State and Regional

Norfolk Southern has become the first major North American freight railroad with deals to provide sick time to all of its workers. But other railroads are making progress, with nearly 65% of all rail workers securing the basic benefit. All of the major freight railroads have said they're committed to resolving this key issue that nearly led to a strike last year. But most of those railroads are still negotiating with a number of their unions. Last fall, the railroads refused to add paid sick time but they relented this year after intense pressure from the public and key lawmakers. Union Pacific also announced a deal Monday to give 5,600 engineers sick time.

The Biden administration is handing out more than $570 million in grants to help eliminate railroad crossings in 32 states just as the industry is increasingly relying on longer and longer trains to cut costs. The grants announced Monday will help eliminate more than three dozen crossings that delay traffic and sometimes keep first responders from where help is desperately needed. There have been examples of ambulance delays resulting in a death and homes burning down while firefighters wait at a blocked crossing. In addition, roughly 2,000 collisions are reported at railroad crossings every year. Nearly 250 deaths were recorded last year in those car-train crashes.

Nebraska has the country's only single-chamber, nonpartisan legislature, and state leaders have long held up the unique system as an example of efficiency that rises above hyperpartisan politics. But this year's acrimonious session may have changed that. The session began with conservatives still stinging from 2022 losses on bills to ban most abortions and to loosen gun regulations so they packed legislative committees, angering progressives. That anger came to a head when a bill by a freshman conservative lawmaker to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors led a group of left-leaning lawmakers to filibuster nearly every bill up for debate — even ones they supported.

Dev Shah is the champion of the Scripps National Spelling Bee. The 14-year-old from Largo, Florida, had his spelling career interrupted by the pandemic, then didn't make it out of his regional bee last year. He was brimming with confidence in his final opportunity, asking precise questions about obscure Greek roots. His winning word was “psammophile,” and his root knowledge made it a layup. Dev takes home the winner's trophy and more than $50,000 in cash and prizes. Charlotte Walsh, a 14-year-old from Arlington, Virginia, was the runner-up.

Nebraska lawmakers have wrapped up a particularly contentious session that saw nearly every bill before the body filibustered. The filibuster effort led by Omaha Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh and a handful of allies was a protest over a bill that began as a measure to ban gender-affirming care for transgender minors, but it morphed to also included a 12-week abortion ban. The effort greatly slowed the work of the Legislature. It led to long days that saw debate routinely stretch into the evening hours and forced leaders to attach bills as amendments in order to get legislation passed.

Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill Thursday to comply with a voter ID requirement mandated by voters in November. The vote came on the last day of the 2023 legislative session and despite a filibuster effort by conservative Sen. Julie Slama, who was the only lawmaker to vote against it. She had chaired the referendum effort that saw the voter ID question put on the ballot in November. The bill that passed allows a wide array of photo identification that voters present at the polls, and allows rare exceptions for voting without a photo ID. Slama says that flies in the face of what voters intended when they voted to require a photo ID to vote.

A federal judge did not make an immediate decision on the fate of a revised version of a federal policy that prevents the deportation of hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. A court hearing was held in Houston on Thursday. Attorneys representing the nine states suing to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and lawyers for the federal government and DACA recipients made their arguments to U.S. District Judge Andrew Hanen. The judge, who in 2021 declared DACA illegal, didn't say when he would issue a ruling but said he would do so "as expeditiously as we can."