Good morning, it’s Friday, May 22, 2026. In today’s edition, ACA enrollment plunging; California prepares for AI’s impact; new polls in Georgia, South Dakota:
Top Stories
HEALTHCARE: Enrollment in healthcare plans under the Affordable Care Act has dropped by 7.7% in eight states that provided data exclusively to Pluribus News, compared to the same period last year. The declines come after the expiration of federal tax subsidies that drove enrollment in ACA plans to record highs. Signups during the open enrollment period fell by more than a million, to 23.1 million people, according to KFF. (Pluribus News)
MORE: The Illinois House has approved legislation creating a Prescription Drug Affordability Board to cap drug prices. An amendment adopted on the floor would sunset the program after five years, and another would limit the board’s review to a maximum of two drugs per year. (Capitol News Illinois)
REDISTRICTING: The Louisiana House Governmental Affairs Committee has advanced new congressional district map lines that would eliminate one of the state’s two majority-Black districts. The committee adopted some amendments to the plan, meaning it must still pass both chambers before heading to Gov. Jeff Landry (R). (WWL)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed an executive order requiring the state to prepare its workforce for the impacts of AI. The order requires state agencies to review data on the potential impact of AI and identify economic warning signs, and to recommend ways to alter incentive structures in the AI sector. (State Affairs)
ELECTIONS: The New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee has approved legislation expanding translation and interpretation services for voters and directing officials to construe laws in favor of allowing voters to cast ballots. The bill, named for the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), would establish an independent Division of Voting Rights with investigatory, rule making and litigation authority. (New Jersey Globe)
WORKFORCE: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) has signed legislation creating a paid sick leave program. The law will require employers to provide an hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. Employees would be eligible for up to 40 hours of paid sick leave per year. Businesses with at least 50 employees will be required to comply beginning July 1, 2027. (Center Square)
SOCIAL MEDIA: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) has sued Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, alleging the company violated data privacy laws. Paxton alleges the company can view private messages sent over the platform, which Meta denies. (Texas Tribune)
GAMBLING: Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha (D) is suing prediction market companies Kalshi and Polymarket, alleging the companies conduct illegal sports betting. The suit seeks an injunction blocking the sites from taking wagers on sports events. (Providence Journal)
In Politics & Business
GEORGIA: The first poll of next month’s gubernatorial runoff shows Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) with a statistically insignificant 46%-44% lead over businessman Rick Jackson (R). Jones took 38% to Jackson’s 33% in this week’s primary. (Quantus Insights)
SOUTH DAKOTA: Businessman Toby Doeden (R) leads the Republican primary for governor with 26% of the vote, ahead of U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson (R) with 23% and Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) with 19%. State House Speaker Jon Hansen (R) takes 16%, while 15% remain undecided, according to a new Emerson College poll. (Emerson) Doeden has put $4 million into his own campaign. (South Dakota Searchlight)
MICHIGAN: Former Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan has ended his independent campaign for governor. Duggan said his son, who manages his campaign, told him he didn’t see a viable path to victory in November. He said his fundraising had dried up in recent weeks. (State Affairs)
CALIFORNIA: Meta has contributed $950,000 to an independent expenditure committee backing former HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s (D) gubernatorial campaign.The donation on Tuesday came on the eve of mass layoffs expected to impact about 8,000 of the company’s employees. (Sacramento Bee) An independent expenditure group backing San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan (D) has shut down, and a super PAC returned a $1 million donation from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. (Sacramento Bee)
NORTH CAROLINA: The North Carolina Senate has given final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit local property tax increases. Voters will weigh in on the measure in November. (NC Newsline)
By The Numbers
Nearly 500,000: The number of Texans who dropped out of the state’s SNAP program over the last year, a 14% decline. Nationally, participation in food benefit programs has declined 10% since passage of President Trump’s reconciliation bill last year, which imposed new restrictions on participants. (Texas Tribune)
$1.6 billion: The amount in sales tax exemptions Ohio gave out for data center construction in 2025, about 11 times what the state Department of Taxation forecasted. Meta, Alphabet and Amazon all benefitted from those tax breaks as they begin construction on mammoth new data centers. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
A record 274 people successfully summited Mount Everest on Wednesday, the highest number ever on a single day. Earlier this week, veteran guide Kami Rita Sherpa scaled Everest for the 32nd time, breaking his own record. (Associated Press)
An analysis of Google search trends found the words “favorite,” “through” and “niece” are the most misspelled words in America. Among the other most misspelled words: “Bougie,” “business,” “tomorrow,” “because,” “definitely” and “separate.” (UPI)
True story: Several of us used to work at a publication at which our editor searched for the word “pubic” every day, because so many of us misspelled the word “public.”
Quote of the Day
“Marlon and the kids were thrilled because they thought it meant I’d be home earlier because, instead of going to three events a night, they thought I’d be going to two a night.”
— Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D), on his husband and kids’ reaction to his censure by the state Democratic Party over his commutation of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters’s (R) prison sentence. The censure means Polis won’t be welcome at state party events. (Denver Post)