Little talk of ‘world’s largest’ data center planned for southern Ohio

(The Center Square) – State financial aid continues to expand within higher education, allowing money to go to eligible illegal immigrant students.

The increased spending is heating up debate over who should receive state taxpayers-funded higher education benefits.

Currently, around 21 states and the District of Columbia offer in-state tuition eligibility to certain illegal immigrant students, and 18 states and D.C. provide access to state financial aid programs, according to Higher Ed immigration. 

For example, at a University of California school, the base in-state tuition is roughly $15,000 annually. For nonresidents, the base tuition is over $31,000, which means eligible illegal immigrants are essentially receiving $16,000 a year in aid.

The policies are part of a broader effort that has expanded over the past two decades to increase college access for immigrant students, including recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. DACA provides temporary protection from deportation and renewable work permits to certain immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children.

More than 900,000 of these individuals are estimated to be eligible for DACA. In addition, over 500,000 illegal immigrant students are enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities.

Critics argue that the programs impose costs on taxpayers and divert limited higher education resources away from U.S. citizens.

A 2025 report by the Federation for American Immigration Reform estimated that education-related expenses associated with illegal immigration total $5.7 billion nationally. 

Ira Mehlman, media director for FAIR, pointed to the 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act, which specifically created a provision requiring any state offering in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants to make the same benefit available to U.S. citizen students, regardless of which state they happen to live in.

States keep “finding new ways to provide benefits to illegal aliens,” Mehlman told The Center Square. “A lot of American students are being shut out of those state universities because those seats are now occupied by illegal aliens, and then taxpayers are being forced to pay for it.”

Texas pioneered this loophole that conditioned in-state tuition on having completed three years of high school in the state rather than looking at immigration status, Mehlman added. 

Texas became the first state to adopt such a policy in 2001 through what became known as the Texas Dream Act.

In June 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice sued Texas, arguing the program violated federal law. A federal court subsequently blocked enforcement of the Texas Dream Act. The lawsuit is currently on appeal at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Advocacy groups have sought to intervene, arguing the case was resolved without sufficient judicial review.

In Texas, state records show that colleges and universities distributed $635.2 million in state-funded gift aid to 133,989 students in 2023. According to a report by Every Texan, 3,566 Texas Dream Act students received $17.5 million in state-supported grants, accounting for less than 3% of total state gift aid distributed that year.

The taxpayer cost associated with the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors or DREAM Act program and others varies by state.

Lance Izumi, senior director of education studies at Pasadena-based Pacific Research Institute, argued that taxpayer-funded aid for illegal immigrant students raises concerns about fairness and state spending priorities.

"Government financial aid to illegal immigrant students is wrong on three counts: fairness, fiscal policy and planning for higher education's future," Izumi told The Center Square. 

Izumi noted that American students collectively hold roughly $1.8 trillion in student loan debt and argued that taxpayer-funded scholarships for illegal immigrant students may reduce resources available for citizens.

"It is also not fair to give lower in-state tuition to an illegal immigrant who broke the law to enter this country, while denying that lower tuition to a law-abiding American citizen in another state," he said.

Izumi also questioned whether colleges facing enrollment declines have expanded outreach to Illegal immigrant students, partly to offset falling student populations.

“In reality, pushing illegal-immigrant enrollment is a way for adults in higher education to save their jobs by finding a new pool of potential students rather than addressing the core reasons for falling college enrollment: politicization of courses, economic irrelevance of many courses and majors, and deteriorating academic rigor,” Izumi said.

Kassandra Gonzalez, senior attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project's Beyond Borders Program, working on the Texas lawsuit, told The Center Square that the issue is complicated because there is a distinction between immigrants who are "lawfully present" and those who have "lawful status."

“The misinformation and the frankly wrong narrative of this idea that dreamers or students who are able to take higher education with the Dream Act are taking opportunities from others is not the reality of economics,” Gonzalez said. 

Immigrant students contribute to local economies and give back to their communities, Gonzalez added. 

“I think the fiction that we hear in the immigration debate in general, like, ‘Oh, well, they're taking something from someone else,’ I always go back to, well, this idea that they don't pay taxes, or that these students aren't contributing. It's like there's actual data that they are giving back to the economy of Texas,” Gonzalez added. 

According to Every Texan, immigrants in Texas who hold bachelor's degrees earn substantially higher incomes than those with only high school diplomas. The organization estimates that the higher earnings associated with a college degree generate additional state and local tax revenue.

The Every Texan report estimated that Texas Dream Act students enrolled in 2023 could ultimately generate more than $43 million in additional annual state and local tax revenue through higher educational attainment and earnings.

According to the California Budget and Policy Center, illegal immigrants paid an estimated $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022. 

That same year, California residents paid an average of $3,734.82 in state income taxes. With roughly 19.6 million taxpaying residents, that equates to about $73.2 billion in state income tax revenue, not including sales taxes or higher-income tax brackets.

Mehlman told The Center Square that tax payments do not place illegal immigrants with citizens when it comes to public benefits.

Just because illegal immigrants pay taxes, “that doesn’t put them on an equal footing with legal residents and citizens,” Mehlman said. 

Along with Texas, several other states have expanded access to higher-education assistance in recent years. 

California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Washington are among the jurisdictions that provide broad access to state financial aid and grant programs for illegal immigrant students who meet applicable eligibility requirements.

In New York, lawmakers enacted the José Peralta New York State DREAM Act, expanding access to state financial aid for eligible illegal immigrant students. The DREAM Act allows immigrant students to apply for state financial aid for undergraduate or graduate study at eligible colleges and universities.

The state's 2019-20 budget, when it was first enacted, included $27 million to support implementation of the DREAM Act.

New York is home to an estimated 21,250 Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, recipients.

Through the DREAM Act, eligible illegal immigrant students may receive awards through the state's Tuition Assistance Program, which provides up to $5,665 annually.

For the 2025–26 budget, TAP alone provides more than $698 million annually to roughly 255,000 New York students. DREAM Act recipients are funded through these broader aid programs rather than through a standalone DREAM Act appropriation.

A New York City fact sheet reported that individuals eligible for the DREAM Act contributed an estimated $1.3 billion to the city's gross domestic product in 2017 and earned more than $873 million collectively, with average annual earnings of about $18,600.

In Illinois, access to state financial aid through House Bill 460 was signed into law by the Gov. J.B. Pritzker in December 2025.

The bill added in the Retention of Illinois Students and Equity Act, allowing eligible illegal immigrant students to apply for state-administered financial aid programs regardless of immigration status.

The change made illegal immigrant students eligible for state programs such as the Monetary Award Program grant, which provides need-based financial assistance for higher education.

Illinois allocated over $700 million for MAP grants during the 2024 fiscal year.

The states of Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina prohibit enrollment of illegal immigrant students into state financial aid programs, according to Higher Ed Immigration.   

The Center Square reached out to the American Immigration Council and the U.S. Department of Education for comment but did not receive a response.

(The Center Square) – A Cold-War relic in Southern Ohio from America’s nuclear past is emerging as a prime site in the latest global evolution – data centers and artificial intelligence.

In late March, the U.S. Department of Energy announced a public- private partnership with SB Energy, a Japanese company and part of the SoftBank Group, to build the “world’s largest artificial intelligence data center” at the 3,700- acre Portsmouth, Ohio site near the village of Piketon.

Construction began on the Portsmouth Gaseous Diffusion Plant in November 1952. The mission of the plant was to increase the national production of enriched uranium and maintain the nation's superiority in the development and use of nuclear energy,” according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

In February, the Trump administration announced a massive natural gas electric power plant planned for southern Ohio as one component of a new trade deal with Japan.

The plant is expected to be in the “vicinity of Portsmouth,” the U.S. Commerce Department said at the time.

According to the Portsmouth Area Chamber of Commerce, both of the announced projects – the gas power plant and the data center – are still planned.

Steve Shepherd, executive director of theSouthern Ohio Diversification Initiative, created to “re-industrialize and repurpose underutilized land and facilities” at the former diffusion plant in Piketon, declined to comment on the projects.

“We are not in a position to make any statements at this time,” Shepherd told The Center Square.

The village of Piketon had a population 2,291 in 2020, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

When the natural gas electric plant was announced in February, the announcement caught some local leaders, including the mayor of Portsmouth, Charlotte Gordon, by surprise.

“I wasn’t privy to these discussions,” Gordon told The Center Square. “I started calling some of the people I thought should know and they didn’t know.”

The data center was discussed at a meeting earlier this year of the West Union Village Council, according to minutes of the meeting.

The village mayor, Jason Buda, expressed concern about the amount of water that would be consumed by the data center, according to the minutes.

“The mayor said that it's too early at this time to say much but he does have concerns about the amount of water usage because from what he has heard they can expect to use one million gallons a day and that is about four times the amount we use ourself,” the minutes state.

When the data center was announced in March, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright praised the project, pointing out that it includes an electric generating component.

“I’m pleased to be working with our partners at SoftBank and AEP Ohio on this important project,” Wright said. “By bringing new power online and upgrading our existing infrastructure, this investment supports the AI boom and cutting-edge technologies while strengthening our energy system and helping keep costs down for the American people.”

(The Center Square) – The U.S. Supreme Court, in a unanimous decision on Thursday, agreed that a regular drug user cannot be stripped of the right to possess a firearm. 

The case, Hemani v. U.S., focuses on Texas man Ali Hemani, who was prosecuted by federal authorities after the FBI found marijuana, cocaine and a pistol in his home. Under federal law, an "unlawful drug user" can be stripped of their right to possess a firearm. 

Justices on the high court said the government cannot prosecute people who are unlawful drug users. Lawyers for the federal government said laws against habitual drug users are similar to founding-era laws against habitual drunkards. 

Justices on the court did not agree. Justice Neil Gorsuch pointed to marijuana's varying legal status across in states across the country. 

"The Department of Justice has directed federal prosecutors to curtail enforcement efforts against marijuana users, most States have legalized marijuana use to some degree, and the government recently moved some marijuana products from Schedule I to Schedule III," Gorsuch wrote in the court's majority opinion. 

While the court sided with Hemani, Gorsuch explained the decision is still narrow. He said the court's opinion does not address people who are currently intoxicated on illegal substances and possessing a firearm as long as prosecutors can prove that person is dangerous.

"The government could bring a prosecution under §922(g)(3) accompanied by individualized proof that the defendant’s drug use renders him a danger to himself or others, or proof that a certain drug always renders its users dangerous," Gorsuch wrote. 

Justice Samuel Alito agreed in the court's judgement, but maintained that federal law should still restrict mentally ill people and felons from possessing a firearm. Justice Elena Kagan joined Alito's opinion. 

"Nothing in the opinion of the Court should be read to cast doubt on the constitutionality of other provisions of §922(g), such as §§922(g)(1) and (4), the 'prohibitions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill,'" Alito wrote. 

The high court agreed with a lower court, finding Hemani can keep possession of firearms despite being found with drugs. The ruling case could extend to many other people with unlawful drug use convictions across the country. 

(The Center Square) – Federal prosecutors have charged 15 members and associates of a Minnesota anti-ICE activist network with crimes ranging from stalking to assault.

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that members of Direct Action Minnesota, known as DAMN, were indicted following a federal investigation into what officials described as a “coordinated violence” targeting federal immigration and law enforcement officers.

“The arrests of these rioters is a win for law and order. If you lay a hand on law enforcement, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. “We have ZERO tolerance for violence against our law enforcement. If you assault or obstruct law enforcement, you will face the consequences.”

Federal authorities arrested 12 defendants in a coordinated operation over the last 24 hours, according to the DOJ. Two remain at large, while another was already in federal custody on unrelated charges. They are being charged in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota.

“As alleged, these defendants, which included members of Antifa groups, engaged in an unrelenting campaign of harassment and violence targeting federal and local law enforcement,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Their actions created a dangerous environment that threatened not only their intended targets, but the community as a whole.”

According to the indictment, the group organized and carried out actions aimed at disrupting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, including blockades at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, surveillance of federal agents and confrontations with law enforcement officers. The federal operations included the highly-controversial Operation Metro Surge.

“For those who choose to threaten or harm federal officers, the Department of Justice will hold you accountable,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen for the District of Minnesota. “The direct actions alleged in the indictment are un-American. And they will be met with swift justice.”

The eight-count indictment also alleges DAMN members worked with other groups, like Antifa, to identify and respond to immigration enforcement activity throughout the Minneapolis area.

The announcement of charges and arrests quickly prompted protests outside the Warren E. Burger Federal Courthouse in St. Paul on Tuesday.

Stu Smith, an investigative analyst with City Journal, condemned the protests, which led to law enforcement officers using crowd-control tactics.

“You can protest. You can criticize ICE. You can be furious about federal charges,” Smith said on social media. “But you cannot swarm a federal courthouse and try to intimidate the justice system in real time.”

Also in the wake of the protests, the Department of Homeland Security doubled down on the charges on Wednesday on social media.

“Our officers are facing a coordinated campaign of violence against them, including from these Antifa rioters in Minnesota,” the official DHS account said. “Let these indictments be a warning to anyone who lays a hand on our law enforcement: we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

The defendants face a variety of federal charges (view the full list HERE).

MISSOULA, Mont. — The Missoula County Fire Protection Association announced fire danger in Missoula County rose to moderate today.

Warmer temperatures and drier vegetation drove the change, which took effect immediately, the association said. They warned that under moderate fire danger, fires can start easily in open dry grass and move fast when it is windy.

Residents and visitors are asked to be careful with any fire use. Officials said campfires should stay small and be fully put out before anyone leaves.

Betsy Pickhardt, community preparedness and fire prevention specialist for the Southwestern Land Office DNRC, urged people to take the conditions seriously.

“Despite the rain we have received these last few weeks, vegetation is dry and warm temperatures have raised conditions to moderate,” Pickhardt said. “Always extinguish campfires completely and do not burn piles on hot windy days.”

General, essential agriculture and prescribed wildland outdoor burning seasons remain open in Missoula County. Anyone planning to burn should check the condition of the pile, nearby vegetation and the forecast before starting.

The association also said people should activate their burn permit that same day, keep enough people, water and equipment on hand and stay with the fire until it is cold to the touch. Officials added that burn piles should not be built near tall grass, overhanging trees or structures.

(The Center Square) – The American Parents Coalition is calling on Congress to examine federal funding of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, stating in its letter that the organization pushes “radical” political ideology onto schoolchildren nationwide with tax dollars. 

Executive director of American Parents Coalition Alleigh Marré told The Center Square that “taxpayer dollars should never support institutions that promote political activism.”

“Instead of acting upon its intended mission to promote STEM programs for future generations, NASEM is focused on 'equity in STEM,' transgender ideology, and climate activism in classrooms,” Marré said. 

“Parents deserve accountability and transparency when it comes to what their dollars are being used for and what is being taught to their children,” Marré said. 

“Congress must investigate NASEM’s funding and practices,” Marré said.

American Parents Coalition’s letter was sent to Congressman Brian Babin, chairman of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Neither NASEM nor Babin responded to The Center Square’s requests for comment. 

The letter stated that while “NASEM receives hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding every year,” it has “transformed itself into a platform for pushing radical political agendas into K–12 classrooms across America.”

“These are taxpayer dollars entrusted to an institution whose stated mandate is to provide independent, nonpartisan scientific guidance,” the letter said. 

“Instead, NASEM has funneled resources toward left-wing advocacy organizations that push explicitly political agendas onto students and publicly share resources filled with extreme political ideology,” the letter said. 

NASEM has promoted “a specific climate agenda and so-called ‘environmental justice’ curricula in K–12 schools,” according to the letter.

One organization that NASEM funds is EcoRise, which “distributes lesson plans for elementary, middle, and high school students in which students ‘discover how they can help dismantle and counteract damage caused by systemic racism,’” the letter said.

The letter also touched on NASEM’s promotion of gender ideology to schools. 

“NASEM's 2023 workshop ‘Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth’ encouraged schools to use ‘affirming pronouns’ and to validate students' self-declared gender identities, even when parents object or refuse to do so,” the letter said.

As Marré also noted, NASEM last year published a report “laced with racially and ideologically charged rhetoric” entitled “Equity in K–12 STEM Education: Framing Decisions for the Future,” the letter said.

The letter stated that “NASEM's workshops, curricula partnerships, and DEI-framed publications appear to be in direct conflict with” federal directives. 

NASEM has come under fire lately from Consumers’ Research for promoting woke ideology with tax dollars, as well as faced scrutiny from state attorneys general for refusing to remove climate agenda from a judicial manual.

NASEM was founded to advise the government on issues related to science, engineering and medicine, according to its website.

(The Center Square) – Another Muslim man has been charged with terrorism tied to a range of alleged crimes associated with claiming to raise support for charities and instead using the money to fund the Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. 

Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi, residing in San Diego, California, appeared before a federal judge in the Southern District of California Wednesday after being arrested the day before. He is charged with terrorism, sanctions-evasion, wire fraud, money laundering, and making false statements as part of a scheme to divert funds raised through purported charitable campaigns to Hamas, according to an unsealed complaint. The case is being prosecuted in New York.

“As alleged in the complaint, the defendant exploited the barbaric acts of terror perpetrated on October 7, 2023, to attract donors to his fraudulent ‘humanitarian’ causes,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said. “He allegedly raised hundreds of thousands of dollars through this scheme, which he then funneled to Hamas to help finance that group’s terror and violence and to line his own pockets.”

“From within the United States, Reda Sabassi is alleged to have solicited and diverted funds to the known foreign terrorist organization, Hamas, which committed the brutal October 7, 2023, massacre” in Israel, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York said. “Hamas promotes attacks against the U.S. and has murdered dozens of Americans through acts of terror.” His arrest “demonstrates our whole-of-government commitment to prosecute those who provide financial support to a malign terrorist regime that hates America.” 

Sabassi is listed as the chief executive officer, chief financial officer and secretary of Ikram, an Arab Charity Foundation headquartered in Sacramento. The organization was founded in 2022 and listed as a nonprofit corporation with the California Secretary of State’s Office.

His arrest comes as the greatest number of antisemitic incidents occurring in the U.S. are in New York and California, with incidents increasing exponentially after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. Last year was the most violent year on record for Jews in the United States, The Center Square reported. Perpetrators cite Hamas as inspiration.

A designated terrorist organization by the Department of State in 1997, Hamas holds a majority in the Palestinian government in Gaza and the West Bank. The Palestinian Authority, run by the Palestinian Legislative Council, has been controlled by a Hamas majority since 2006.  

The PA created a prisoner and martyr fund in support of terrorism. For nearly 30 years, billions of dollars of U.S. taxpayer money were sent to Gaza and the West Bank under the guise of humanitarian aid but were instead used to support Hamas, a lawsuit filed in Texas two years ago argues, The Center Square reported.  

President Donald Trump, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others have taken measures to prevent U.S. funds from inadvertently supporting Islamic terrorism overseas, as well as strengthening sanctions and punishments for those who support it in the U.S. 

Over the last four decades, Hamas has claimed responsibility for numerous large-scale terror attacks resulting in Americans’ deaths. Its stated mission is to create an Islamic Palestinian state by eliminating the state of Israel through violent holy war, or jihad. 

Founded in 1987, the preamble of Hamas’ 1988 Covenant of the Islamic Resistance Movement states, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.’”

Reda Mazen Rida Sabassi has publicly supported Hamas online and has raised money for Hamas using online donation platforms, the charges allege. Examples include him creating an hour-long propaganda video of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, and posting it in several social media posts, according to the charges. 

Since at least 2022, he’s also used social media accounts, crowdfunding websites, Ikram and Gaza Now to solicit donations worldwide, including from New York residents and nationwide, the charges allege. Sabassi claimed in fundraising appeals that he was raising money to provide humanitarian aid to Palestinians but was “actually raising funds for Hamas,” the charges alleged. He also joked about naming the fundraiser after Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ military wing, investigators say.

These online fundraising campaigns brought in roughly $600,000 in a two-month-period in early 2024. He then sent roughly $116,000 to a Hamas member, according to the charges. He also attempted to convert approximately $382,000 of the cash he raised into cryptocurrency to send to Hamas through Gaza Now, according to the charges.

If convicted of all charges he faces up to 85 years in prison. 

The case is the latest among others where crypo is being used to fund terrorism. Last year in the District of Columbia, two major terrorism cases involve charges brought against alleged funding of Hamas. In one case, cryptocurrency valued at roughly $200,000 was seized after authorities learned its intended purpose was to support Hamas. 

The funds were traced from fundraising addresses purportedly controlled by Hamas to launder more than $1.5 million in virtual currency, authorities allege. Seized accounts were registered in the names of Palestinians living in Turkey and elsewhere, the DOJ said. 

In another case, roughly $2 million in digital currency was seized allegedly connected to a Gaza-based money transfer business involved in financially supporting Hamas.

(The Center Square) – Active-military voters stationed overseas, as well as expats, could more easily submit their ballots in elections if Senate Bill 970 passes in the California Legislature.

The bill would require the California secretary of state to institute new rules that make voting more secure when voters submit their ballots from overseas, according to a legislative analysis. 

The Assembly Elections Committee on Wednesday approved the bill 6-0. The legislation will now go to a hearing by the Assembly Military and Veterans Affairs Committee.

State Sen. Sabrina Cervantes, D-Riverside and author of the bill, testified during the Assembly Elections Committee meeting that the bill was timely because in 2025, federal officials ended a fax service that voters overseas used to cast their ballots on time.

The Department of Defense Fax Service was the fastest – and sometimes only – way military voters stationed overseas or American citizens living abroad can participate in elections back home. 

“Unfortunately, in August of 2025, the federal government announced that FVAP [the Federal Voting Assistance Program] would be discontinuing the D.O.D. fax service,” Cervantes testified Wednesday morning. “In last November’s statewide special election, many of these voters had logistical issues either receiving their ballots at all or receiving their ballots by mail in time to be counted.”

The problem was made worse by the U.S. Postal Service announcing on June 12 that mail would no longer be delivered to certain countries. Those countries include Afghanistan, Belarus, Bhutan, Cuba, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Seychelles, Sudan, South Sudan, Turkmenistan and Yemen, according to the U.S. Postal Service’s alerts page. Many of the countries have U.S. military bases, Cervantes testified.

“We have large numbers of American military personnel deployed overseas in the ongoing conflict with Iran,” Cervantes told the committee. “California must step up and ensure military and overseas voters from our state can retain the ability to exercise our sacred right to vote.”

According to Cervantes, the changes from the U.S. Department of War and the U.S. Postal Service run counter to a long history of federal laws that have historically only expanded access to military and overseas voters trying to vote in elections back in the states. The 1944 Soldier Voting Rights Act allowed active-duty military voters to cast absentee ballots while stationed overseas or in other parts of the country far away from their hometowns.

That was followed in 1955 by a law that created the Federal Voting Assistance Program. 

The program was created to ensure that eligible American voters living anywhere in the world are aware of their right to vote and that they have the tools to do so. The program requires states to send military and overseas voters their requested absentee ballots no later than 45 days before a federal election.

However, that long lead time doesn’t always ensure that eligible voters are able to get and cast their ballots in time, according to James Kus, Fresno County clerk and registrar of voters.

“Fresno County has had to reject four voters because we received their ballot after the seven-day window,” Kus testified on Wednesday on behalf of the California Association of Clerks and Election Officials. “That includes one voter who mailed it on May 20 in Canada, and we didn’t receive it until June 12. So this is an ongoing issue that we very much hope we can get a solution found in time for the 2028 presidential cycle.”

Despite the widespread support from county elections officials and Assembly members on the committee, at least one state official felt the bill needed to be amended before passage.

“The bill does not define what qualifies as a secure ballot return method, nor does it establish ay specific requirements or standards,” Tim Cromartie, legislative affairs staffer for the deputy secretary of state, testified on Wednesday. “Today we have consensus on both the existence of a problem regarding military and overseas voters and the need to take action in light of the defunding of the DOD fax service.”

However, there isn’t consensus on what actions state officials should take, Cromartie told lawmakers. “The current version of the bill provides direction that is vague, at best, in terms of what regulations would look like and what is needed.”

The bill is making its way through the California Legislature following the U.S. Supreme Court’s taking up of a voting rights case concerning military voters, Watson vs. Republican National Committee.

According to previous reporting by The Center Square, the highest court in the nation could decide to eliminate grace periods for military and overseas voters trying to participate in elections. While a decision is expected at any time, it does not appear that the justices have made a ruling in that case, according to SCOTUSblog.

The Supreme Court's current term is expected to end in late June or early July.

Officials from the Department of War and the U.S. Postal Service did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment before publication time on Wednesday.

Voting rights organizations, including Secure Democracy, Veterans for All Voters and Secure Families Initiative, also did not respond to The Center Square.

(The Center Square) – An Illinois candidate for Congress says a teen takeover arrived like a storm at a Chicago grocery store where she was shopping this week.

Christian Maxwell is the Republican nominee for the House seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, D-Chicago.

Maxwell said there were a few teens and police units outside the Hyde Park Trader Joe’s when she entered the store with her four children Monday evening, but the dynamic quickly changed.

“I didn't know initially, but it was because the full teen takeover had arrived kind of like a storm. It was that quick.  It went from being a few kids to hundreds of kids at this location,” Maxwell told The Center Square.

Maxwell said there were adult men mixed in with the teens.

“They have on balaclavas or they have on masks like the COVID-19 mask. They’re in full black attire and they have bags as well.  So these are not just children who are making some TikToks and having fun,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said she was able to check out and exit the store. She said there were teens all over the parking lot and men walking by as she got her kids into the car.

She posted a video with brief footage of the incident on social media.

Although she was not aware of any injuries, Maxwell said the takeover devolved into brawls at several area businesses.

“When I drove past, I saw merchandise on the ground in front of the Walgreens. Those kids actually had fights all throughout Hyde Park. They kept traveling.  They travel like a horde,” Maxwell said.

She said teens have stolen “a good amount” of Chicago Transit Authority fare because they bum rush the bus or train to avoid paying.

When asked by The Center Square about a potential solution to the teen takeover issue, Maxwell said more rules are not needed.

“You have to enforce the laws we already have.  It has never been ok for parents to not know where their children are. These are minors,” Maxwell said.

Maxwell said parents should be held accountable if their minor children are picked up for entering a business and stealing.

(The Center Square) – In a rare instance of congressional unity, the House and Senate reached a bipartisan, bicameral agreement over legislation to boost housing supply and home ownership across the country.

The Senate overwhelmingly voted to advance the updated 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act Tuesday night. Congressional leaders hope to vote on final passage by the week’s end

“I’m pleased that after months of back and forth that we have reached an agreement on a comprehensive housing package that will finally get America back to building affordable housing,” House Financial Services Committee Ranking Member Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who helped iron out differences between the House and Senate versions, stated.

The revamped legislation includes key sweeteners to appease both chambers.

It keeps a swath of banking provisions from the House’s version, including multiple deregulation bills meant to expand community banks’ access to funding sources for mortgages and home construction loans.

Sourced from the Senate version, the final bill includes a four-year ban on the Federal Reserve issuing a Central Bank Digital Currency, though it exempts “any dollar-denominated currency that is open, permissionless, and private, and fully preserves the privacy protections of United States coins and physical currency.”

Lawmakers were able to strike a bicameral compromise over proposed restrictions to corporate home ownership, the greatest contributor to the bill’s delay.

The bill contains the Senate’s 15-year ban on large institutional investors, defined as entities that own more than 350 housing units, from buying single-family homes for the next 15 years. Manufactured housing, multifamily homes, and build-to-rent properties are exempted from the ban.

At the same time, the final product excludes a Senate provision requiring large institutional investors to sell rental homes they build to individuals within seven years of construction, which multiple industry stakeholders, including the National Association of Homebuilders, had objected to.

“NAHB congratulates congressional leaders for reaching a bicameral and bipartisan agreement to move forward a final version of the 21st Century Road to Housing Act,” NAHB Chairman Bill Owens said in a statement Tuesday.

“This landmark legislation would expand housing opportunities for buyers and renters, strengthen homeownership, and help tackle the affordability challenges facing communities nationwide.”

The vast majority of provisions within the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, however, receive widespread bipartisan support.

Among other measures, the bill streamlines environmental reviews for new housing construction, lifts the 15% cap on banks’ private investments in affordable housing to 20%, and establishes a pilot program to convert vacant and abandoned buildings into livable housing.

It revises the federal definition of “manufactured housing” to include units not built on permanent chassis and authorizes a specialized grant program for areas with manufactured housing communities. It also updates mortgage lending standards through the Federal Housing Administration for manufactured homes.

Dozens of outside organizations support the new version of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, including the National Association of Realtors and the National Housing Conference.

“Housing affordability remains one of the most pressing challenges facing American families, and it deserves the kind of bipartisan cooperation that has characterized this effort from the beginning,” NHC President David Dworkin said. “[T]his bill is a significant down payment on a long-term effort to make housing more affordable for all Americans.”

Home ownership has proven increasingly out of reach for younger and middle-class Americans, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, research shows.

The median age of first-time buyers jumped to 40 in 2025, seven years older than the median age just five prior, according to a National Association of Realtors analysis.

Meanwhile, the median home price in the U.S. sits above $405,000 while the median annual household income is below $84,000, according to the most recent federal statistics.