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Good morning, it’s Wednesday, March 25, 2026. In today’s edition, lawmakers consider taxes on nicotine pouches; New Mexico jury returns huge verdict against Meta; Dems win Florida seat covering Trump’s Mar-a-Lago:
Top Stories
PUBLIC HEALTH: Legislators in at least five states have proposed raising taxes on nicotine pouch products like Zyn, On! and Velo. While every state taxes cigarettes and chewing tobacco, only 18 states and the District of Columbia impose excise taxes on pouches. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) have both proposed new excise taxes. (Pluribus News)
SOCIAL MEDIA: A Santa Fe jury has delivered a $375 million verdict against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. Jurors ruled in favor of New Mexico, which sued the social media giant for allegedly violating consumer protection laws by failing to protect children from exploitation. (Santa Fe New Mexican)
MORE: A package of bills placing guardrails on teen use of artificial intelligence and social media is heading to the Michigan Senate floor. One bill would ban addictive feeds for minors without parental approval and prohibit notifications between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Others would increase data privacy protections for minors. (State Affairs)
EVEN MORE: Missouri lawmakers are considering bills to require social media platforms to implement age verification and to bar them from targeting minors with advertising or addictive design elements. Another bill would mandate age verification for AI chatbots. (Missouri Independent)
REDISTRICTING: The Missouri Supreme Court has upheld a mid-decade redistricting plan approved by Republican lawmakers last year. The decision is a win for Republicans, but opponents of the plan have submitted enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot, putting the map on hold until voters get a chance to weigh in. (Associated Press)
GUN POLITICS: New York Gov. Hochul is using her budget plan to push for a ban on 3D-printed firearms. Hochul’s proposal would require all 3D printers sold in the state to include software blocking the printing of a gun. (Albany Times Union)
HEALTH CARE: The Iowa House has unanimously approved legislation barring China, Russia and North Korea from building health care centers in the state. The bill would bar businesses or people from those countries from getting a license to “establish, conduct or maintain” health care centers. (KCCI)
HOUSING: The Colorado House has approved legislation allowing homeowners on the Front Range to split their lots to create new land for housing. The measure would preempt local government input on lot-splitting, building on earlier legislation that allowed homeowners to construct alternative dwelling units. (Denver Post)
In Politics & Business
FLORIDA: Democrat Emily Gregory has flipped a state House seat in Palm Beach County, claiming a formerly Republican-held seat that includes President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Gregory won the district by about 2 percentage points. (State Affairs) Trump won the district by a 55% to 44% margin in 2024. (The Downballot)
MORE: Democrats also won a Hillsborough County Senate seat formerly occupied by Lt. Gov. Jay Collins (R). Union leader Brian Nathan (D) beat former state Rep. Josie Tomkow (R) by just 408 votes out of 80,074 cast. Republican Hilary Holley won Tomkow’s seat in the House with 54% of the vote. (State Affairs)
CALIFORNIA: A new Evitarus poll conducted for the California Democratic Party shows conservative commentator Steve Hilton (R) at 16% and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco (R) at 14%. U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D), former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D) and billionaire businessman Tom Steyer (D) all claim 10%. No other candidate tops 5% in the all-party primary. (California Democratic Party)
WISCONSIN: A new TIPP poll for the League of American Voters finds U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany (R), the likely GOP gubernatorial nominee, in a tight contest with four potential Democratic nominees. Former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes (D) and Tiffany are statistically tied, 42%-40%. Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley (D) and Tiffany are statistically tied at 39%-38%. Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez (D) runs 40%-39% against Tiffany, while Tiffany leads state Rep. Francesca Hong (D) 40%-37%. The races are equally tight among likely voter models. (TIPP)
NORTH CAROLINA: Senate President Phil Berger (R) has conceded defeat to Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page (R), losing his seat of 25 years by just 23 votes. Berger led the Senate since Republicans reclaimed control of the chamber in 2011. (State Affairs)
PEOPLE: Arkansas Rep. Stan Berry (R) has died at 71. Berry previously served on the Dover School Board and the Dover City Council. (Arkansas Times)
By The Numbers
$5.37: The average price for a gallon of gas in California. One Los Angeles gas station is charging $8.71 for a gallon of regular unleaded. Employees at that station chased a reporter off the property in the middle of an interview. (Los Angeles Times)
60 days: The jail sentence given to former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin (R) for contempt of court for failing to disclose financial details in a long-running legal battle with his estranged adopted son. Bevin can avoid the sentence by producing financial records, bank statements and tax returns. (Kentucky Lantern)
$10,000: The fine levied against a Salem, Ore., attorney after he signed his name to a legal brief containing 15 bonus citations and nine quotes fabricated by AI. The attorney said he only had a day to write the brief, so his paralegal used AI. (Oregonian)
Off The Wall
Former Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle (D) has a new passion: Hot yoga. Doyle was inspired to give yoga a try after friends at a local yoga studio named him Yogi of the Month in an April Fool’s joke last year. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Travelers at Philadelphia International Airport encountered the longest line in history — of cheesesteaks. Organizers said they had set a new Guinness World Record for the longest line of cheesesteak sandwiches, at 1,291. Volunteers then handed out the sandwiches to travelers, airport workers and TSA staff. (Associated Press)
This calls for some on-the-ground reporting by the Pluribus News team.
A company that makes Coca-Cola bottles has begun production on America 250 bottles in Utah. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson (R) toured the plant to watch the first commemorative bottles roll off the manufacturing line. (KSL)
Quote of the Day
“So, I tried it, didn’t like it. I don’t know if that’s where it’s headed for some of these pets.”
— Tennessee Sen. Page Walley (R), on her experience eating raccoon, during a legislative debate over allowing people to own domesticated raccoons without paying a $10 permit fee. The bill was originally dubbed the “Trash Panda Act.” (State Affairs)