Tag Archives: California

Virginia Supreme Court hears redistricting challenge

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was redistricting day in court. The Virginia Supreme Court heard oral arguments Monday on the legality of a constitutional amendment voters approved last week that allows Democrats to implement a more favorable congressional map ahead of the midterm elections. … Continue reading →

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A brief history of shield laws

Posted on April 28, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a long and detailed story about abortion shield laws and the significant effect they’ve had on abortion access post-Dobbs. You should read the whole thing but I wanted to focus on this bit from Texas that I had not … Continue reading →

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Thankfully, a lot of those recent forced birth lawsuits are crappy

Posted on April 26, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They have a key thing in common, beyond the misogynist zealot lawyer who runs them. Jerry Rodriguez appeared to be a deeply aggrieved man—the victim of a scheme orchestrated by his girlfriend’s domineering ex-partner to “murder” not one, but two, of … Continue reading →

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Everyone’s talking about the CD23 special election

Posted on April 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Except for Greg Abbott, of course. It’s been about a week since now-former Rep. Tony Gonzales resigned from Congress after the Texas Republican admitted to having an unethical sexual relationship with at least one former aide, who later died by suicide. Yet … Continue reading →

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Virginia approves its new Congressional map

Posted on April 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that plan to hold onto the Republican majority in Congress going? In yet another loss for president Trump and his floundering gerrymandering blitz, Virginia voters approved a Democratic-led redistricting measure on Tuesday that will likely give Democrats four additional congressional … Continue reading →

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Tesla robotaxis arrive in Houston

Posted on April 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

And in Dallas. Tesla’s Robotaxi service has taken to the streets of Houston. In a brief statement Saturday, April 18 on its X social media account, Tesla Robotaxi says the autonomous rideshare service just launched in Texas’ two biggest metro areas — … Continue reading →

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Reps. Gonzales and Swalwell to resign from Congress

Posted on April 14, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

That escalated quickly. U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales announced on Monday he would resign from Congress, avoiding an expected vote on his expulsion after he admitted to having an affair with a staffer. Gonzales, a Republican from San Antonio, has faced intensifying scrutiny … Continue reading →

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First attempt to regulate prediction markets

Posted on March 31, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but it has had some effect and is worth keeping an eye on. After two United States senators introduced a bipartisan bill on Monday aimed at banning sports futures on prediction markets, Kalshi and … Continue reading →

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Lawsuits have been filed against xAI over Grok nonconsensual sexual images

Posted on March 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good. On Monday, three girls filed a class-action lawsuit against xAI alleging that the company’s Grok AI tool was used to generate child sexual abuse material from their photos. This new civil case joins at least two others revolving around nonconsensual deepfakes … Continue reading →

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On deepfakes and accountability

Posted on March 9, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll be keeping an eye on this. A class action lawsuit accusing X.AI of enabling the mass creation of sexualized deepfakes marks a new stage of liability in cases involving artificial intelligence. Now, plaintiff lawyers are focusing on technology platforms … Continue reading →

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Colorado takes up the mid-decade redistricting challenge

Posted on February 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This one’s a little different, but the concept is the same. A new Democratic-backed group unexpectedly announced on Wednesday that it would seek to place a measure on the November ballot asking voters to temporarily adopt a new congressional map in response to … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit against out of state mifepristone provider amended to include latest bounty hunter law

Posted on February 7, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Welp. A Galveston County man has filed a lawsuit against a California doctor he accuses of providing abortion-inducing pills to his partner, leveraging for the first time a new Texas law that allows private citizens to sue abortion providers for up … Continue reading →

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SCOTUS green-lights California redistricting map

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Checkmate. The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed California to use a new congressional map that will undermine President Donald Trump’s effort to keep control of the House of Representatives, marking a defeat for Republicans who claimed one of the new districts was redesigned … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Chron picks Kamin for County Attorney nomination

Posted on January 31, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Their second endorsement for primary season. Now Democratic primary voters must decide who can best build on Menefee’s legacy. Luckily, they have two formidable candidates to choose from: Audrie Lawton-Evans, a civil litigation attorney and civil court at law judge, … Continue reading →

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Tesla sort of removes safety monitors from its robotaxis

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a catch. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said on Thursday that his company is now running a small number of its Robotaxi vehicles in Austin, Texas, without a human driver or safety supervisor on board. “Just started Tesla Robotaxi drives … Continue reading →

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How’s that medicine taste?

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I laugh. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special election for California’s vacant 1st Congressional District to coincide with the state’s regularly scheduled primary on June 2, with a second round of voting on Aug. 4 if needed—the latest dates allowed … Continue reading →

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A brief note about the latest Cook Political Report House race ratings

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I was struck by what seems to be an omission as I read this Daily Kos post about the state of the 2026 election. As Trump tries to shore up the GOP’s fragile House majority through norms-busting mid-decade redistricting, the … Continue reading →

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Three abortion stories

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Two of them at least have the potential to be positive. That’s good, right? Texas court clears path for Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging state abortion law A Texas appeals court has allowed three Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates to move forward … Continue reading →

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From the “Do unto them as they would do to us” department

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From The Downballot: Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa died unexpectedly [last] Tuesday at the age of 65, a development that both narrows the House GOP’s already slim majority and will set off a special election to succeed him. LaMalfa, who Politico reports experienced an … Continue reading →

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California redistricting map upheld

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good news for Democrats. A federal court Wednesday ruled against a Republican challenge to California’s redistricting plan, rejecting the GOP claim that the state had engaged in illegal racial gerrymandering when drawing up its new congressional map. The three-judge panel denied the GOP’s motion to … Continue reading →

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California redistricting trial is underway

Posted on December 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. The fight over California’s new congressional map designed to help Democrats flip a string of U.S. House seats kicked off in court Monday, where a panel of federal judges is considering whether the rejiggered districts approved by … Continue reading →

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Federal court blocks Texas mid-decade gerrymander

Posted on November 19, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Texas cannot use its new congressional map for the 2026 election and will instead need to stick with the lines passed in 2021, a three-judge panel ruled Tuesday. The decision is a major blow for Republicans, in Texas and … Continue reading →

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Trump Justice Department joins lawsuit against California redistricting

Posted on November 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. The Justice Department on Thursday sued to block new congressional district boundaries approved by California voters last week, joining a court battle that could help determine which party wins control of the U.S. House in 2026. The complaint … Continue reading →

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Tesla robotaxis are coming to Houston

Posted on November 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Eventually. Real Soon Now. When Elon gets around to it. Tesla plans to bring its driverless robotaxi service to Houston, following CEO Elon Musk’s announcement that safety drivers will be phased out in Austin by the end of 2025. Musk … Continue reading →

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Texas sues Roblox

Posted on November 13, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

This is a new one on me. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the online gaming platform Roblox for allegedly exposing children to sexually explicit content and exploitation, the latest in a flurry of lawsuits from his office aimed … Continue reading →

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A bit more election miscellany

Posted on November 8, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Pondering the County Attorney situation. Despite technically resigning, [Harris County Attorney Christian] Menefee has remained the acting county attorney throughout the campaign period. It’s not clear if he will remain in the position as he prepares to campaign for a … Continue reading →

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November 2025 election: National results

Posted on November 5, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Watching the national results last night turned out to be pretty easy, as Abigail Spanberger, Mikie Sherrill, and then Zohran Mamdani were all declared winners within minutes of their polls closing. You’ve got to love that kind of decisiveness, especially … Continue reading →

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Second lawsuit filed over Texas app age verification law

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. A coalition of major technology companies has filed a federal lawsuit against Texas over its new App Store Accountability Act, arguing that the measure violates the First Amendment by imposing sweeping age-verification and parental consent requirements. … Continue reading →

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The state of mosquito research

Posted on October 3, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Really interesting stuff. Under a microscope, a mosquito can look stunning. Their blue-green iridescent scales, purple bands, and attractive spotted wings shimmer—dazzling enough to forget, for a moment, the insect lives to take a sip of your blood. Mosquitoes range … Continue reading →

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The redistricting litigation strategy

Posted on September 16, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what we’ve got. Outgunned in the national redistricting war, Democrats are launching a multipronged legal battle to try and prevent GOP gains ahead of next year’s midterms. It stands to be a grueling, lengthy and costly process for Democrats … Continue reading →

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A brief gondola check-in

Posted on September 15, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

California dreamin’. Internal emails, contracts, and PowerPoint presentations obtained by The Anaheim Investigator through the public records act reveal city planners are exploring the option of constructing an aerial gondola system to connect the Platinum Triangle with the Anaheim Resort in preparation for the 2028 Summer … Continue reading →

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Another look at Waymo’s robotaxi approach versus Tesla’s

Posted on September 9, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good long analysis here. A month after Tesla launched a trial robotaxi service in Austin, Texas, in June for select fans, CEO Elon Musk told investors that the company’s driverless taxis would likely be available to “half the population of … Continue reading →

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Fighting healthcare cuts was a winner

Posted on August 28, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. The Trump administration’s cuts to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding for state and local health departments had vastly uneven effects depending on the political leanings of a state, according to a KFF Health News analysis. … Continue reading →

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California passes its redistricting plan

Posted on August 22, 2025 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. California’s Democratic-controlled Legislature passed bills Thursday setting up a high-profile special election this fall, when voters will decide whether to approve the party’s plan to gerrymander California’s congressional map. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who signed the legislation shortly … Continue reading →

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