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A protester in Salt Lake City waves a transgender flag during a “Hands off” demonstration in April against President Donald Trump. Photo by Jim Urquhart/Reuters

It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.

FIVE THINGS HAPPENING OUTSIDE OF WASHINGTON
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews ([link removed])
Correspondent

Memorial Day and the expectation of summer can each bring much-needed perspective.

The remembrance of American sacrifice, and talking about it with my third-grade son, deepened a sense that our history is a long one that is not always easy. Pairing with that is the oxygen and sunshine that the start of summer can bring.

In my case, this has inspired a look outside of Washington.

This week, we set aside the intense particulars of debates in Washington. We will return to them, we promise.

Instead, let’s look at political headlines and debates around the country — many of which have important connections to what happens in the U.S. capital.

1. Maine and Medicaid

Portland Press Herald reports: Closure of pediatric clinic causes long waitlists for children with developmental needs ([link removed])

A large pediatric clinic in Maine has closed due to low Medicaid reimbursement rates and other financial strains, leaving families with no option for getting diagnoses they need for school and health programs.

Why it matters: As Washington debates the future solvency of Medicaid ([link removed]) , states are already grappling with how to keep the program afloat and how to serve populations in need.

2. In Iowa, energy, the environment and eminent domain

Radio Iowa and Iowa PBS report: Governor meeting with ‘passionate advocates’ on both sides of pipeline issue ([link removed])

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds has weeks to decide whether to sign or veto a divisive bill to regulate carbon dioxide pipelines, a critical piece of ethanol ([link removed]) and other energy production. Environmental groups support it. ([link removed]) Some industry groups do not. ([link removed])

Why it matters: The bill crosses a host of issues and groups in Iowa and across the country, affecting energy production, the environment and eminent domain — the ability of a state to take private land when it wants to move a large project through the area.

3. Utah and transgender health care

The Salt Lake Tribune reports: Utah lawmakers’ own study found gender-affirming care benefits trans youth ([link removed])

A long-awaited study commissioned by the state of Utah has found that there are “positive outcomes” for transgender youth who receive gender-affirming care. The state has had a ban on such care since 2023.

Why it matters: More than half of U.S. states now limit or ban transgender care for youth. ([link removed]) The Republican bill in Congress, which passed the House last week ([link removed]) , bans Medicaid from covering such care.

4. Arizona and college protests

Arizona Capitol Times reports: Hobbs signs bill banning encampments at state colleges ([link removed])

The Grand Canyon state has made it a state crime to set up encampments at public universities and colleges.

Why it matters: The debate over protests on college campuses still rages, and some Democratic governors, like Arizona’s, agree with tougher limits or laws criminalizing actions by protesters that are seen as disruptive.

5. Florida and gold coins

Florida Politics reports: Gov. DeSantis set to approve path to making silver and gold legal tender ([link removed])

A bill to allow gold and silver coins to be used as currency in Florida is gaining real traction there.

Why it matters: Gold and silver rise in popularity when inflation is a concern. Florida would join a handful of other states ([link removed].) that are accepting gold as currency, with more considering it ([link removed]) — evidence of the push for populist, anti-federal policies and of connection to debates ([link removed]) from more than 125 years ago.
More on politics from our coverage:
* Read: House Republicans narrowly passed Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill. Here’s what’s in it ([link removed]) , courtesy of The Associated Press.
* One Big Question: How do Senate Republicans feel about Trump’s big bill? Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter and Jasmine Wright of NOTUS discuss. ([link removed])
* A Closer Look: What Trump’s legal and political clash with Harvard ([link removed]) means for higher education.
* Perspectives: How young Democratic candidates are pushing to redefine the party’s future. ([link removed])

WHAT THE U.S. STANDS TO LOSE FROM RESEARCH AND DATA CUTS, ACCORDING TO CLIMATE SCIENTISTS
[link removed]

Ominous rain clouds from Tropical Storm Marco seen near Lake Charles, Louisiana, in 2020. Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds via Getty Images
By Joshua Barajas
Senior Editor, Digital

Facing cuts to their research, up to 200 meteorologists and climate scientists are giving the public a glimpse of the important work that could be lost.

Starting at 1 p.m. EDT Wednesday, scientists across the country will participate in a 100-hour marathon livestream. ([link removed]) Their hope is to highlight the critical weather and climate research that communities benefit from — but could lose — as the Trump administration eliminates funding and other resources.

Organizers plan to start the stream live from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City. The Trump administration terminated the laboratory’s lease and all employees must move out of the building, located on Columbia University’s campus, by Wednesday.

Their goal is to keep talking through Sunday ([link removed]) , June 1, the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season.

The administration has sought to shrink the staff and funding fueling the nation’s leading weather and climate agencies, cuts that former and current employees say could put public safety at risk. ([link removed]) Affected agencies include the National Weather Service and its parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which are responsible for providing reliable forecasts and climate projections.

“It's something that we've historically been able to take for granted,” said Margaret Duffy, a climate scientist and one of the event’s organizers.

Duffy studies the ways clouds are responding to global warming and how these changes affect Earth’s climate. A postdoctoral fellow, she had a proposal recommended for funding about a year ago by NOAA to study those “cloud feedbacks.” ([link removed]) The funding for the project was paused earlier this year.

“This is not a unique story,” Duffy said, adding that many climate scientists have seen their research halted this year.

Duffy said it’s important to distinguish between climate policy and climate research.

“Climate policy has been debated for several decades, for better or for worse,” focusing on what to do about climate change, she said. “But this idea that we should study the science itself and that we should come to those policy decisions fully informed, I think, has been pretty uncontroversial until now.”
More on weather and climate from our coverage:
* Watch: How NOAA funding cuts could make it harder to predict and prepare for severe weather. ([link removed])
* Before the Storm: How this Louisiana community is preparing “on all fronts” ([link removed]) for hurricane season as questions linger about federal storm response.
* A Quick Guide: An expert shares key 5 steps ([link removed]) with The Conversation for hurricane disaster preparation with aging parents.
* A Climate Pullback: What the dismissal of hundreds of scientists ([link removed]) means for a flagship climate report.

THIS WEEK’S TRIVIA QUESTION
By Joshua Barajas
Senior Editor, Digital

"By the Beautiful Blue Danube" has long been an “unofficial” space anthem. ([link removed])

Johann Strauss II's famous waltz, notably used in Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic “2001: A Space Odyssey,” will be beamed into space this week, the European Space Agency announced.

Vienna officials said a performance of the waltz will be broadcast to accomplish three things: Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ESA, mark Strauss’ 200th birthday and correct a “cosmic mistake.” ([link removed])

“Blue Danube” was not one of 27 pieces of music NASA selected for either of the Voyager missions in 1977, a collection of sounds for a “Golden Record” ([link removed]) that included Indigenous recordings, Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” and Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring,” among others.

Our question: Several composers were represented in the Voyager collection, but which one had three compositions selected for the “Golden Record”?

Send your answers to [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.

Last week, we asked: Which U.S. state was the last one to opt into Medicaid?

The answer: Arizona. ([link removed]) Though the Grand Canyon state was also the first to implement a statewide managed care system ([link removed]) within its Medicaid program.

Congratulations to our winners: Paul Taylor and Brenda Radford! We also forgot to mention the winners to the previous trivia question. Our congratulations (and apologies) to Judy Bailey and, again, Brenda Radford!

Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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