Good morning, it’s Thursday, September 4, 2025. In today’s edition, Western states form health care alliance; Florida seeks to end vaccine mandates; Missouri kicks off redistricting session:
Top Stories
HEALTH CARE: California, Oregon and Washington are forming an alliance to coordinate public health guidelines in the midst of chaos at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a joint statement, the states’ Democratic governors said they would align immunization recommendations with national medical organizations. (Pluribus News)
The West Coast alliance comes after New England states agreed last month to work together to coordinate public health messaging.
PUBLIC HEALTH: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) says his state will work to phase out childhood vaccine mandates. Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo said the state health department will eliminate some mandates, while the legislature will have to take action to limit or cut others. (Associated Press)
MORE: Colorado officials have issued a public health order allowing any resident to receive a Covid vaccine. The order effectively creates a standing prescription for anyone to receive the shot, as pharmacy giants like CVS and Walgreens refuse to administer Covid vaccines without a prescription. (Colorado Sun)
TRANS RIGHTS: The Texas House gave final approval to legislation restricting transgender people to bathrooms that align with their sex assigned at birth in schools and government buildings. The bill now heads to Gov. Greg Abbott (R), who is likely to sign it. (Texas Tribune)
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) has signed an executive order creating a council to study and begin using AI in state government. The state Department of Information Technology will create a new AI accelerator program to implement the technology across government. (NC Newsline)
HOUSING: Connecticut lawmakers are making plans to return to special session later this month to take up housing legislation, after Gov. Ned Lamont (D) vetoed a bill earlier this year. The vetoed bill included provisions eliminating mandatory minimum parking requirements in smaller developments. (Hartford Courant)
IMMIGRATION: Connecticut lawmakers also plan to bolster a state law barring cooperation between local law enforcement and immigration authorities. House Speaker Matt Ritter (D) said he expects a bill to bar immigration enforcement at state courthouses. (CT Insider)
In Politics & Business
MISSOURI: Lawmakers return to special session today to consider a plan to redraw U.S. House district map lines. A plan released by Gov. Mike Kehoe’s (R) office would drastically alter a seat held by Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D), based in Kansas City, spreading it east of Jefferson City. Cleaver’s district went for former Vice President Harris by 23 points in 2024; the new seat would have gone for President Trump by 18 points. (Pluribus News)
The NAACP has sued to block the special session, alleging that a mid-decade redistricting does not qualify as an “extraordinary occasion” required to call a special session. (Kansas City Star)
NEW JERSEY: A new TIPP Insights poll finds U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D) leading former Assemb. Jack Ciattarelli (R) 46% to 39% in the race for governor. Green Party candidate Joanne Zielinski and Libertarian David Kaplan each take 1%. (TIPP)
FLORIDA: Former House Speaker Paul Renner (R) will run for governor, he said Wednesday, casting himself as an ally of term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis (R). Renner will face U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds (R), who has support from President Trump, in the GOP primary. (Tallahassee Democrat)
PEOPLE: A former press secretary to California Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas (D) has filed a wrongful termination suit against Rivas and his brother, alleging retaliation for reporting alleged bribery. The suit alleges the press secretary filed a sexual harassment complaint against a fellow communications staffer. (KCRA)
By The Numbers
41: The number of Powerball drawings conducted since May 31 without a winner. The jackpot jumped to $1.7 billion after no one won Wednesday’s drawing. (Associated Press)
6.7%: The share of Arkansas children who do not have health insurance, the highest rate in a decade and up from 4.1% in 2016. Arkansas ranks 42nd in the nation for the number of uninsured children. (Talk Business & Politics)
Off The Wall
C-SPAN has reached an agreement with YouTube and Hulu to air three channels on the streaming services. YouTube and Hulu will pay about 87 cents per year per subscriber to air the public affairs network. About 70 million American homes pay for television service, down from 100 million at its peak a decade ago. (Associated Press)
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and his wife Dawn were photographed on George Clooney’s yacht in Italy over the weekend. Moore’s office said he was celebrating Dawn’s 50th birthday on a personal trip he paid for out of pocket. (Maryland Matters)
A Los Angeles Fire Department ambulance transporting a victim of a car crash to a hospital was involved in a crash itself on Wednesday morning, when another vehicle struck it. A battalion chief arriving at the scene to investigate the ambulance crash then crashed itself at the same intersection. No one was seriously injured. (Los Angeles Times)
Quote of the Day
“If they are going to change the will of the voters, if they are going to take away our votes, change the congressional maps and do Trump’s bidding, we are going to make this very, very hard.”
— Missouri Rep. Elizabeth Fuchs (D), pledging to fight back against Republican efforts to redraw state congressional district lines. (St. Louis Public Radio)