Good morning, it’s Tuesday, December 23, 2025. We’re taking the rest of the week off for Christmas. See you Monday. In today’s edition, states plan major overhaul of rural health care; Chiefs choose Kansas over Missouri; Florida seeks new kratom regulations:
Top Stories
HEALTH CARE: State governments are planning to use a $50 billion federal grant program to dramatically overhaul the way hospitals and health care providers deliver care in rural America. A review of applications for the program show more than two dozen states are proposing investments to help rural providers shift to “value-based care” models that weigh quality and patient outcome over volume.
Applications submitted by all 50 states describe rising chronic disease rates, long travel times for care and hospitals operating under severe financial strain. Several states plan to link value-based care efforts to a federal pilot program known as the AHEAD Model, which transitions hospitals to fixed annual budgets for inpatient and outpatient care. (Pluribus News)
ENERGY: The Trump administration has immediately paused leases for five large-scale offshore wind projects under construction off the East Coast. The administration cited potential national security risks posed by the projects, though Democratic governors of Northeastern states objected to what they called a stop work order. (State Affairs)
STADIUMS: The Kansas City Chiefs have reached agreement with Kansas to build a $3 billion domed stadium in Wyandotte County to open during the 2031 season. The agreement with Kansas lawmakers would include $1 billion investments to create entertainment districts both around the stadium and around a new training facility in Olathe in Johnson County. (State Affairs)
Lt. Gov. David Toland (D) called the culmination of the cross-border battle between Kansas and Missouri the “largest economic win in Kansas history.”
EDUCATION: New Jersey lawmakers on Monday approved legislation mandating all K-12 school districts adopt strict cellphone restriction policies. The bill would restrict the use of internet-enable devices in classrooms during the school day. (NJ Advance Media)
GUN POLITICS: Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) will allow a bill to become law that requires serial numbers on firearms that can be built at home, including with 3D printers. Maine will join 15 other states that regulate so-called “ghost guns.” (Maine Public Radio)
PUBLIC HEALTH: The Michigan Senate has approved legislation to create a new tobacco license for retailers that sell nicotine products. The licenses would allow the state to revoke the rights of retailers to sell those products if they make sales to minors. (MLive)
MORE: Florida Sen. Joe Gruters (R) has filed legislation to tighten regulations around kratom products commonly sold at gas stations and tobacco shops. The bill would require kratom to be manufactured by permitted processors who would have to carry significant product liability insurance. It would restrict kratom to customers over 21 and ban packaging attractive to children. (Florida Politics)
We wrote last month about the rush to regulate kratom products — and why kratom opponents don’t back those regulations.
In Politics & Business
NEVADA: A poll commissioned by Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill’s (D) gubernatorial campaign shows her trailing Attorney General Aaron Ford (D) 48% to 13% in the Democratic primary. (Nevada Independent)
CONNECTICUT: Newsmax anchor Betsy McCaughey (R), a former lieutenant governor of New York, is considering a run for governor. She served under then-Gov. George Pataki (R) in the 1990s before becoming a Democrat and running against him. (WTNH)
2028: Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) will kick off a book tour touting his memoir next month, as he prepares to run for re-election and eyes a White House bid. Shapiro will make stops in Philadelphia, New York and Washington. The book contains his version of the vetting process he went through as he vied to become then-Vice President Harris’s running mate. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
PEOPLE: Betty Reid Soskin, who retired as the oldest National Park Service Ranger at 100, has died at 104. Soskin was hired at 85 as an interpretive ranger at the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
70%: The decline in methane emissions in Colorado, after the state implemented oil and gas regulations meant to cut leaks. The regulations, based on an agreement between oil and gas trade groups and environmentalists, were signed into law in 2014. (Colorado Sun)
$149.6 million: The amount Mercedes-Benz USA and its parent company will pay to settle allegations it secretly installed devices in vehicles allowing them to pass emissions tests. The settlement with 50 attorneys general, announced Monday, will see the automaker pay states $120 million with another $29 million payment suspended pending the completion of a consumer relief program. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias (D) has released a list of 550 vanity license plates the state rejected for lewdness or indecency. Among the rejected plates: “IBPOOPN,” “BDASMOM” and “SNDNUDZ.” Giannoulias said he had to have one plate, “BBL,” explained to him: It stands for “Brazilian Butt Lift.” (Chicago Tribune)
We can’t resist a rejected vanity plate story.
French authorities say they have solved the mystery of theft of about 100 objects reported missing from the Elysee Palace, including fancy champagne glasses and porcelain plates. It turns out the butler did it — the palace’s chief butler is set to stand trial over the theft. (BBC)
Quote of the Day
“A little frustrated here, folks.”
— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), reacting to the Trump administration’s move to pause offshore wind projects. (State of Politics)