Good morning, it’s Friday, March 13, 2026. In today’s edition, data centers become political footballs; GOP scores redistricting win in Missouri; New Jersey Gov plans fines for companies whose workers are on Medicaid:
Top Stories
ENERGY: Data centers are becoming a political issue ahead of midterm elections, as voters who are already skeptical of the rise of artificial intelligence start seeing their energy bills explode. Protests and objections to data centers have delayed or blocked $98 billion in spending since 2024, even as tech companies spend millions on campaign-style ads touting their benefits. (Pluribus News)
Did you miss any of our stories this week diving deep into energy policy? Catch them all right here.
REDISTRICTING: A Missouri court has rejected a legal challenge to new U.S. House district maps that favor Republicans. Democrats had challenged the maps over a constitutional provision requiring districts to be compact; the new maps stretch a Kansas City-area district all the way to Jefferson City to give it a Republican slant. (Associated Press)
HEALTH CARE: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has proposed a budget that would levy fines on large employers whose workers are on Medicaid. The plan would charge companies fees of up to $725 annually for every worker covered by public health insurance programs. (New Jersey Monitor)
SOCIAL MEDIA: The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has voided much of an injunction against California’s Age-Appropriate Design Code, meant to shield children from social media content that could harm them mentally or physically. Social media companies represented by the group NetChoice have vowed to appeal. (Reuters)
Read more about NetChoice’s legal battles against age-appropriate design code laws here.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION: An Iowa Senate subcommittee has advanced legislation removing requirements for affirmative action plans and reporting from the departments of Education and Administration, in school districts and the state Board of Regents. The bill also removes requirements that law enforcement agencies teach racial and cultural awareness. (Iowa Capital Dispatch)
IMMIGRATION: The Tennessee House has advanced legislation to create a new state crime for immigrants to remain in the state after receiving a final deportation order. The bill is meant to spur a challenge that makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court, after House Speaker Cameron Sexton met with White House advisor Stephen Miller to plot a tough-on-immigration agenda for the year. (Tennessee Lookout)
PUBLIC HEALTH: The New Hampshire Senate has approved a ban on the recreational sale of synthetic or semi-synthetic kratom. If the bill wins final approval, New Hampshire would be the first state to classify kratom as a Schedule II drug, the same as addictive opioids like fentanyl. (New Hampshire Union Leader)
UFOS: Connecticut Rep. Joe Hoxha (R) has introduced legislation to require the University of Connecticut to partner with state agencies to study unidentified aerial phenomena, the technical term for UFOs. Hoxha called himself a UFO enthusiast. Rep. Aundre Bumgardner (D) cosponsored the legislation to protect areas around his district, which includes the Groton factory that makes U.S. submarines. (CT Mirror)
In Politics & Business
SOUTH CAROLINA: A new Quantus Insights poll finds U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R) and Attorney General Alan Wilson (R) tied at 22% in the GOP gubernatorial primary. Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette (R) trails with 16% and U.S. Rep. Ralph Norman (R) at 11%. About a quarter of voters remain undecided. (Quantus)
OHIO: Entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy (R) has launched a $10 million ad campaign, pledging to stay on the air until November’s midterm elections. One ad is a bio spot featuring his wife Apoorva, while the second spotlights Ramaswamy’s support for law enforcement. (State Affairs)
CONNECTICUT: The Senate Government Administration and Elections Committee has approved a measure allowing municipalities to voluntarily adopt ranked choice voting. The bill passed on a party-line vote, with Republicans in opposition. (CT News Junkie)
PEOPLE: Former Maryland Lt. Gov. Melvin “Mickey” Steinberg (D) has died at 92. Steinberg, who served as Maryland’s Senate president before serving as lieutenant under Gov. William Donald Schaefer (D), first won election to the state Senate in 1966. (Maryland Matters)
By The Numbers
47%: The increase in power NV Energy now projects it will need over projections made just two years ago, because of the rise of data centers. NV Energy says it is on track to miss clean energy standards approved by voters six years ago because of data centers. (Associated Press)
89 cents: The increase in the cost of home heating oil in Maine in the last week, a 22% spike. A gallon of heating oil now costs $4.83 a gallon. (Portland Press Herald)
$2.3 billion: The spending on film and TV production in Georgia in the last fiscal year, down from a peak of $4.4 billion in 2022. Total productions dropped from 412 in 2022 to 245 last year. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
Scientists have discovered an early ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus rex, which roamed New Mexico about 74 million years ago. A fossil first excavated in 1997 appears to be the tibia belonging to a 4- to 5-ton predator that was a closely related ancestor to the T. rex. (Albuquerque Journal)
Lawmakers in Washington and Massachusetts were briefly interrupted this week during their legislative business. In Olympia, alarms prompted a brief evacuation. In Boston, an electrical outage and an internet connectivity disruption delayed a floor session late Wednesday. Everyone resumed their business soon after. (State Affairs, Seattle Times)
Quote of the Day
“My father once said to me, ‘You know, you’d have to be a sociopath to run for president.’ And then about two years ago, he said, ‘You might need to think about running for president.’ And I said, ‘Are you calling me a sociopath, Dad?’”
— Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D), on her political future. (Semafor)