Good morning, it’s Wednesday, February 25, 2026. In today’s edition, lawmakers want to turn down volume on streaming ads; AI Bill of Rights heads to Florida Senate; new polls in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island:
Top Stories
TECHNOLOGY: Lawmakers in more than half a dozen states have introduced bills requiring advertisements on streaming services to play at the same volume as programming. The bills come after California approved first-in-the-nation legislation last year. The measures have attracted bipartisan support in states like Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa and Kansas. (Pluribus News)
PUBLIC HEALTH: Fifteen states have sued the Trump administration over its plan to overhaul childhood immunization policy. The Democratic-led states allege the CDC’s decision to drop recommended vaccines against the flu, Covid-19, RSV and hepatitis A and B disregards federal law. (Colorado Public Radio)
MORE: The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee has approved legislation expanding vaccine exemptions for K-12 school students. The bill creates a new “conscience” category allowing parents to opt children out of immunizations, along with religious and health exceptions. (CBS News)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: The Florida Senate is set to take up Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) AI Bill of Rights, giving parents more authority to monitor and approve of a child’s use of AI chatbots. The bill requires AI platforms to verify a user’s age. (Tallahassee Democrat)
HOUSING: The Florida legislature is advancing a bill allowing employers to contribute between $1,000 and $5,000 to a full-time employee’s downpayment on a first home. The contribution would earn a 100% tax credit, capped at $500,000 in a year and $5 million statewide annually. The bill would limit grants to employees earning no more than 120% of the surrounding area’s median income. (WLRN)
IMMIGRATION: The Trump administration has sued over a New Jersey executive order that blocks ICE agents from using state property as a staging area. Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s (D) order limits ICE access to nonpublic spaces unless agents have a judicial warrant. The Justice Department has also sued New York, Minnesota and Los Angeles over immigration enforcement measures. (NJ Advance Media)
GUN POLITICS: The Alabama House has approved legislation creating a sales tax holiday for firearm-related purchases. The holiday, covering the final weekend in August, would exempt cartridge cases, bullets, rifles, pistols, revolvers, holsters, silencers and hearing protection. (Alabama Reflector)
ANIMAL WELFARE: The Indiana Senate has adopted legislation allowing people to break into cars to save animals without paying for damages. The bill requires someone breaking a window to save a pet to notify law enforcement and stay on the scene. It increases animal abuse penalties to a Level 5 felony. (Indianapolis Star)
In Politics & Business
MAINE: A University of New Hampshire survey finds former state CDC director Nirav Shah (D) leading the Democratic gubernatorial primary with 25%, ahead of Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) at 19%, former Senate President Troy Jackson (D) at 16% and former House Speaker Hannah Pingree (D) at 10%. On the GOP side, former Assistant Secretary of State Bobby Charles (R) leads former Senate Minority Leader Garrett Mason (R) 28% to 12%. No other candidate cracks double digits. (UNH)
RHODE ISLAND: Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes (D) leads Gov. Dan McKee (D) by a 34% to 18% margin, according to a new UNH Survey Center poll, while 40% remain undecided. McKee’s favorable rating is just 17%, while 59% see him unfavorably — and that’s among Democratic primary voters. (UNH)
We’ve never seen an incumbent governor with such weak approval ratings among voters in his own party.
MASSACHUSETTS: Another UNH poll finds Gov. Maura Healey (D) leading former Housing and Economic Development Secretary Mike Kennealy (R) 55% to 28%. Healey leads medical tech executive Mike Minogue (R) 56% to 27%, and she holds a 58% to 28% lead over venture capitalist Brian Shortsleeve (R). Healey’s approval rating stands at 51%, while 40% disapprove. (UNH)
IDAHO: Gov. Brad Little (R) will run for a third term in office, he said Tuesday. President Trump endorsed Little last year. He would be the fourth governor in state history to serve three terms if he wins in November. (Idaho Statesman)
Democrats haven’t held Idaho’s top office since Cecil Andrus (D) won re-election in 1990.
PENNSYLVANIA: Democrat Ana Tiburcio won a special election to fill a vacant state House seat in Allentown, preserving the party’s one-seat majority. The seat opened when former Rep. Josh Siegel (D) resigned after being elected Lehigh County executive. (Harrisburg Patriot-News)
By The Numbers
41: The number of states in which every statewide executive office is held by the same party. Only three states — Arizona, Nevada and North Carolina — have a relatively balanced mix of Democratic and Republican statewide officeholders. Republicans hold every elected office in 23 states, while Democrats hold all elected offices in 18 states. (Sabato’s Crystal Ball)
4,000: The number of people who have dropped out of New Jersey’s Affordable Care Act marketplace after the expiration of federal aid. Thousands more are expected to drop off after a grace period ends next month. (NJ Advance Media)
10: The number of U.S. cities where Waymo’s self-driving taxis are operating, after Dallas, Houston, San Antonio and Orlando allowed the company to begin operations. They join Phoenix, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Atlanta and Austin, where the driverless cars are already carrying passengers. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
Actor William Shatner will release a heavy metal album, pledging to cover metal staples from Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest. “We are about to boldly headbang where no one has headbanged before,” Shatner, 94, said in promoting the new album. (AFP)
Archaeologists in Wisconsin have excavated 16 prehistoric canoes from Lake Mendota that could be up to 5,200 years old. Radiocarbon dating indicates some of the canoes were constructed about 400 years before the Egyptian pyramids. (BBC)
Quote of the Day
“Addiction pays unfortunately, so we’ve got to fix that.”
— California Assemb. Josh Lowenthal (D), on his legislation to ban minors under 16 from social media platforms. (Pluribus News)