In the news today: An Associated Press investigation into the sexual abuse of incarcerated women; Texas hospitals must ask patients whether they are in the U.S. legally; and how voting before Election Day became so widespread and so political. Also, if you’re in the market for new trees, why you should consider planting natives. |
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A MESSAGE FROM OUR WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, ANNA JOHNSON |
AP race callers are deeply familiar with the states where they declare winners. Their preparation begins months before Election Day, studying election rules, recount requirements, and changes to election law. By the time polls close, they have a detailed understanding of each county’s voting history, mail-in and early voting patterns, and how votes are typically counted in their state, ensuring they are well-equipped to make accurate race calls. Support this work and The Associated Press.
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(AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)
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Prison work assignments used to lure and rape female inmates. Guards sometimes walk free
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As part of a sweeping two-year investigation into prison labor, The Associated Press found that correctional staff nationwide have been accused of using inmate work assignments to sexually abuse incarcerated women, luring them to isolated spots, out of view of security cameras. Many cases follow a similar pattern: Accusers are retaliated against, while the accused face little or no punishment. Read more.
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Women are the fastest-growing population behind bars. Though they represent only 10% of the nation’s overall prison population, female incarceration rates have jumped from about 26,000 in 1980 to nearly 200,000 today. Most women have been locked up for nonviolent crimes that often are drug-related.
Reporters scoured thousands of pages of court filings, police reports, audits and other documents that detailed graphic stories of systemic sexual violence and coverups from New York to Florida to California. In all 50 states, reporters found cases where women said they were attacked by staff while doing jobs like kitchen or laundry duty inside correctional facilities or in work-release programs that placed them at private businesses such as national fast-food restaurants and hotel chains.
- Accused correctional staff often quit or retire before internal investigations are complete, sometimes retaining pensions and other benefits, experts say. With no paper trail and severe staff shortages nationwide, some are simply transferred or hired at other facilities or they land positions overseeing vulnerable populations like juveniles.
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Texas hospitals must now ask patients whether they’re in the US legally
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Texas hospitals must ask patients starting Friday whether they are in the U.S. legally and track the cost of treating people without legal status following an order by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott that expands the state’s clash with the Biden administration over immigration. Read more. |
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Under the executive order announced by Abbott in August, hospitals must ask patients if they are citizens in the U.S. and whether they are lawfully present in the country. Patients have the right to withhold the information and hospital workers must tell them their responses will not affect their care, as required by federal law.
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Critics fear the change could scare people away from hospitals in Texas, even though patients are not required to answer the questions to receive medical care. Florida enacted a similar law last year, which health care advocates contend made immigrants who need emergency medical care fearful and led to fewer people seeking help. Texas hospitals have spent months preparing for the change and have sought to reassure patients that it won’t affect their level of care.
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How voting before Election Day became so widespread and so political
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Roughly 50 years ago, nearly 95% of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day. That number has fallen gradually as states provided Americans with more options on how and when to vote. Polling from Gallup shows that nationwide there was little partisan divide on advance voting between 2004 and 2016. But the survey also showed that voters’ plans to use early voting sharply diverged along party lines during the 2020 presidential election. Read more.
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During the 2020 election, Trump repeatedly disparaged, politicized and undermined mail voting, going as far as to block funding to the U.S. Postal Service to thwart its ability to process mail ballots. Trump’s messaging on mail balloting has been somewhat inconsistent. At times he has said “absentee voting” is “good.” But he also has claimed that mail voting is ripe for fraud, something not borne out by decades of mail voting conducted in every state.
Trump’s rhetoric seems to have taken a toll on Republican confidence in mail voting. An AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll conducted in 2023 found that 58% of Republicans were not very or not at all confident that mail votes would be counted accurately, compared with 32% in 2018. Among Democrats, confidence in the counting of mail ballots increased, from 28% saying they were very or extremely confident in 2018 to 52% in 2023.
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Fall foliage along trails at Love Creek Nature Center in Berrien Center, Mich. (Don Campbell/The Herald-Palladium via AP)
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For brilliant foliage, look no further than native trees
If you’re in the market for new trees, consider planting natives. They’re generally lower maintenance than exotic species, require less water, fertilizers and pesticides, and often cost less, too. We’ve listed some of our favorite native trees, sorted by fall color, to make your landscape dreams a sustainable reality. |
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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Please let us know what you think of this newsletter. You can sign up for more and invite a friend here. For news in real time visit APNews.com. - Sarah
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