Author: Chris Wade | The Center Square contributor, Washington Examiner

(The Center Square) — New York City Mayor Eric Adams’ administration is vowing to press ahead with efforts to allow federal immigration agents to operate at the Rikers Island jail complex after a ruling by a New York judge temporarily halted the plans. New York state Supreme Court Judge Mary Rosado’s order, issued Friday, extended…

(The Center Square) — Maine’s education leaders say they won’t sign an agreement with the Trump administration to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs in public schools and colleges, and are telling local schools not to respond to the federal government’s demands. The state’s Department of Education sent a letter Thursday to the U.S. Education…

(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte is touting efforts to reduce government spending, hold the line on new taxes and overhaul the state’s bail law, during her first 100 days in office. Ayotte, a Republican and former U.S. senator who took over the governorship in January, ticked off a list of her…

(The Center Square) — Maine lawmakers are considering proposed restrictions on the use of smartphones and other electronic gadgets in schools, but the move is facing pushback — even from some education officials. The Democratic-led proposals range from a pilot project aimed at reducing electronic device distractions during the school day to a complete bell-to-bell…

(The Center Square) — A coalition of New York business groups are calling on the Hochul administration to put the brakes on the state’s California-inspired rule banning sales of gas-powered vehicles by 2030, saying the mandate will cost jobs and drive up consumer costs. In a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul, the groups said New…

(The Center Square) — New Hampshire is fighting to reverse a federal court ruling striking down a 2021 law barring schools from teaching “divisive” concepts about race and gender. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has asked the First Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston to overturn a lower court ruling invalidating a 2021 state…

(The Center Square) — Federal immigration officials will have a permanent office on New York City’s notorious Rikers Island prison under a directive from the Adams administration, which says the move will help with investigations of transnational gangs and terrorist groups. An executive order, signed Tuesday by New York City’s First Deputy Mayor Randy Maestro,…

(The Center Square) — The Trump administration has issued a “final warning” to the Maine Department of Education to comply with a federal directive barring transgender athletes from competing in girls’ and women’s sports. The U.S. Department of Education issued a notice to Maine Monday that it is in violation of Title IX by allowing…

(The Center Square) — New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is making a final push to include a “bell-to-bell” smartphone ban in public schools, and the state’s legislative leaders appear to be lining up behind the proposal. The proposal, tucked into Hochul’s two-year, $252 billion state budget, would ban “unsanctioned” use of smartphones and other internet-enabled…

(The Center Square) — A coalition of conservative New England watchdog groups is trying to sway the region’s largely Democratic congressional leaders to support renewing President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. The groups, which include the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance and Yankee Institute, held a live-streamed briefing on Monday where they warned of the “dire” consequences taxpayers…