puzzle #7: states of affairs

i am SO GLAD to get this puzzle out there. i came up with the theme a couple weeks ago, had to totally scrap it halfway through when i realized 3 of my 4 themers ended with "tion(s)" and it was ugly, came up with new ones, wrestled with the fill more than usual, and landed on this. i hope it was worth it!

thanks very much to Frisco for test solving. enjoy!! 

.puz | .pdf | puzzleme fullscreen

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