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W.Va. on the cusp of boosting money in its politics

The Republican-dominant West Virginia legislature has cleared legislation designed to bring more money into the state's politics. GOP Gov. Jim Justice has not yet committed to signing the bill, which would nearly triple the amount individuals may contribute to candidates (to $2,800), boost in the donation limit to the state parties 10 times over (to $10,000) and boost fivefold (to $5,000) the cap on giving to political action committees.

Those limits would match the national caps established by the Federal Election Commission.


"There's no sound reason for increasing the amount of influence a person or group can have over a politician by enabling them to spend even more," the Charleston Gazette-Mail, the state's primary newspaper, editorialized. "The absolute indifference to furthering political corruption and outside influence in the form of SB 622 is maddening. It also shows a startling lack of shame on the part of legislators who support the bill."


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What a 16th-Century Mexican Woman Taught Me About Myself

Sometimes it takes centuries to discover who you are.

This Women’s History Month, I honor Malinche, one of the most controversial women in Mexico’s history. In my work over 25 years to discover and tell her story

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The Tax-Season Trap: When Refunds Become a Child Care Safety Net

Man receives a tax refund check from the government; Indoor background

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The Tax-Season Trap: When Refunds Become a Child Care Safety Net

Most parents are more than happy to receive a tax refund. That money can help pay bills, fund a long-overdue vacation, or simply offer breathing room. But for too many families, especially Black families, that refund is not extra. It too often becomes a temporary relief from a child care gap created by school systems that are no longer designed around the realities of working families.

Schools are supposed to be structured in a child’s best interest. In practice, hardships are built into an antiquated design. Seventy percent of Black parents work service-essential nine-to-five roles, yet schools dismiss in the early afternoon. Parents are left scrambling to find and pay for before- and after-school care, babysitters for holidays, teacher workdays, and full-time summer camps. Those gap hours and summer care costs average to about $400 to $500 per week. For many households, that equals an entire paycheck.

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DHS Shutdown Becomes Democrats’ Leverage to Curb ICE Tactics after Minnesota Deaths

Demonstrators protest Department of Homeland Security assigning ICE agents to work alongside TSA agents at O'Hare International Airport on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. The travel disruptions continue as hundreds of TSA agents quit or work without pay during a partial government shutdown. U.S. President Donald Trump said ICE agents will be deployed to U.S. airports on Monday, with border czar Tom Homan in charge of the effort.

(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

DHS Shutdown Becomes Democrats’ Leverage to Curb ICE Tactics after Minnesota Deaths

WASHINGTON – For more than a month, Democrats have refused to fund the Department of Homeland Security while demanding that the agency limit Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in ten specific ways after federal agents killed two people during federal immigration operations in Minnesota in January.

“We will not continue to allow what we’re seeing on the streets. Thousands of Americans, of immigrants, of our neighbors from Chicago to Minneapolis are saying ‘enough is enough,’” said Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill.

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Construct or Destruct: The American Promise is at a Crossroad!
shallow focus photo of Statue of Liberty

Construct or Destruct: The American Promise is at a Crossroad!

In my US History class, I asked a simple question: What keeps democracy alive[DK1]? Most students answered, “good leaders” or “strong laws.” One student paused and said, “People who know how to listen to each other.” That answer is at the heart [DK2] of the American Promise and may matter more than any election.

America has always been defined as much by its promises as by its policies. From the Declaration of Independence to modern political speeches, leaders and thinkers alike have tried to answer a central question: What is America supposed to be?

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