Good morning, it’s Wednesday, June 18, 2025. In today’s edition, New York to require social media warning labels; Florida AG held in contempt; Virginia Dems choose nominees in nail-biting primaries:
Top Stories
SOCIAL MEDIA: New York lawmakers have given final approval to legislation requiring warning labels on social media, following Minnesota’s similar bill approved last week. The bill will require the state mental health commissioner to draft warning label language and set rules for how often those warnings appear. (Pluribus News)
MORE: The social media company X is challenging the constitutionality of a New York law requiring companies to disclose how they handle hate speech, extremism, disinformation and foreign political interference. The company says the law violates the First Amendment. (State of Politics)
IMMIGRATION: The Maine House has advanced legislation limiting police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. The bill would allow law enforcement to work with federal agents on criminal investigations, so long as the primary purpose is not immigration enforcement. (Portland Press Herald)
MORE: A federal judge is holding Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier (R) in contempt of court over a ruling that blocked a state law making it a misdemeanor for people living in the United States illegally to enter Florida. Uthmeier issued a memo to state law enforcement arguing the ruling by Judge Kathleen Williams was legally incorrect. Williams ordered biweekly reports about arrests under the law. (Orlando Sentinel)
MARIJUANA: The North Carolina Senate has advanced legislation regulating hemp-derived consumables, banning those products on educational property and prohibiting their sales to anyone under 21. The bill would require retailers to have a valid license to sell hemp-derived consumables like Delta-8 and Delta-9 products. (NC Newsline)
EMINENT DOMAIN: The Iowa House has secured enough signatures from members to convene a special session to override Gov. Kim Reynolds’s (R) veto of legislation curbing the use of eminent domain in the construction of carbon capture pipelines and other infrastructure projects. The Senate is unlikely to convene to override the veto. (Des Moines Register)
STADIUMS: The Oregon legislature has approved a bill authorizing $800 million to fund a Major League Baseball stadium in Portland, in hopes of luring an expansion team by early 2029. The stadium would be funded by a “jock tax” on income generated by team players. (Oregonian) The Arizona Senate will take up legislation authorizing the Diamondbacks to use bond financing to repair Chase Field. (Arizona Republic)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA: State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi (D) won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor on Tuesday with 27.4% of the vote, beating out former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) by just over 3,000 votes. Former Del. Jay Jones (D) bested Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney Shannon Taylor (D) by two percentage points to win the Democratic nomination for attorney general. (Virginian-Pilot)
We’re hard pressed to remember a pair of closer primary contests.
NEW YORK CITY: A new Marist poll finds 38% of city voters intend to rank former Gov. Andrew Cuomo first on their ballots, followed by 27% for Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani (D). No other candidate breaks into double digits. The poll found Cuomo would beat Mamdani in the seventh round of voting, 55% to 45%. (Marist)
The poll was conducted before Tuesday, when Comptroller Brad Lander (D), who polls in third at 8%, was detained at an immigration court by ICE agents.
ALABAMA: State Republican Party chairman John Wahl is signaling to members of the party’s executive committee he will run for lieutenant governor in 2026. Wahl would likely have to resign his post when he formally declares his candidacy. (Yellowhammer News)
TEXAS: The state Republican Party has retained a law firm to challenge Texas’s open primary system. Party chairman Abraham George said he wanted to exclude Democrats from voting in Republican primaries, citing an election in which former House Speaker Dade Phelan (R) won renomination in a runoff by just 366 votes. (KXAN)
GEORGIA: Senate Republicans have nominated Sen. Larry Walker III (R) as the next president pro tem and elected Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R) as the new majority leader. Former pro tem John Kennedy (R) and former Majority Leader Steve Gooch (R) had to resign their posts as they run for lieutenant governor. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
$502 million: The amount Washington State has paid out in tort liability claims against the state’s foster care system this year alone, after a 2018 ruling expanded its responsibility to those wronged by the foster system. Washington has paid more than $50 million in legal defense costs alone. (Washington State Standard)
16%: The share of U.S. adults who say they are very likely or likely to purchase a fully electric vehicle as their next car, the lowest share of interest in EVs recorded since 2019. Respondents cited high battery repair costs and purchase prices as their most common objections. (USA Today)
Off The Wall
Oregon has a new official state steak. The state House approved a resolution recognizing the T-bone, a measure advanced by state Sen. Todd Nash (R), a cattle rancher. Nash originally wanted to honor the ribeye, until he discovered that’s Oklahoma’s official state steak. (Oregonian)
Washington State lawmakers will once again have access to the Capitol dome, after a provision in the state budget that requires at least ten legislators to be given a guided tour in the next fiscal year. The dome has been closed to visitors since the 2001 Nisqually earthquake that required seismic upgrades to the building. (Washington State Standard)
A seafood joint in Hempstead, N.Y., has released a 21-lb. lobster estimated to be 110 years old back into the sea. Lorenzo the Lobster has lived at Peter’s Clam Bar for years. The restaurant said Lorenzo is now living his best life, “soaking up the salty breeze (instead of butter).” (UPI)
Quote of the Day
“We both had a dream. We wanted to be governor. But it wasn’t personal.”
— Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa (D), on his relationship with former rival and Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). After Newsom won the governorship, he helped Villaraigosa secure a job with a nonprofit that paid $380,000 to advise the state on how to approach major infrastructure projects. (CalMatters)