FNF - State Model American Caregivers Act

(The Center Square) – The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has eased its fire recommendations as wildfire concerns decline.

The changes come after more than a dozen wildfires in northern Minnesota contributed to air quality concerns across the U.S. earlier this summer.

The department lifted Class III burning restrictions in Cook, Lake and northern St. Louis counties Monday.

The restrictions, first implemented in July, limited campfires, fireworks, brush burning and other activities. They were lifted following recent rainfall, leaving the entire state under a “permit required” status.

“Removing Class III restrictions allows campfires and recreational fires in remote, backcountry, and dispersed areas on non-federal and non-Tribal lands,” the department said.

This ease of restrictions comes as Minnesota’s fire danger level is now at low or moderate statewide.

Residents are still required to acquire a permit for burning vegetation or yard debris such as grass, leaves, logs, or branches.

“This includes any fire larger than 3 feet high by 3 feet wide or one not contained within a fire ring that is burning vegetative debris,” the department explained.

Despite the easing of restrictions though, department officials still warn Minnesotans to be cautious as dry and drought conditions continue across much of the state.

“While conditions have improved, we’re not done with fire danger this year, as fall is just around the corner,” said Karen Harrison, DNR wildfire prevention specialist. “It’s important for people to continue following wildfire prevention tips such as proper campfire safety and using caution when doing outdoor activities that create heat or sparks.”

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, most of the state is in a severe or moderate drought.

In July, there were 16 active wildfires throughout Minnesota, with only one reporting any level of containment.

The fires were primarily caused by lightning strikes and were concentrated around the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, a vast wilderness area in northeastern Minnesota along the Canadian border.

Now, there are only seven active wildfires. This is according to a wildfire tracker called Wildfire Explorer.

Three of those active wildfires began burning in early July and have burned 62,000 acres between them. All three are now at least 50% contained.

(The Center Square) - The U.S. Department of Energy is launching a $100 million initiative to recruit more Americans for the country’s mining and other critical-minerals workforce.

The Providing Opportunities for Specialized Education in Critical Technologies initiative will expand educational opportunities and skilled workforce training to help grow America’s critical minerals production, according to the DOE.

Supporters of the PROSPECT initiative want to double the number of Americans graduating with degrees in mining and other critical mineral fields within two years.

America is facing a shortage of workers in the mining industry, as an estimated 221,000 workers are expected to retire by 2029, the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration projected.

Furthermore, the DOE estimates 6,000 new engineers will be needed in the mining sector over the next 10 years.

Audrey Robertson, the assistant U.S. secretary of energy, told The Center Square this week that the DOE has allocated $100 million to the PROSPECT initiative.

The PROSPECT initiative is the “largest workforce program” in the DOE’s history, she explained.

Robertson said the majority of the PROSPECT initiative funds will go to student financial aid and supporting students' entry into the mining industry.

In the coming weeks, Robertson said the DOE will announce the competition rules for the PROSPECT initiative, after which schools will submit their plans.

Robertson said the PROSPECT initiative wants universities to examine their mining programs and student bodies and then return to the federal government with ideas to increase student enrollment.

The only schools allowed to submit proposals for the PROSPECT initiative are those with accredited mining programs, she said, adding that 14 schools have this accreditation, with two more working their way through the accreditation process.

This means 16 schools will eventually be eligible for funding.

American colleges are producing a “minuscule fraction” of the number of mining workers the nation needs, she said.

Kray Luxbacher, head of the University of Arizona School of Mining Engineering and Mineral Resources, said the mining school is excited about the PROSPECT initiative and “the attention that mining engineering education is receiving at the federal level.”

According to Luxbacher, the potential money could help the university with its K-12 STEM outreach program, student training at the San Xavier Underground Mining Laboratory and “programs for working professionals.”

“PROSPECT could expand all of these opportunities to build a stronger workforce with mining engineers and geoscientists," she told The Center Square via email this week.

The amount of money each school gets will be determined by “the proposals put forward by the universities,” Robertson said.

The DOE will also consider how the funding can “have the biggest impact on the most number of students” and how it can “generate for the American taxpayer the highest return on these dollars in the form of changing the trajectory of education in this space,” Robertson explained.

Regarding the future of the mining industry, Robertson said artificial intelligence and robotics will define the industry during this century.

“Mining is modern and technology-focused,” she said, noting AI will have a “huge role” in the development of new mines and materials for the supply chain.

Universities with accredited mining programs are doing significant work with AI and robotics, Robertson noted.

She explained the mining industry is not as crowded as other fields, which means there is a “tremendous opportunity for students to be hands-on participants and make real, significant change in the industry.”

Robertson said there is a 100% job placement for students coming out of these mining schools.

Mining is a “high-tech, innovative [and] forward-leaning industry that is essential to the next state of industrialization and national defense in America,” she noted.

America’s mining industry is evolving “very quickly,” Robertson said, noting America will have “some of the most modern and integrated mining operations in the world” within the next decade.

(The Center Square) – A bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general, including California’s Rob Bonta, have announced a $17 billion settlement with Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, in a lawsuit over risks to youth.

The announcement comes after a federal trial was underway in Oakland, where Bonta et al. filed the lawsuit and had made opening arguments.

Speaking to reporters in a video news conference Wednesday, Bonta called the settlement a watershed moment.

“When it comes to protecting our children's mental health, there is no time to lose,” said Bonta.

In their lawsuit, the state attorneys general argued that Meta designed addictive, harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that drive excessive youth use, leading to severe mental and physical harm. The attorneys general also claimed Meta unlawfully collected data from children under 13 and misled the public about platform safety.

The suit was filed in 2023.

As part of the settlement, Meta has agreed to many changes that will be implemented over the coming months.

Examples include:

- Default 2-hour daily time limit for users under 18 (drops to 1 hour if other platforms commit to similar terms).

- Default access blocks from midnight to 6 a.m.

- Notification blocks overnight (10 p.m.–7 a.m.) and during school hours.

- Removal of cosmetic/plastic surgery filters and option for non-personalized feeds.

- Removal of public "like" counts on teen posts.

- Enhanced tools for parental supervision, age assurance, and removing users under 13.

- Ninety percent of user-reported harmful content reviewed within 6 hours.

- An independent auditor will monitor Meta's compliance.

Meanwhile, Meta will pay up to $17 billion over 10 years to participating states. California alone will receive $1.5 billion to $2.1 billion.

The Center Square asked Bonta what California would do with its money.

“It's generally going to be used for abatement and mitigation efforts to address the problem of social media harms to the mental health of children,” Bonta told The Center Square. “So it will help reduce the harm to children, help address those mental health issues that I've talked about from anxiety and depression to body image issues, to addictive tendencies, to learning loss.”

Bonta stressed that California wants innovative companies to continue to grow in the state, contribute to the economy, and employ people. However, Bonta said that “innovation is not a free pass to do as you please and hurt people” along the way.

Bonta also thanked the bipartisan coalition of attorneys general for their work in this case. He added that “bipartisan is not something you hear too often” these days.

“It speaks to the fact that protecting our children isn't and should not be political,” said Bonta. “It's a priority. It's our duty. It's a North Star for us."

(The Center Square) - Democratic attorneys general from California, 22 other states and the District of Columbia filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the U.S. Postal Service over its rule on mail-in ballots.

The suit follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling Monday to allow, for now, President Donald Trump’s executive order on mail-in ballots. The order required the Postal Service to prohibit the mailing of ballots to voters not included on a new Postal Service list of eligible voters.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta is co-leading the lawsuit with the attorneys general of Nevada, Washington state and Massachusetts. The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court for Massachusetts. It says the matter of whether someone may vote is a question of state law. In addition to challenging the Postal Service rule implementing Trump's executive order, the states are filing a motion for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction to block the rule from taking effect during litigation.

“Let’s be clear: The U.S. Constitution gives states the power to regulate elections - not the President and not USPS,” Bonta said in a statement.

The Supreme Court on Monday granted the Trump administration's emergency request to stay an injunction related to the executive order. Justices said the  states' challenge to the executive order was filed too early, but added that states could challenge the U.S. Postal Service rule implementing Trump's order. Democratic attorneys general responded with their new lawsuit Wednesday.

"Donald Trump does not run elections. States do. And his latest attack on democracy is proof of how weak he has become,” said California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement Wednesday morning. “California will continue to lead the way in defending democracy — using every tool at our disposal and every minute in our day. This perilous moment in history demands no less from us.” 

But the Trump administration called the Supreme Court ruling in the president’s favor a victory for election security.

“The Supreme Court ruling was a major win for the security of American elections,” White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis told The Center Square Tuesday in an email. ”Radical Democrats continue to oppose commonsense measures that protect the security of mail-in ballots and ensure only Americans are electing American leaders.”

Wednesday's lawsuit was filed by the Democratic attorneys general of California, Nevada, Washington, Massachusetts, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, and Wisconsin. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, is also a plaintiff.

(The Center Square) – Microsoft is objecting to an agreement between We Energies and the Wisconsin Public Service Commission, saying it was not involved in negotiations and the agreement does not go far enough to ensure consumers do not pay for costs related to bringing power to the company’s $20.6 billion in data center projects in the state.

Microsoft said that it was not allowed to give input on the agreement and the agreements “predictably contain significant deficiencies – errors, contradictions and inconsistencies – and raise several significant cost-of-service and open access issues that support a Commission finding that the Agreements may not be just and reasonable.”

The objections were raised in a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with Microsoft stating that a settlement judge would be the best way to resolve the issues.

Microsoft said that the agreement won't allow the company to fully fulfill its promises in the federal Ratepayer Protection Pledge but it also objected to it leaving the timeline of transmission upgrades in the hands of the power companies.

Microsoft and Oracle are managing data centers in Port Washington and Racine County that are estimated to lead to $4 billion in new natural gas projects and $2 billion in new big power lines in both Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

“Microsoft respectfully requests that the Commission initiate hearing and settlement judge procedures so that Microsoft may continue efforts to work with ATC and WEPCo, as well as the Wisconsin Commission, the Citizens Utility Board of Wisconsin, and others, to resolve the deficiencies,” Microsoft wrote.

Microsoft said that having an accurate agreement is essential so that power is connected in a timely manner and the infrastructure is in place for Microsoft’s Racine County projects.

The company announced in June that the first phase of its Fairview data center projects was complete.

Microsoft wrote that American Transmission Company and We Energies have no incentive to meet the in-service dates for power transmission and the companies are capable of “updating the schedule, and thus the payments, if their timelines slip” as part of the agreement.

(The Center Square) – U.S. Customs and Border Protection is expanding maritime interdiction efforts in four major regions in U.S. coastal and international waters. 

It has established four new “Customs Enforcement Areas,” expanding its enforcement jurisdiction from 12 to 24 nautical miles in designated waters adjacent to South Florida, Southern California, Puerto Rico and the Gulf Coast of Texas, it says. 

“Smuggling organizations have exploited the outer edge of traditional customs waters by positioning vessels beyond the 12 nautical mile boundary, transferring illicit cargo at sea, and coordinating landings along remote shorelines,” CBP said. “The new designations strengthen CBP’s ability to counter those tactics and align its customs enforcement authority in these areas with the 24-nautical mile U.S. contiguous zone.”

CBP’s Air and Marine Operations will be working with Coast Guard crew and other federal partners to detect and interdict vessels used by cartels, foreign terrorist organizations and other criminal networks, CBP says. The designations provide a more consistent customs enforcement authority across these waters and support the investigation and prosecution of maritime smugglers, it adds.

“The ocean is not a safe haven for cartels and smugglers,” CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said. “These designations give our agents the room to act sooner and stop threats before they reach the American people. If you are moving drugs, contraband, or people toward our shores, expect us to find you.”

The expanded authority was established to carry out directives in two executive orders issued by the president to secure U.S. borders, including at sea, to enhance operational control in areas facing ongoing maritime smuggling threats. The orders, EO 14165 and EO 14411, direct the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies, including CBP and the Coast Guard, to advance border security measures and bolster enforcement of customs laws.

The announcement comes after a Texas Operation Lone Star Task Force discovered that cartels were moving people, drugs, stolen cars and contraband from Texas into Mexico and across the Gulf to major ports in Florida, The Center Square exclusively reported. 

It also comes as CBP AMO officers continue to arrest illegal foreign nationals at sea, interdicting smuggling attempts off the coast of Puerto Rico, St. Thomas and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The latest arrests are of citizens from the Dominican Republic, India, Ecuador, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Haiti and others.

Coast Guard crew are also continuing to apprehend illegal foreign nationals at sea off the coast of California. A recent interdiction involved apprehending nine aboard a panga-style vessel approximately 7 miles west of San Diego. In another interdiction effort, they apprehended another nine attempting illegal entry into the U.S. from Mexico via southern California. After spotting a 22-foot Seaswirl vessel entering Mission Bay, they intercepted it and apprehended all nine on board. 

In another successful interdiction effort, AMO officers and Coast Guard crew apprehended 21 illegal foreign nationals approximately 14 miles west of San Clemente Island. AMO and Coast Guard Los Angeles-Long Beach watchstanders responded after receiving a call from a “Good Samaritan” who reported “a suspected alien smuggling vessel” near San Clemente Island. 

AMO interdiction agents located the vessel and interdicted it. They also attempted to save a man’s life on board who was unresponsive by providing emergency care. He was transported to a medical center by helicopter but was later pronounced dead despite medical personnel efforts, CBP said. 

In other interdiction efforts, Coast Guard crew continue to apprehend dozens in San Diego’s Harbor near Ballast Point. The most recent vessel was intercepted approximately 11 miles offshore of Point Loma. In this case, Coast Guard crew identified a 20-foot cuddy cabin vessel, intercepted it, launched a boarding team to investigate and discovered five illegal foreign nationals on board. In another, Coast Guard crew identified an 18-foot Sea Ray vessel 7 miles offshore of Point Loma, intercepted it and apprehended seven illegal foreign nationals. 

In all cases, everyone apprehended was turned over to the custody of U.S. Border Patrol.

This is after Coast Guard crew made a record number of arrests off the coast of Florida during the Biden administration, repatriating thousands to Haiti and Cuba, The Center Square reported.

In California and Texas, Coast Guard crew actively assisted with deportation flights and launched Operation River Wall to patrol approximately 260 miles of the Rio Grande River in Texas. 

It also came after they again broke records in 2025, seizing record volumes of drugs and intercepting narco-trafficking vessels. They also made strides after launching Operation Pacific Viper, a counter-drug operation in the Eastern Pacific Ocean targeting cartel and transnational crime coming from Central and South America, The Center Square reported.

(The Center Square) - U.S. officials disrupted a plot by Chinese hackers to infiltrate online systems at several high level executive agencies. 

The U.S Justice Department found a state-sponsored group associated with the People's Republic of China was responsible for targeting sensitive networks and critical infrastructure at NASA, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the National Institutes of Health, Departement of Energy, Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Senate. 

“State-sponsored malicious hackers preying on America’s critical infrastructure will be stopped and prosecuted. We are here to ensure security for the American people and will use every tool we have to keep that promise,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche.

The Justice Department did not detail the extent of damage or security infiltration at the agencies. The announcement comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to visit President Donald Trump in the Washington, D.C. in September. 

The state-sponsored group behind the hacking incident, known as "QTFY," was employed by Nanjing Xinjiuwei Network Technology Company, a China-based company. According to court documents, QTFY offers hacking services to paying customers, including China's Ministry of State Security and People's Liberation Army

“Federal law enforcement investigated and disabled the PRC’s malicious software, the latest in a series of technical operations to dismantle indiscriminate hacking activities sponsored by the People’s Republic of China," Blanche said. 

The hacking platforms, known as "QScan" and "QRouter," were used to target infrastructure throughout the various agencies. QScan will scan and automatically infect thousands of "internet-of-things" devices worldwide, which are then added to the QTRouter network, according to court documents. 

QTRouter then works to conceal the identity of China-linked computers to hide the hacking activity. In some cases, QTRouter makes it appear as if hacking activity is local to a targeted agency's network. 

“Through complex investigations, aggressive technical operations, and strong partnerships, FBI San Diego will continue to identify, disrupt, and impose costs on our cyber adversaries," said Mark Remity, special agent in charge of the FBI San Diego field office. 

The hacking incident follows several others associated with China over the last few years. In 2025, the FBI removed surveillance malware from more than 4,000 U.S. computers after it had been infected by China-linked hacker group Mustang Panda. 

In 2023 and 2024, the FBI disrupted two botnets consisting of hundreds of thousands of devices linked to China-sponsored hacking groups. 

"We are committed to dismantling the tools behind these state-sponsored crimes and protecting the American people from malicious cyber activity," Remity said. 

(The Center Square) – At a grocer in Hoke County, the tariff break for a foreign exporter doesn’t produce a better price, says the Democratic nominee in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District.

It does, says retired Army Maj. Richard Ojeda, deliver a smaller check for American farmers and a bigger profit for corporations.

Ojeda is bidding to upset seven-term Republican Rep. Richard Hudson, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee – No. 5 in rank of leadership, and with great responsibility for the electing and reelecting of Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives.

"You don't put America first by putting American farmers second," said Ojeda. “This president got caught with grocery prices he can't explain, so he went looking for someone to throw under the bus, and he picked the American cattle farmer."

Second-term Republican President Donald Trump on Friday said he would allow more beef to be temporarily imported into America without higher tariffs. In published reports, multiple cattle farmers in North Carolina opposed the decision.

The White House says Trump is supportive of “America’s ranchers and farmers.”

“Four meatpackers control d--- near the entire American beef supply, and the biggest grocery chains in this country set the price on that shelf,” Ojeda said. “Nobody in this administration has explained how a tariff break for a foreign exporter turns into a lower number at a Food Lion in Hoke County. And that’s because it doesn’t. It turns into a bigger profit for a corporation and a smaller check for a farmer. This isn’t a relief plan. It's a slap in the face to the American cattle farmers who keep us fed every day.”

JBS, Cargill, Tyson and National Beef are the leaders in beef processing for the country, the U.S. Department of Agriculture says.

Hudson is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and its subcommittee on communications and technology. His voting record is 12th most conservative in the chamber.

Ojeda’s bid for what would be one of the nation’s biggest upsets includes an endorsement from the Progressive Caucus of the North Carolina Democratic Party, a wing of Democrats aligning with the left on Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and reform liberalism on a platform mirroring Franklin D. Roosevelt. The consistency is in aggressive economic and social reforms.

Republicans' 220-215 edge won in November 2024 is today 218-212 with one independent formerly Republican caucusing with his former party, and four vacancies. A victory by Hudson is predicted; a win by Ojeda would be pivotal to the possibility of Democrats regaining majority.

The 9th Congressional District includes all or portions of Alamance, Chatham, Guilford, Cumberland, Hoke, Moore, and Randolph counties.

(The Center Square) – Honest Elections Project filed an amicus brief on behalf of the petitioner in Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Nago, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to decide the case, with an attorney arguing that voter rolls being available for public view are vital to election integrity.

Executive director of Honest Elections Project Jason Snead told The Center Square that “the Ninth Circuit absurdly ruled that voter rolls are not a record related to list maintenance, but the result of list maintenance activity, and therefore can be kept secret.”

“That ruling conflicts with other circuits, which is why the Supreme Court should step in to make it clear that state voter registration records are subject to public examination,” Snead said. 

“Under the [National Voter Registration Act], records related to list maintenance are supposed to be available for inspection so the public can know whether states are fulfilling their legal duty to keep accurate voter rolls,” Snead said.

Public Interest Legal Foundation v. Nago is a lawsuit that was “filed under Section 8 of the National Voter Registration Act” in order to “to compel the release of the statewide voter roll and history records held by the Hawaii Office of Elections,” according to the petitioner, Public Interest Legal Foundation (PILF).

PILF President and General Counsel J. Christian Adams told The Center Square in a statement: “Congress said the public is entitled to all records concerning voter list maintenance. 

“‘All’ means ‘all,’” Adams said. “The statewide voter file is exactly what Congress requires be made public.”

Respondent Scott Nago, chief eection officer for the state of Hawaii, has not yet responded to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Counsel of record as well as partner at Holtzman Vogel law firm Jason Torchinsky similarly told The Center Square that “in PILF v. Nago, the Ninth Circuit held that Hawaii can hide its statewide voter registration list from public view,” contrary to what the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) requires.

“In doing so, the Ninth Circuit ignored the NVRA’s transparency-enhancing language beyond recognition and relied on a purported conflict with another federal statute, the Help America Vote Act [HAVA], that does not exist,” Torchinsky said.

Torchinsky said “the Honest Elections Project’s amicus brief argues that the Ninth Circuit’s decision conflicts with the NVRA’s text and structure and that the NVRA and HAVA can be read in harmony.”

“It urges the Supreme Court to take the case to reaffirm what the NVRA makes clear: the public has a right to inspect a State’s official statewide voter registration list – not just the paperwork behind it,” Torchinsky said.

“Meaningful oversight of election integrity is impossible without it,” Torchinsky warned.

Honest Elections Project urged in its amicus brief that the Supreme Court “grant the petition for a writ of certiorari.”

The brief argues that the Ninth Circuit’s ruling concerning voter rolls “conflicts with” the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) “text and structure” and is therefore wrong, especially as NVRA’ structure and principles “support Petitioner’s reading.”

The amicus brief also argues that the Ninth Circuit “erroneously found a conflict between the NVRA and HAVA where none exists.”

“The Court should grant certiorari to correct this error and ensure that the NVRA and HAVA are construed, as Congress intended them to be, as complementary enactments,” the brief said.

(The Center Square) - American voters say local communities should be able to limit data centers if they cause a strain on electricity, water, land or infrastructure, according to a new poll.

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll found that 68% think that communities should be able to limit data centers if they strain those local resources while 22% believe that communities should accept those trade-offs for the benefits of economic growth and the country’s technology future.

The results come from a survey conducted by Noble Predictive Insights from Aug. 12-16 that polled registered voters nationally via opt-in online panel and text-to-web cell phone messages. The sample included 2,533 respondents comprised of 930 Republicans, 930 Democrats, and 673 Independents. Among independent voters, 330 respondents were classified as true independents, which are individuals who do not lean toward either major party when given the choice. The margin of error is +/- 2.0%.

Mike Noble, founder of Noble Predictive Insights, said that polling has shown that “the incentives are bad but what’s even worse is electricity and water. If they are gobbling up local resources, that’s even worse to the electorate.”

Data centers have become hot political topics across the country with local Republicans contrasting with President Donald Trump’s national push for artificial intelligence data centers in Republican-leaning areas such as Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott is now pushing back against data centers.

Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany is doing the same in Wisconsin, pushing the moniker “Data Center David” on Democratic opponent David Crowley in the race to become the next governor.

“I think [Abbott]’s a skilled politician by making that move,” Noble said.

The Voters’ Voice poll results were similar across genders, ages and political affiliations.

“What has been the problem with data centers is their branding is bad and it keeps going from bad to worse,” Noble said.

Polling results from earlier this year showed that voters think building more data centers in the United States is not worth the potential strain on local electricity, water and infrastructure and that the negatives outweigh the importance for national security and competing with China.

A second question concluded that local governments should be cautious about new data centers because they can place strain on electricity, water, land and local infrastructure.