Kitty Felde says a fictional 'Papa' in her Fina Mendoza mysteries was modeled on Xavier Becerra — a detail that feels timely after Becerra topped the June primary.

Boulder asked the state’s high court to review an appeals ruling that barred upfront fees for police body‑camera footage after a local magazine was billed over $8,000. The petition spotlights a clash between Colorado’s accountability law and the criminal‑records fee statute.

The Sixth Circuit found a Xenia board's mic grab amounted to an unconstitutional "heckler's veto" and ordered a preliminary injunction for the speaker. The ruling will change how some districts handle public comment.

A Trump‑appointed St. Louis judge wrote that prosecutors may be able to seek the death penalty in child‑sex cases, challenging a 2008 Supreme Court limit.

A 75-year-old Bean Center employee says Knox County reassigned her from a control-room job to detainee supervision without training, then ignored her medical needs; she is seeking damages.

AB 2129 would push Cal Fire salaries within 15% of 20 local departments, but Assembly estimates peg the cost at $373M–$609M — forcing a clash between recruitment needs and budget limits. Lawmakers and the governor face a tough choice.

The Michigan AFL‑CIO has formally endorsed Jocelyn Benson for governor, adding a major union network to her campaign ahead of the Aug. 4 primary.

Phase II of the county jail renovation adds 45 beds and dedicated substance‑abuse and mental‑health units as officials mark near completion.

Letitia James hailed Shopify’s move to bar vape sales after a multistate push that began last November. The platform shift could reshape online vape commerce and payment risk.

Senators grilled insurers and regulators after the state saw a roughly 79% jump in homeowner premiums over six years; TDI also issued an AI bulletin and published county‑level data. The session gathered industry, consumer advocates and new regulatory guidance as officials weigh next steps.

Huntington Beach adopted a $592M 2026‑27 budget that leans on reserves to plug a roughly $15M structural gap while freezing some vacant posts.

House members on Capitol Hill welcomed Taiwan’s parliamentary speaker Han Kuo-Yu in a bipartisan reception as the White House weighs a $14 billion arms package for Taipei.

An IWPR analysis found Oklahoma’s abortion restrictions cost the state more than $1.8 billion a year, shrinking wages and the labor force.