Author: McKinzie Strait

Here is a selection of articles we read this week.

Travel Ban’s Day in Court – The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a challenge to the Trump administration’s travel ban, the first major high court test of one of President Donald Trump’s signature campaign issues and a key piece of his tough-on-immigration efforts. Read more on Roll Call.

Endowment $$$ – The fight over the Republican tax bill passed last December is far in the rearview of most colleges and student groups. But a group of private colleges still has its sights set on overturning a new endowment tax passed as part of that bill over the objections of higher ed advocates. Read more from Inside Higher Ed.

WA’s $9B Problem – A new study released as a prelude to Sen. Patty Murray’s legislative effort to contain the opioid epidemic estimates the financial impacts of overdose deaths alone have cost Washington state $34 billion over the four years ending in 2016. Read more from Governing.

Peanuts & Crackerjacks – Baseball season is underway and this week, the House Republican baseball team returned to the practice field where one year ago Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) was shot during practice. And off the field, the scene appeared very different than it did before the shooting. At least 20 uniformed Capitol Police officers, a member of the K-9 unit and his German shepherd swept TV and cargo trucks and media bags. Other non-uniformed security kept watch along the outfield fences. Read more from Roll Call.

The Best Weed in America – In his TV appearance on “Real Time with Bill Maher” last Friday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee joked about the quality of his state’s bud. “I can honestly say we got the best weed in the United States of America,” he joked with the talk show host. “It’s a growing industry, and it’s well-regulated.” Watch the clip on Governing.

Here’s a selection of articles we read this week.

Doctor Shortage – The U.S. could see a shortage of up to 120,000 physicians by 2030, according to a report published Wednesday by the Association of American Medical Colleges. The association urged medical schools to train more physicians and use different strategies in doing so. It also encouraged the federal government to intervene with funding and legislation. Read more from Inside Higher Ed.

Trillion Dollar Debt – America’s deficit is rising sharply and will surpass $1 trillion per year by 2020, a gap that has grown since Congress cut taxes and increased spending, the Congressional Budget Office reported Monday. The federal deficit — the gap between how much the government takes in and how much it spends — will hit $804 billion in fiscal 2018, up 21 percent from 2017, the CBO said. Read more from the Washington Post.

Confucius Closing – The chancellor of the Texas A&M system said the university would terminate its agreement to host Confucius Institutes — centers for Chinese language teaching and cultural programming funded by the Chinese government — in response to the urging of two congressmen who described the institutes as threats to national security. Read more from Inside Higher Ed.

Ryan Out, Mic Drop – The race to succeed Paul Ryan as the leader of the House Republican conference is on, and the two most likely candidates are already loading up their campaign finance arsenals for what could turn into a slugfest for the job. A key to following Ryan is matching his fundraising prowess, and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., has a hefty advantage over his potential rival, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., after the first quarter of this year. Read more from CNBC.

Here’s a selection of articles we read this week.

Earthquakes! – An earthquake early warning system under development for the West Coast gets a major boost in the new federal budget that President Donald Trump signed into law Friday. Read more from Northwest Public Broadcasting.

Golden Tennis Shoes – Senator Patty Murray’s successes have been not just impressive, but near folkloric. President Obama declared the Every Student Succeeds Act, one of her first collaborations with Sen. Alexander “a Christmas miracle.” And what’s more, she makes the process look seamless. Even in wearied Washington, Murray commands a quiet grace. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) tells ELLE that her friend scores her hardest-won concessions behind closed doors; the divisions may be deep, but she almost never discusses them. Read the feature story on Senator Patty Murray on ELLE.

On Tuition Revenue – State colleges and universities are relying more on tuition dollars to fund their operations even as state funding rises and colleges come under pressure to keep tuition low. Last fiscal year, for the first time, tuition revenue outpaced government appropriations for higher education in the majority of states, according to the annual higher education finance report from the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association. Read more from Governing.

Out-of-state at Flagship Universities – The in-state/out-of-state question is a huge issue for universities. For hundreds of thousands of college-bound students nationwide, their home-state flagship is either their top choice or one of them. A Washington Post analysis of the latest available federal data found that at 11 flagships in 2016, more than half of the incoming freshman classes were from out of state. For several small states, that was no surprise. But some state schools have made a conscious decision to go national. Read more from WaPo.