Good morning, it’s Thursday, December 18, 2025. In today’s edition, Hochul to sign aid-in-dying bill; Nebraska to impose Medicaid work requirements; judge blocks Arkansas social media bill:
Top Stories
AID IN DYING: New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) will sign legislation allowing terminally ill residents to end their lives after reaching a deal with state lawmakers. The new bill, to be passed when legislators return to Albany next year, will limit aid-in-dying prescriptions to New York residents with less than six months to live. It will require patients to undergo a mental health evaluation, an in-person physical and a five-day waiting period. (Pluribus News)
MEDICAID: Nebraska will become the first state to implement work requirements for some people on Medicaid under President Trump’s reconciliation bill. Gov. Jim Pillen (R) said the work requirements will take effect May 1 and could impact about 30,000 people who must now report working or performing community service for at least 80 hours a month. (Associated Press)
SOCIAL MEDIA: A federal judge has blocked a new Arkansas law imposing liability on social media platforms for certain harmful effects on users. The law prohibits social media platforms from using algorithms and designs that recommend controlled substances or promote eating disorders and creates a private right of action entitling parents to damages if their child attempts to harm themselves. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
HOUSING: The Pennsylvania House Finance Committee approved legislation giving first-time homebuyers a $2,500 tax rebate. The rebate would be funded by revenue collected on a 1% realty transfer tax, generating enough money to help an estimated 21,000 homebuyers annually. (State Affairs)
MORE: Connecticut officials have doled out $28 million in brownfield remediation grants to 13 communities. The grants will help redevelop 200 acres of land, resulting in 835 new housing units, the Department of Economic and Community Development said. (CT News Junkie)
LGBTQ RIGHTS: A federal appeals court has blocked Michigan’s ban on conversion therapy for minors on First Amendment grounds. The three-judge panel ruled the law illegally restricts speech that reflects the moral beliefs of therapists. (Detroit News)
In Politics & Business
RHODE ISLAND: House Speaker Joseph Shekarchi (D) says he will decide on a possible gubernatorial campaign in the first quarter of the new year. “I’m strongly considering that,” Shekarchi said in an interview. He would join former CVS executive Helena Foulkes (D) in challenging Gov. Dan McKee (D). (Providence Journal)
ALABAMA: Former University of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron (R) has dropped his bid for lieutenant governor after two months in the race. McCarron said he had another football opportunity to pursue, though he didn’t disclose details. (Associated Press)
TEXAS: Every state and federal race in Texas will feature at least one Democratic candidate, the first time in modern history that either party has fielded a full slate of candidates. Democrats haven’t won a statewide office in Texas since 1994. (Associated Press)
CALIFORNIA: The state Department of Motor Vehicles is recommending suspending Tesla sales for 30 days over what it calls deceptive marketing tactics around the company’s self-driving features. An administrative law judge found the company had deceived consumers by using phrases like “autopilot” and “full self-driving” to promote its vehicles. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
Two-thirds: The share of 12th graders who reported they had not used alcohol, marijuana, cigarettes or e-cigarettes in the previous 30 days, the highest share of abstainers ever recorded in the University of Michigan’s annual Monitoring the Future survey. Three decades ago, the share of 12th graders who didn’t use those substances stood at about one-third. (Associated Press)
More than 74,000: The number of New Yorkers who have applied for jobs in Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s (D) administration. The average age of job-seekers is 28, illustrating how tough the job market is for young New Yorkers. (Bloomberg)
Off The Wall
The Pennsylvania legislature has given final sign-off to a bill allowing caterers to serve alcohol at funerals. The bill allows caterers to inform the state Liquor Control Board and local police that they will serve liquor 24 hours in advance of the event, rather than the 14 days currently required under state law. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
A multi-year project to build a new Capitol Annex for California lawmakers in Sacramento is halfway done, according to a report from the legislature’s Joint Committee on Rules. The project is expected to be completed in the fall of 2027, two years behind schedule. (Sacramento Bee)
Quote of the Day
“The biggest thing we’ve done is changed the perceptions of Connecticut. And that could not have been accomplished without the strategic rebrand of the state.”
— Anthony Anthony, Connecticut’s chief marketing officer, who spearheaded the state’s efforts to brand itself as the home of great pizza. Anthony will leave his post in February. The pizza-based tourism campaign has been named a finalist for a PRWeek advertising award. (CT Insider)