Good morning, it’s Thursday, August 22, 2024. In today’s edition, California reaches deal with Google on journalism funding; Utah lawmakers approve constitutional amendment on initiatives; nine states to vote on abortion rights this year:
Top Stories
TECHNOLOGY: California lawmakers on Wednesday announced a deal with Google that will funnel millions of dollars a year to newsrooms to stem the loss of journalism jobs at a time when social media companies are gobbling up advertising revenue. The first-in-the-nation deal will create a fund of about $250 million in public and private financing for journalism businesses.
The agreement will funnel much of its annual revenue to ethnic and local media sources. It will also seed an artificial intelligence accelerator to spur research into a technology that’s threatening (and changing) the media industry.
Critics point out that the deal is solely with Google, while Meta and other tech companies go on eating the media’s lunch. And the amount Google will spend — they’ve committed $105 million over five years — equates to about as much money as the search giant earns in 30 minutes. It’s not a game-changer, but it’s something. Read more at Pluribus News.
ELECTIONS: Utah’s legislature approved a proposed constitutional amendment in a brief special session on Wednesday that would allow lawmakers to amend or repeal citizen-led ballot measures, potentially overturning a state Supreme Court ruling. Voters must approve the amendment in November. (Salt Lake Tribune)
Just seven ballot measures have been approved since the right to an initiative was added to the state constitution in 1900.
LGBTQ RIGHTS: The Texas Department of Public Safety has changed rules to bar transgender residents from changing the sex on their driver’s licenses to align with their gender identities. Previous rules allowed residents to change their gender by presenting an amended birth certificate or a certified court record. (Texas Tribune)
TAXES: Kentucky Republicans say the state has met financial conditions necessary to reduce the individual income tax rate from 4% to 3.5%, effective in 2026 under legislation first passed in 2022. The legislature must pass the rate cut when it convenes in 2025. (Associated Press)
TECHNOLOGY: Legislation to require age verification for access to adult websites has died in California ahead of next week’s end-of-session deadline. The legislation passed the Assembly unanimously, but it got jammed up in the Senate Appropriations Committee over concerns about court costs. (CalMatters)
In Politics & Business
ABORTION: Abortion rights ballot initiatives will appear in nine states this year, after measures in Montana and Arizona cleared final hurdles this week. Voters in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Nevada and South Dakota will also decide on ballot measures. It’s the largest number of pro-abortion rights measures ever to appear on ballots in a single year. (Pluribus News)
ALASKA: The state Supreme Court hears arguments today in a challenge to a ballot measure that would repeal the state’s open primary and ranked choice voting laws. The challenge centers on 62 booklets of signatures that opponents of the measure said were turned in late. A lower court judge ruled that the measure could still be included on November’s ballot. (Associated Press)
UTAH: Attorney General Sean Reyes (R) will launch a legal challenge to win control of federal lands from the Bureau of Land Management. Federal agencies control about 70% of Utah land; the suit seeks control of about 29,000 square miles. (Associated Press)
By The Numbers
1,182,682: The number of attendees at the Iowa State Fair this year, beating the previous record set in 2019. The economic research firm Common Sense Institute estimated the fair had a $170 million impact on the state’s economy, the largest in the fair’s 170-year history. (Des Moines Register)
We can confirm, the Iowa State Fair is a great time.
$1 million: The fine Lingo Telecom will pay under an agreement with the Federal Communications Commission after it sent deceptive calls to New Hampshire voters using artificial intelligence to mimic President Biden’s voice. The consultant who orchestrated the calls faces a proposed $6 million fine for his role. (Associated Press)
Off The Wall
Kentucky bakers are furious after an Ohio competitor took home the blue ribbon for best cake at the Kentucky State Fair. The baker, from the Cincinnati area, won with her Peachy KEENtucky Cake — which, frankly, looks pretty delicious. (Lexington Herald Leader)
Longshot Mississippi U.S. Senate candidate Ty Pickins (D) is literally running for office — he has set a goal of jogging 500 miles during his campaign. He’ll hit that mark on Monday in Hattiesburg. (Supertalk) No word on Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R) running habits, but he’s a pretty trim guy.
Quote of the Day
“People come here to watch football.”
— Jason Rauch, general manager of Timothy O’Toole’s Pub in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, on whether he would put the Democratic National Convention on his bar’s televisions tonight, when the Bears play the Kansas City Chiefs in a preseason game. (Chicago Tribune)