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Voting hours lawsuit highlights change in tactics for Common Cause
In its latest lawsuit seeking to overturn an amended state law that limits the extension of voting hours on Election Day, Common Cause Indiana said it is again having to go to court to fight voter suppression efforts that have increased since Republican supermajorities took control of both chambers of the Statehouse.
Justices rule 5-4 Oklahoma region remains tribal reservation
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled Thursday that a large chunk of eastern Oklahoma remains an American Indian reservation, a decision that state and federal officials have warned could throw Oklahoma into chaos.
Charlestown zoo owner featured in ‘Tiger King’ now facing contempt sanctions
The owner of an embattled Charlestown zoo is now facing possible contempt sanctions after defying court orders against animal exhibition, acquisition and removal. It’s the latest installment in a long-running legal saga for a man who appears in the popular Netflix docuseries “Tiger King.”
Lawsuit challenges Indiana limits on voting site extensions
An Indiana law violates the U.S. Constitution by blocking voters and candidates from asking courts to keep polling places open longer because of Election Day troubles, a voting rights group argued in a lawsuit filed Thursday.
FBI investigating reported assault on Black man at Monroe Lake
The FBI said Tuesday it’s investigating the reported assault of a Black man by a group of white men at a southern Indiana lake. Meanwhile, Bloomington police continue to look for the driver of a car that injured two people in a protest calling for arrests in the case.
Who’s watching you? Contact tracing protected by privacy laws despite public resistance
Americans have encountered numerous new experiences during COVID-19, but contact tracing isn’t one of them. Long used to track diseases such as tuberculosis, contact tracing is described by experts as a “tried and true” public health tool. But as the scale of the tracing has ballooned during the pandemic, so has the distrust of the method.
Cost transparency efforts advance in medicine
The Trump administration won a court ruling last month upholding its plan to require insurers and hospitals to disclose prices for common tests and procedures in a bid to promote competition and push down costs. The federal court decision comes as Indiana prepares to enact its own health care price transparency legislation next year.
Indiana GOP AG candidates speak out before ballots come in
Indiana’s Republican delegates are casting ballots as the time nears to select who will run for state attorney general in November.
Fraud suspected for jump in Indiana jobless benefit claims
Indiana officials suspect fraud might be to blame for the state’s number of initial unemployment filings more than doubling in recent weeks.
SCOTUS denies cert petition against South Bend abortion clinic
U.S. Supreme Court justices rejected a third Indiana abortion case on Thursday, refusing to hear a petition filed against an embattled South Bend abortion clinic that was permitted by a federal judge to open last summer.
SCOTUS remands 2 Indiana abortion cases, won’t hear ‘buffer zone’ challenges
The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday remanded to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals two lawsuits challenging Indiana laws restricting abortions, leaving undisturbed for now lower court rulings striking down state laws that would have required stricter ultrasound measures and parental notification for mature minors.
Holcomb appoints new Department of Labor commissioner
Gov. Eric Holcomb announced Wednesday morning that Joe Hoage, who has been general counsel for the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles since 2017, will become commissioner of the Indiana Department of Labor on July 13.
Holcomb extends eviction, foreclosure moratorium until July 31
Gov. Eric Holcomb on Tuesday extended Indiana’s moratorium on housing evictions for one month, through the end of July, continuing a prohibition put in place in March due to financial hardships wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
COA reverses denial of elderly man’s Medicaid application
An elderly man living in a nursing home was wrongly denied Medicaid benefits, the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday, reversing a decision from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration.
Indiana regulators deny utilities’ bid for virus relief
Indiana regulators Monday denied a request from utilities to charge ratepayers for revenue the companies expect to lose because of the coronavirus pandemic. Officials also extended a moratorium on utility service disconnection through mid-August.
Two northern Indiana counties take action on face masks
Two adjacent northern Indiana counties have implemented or extended orders requiring people to wear face masks to impede the spread of the coronavirus.
Trump administration urges end to Affordable Care Act as pandemic surges
As coronavirus cases rise in more than half of the states, the Trump administration is urging the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act. The administration’s high court filing Thursday came the same day the government reported that close to half a million people who lost their health insurance amid the economic shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 have gotten coverage through HealthCare.gov.
Judge orders Lawson to produce emails, documents on voting-machine security
A Marion Superior judge has ordered Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson to produce documents to back up her claim that the public should not see emails and other communications about the reliability and security of voting machines because they could jeopardize cyberterrorism security.
AG candidates make final pleas to GOP delegates
The crowded field of lawyers seeking the Indiana GOP nomination for attorney general will soon be narrowed to one as the four candidates make their final pleas for support from the state’s Republican delegates. The field includes embattled AG Curtis Hill, Decatur County Prosecutor Nate Hater, former Rep. Todd Rokita and Bose McKinney & Evans attorney John Westercamp.