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Indiana moving far too slowly to thwart election hacking, lawsuit alleges

Inquire Indiana: Which Counties Don't Have Paper Ballots?

Indiana is not moving nearly assertively enough to upgrade its voting machines so they're less vulnerable to hackers, a nonprofit alleges in a federal lawsuit pressing the state to spend millions more before the presidential election.

At issue is the timetable for eliminating the direct recording electronic, or DRE, voting machines that are in use in 58 of the state's 92 counties. The complaint filed Thursday by Indiana Vote by Mail, which advocates for any array of proposals to give Hoosiers easier access to the ballot box, wants to force the state to replace the paperless devices in the next year with machines that produce a voter-verified paper audit trail.

Indiana for now looks to be among just eight states using paperless balloting in 2020, when President Trump will be counting on its 11 electoral votes. The state last went for the Democratic candidate for president in 2008.


Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson announced plans this summer to retrofit 2,000 electronic machines before the primaries in May so they produce a paper record. But that's only 10 percent of the equipment at issue. That's because the state allocated just $6 million to the project. Lawson had sought $75 million for the project but was rebuffed in budget negotiations by the governor, fellow Republican Eric Holcomb.

The General Assembly enacted a law this year giving counties in the state until 2030 to stop using paperless voting machines at any of the 5,0000 polling places. The DRE machines are widely understood to be more vulnerable to attack than their paper-trail siblings. But Lawson told the Indianapolis Star it is already "virtually impossible"for someone to hack into Indiana elections, because voting machines and tabulation devices aren't connected to the Internet.

Over the summer, volunteer hackers successfully gained access to every voting system they targeted as a test of the nation's election security.

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Kennedy Confirms Intent To Fund Head Start for FY26, but Illinois Providers Remain Concerned

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies in front of Congress, defending HHS FY26 budget. May 14, 2025.

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Kennedy Confirms Intent To Fund Head Start for FY26, but Illinois Providers Remain Concerned

Testifying in front of Congress this May, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. assured lawmakers funding would not be cut for Head Start, a child care program that serves nearly 28,000 low-income children and families across Illinois.

Kennedy said during the meeting that he “fought very, very hard” to ensure Head Start would not be cut from next year’s budget. The Trump administration is committed to “preserving legacy programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Head Start as the foundation of the MAGA agenda,” he said. DHHS will work to ensure Head Start “continues to serve its 750,000 children and parents effectively.”

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D-Day Proclamation Day: Honoring Sacrifice, Reflecting on History

Written in the sand the date of the landing of Normandy on the same beach where the troops landed on D-day.

Getty Images, Carmen Martínez Torrón

D-Day Proclamation Day: Honoring Sacrifice, Reflecting on History

June 6 marks D-Day Proclamation Day, a time to solemnly commemorate the historic landings in Normandy, France, on June 6, 1944. On this day, we honor the extraordinary bravery and sacrifices of the Allied forces, whose decisive actions helped liberate Europe and turn the tide of World War II.

D-Day was a pivotal moment in history—the beginning of the Allied effort to reclaim Western Europe from Nazi control. Over 156,000 troops from the United States, Britain, Canada, and other nations stormed the beaches of Normandy in Operation Overlord, an unprecedented amphibious assault that ultimately shaped the course of the war. Though the battle came at a great cost, it remains a lasting symbol of courage, resilience, and the fight for freedom.

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English as the New Standard: Understanding Language Policies Under Trump

Writing "learn english"

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English as the New Standard: Understanding Language Policies Under Trump

English as the Official Language of the U.S.

On March 1st, 2025, President Trump issued an executive order declaring English as the official language of the United States. This marks the first time the country has ever designated an official language in its nearly 250-year history. Currently, thirty states have already established English as their official language, with Alaska and Hawaii recognizing several native languages as official state languages in addition to English.

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Blank Checks and Empty Promises: The Collapse of Congressional Fiscal Power

A politician counting money in front of the US Capitol Building.

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Blank Checks and Empty Promises: The Collapse of Congressional Fiscal Power

From Governing to Grandstanding

There was a time—believe it or not—when Congress actually passed budgets the old-fashioned way: through debate, compromise, and the occasional all-night session, not theatrics designed to appeal to cable news and social media. The process, while messy, followed a structure: hearings, markups, votes, and compromises. That structure—known as regular order—wasn’t just congressional tradition. It was the scaffolding of democratic accountability. It has also been steadily torn down.

Deadlines and dysfunction better define today’s Congress. Instead of the back-and-forth of healthy deliberation, Congress relies on continuing resolutions and last-minute omnibus bills. Budget gimmicks that were once used only during fiscal emergencies—backloaded cuts, timing shifts, reconciliation sleight-of-hand—are now the rule, not the exception. Congress has shifted from prioritizing policy to prioritizing the message and crafting political narratives.

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