Episode Details

Tennessee corporate incentives, Arizona primaries next week, and wildfires across Canada send smoke through several states.

Tennessee has awarded more than $760 million in grants to about 585 companies over eight years to attract jobs, including a $30 million grant to Starbucks for a new Nashville headquarters, drawing criticism from groups calling the program "corporate welfare." The state has clawed back $92.4 million from 55 companies since 2016 across 71 enforcement actions, but is still owed $20.1 million from 18 companies, including a case where a company that got $3 million and created zero jobs saw its owners imprisoned on wire fraud charges.

Also, in this episode:

Nine Arizona House seats are up for election, with Republicans currently holding six to Democrats' three; districts 1 and 6 are considered toss-ups that could shift the narrow 219-seat Republican House majority.

Fundraising varies widely by race — in District 5, Daniel Keenan ($1.8M) outraised Trump-endorsed Mark Lamb (under $800K), and in District 6, Democrat Joanna Mendoza ($6.4M) outraised Republican incumbent Juan Ciscomani ($3.9M).

Nearly 20 states have air quality alerts as smoke from over 180 Canadian wildfires and roughly a dozen Minnesota fires drifts as far as New York City and Washington, with Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota expected to see the worst conditions.

The U.S. Navy awarded FSU an $88 million contract, potentially reaching $99.5 million, to develop next-generation ship power systems over five years.

Governor Greg Abbott, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick, and Speaker Dustin Burrows directed state agencies and universities to cut spending by 3% ahead of the next budget cycle.

Democrat Roy Cooper has $20.7 million cash on hand and $34.9 million in total receipts, compared to Republican Michael Whatley's $2.5 million cash on hand and $8.4 million in total receipts.

Plus, America's Talking:  

Michigan: https://www.thecentersquare.com/wisconsin/article_9112c9d5-076b-4949-b44f-734c8f8bcec5.html

Florida: https://www.thecentersquare.com/florida/article_7937f1d8-5aeb-4ebd-b110-9aa29ebc8fa2.html

Texas: https://www.thecentersquare.com/texas/article_d90a22c0-f3db-423e-bbde-31649d01ff7f.html

North Carolina: https://www.thecentersquare.com/north_carolina/article_6721de84-b664-4fd9-b801-8e23908878c7.html

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