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Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, making his pitch to voters in a state where Trump won three consecutive presidential elections but where farmer frustration with tariffs, surging diesel prices and collapsed soybean exports to China is scrambling the political math heading into November's midterms. Turek, a four-time Paralympic wheelchair basketball player born with spina bifida, represents a Republican-leaning district in the Iowa House and is running on what he calls "prairie populism," affordable healthcare, a living wage and opposition to Medicaid cuts. Iowa's governor's race has already moved from "lean Republican" to "toss-up," and Democrats see as many as three of the state's four House seats as competitive. (Bloomberg News)
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Former San Diego City Councilmember Mark Kersey, defending middle managers even as he acknowledged the city must make tough choices, a rare moment of nuance in a budget debate in which middle managers have become the go-to scapegoat for San Diego's $118 million deficit. Mayor Todd Gloria is proposing to cut 37 unclassified positions to save $9.3 million from a general fund that spent more than $49 million on such roles this fiscal year. (Voice of San Diego)
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California Assembly Speaker pro Tem Josh Lowenthal, moments before his chamber voted overwhelmingly to ban children under 16 from having social media accounts, a measure that would make California the first U.S. state to match Australia's national prohibition, and that now heads to the Senate with an Aug. 31 deadline. The bill drew bipartisan support, with one Republican saying he changed his vote after thinking about his nieces and nephews, but faces fierce opposition from Meta, TikTok, Snap and civil liberties groups who argue it violates the First Amendment and could cut off LGBTQ+ youth from online communities where they find safety. The bill still needs Senate approval and Gov. Gavin Newsom's signature, who vetoed a similar measure two years ago. (Sacramento Bee)
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Patricia "Patty" Solimene, the first female director of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which prints the nation's currency, writing in a goodbye email to colleagues after being abruptly reassigned, in what four current and former employees say followed her repeated refusals to design a $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump's portrait. Federal law has prohibited living people from appearing on U.S. currency since 1866, and Solimene, a 24-year Army veteran, had told Trump administration officials the project was unauthorized and that new currency typically takes six to eight years to produce. The political appointee who pressed her on the $250 bill has since been named acting director of the bureau she led. (Washington Post)
