State governors and federal agencies shared the day's ten US releases. Pennsylvania signed a bell-to-bell school phone ban, Maryland launched a $200 million clean energy auction and South Carolina began a rural hospital cybersecurity pilot with the White House. Federally, CISA released its 2030 strategy, the Justice Department reported a fall in violent crime in 2025 and the State Department joined a joint statement warning of famine in Sudan.
Monday 26 October 2026 (America/New_York source-local date) · 10 releases · MediaRelease.co editorial digest
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 1014 at Lenape Middle School in Doylestown, requiring public, charter, cyber charter and private schools to ban student cell phone use for the whole school day, including lunch and recess. Schools must adopt policies by the 2027-28 school year, with exceptions for medical, disability and language needs. The bill passed the House 141-62 and the Senate 47-3.
South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster and White House National Cyber Director Sean Cairncross launched Project Lifeline 250, a six-month pilot to strengthen cybersecurity at rural hospitals in South Carolina at no cost to participants. The program pairs hospitals with technology companies including Cisco, Microsoft, Trellix, Zscaler and Cyera to harden networks, provide backup systems after attacks and replace high-risk legacy devices.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs deployed its Federal Electronic Health Record system at the Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center in Ohio and the Alaska VA Healthcare System in Anchorage, plus 16 associated clinics. The rollouts cover more than 163,000 veterans and 7,800 staff and complete deployments at 13 hospitals in 2026. VA plans to deploy the system at 26 more medical centers in 2027.
Maryland Governor Wes Moore launched Megawatts for Maryland, a $200 million clean energy auction program to increase in-state generation and help lower power costs. Run by the Maryland Energy Administration under the Utility RELIEF Act, it will draw up to $100 million a year from the Strategic Energy Investment Fund for renewable generation and storage grants. Stage 1 applications close on November 30, 2026.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and the Central Park Conservancy broke ground on the $35.7 million North End Recirculation Project to reduce flooding in Harlem and East Harlem. The system will link the Harlem Meer, the Loch and the Pool, keeping about 132 million gallons of water out of sewers and saving 175 million gallons of drinking water a year. Completion is expected in fall 2028.
The federal government partially granted New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham's request for an emergency declaration over historic flooding in northern New Mexico, covering four counties and five Tribal nations. The governor signed executive orders releasing $8.25 million in state flood-response funds. The declaration did not include reimbursement for debris removal and emergency measures, and the state plans to seek a Major Disaster Declaration once damage is assessed.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said more than 250 hospitals have signed the voluntary Make Hospital Food Healthier Pledge, launched in July by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. Kennedy announced the milestone in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and unveiled a recognition badge. Signatories commit to aligning meals with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, including limiting ultra-processed foods and sugary drinks.
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency released CISA 2030: Defend, Harden, Prevail, a new strategy to strengthen national cyber defense and the security of critical infrastructure. Built on three pillars, it shifts the agency toward an anticipatory stance against nation-state and other threats. CISA will review its core services within 60 days, publish an implementation plan within 180 days and report on progress within a year.
The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, most European Union members and other governments issued a joint statement warning of a risk of famine in Sudan in the coming months. They said about 19.5 million people, 41% of the population, face high levels of acute food insecurity, including 5 million at emergency levels. The statement urges the warring parties to allow unimpeded humanitarian access and calls for more international funding.
The U.S. Department of Justice said preliminary 2025 estimates from the Bureau of Justice Statistics' National Crime Victimization Survey show significant falls in violent crime, property victimization, burglary and motor vehicle theft. Serious violent victimization fell 25% to 7.4 per 1,000 people aged 12 or older, aggravated assault fell 31% and property victimization fell 19%. The figures are the first from the fully redesigned survey.
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