Good morning, it’s Thursday, July 10, 2025. In today’s edition, pedestrian fatalities falling, slowly; Abbott orders special session on disaster relief, pot, redistricting; SCOTUS won’t reinstate Florida immigration law:
Top Stories
PUBLIC SAFETY: Pedestrian fatalities fell sightly in 2024 but remained almost 20% above 2016 levels, according to a new report from the Governors Highway Safety Association. Pedestrian deaths hit a 40-year high in 2022 before beginning a slow decline. Three quarters of pedestrian deaths happened after dark, and three quarters took place at non-intersections. (Pluribus News)
A total of 7,148 pedestrians lost their lives in the United States in 2024, the report found.
DISASTER RELIEF: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) is asking lawmakers to consider bills on flood warning systems, emergency communications for small communities, natural disaster preparation and relief for the areas hit by last weekend’s storms that killed more than 100 people. Lawmakers return to Austin on July 21 for a special session. (Texas Tribune)
Also on the docket for the special session: Legislation to regulate hemp-derived products. Read our backstory about Abbott’s controversial veto of a bill banning all THC products here.
IMMIGRATION: The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to allow Florida to enforce an immigration law making it a crime for undocumented immigrants to enter the state. The law has been on hold since April, when a U.S. District Court judge blocked its enforcement while legal challenges progress. (Orlando Sentinel)
CRYPTO: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) has signed legislation requiring cryptocurrency and other virtual monetary transmitters to obtain a license to operate. Virtual currency transmitters will be required to submit annual reports and comply with federal anti-money laundering regulations. (State Affairs)
Shapiro signed legislation eliminating a state ban on hunting on Sundays. The ban had been in place for 343 years. (State Affairs)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: California Sen. Scott Wiener (D) has expanded his legislation to require companies to disclose safety information on AI models they are developing. The legislation would require AI developers to post safety protocols publicly, and to disclose results of risk assessments. (State Affairs)
TRANS RIGHTS: The federal Justice Department has sued California’s Department of Education over a decade-old law allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams. The federal suit alleges the California law violates Title IX. (Associated Press)
GUN POLITICS: North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) has vetoed legislation that would allow employees or volunteers to carry firearms on private school property. Some Democrats backed the bill, giving Republicans a chance to override the veto. (Associated Press)
In Politics & Business
TEXAS: Gov. Abbott has asked lawmakers to consider redrawing congressional district boundaries in this month’s special session. The White House has pushed Texas to consider a mid-decade redistricting plan to help Republicans shore up control of the U.S. House, though some lawmakers are wary that they could overreach and end up jeopardizing GOP-held seats. (Texas Tribune)
Republicans hold 25 of Texas’s 38 seats in the House. Two House Democrats — Reps. Vicente Gonzalez (D) and Henry Cuellar (D) — won their elections by just a few points.
KANSAS: Insurance Commissioner Vicki Schmidt (R) will run for governor in 2026. She joins a packed Republican field that includes former Gov. Jeff Colyer (R) and Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R), among others. (State Affairs)
PENNSYLVANIA: U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser (R) will not run for governor in 2026, in spite of an endorsement from President Trump. State Treasurer Stacy Garrity (R) said Meuser’s decision makes it more likely that she will enter the race. (Associated Press)
NEW JERSEY: State Republicans have chosen attorney Glenn Paulsen as their new party chairman. Paulsen won the support of former Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli, the party’s gubernatorial nominee. (New Jersey Globe)
PEOPLE: Former Rhode Island Gov. Edward DiPrete (R) has died at 91. DiPrete served three two-year terms as governor from 1985-1991; he was later indicted on criminal charges of bribery, extortion and racketeering, becoming the only governor in Rhode Island history to serve jail time. (Boston Globe)
By The Numbers
$1 billion: The amount of interest income Mississippi has earned since Treasurer David McRae (R) took office in 2020. (Supertalk)
About 30%: The decline in the number of Canadians searching for homes in Miami and Orlando compared with last year, according to Redfin data. Local real estate agents said they noticed a drop-off after last year’s elections and President Trump’s rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state. (Orlando Sentinel)
Nearly 27%: The decline in drug overdose deaths nationwide between 2023 and 2024. Federal data shows opioid-related deaths dropped to the lowest levels since 2013. (State Affairs)
Off The Wall
Earlier this week we told you about a new dinosaur species discovered in a Colorado mountain range. Now, crews at Denver’s Museum of Nature and Science have found another fossil — buried right under their own parking lot. The fossil is a herbivore that lived during the Cretaceous period. (Denver Post)
Pemberton, N.J., Mayor Jack Tompkins is facing calls to resign after he canceled the annual Water Carnival festival, allegedly out of spite. Tompkins faces eight lawsuits, including one that alleges he canceled last year’s festival in retaliation for claims of sexual harassment. (NJ Advance Media)
Quote of the Day
“He’s a good governor. And whatever personal differences he had, or whatever deficiencies he thought I had, are long past my thinking about them.”
— White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, on her long-running feud with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). (Florida Politics)