Today is dominated by election season and extreme weather. Multiple states are voting or in final primary prep – Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, and Virginia vote today, while Florida, Wisconsin, Wyoming and South Carolina enter the last week before their primaries. Courts and legislatures are fighting over maps and voting rules in Alabama, Maryland, and Iowa. The West is in a historic wildfire emergency, with Oregon near its all-time acreage record, Washington’s Spokane fires destroying 700+ structures, and California sending crews to assist. The Colorado River drought plan forcing 16-20% cuts for California, Arizona and Nevada is driving major policy news in Nevada, Utah and Arizona. Other major threads include a multi-state water system cyberattack in Minnesota, new immigration non-cooperation laws taking effect in Maine, and public health alerts including Arizona’s first Clade I mpox case and Wisconsin’s cyclosporiasis outbreak.
- Alabama: U.S. Supreme Court allows Alabama to use its 2023 congressional map for the 2026 primary, discarding the court-ordered map, while absentee voting had already begun.
- Alaska: Elections director disqualifies a challenger with same name and party as Sen. Dan Sullivan from August primary ballot, calling it a bad-faith candidacy intended to confuse voters.
- Arizona: State confirms first case of Clade I mpox linked to international travel; officials say public risk remains low.
- Arkansas: Razorbacks men’s basketball goes 4-0 in Bahamas exhibition tour, beating Calgary 105-48 led by freshman JJ Andrews.
- California: Gov. Newsom deploys additional firefighting resources to Washington and Oregon and invites President Trump, in LA for fundraising, to release overdue wildfire recovery funds.
- Colorado: Severe weather Aug 3-4 diverts 22 Denver-bound flights to Colorado Springs with 5 turbulence injuries; separate hazmat crash spills hydrochloric acid in Weld County.
- Connecticut: Flash flooding hits northern Connecticut Monday morning, flooding roads and basements and prompting emergency response.
- Delaware: Division of Small Business announces Fall 2026 EDGE Grant Competition starting Aug 11, offering $1.15M total to up to 18 small businesses.
- Florida: Early voting begins this week for Aug 18 primary for governor, Senate and House seats.
- Georgia: Secretary of State touts perfect five-star rating in R Street election policy scorecard; Democrats announce largest coordinated field program with 30 offices and 100+ staff.
- Hawaii: Hawaii DOT begins flood mitigation work clearing debris and reestablishing channel at Manoa Stream near Woodlawn Drive.
- Idaho: Community mourns after Twin Falls In-N-Out shooting Saturday leaves 3 dead, 7 injured; gunman died by self-inflicted wound after intervention by armed citizen and off-duty trooper.
- Illinois: Gov. Pritzker signs two bills to curb excessive home and auto insurance rate hikes; House Speaker Chris Welch faces criticism over handling of harassment allegations.
- Indiana: Indianapolis recovers from Aug 1 flash flood with 4+ inches of rain, 33 water rescues, impassable roads and sewage backups.
- Iowa: GOP lawsuit filed July 30 in Polk County seeks to restore absentee ballot signature verification; Democrats add 15 Iowa legislative races to 2026 target list.
- Kansas: Primary Election Day voters decide governor, Senate primaries and constitutional amendment to switch Supreme Court selection to partisan elections, with $10M+ spent.
- Kentucky: DOE announces proposed $100B, 1.8 GW AI data center campus at former Paducah uranium site; Gov. Beshear says he has not been briefed.
- Louisiana: State reportedly finalizing deal with SpaceX for spaceport at Pecan Island, Vermilion Parish, described as potentially largest economic deal in state history.
- Maine: New “ICE Out of Policing” law takes effect limiting state/local cooperation with federal civil immigration enforcement and barring warrantless ICE access to schools and hospitals.
- Maryland: Special legislative session Aug 3-5; House passes constitutional amendment clarifying redistricting rules 96-38, sending it to November ballot.
- Massachusetts: Severe storms bring flooding rain and wind damage across central/western MA with trees down in Shirley; AG sues Trump Administration over personal data protections.
- Michigan: Primary Election Day with polls open, 1.3M early votes already cast; top race is Democratic Senate primary El-Sayed vs Haley Stevens to face Mike Rogers.
- Minnesota: Minnesota IT Services discloses coordinated cyberattack July 26-27 targeting 30+ community water systems; investigations ongoing.
- Mississippi: Amtrak Train 58 hits car in Copiah County killing Dorothy Sharter Hillard, 69; AG announces Operation Muddy Waters results in 61 arrests in child exploitation sweep.
- Missouri: Voters decide Amendment 5 to phase out state individual income tax and allow legislature to raise sales taxes to replace revenue.
- Montana: National Interagency Fire Center reports new large Griffin Fire amid four new western fires; viral rescue story of 14-year-old roping drowning man in Yellowstone River.
- Nebraska: FEMA approves disaster declaration for counties hit by May tornadoes; announcement made today on Nebraska Public Media.
- Nevada: Federal plan released Friday would require California, Arizona and Nevada to cut Colorado River use 16-20% through 2028 in dry years as reservoirs hit lows.
- New Hampshire: State ranked No. 1 in nation for Economic Opportunity by U.S. News & World Report, highlighted by Gov. Kelly Ayotte on Aug 4.
- New Jersey: AG files antitrust lawsuit against Amazon over DSP driver hiring restrictions; Third Circuit stays ruling that struck down state’s ban on modern semiautomatic firearms.
- New Mexico: State Supreme Court creates bar-exam alternative requiring 675 hours supervised legal work to address rural legal deserts; crews battle two lightning fires near Cuba.
- New York: Cleaning train fire at Astor Place station early Tuesday injures 14 and delays 4/5/6 lines; NYPD reports record-low murders and shootings through first seven months of 2026.
- North Carolina: Gov. Stein, AG Jackson and DEQ oppose proposed federal EPA settlement with Chemours over Fayetteville PFAS pollution, saying it provides no relief for North Carolinians.
- North Dakota: Gov. Armstrong bans Kratom statewide and declares public health emergency effective 5 p.m. Aug 5, citing unregulated sales with no age limit.
- Ohio: New property tax law modifies rollbacks, raising owner-occupied credit to 15.38% over four years and canceling expanded August 2026 sales tax holiday.
- Oklahoma: U.S. Energy Department kicks off grid reliability tour in Oklahoma City with OG&E amid emergency order for Southwest Power Pool during heat wave.
- Oregon: Wildfire season nears record with 60 large fires burning 2.014 million acres as of Aug 3, just short of 2024 record of 2.081 million, with eastern Oregon hardest hit.
- Pennsylvania: Gov. Shapiro signs executive order strengthening emergency readiness Aug 4; federal prosecutors charge 19 in Philadelphia in $4M Medicare/Medicaid home health fraud.
- Rhode Island: Providence police investigate woman found dead in car on Rhode Island College campus Aug 3; man critically injured crossing I-95 near Pawtucket.
- South Carolina: Five Republicans debate Aug 4 for special Senate primary to fill Lindsey Graham seat ahead of Aug 11 primary, clashing over filibuster and data centers.
- South Dakota: Democratic Senate nominee Julian Beaudion withdraws Aug 4 citing house fire financial hardship and threats, leaving independent Brian Bengs vs Sen. Mike Rounds.
- Tennessee: Tourism reports record $32.5B in direct visitor spending in 2025, up 40% since 2018; Vanderbilt named No. 1 hospital in state in U.S. News rankings.
- Texas: Gov. Abbott orders pause on new data center grid interconnections, directing PUC and ERCOT to audit projects over reliability concerns from surging demand.
- Utah: New Colorado River conservation program announced paying residents in Utah, Colorado, Wyoming and New Mexico to voluntarily reduce water use.
- Vermont: Final push before Aug 11 primary; DMV Enforcement and Safety Division officially rebranded as Vermont Highway Patrol effective today.
- Virginia: Primary Election Day for Senate, House and local offices; Democrats target VA-01 and VA-02 as part of national DCCC offensive.
- Washington: Three Spokane-area wildfires destroy 700+ homes and force 64,000 evacuations; 37-year-old man arrested for allegedly starting one fire.
- West Virginia: Veteran Dave Trader named colonel of Natural Resources Police after nearly four decades of service, leading agency’s next chapter.
- Wisconsin: Fall primary ballots set for Aug 11 governor race with 2 Republicans and 7 Democrats; state reports 105 cyclosporiasis cases since May 1, well above typical 20-30.
- Wyoming: Primary season heats up for Aug 18 gubernatorial primary; southeast Wyoming law enforcement arrests wanted man after tense Monday morning standoff.
