Staff Reporter

Sophia Fox-Sowell

StateScoop & EdScoop

Sophia Fox-Sowell reports on artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and government regulation for StateScoop. She was previously a multimedia producer for CNET, where her coverage focused on private sector innovation in food production, climate change and space through podcasts and video content. She earned her bachelor’s in anthropology at Wagner College and master’s in media innovation from Northeastern University.

Articles by Author

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New Jersey creates $20M fund to support AI startups

AI

Alexi Giannoulia — Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois secretary of state, testifies during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing titled “Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature,” on Sept. 12, 2023. (Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

E-filing, remote hearings come to Illinois Court of Claims

Digital Services

sanitation truck — Two sanitation workers load discarded furniture into a Toronto waste truck as a woman adds more items to the curb. (Roberto Machado Noa / LightRocket via Getty Images)

Dallas to install AI cameras on garbage trucks to fight illegal dumping

City

coqui treefrog — A tiny coqui treefrog peeks from a rain-soaked canario flower, an ornamental native to South and Central America. The species was accidentally introduced to Hawaii, where it has multiplied to population levels unknown in Puerto Rico and stands as a threat to the welfare of endemic Hawaiian wildlife. Additionally, its shrill call is reportedly annoying to residents and tourists. (Wild Horizons / Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Invasive frogs and fire ants featured on Hawaii’s new biosecurity dashboard

State

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New York reopens grant program to help local governments cut cost

County & Local

Marion County Correctional Institution — Guard towers look over the prison courtyard at Marion Correctional Institution in Marion, Ohio, on April 27, 2020. (Photo by Megan Jelinger / AFP via Getty Images)

Ohio to launch statewide alert system for prison escapes

State

prison bars — (Getty Images)

Data-sharing helped Philadelphia halve its jail population

Data & Analytics

Earthquake Mode — A button displays text reading Earthquake Mode in an elevator in Menlo Park, California, on Nov. 22, 2025. (Smith Collection / Gado / Getty Images)

Officials investigating false earthquake alert in Northern California and Nevada

State

(Flash Alexander)

Police union urges Congress to give state and local law enforcement authority for counter-drone measures

State