Good morning, it’s Tuesday, October 14, 2025. In today’s edition, Newsom signs age, AI, energy laws; North Carolina to redraw U.S. House maps; New Orleans has a new mayor:
Top Stories
TECHNOLOGY: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed legislation requiring app store operators to ascertain a user’s age when they first set up accounts on personal devices like iPhones and Androids. The first-of-its-kind measure is meant to allow easier age-gating for app developers, to provide minors with an age-appropriate experience. (Pluribus News)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: Newsom vetoed legislation that would have banned minors from accessing companion chatbots unless a company could show their product was unlikely to encourage self-harm, violence, drug and alcohol consumption or disordered eating. Newsom signed a narrower bill requiring companion chatbots to regularly remind minors they are interacting with a robot, rather than a real person. (Pluribus News)
The tech industry waged a fierce battle to win Newsom’s veto. Expect another fight next year.
ENERGY: Newsom also signed legislation directing the California Public Utilities Commission to conduct a study of data center expansion and its impact on the power grid. Newsom vetoed a separate bill to increase oversight and transparency of water usage at data centers. (State Affairs)
HOUSING: Newsom signed legislation exempting some developers from the California Environmental Quality Act to spur housing development. The bill encourages development near rail and bus corridors by allowing builders to construct taller buildings. (State Affairs)
REDISTRICTING: North Carolina Republicans will vote next week on a plan to redraw the state’s U.S. House district map. Republicans control 10 of North Carolina’s 14 seats in Congress; they will target U.S. Rep. Don Davis (D), who won re-election by just 2 percentage points in 2024. (Associated Press)
North Carolina law doesn’t allow a gubernatorial veto of redistricting plans — a law approved by Democrats in the 1990s to prevent then-Gov. Jim Martin (R) from meddling with their own redistricting plans.
MORE: Kansas legislative leaders have approved a $400,000 budget recommendation to cover the costs of a planned session to redraw congressional district lines. The legislature plans to return for special session to target a seat held by Rep. Sharice Davids (D) on Nov. 7. (State Affairs)
HEALTH CARE: Rhode Island agencies that manage public health insurance have asked state budget writers to limit the insurance coverage of GLP-1 drugs as costs soar. The agencies proposed new restrictions on drugs that treat obesity. (Providence Journal)
In Politics & Business
VIRGINIA: A new Trafalgar Group poll finds former U.S. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) leading Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R) by a 48% to 45% margin. The Republican-leaning polling firm’s survey shows Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) leading former Del. Jay Jones (D) 49% to 43%. Miyares has been running ads critical of Jones’s text messages from 2022. (Trafalgar Group)
Read the backstory on Jones’s texts here.
GEORGIA: Former Democratic state Rep. Vernon Jones (R), who switched parties to back President Trump, will run for Secretary of State in 2026. He will face former deputy Secretary of State Gabriel Sterling (R), state Rep. Tim Fleming (R) and businessman Kelvin King (R) in the GOP primary. (Associated Press)
NEW ORLEANS: City council member Helena Moreno (D) won election to be New Orleans’s next mayor on Saturday, taking 55% of the vote to win outright. Moreno will take over for outgoing Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D), who is facing federal corruption charges. (Associated Press)
PEOPLE: Oregon Rep. Hòa Nugyên (D) has died after a months-long fight with cancer. Nugyên was just 41 years old. (Oregonian) Georgia Rep. Mandi Ballinger (R) has died after her own long battle with cancer. Ballinger, 50, served in office for 13 years. (State Affairs) Our deepest condolences to the friends and family of both Reps. Nugyên and Ballinger.
CRIME BLOTTER: Former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan (D) reported to prison on Monday to begin serving a 7-and-a-half year sentence on corruption charges. Madigan, 83, was convicted on 10 federal corruption charges in February. (State Journal-Register)
By The Numbers
19%: The decline in sales of Minnesota-produced products to foreign countries over last year, according to new data from the state Department of Employment and Economic Development. The decline was driven by a falloff in sales to Minnesota’s largest trading partners, Mexico, Canada and China. (Minnesota Reformer)
29.1%: The share of cars purchased in California in the third quarter of 2025 that were zero-emission vehicles. Californians have purchased a cumulative total of nearly 2.5 million zero-emission vehicles. (Governor’s office)
2,346 lbs.: The size of the winning pumpkin at the 52nd annual World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off in Half Moon Bay, Calif. The winning gourd was grown by an engineer at Rivian, who said his engineering skills helped him with the right watering and sunlight strategy. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
The chief law enforcement officer on Idaho’s Snake and Salmon rivers has declared a zero-tolerance policy for flashing and mooning. Nez Perce County Sheriff’s Marine Deputy Derrick Wilkinson says he’s received “numerous” complaints of bad behavior from rafting boats. “People are paying to see the sights of Hells Canyon,” Wilkinson said. “They’re not paying to see people expose themselves.” (Lewiston Tribune)
South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden (R) is forking over $217 of his own money to help keep Mount Rushmore lit during the ongoing federal government shutdown. The bill to keep the lights on at the monument runs to $30.94 per night. Nine state lawmakers have pledged to fund the night lights while Congress tries to reach a funding deal. (South Dakota Searchlight)
Quote of the Day
“You don’t. I’ve been saying that for years and years.”
— Pennsylvania Sen. Lisa Boscola (D), asked why Pennsylvania’s legislature needs so many members. (CBS News)