Good morning, it’s Monday, August 26, 2024. In today’s edition, red states challenge Biden immigration rule; competing abortion measures hit Nebraska ballot; Stein pulls into lead in North Carolina:
Top Stories
IMMIGRATION: Fifteen Republican states have filed suit to block a Biden administration program protecting long-term undocumented immigrants married to U.S. citizens from deportation. The states allege the plan, which also gives those immigrants a path to citizenship, would cause them financial harm. (Louisiana Illuminator, Texas Tribune)
ABORTION: Missouri Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman (R) and Rep. Hannah Kelly (R) have sued to block a pro-abortion rights measure from November’s ballot. The pair allege the proposed amendment violates the state constitution by including more than one subject. (Missouri Independent)
MORE: Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s (R) office said Friday that two separate constitutional amendments relating to abortion would appear on November’s ballot. One would codify the right to an abortion in the state constitution until fetal viability. The other would constitutionally limit abortion to the first trimester of pregnancy. (Nebraska Examiner)
It’s the first time Nebraska voters will see competing ballot measures on the same ballot. If both measures pass, the one that receives the most votes becomes law.
JOURNALISM: News organizations and labor unions are heaping criticism on a deal California Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks (D) struck with Google to fund a journalism nonprofit at the University of California-Berkeley. Wicks says an AI accelerator project that’s part of the deal will make school boards and local government more accessible to journalists and the public. Former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D), now president of the California Labor Federation, has been critical of the deal. (Sacramento Bee)
ANTITRUST: A federal trial begins today in a challenge to plans by the grocery giants Kroger and Albertsons to merge. The companies planning the largest supermarket merger in history are battling a Federal Trade Commission request to block the merger. Attorneys general in Arizona, California, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Wyoming and the District of Columbia have joined the FTC’s suit. (Associated Press)
HEALTH CARE: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy (D) has signed legislation to expand access to maternal health services, including coverage for midwives, birth centers and doulas and screening for postpartum depression. A lead House negotiator on the bill called it “one of the most comprehensive maternal health packages to be signed into law” this year. (MassLive)
ENVIRONMENT: New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu (R) has signed legislation banning lithium-ion batteries and some electronic waste from disposal at landfills and incinerators to ward off fire risks. The bill requires municipalities and landfill operators to provide recycling options for electronic devices. (New Hampshire Bulletin)
In Politics & Business
NORTH CAROLINA: A High Point University poll conducted by SurveyUSA finds Attorney General Josh Stein (D) leading Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) 48% to 34%. (Raleigh News & Observer)
After months of margin-of-error polls, Stein has pulled into a clear lead. In three polls conducted in August, he’s led Robinson by five points, 10 points and now 14 points. We’re inclined to think the High Point poll is an outlier, but Robinson hasn’t led a poll since early June.
ARKANSAS: The Arkansas Legislative Council has adopted new rules that bar elections officials from accepting voter registration forms signed with an electronic signature. A voting rights group sued the state in June alleging a ban on e-signatures violates part of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. (Arkansas Democrat Gazette)
WEST VIRGINIA: Gov. Jim Justice (R) and his family have reached a temporary agreement with a credit collection company that was moving ahead with plans to sell the historic Greenbrier Hotel. Justice’s family says it has secured the funding necessary to pay off the credit agency in full. (WV Metro News)
PEOPLE: Kansas Rep. Marvin Robinson II (D) has died unexpectedly at age 67. Robinson was celebrated for his activism before he won election to the state House in 2022. (Kansas Reflector) Our condolences to the Kansas legislative family.
By The Numbers
16 ounces: The approximate amount of water required to power about 10 queries made through ChatGPT, according to a computer engineering professor at the University of California Riverside. AI searches require at least ten times the energy as a Google search. (Los Angeles Times)
74%: The estimated share of Connecticut college students who have gambled in the last year, according to research by the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. (Hartford Courant)
Off The Wall
An unusually cold weather system from the Gulf of Alaska has dumped three inches of snow on parts of California’s Highway 89 through Lassen Volcanic National Park and on Mammoth Mountain. August snow hasn’t fallen on parts of California since 2003. (Associated Press)
A jersey that once belonged to Babe Ruth fetched $24.1 million at auction on Sunday, making it the most expensive piece of sports memorabilia ever sold. Ruth apparently wore the jersey when he called his shot during a 1932 World Series game against the Chicago Cubs. (AFP)
Quote of the Day
“It’s been fairly clear from the beginning that two Republicans against one Democrat in this race was always going to be a much tougher path to victory, and Nancy understood that.”
— Alaska Republican strategist Matt Shuckerow, after Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom (R) dropped her campaign against U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola (D). Dahlstrom had finished third behind Peltola and fellow Republican Nick Begich (R) in the August 20 all-party primary. (Anchorage Daily News)