Good morning, it’s Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Happy Bastille Day to our French readers. In today’s edition, New York to enact data center moratorium; Dems sue to block Paramount-Warner Bros. merger; Missouri governor signs abortion bill:
Top Stories
HEALTHCARE: Delaware lawmakers have given final approval to legislation capping the amount hospitals can be reimbursed for services. The bill also increases the amount state-licensed insurers are required to spend on primary care. About half a dozen other states have adopted different variations of hospital price caps. The bill awaits Gov. Matt Meyer’s (D) signature. (Pluribus News)
ENERGY: New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D) has signed legislation establishing a framework to build new nuclear plants. The law allows entities to submit proposals for advanced nuclear projects to the Board of Public Utilities. Sherrill earlier this year signed legislation repealing a half-century old de facto moratorium on the construction of new plants. (Pluribus News)
MORE: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) will sign an executive order Tuesday placing a one-year moratorium on the construction of large data centers, the first such pause in the nation. The order will apply to hyperscale data centers that use more than 50 megawatts of power. The state will establish a regulatory framework for assessing environmental impacts. (New York Times)
MEDIA: A dozen Democratic attorneys general filed suit in federal court Monday seeking to block the proposed mega-merger between Hollywood giants Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery. The suit, which comes a month after the Justice Department said it wouldn’t oppose the merger, alleges violations of the Clayton Act, a century-old law meant to block mergers that lessen competition and create monopoly powers. (Pluribus News)
ABORTION: Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe (R) has signed legislation allowing the prosecution of a healthcare provider who “knowingly performs or attempts to perform an overt act that kills a child born alive.” Supporters say the bill is meant to protect babies born during a failed abortion. Missouri’s constitution protects the right to abortion up to the point of fetal viability. (Missouri Independent)
LAW ENFORCEMENT: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) has signed legislation creating rules for law enforcement agencies using drones. The law requires police to obtain a search warrant before using a drone to enter or observe the interior of a home or business when a warrant would otherwise be required for an in-person search. Current law does not address unmanned aircraft. (Cleveland Plain Dealer)
GAMBLING: Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell (D) has proposed new regulations on fantasy contests operated by companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. The new definitions would distinguish fantasy contests from sports wagering, and ban contests built to mimic single-game bets, parlays, money lines and other formats defined as sports wagering under state law. (State Affairs)
In Politics & Business
DEMOCRATS: A coalition of Democratic lawmakers are launching the New Southern Strategy, a joint project between Democrats in Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas and other Southern states to share messaging, voter outreach and campaign tactics. The coalition began meeting in June in Atlanta, when minority leaders had lunch at a restaurant near Georgia’s state capitol building. (State Affairs)
WISCONSIN: Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) said her campaign has about $200,000 in the bank, far less than the $1 million media buy she announced last week. Rodriguez said her since-dismissed campaign manager had enough in the bank to make the buy. (State Affairs)
FLORIDA: State Rep. Dotie Joseph (D) has jumped into the race for governor, just a month before the Aug. 18 primary. Joseph joined the race after Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings (D) dropped out to deal with a cancer diagnosis. She joins former U.S. Rep. David Jolly (D) in the Democratic primary. (CBS News)
NEBRASKA: Former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom has launched a petition drive to qualify for the gubernatorial race as an independent. Lindstrom lost the Republican primary to Gov. Jim Pillen (R) in 2022. He needs 4,000 valid signatures by Aug. 3 to qualify for the November ballot. (Nebraska Examiner)
Nearly 41% of registered voters cast a ballot in California’s June primary, the highest turnout in a gubernatorial primary since 1998. (Sacramento Bee)
By The Numbers
More than 9,000: The number of Rhode Islanders who have had medical debt forgiven under a relief program established 19 months ago. The legislature appropriated $1 million to retire medical debt; $700,000 of that money remains to be spent. (Rhode Island Current)
$506,000: The amount Washington State has paid to workers on strike. The new benefit, which began Jan. 1, has made payments to 138 people totaling 642 weeks of pay. (Washington State Standard)
29: The number of bills Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy (R) vetoed this session, out of 115 the legislature passed. It’s a record for the most vetoes a governor has issued during a single legislative session. (Fairbanks News-Miner)
Off The Wall
Astronomers have discovered erythrulose, a sugar found in raspberries, in space. The sugar, in gas form in thin clouds of gas and dust littered between stars, is a building block for life. (Associated Press)
Police in Ontario, Canada, have reminded residents not to bring explosives to police stations, after an Ottawa resident turned in an unexploded grenade from World War II. Police said residents should leave unexploded ordinances where they are found, to be handled by an Explosives Disposal Unit. (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“I am trying to keep us going with our work and stay focused. I feel like the commission is doing that, albeit with this elephant in the room.”
— Jim Anderson, chair of Washington State’s Fish and Wildlife Commission, which is under investigation by Gov. Bob Ferguson’s (D) administration. The investigation has cost the state $80,000 so far, more than double the original estimate. (Washington State Standard)