University of Connecticut: New Online Dashboard Offers Look at Violent Deaths in Connecticut – When, Where, and How. “The Violent Mortality Dashboard, which was launched in mid-March, shows that between 2020 and 2024 hundreds of violent deaths, classified as homicides and suicides, were recorded in Connecticut – with a high of 205 and 204 in New Haven and Hartford, respectively, and a low […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/19/university-of-connecticut-new-online-dashboard-offers-look-at-violent-deaths-in-connecticut-when-where-and-how/

Reuters: California attorney general declines to join Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI. “The California attorney general’s office declined to join a lawsuit by Elon Musk against OpenAI, the agency wrote in a letter made public on Tuesday, saying the office did not see how Musk’s action serves the public interest of the state.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/16/reuters-california-attorney-general-declines-to-join-musks-lawsuit-against-openai/

Los Angeles Times: Coalition urges California attorney general to halt OpenAI’s for-profit restructuring. “A coalition of California nonprofits, foundations and labor groups are raising concerns about ChatGPT maker OpenAI, urging the state attorney general to halt the artificial intelligence startup’s plans to restructure itself as a for-profit company.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/04/10/los-angeles-times-coalition-urges-california-attorney-general-to-halt-openais-for-profit-restructuring/

In the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Democrat Susan Crawford's percentage of the vote in every county was higher than what Donald Trump got just 5 months ago. Some counties showed a 17% shift away from Trump.
Last year Trump got 49.71% of the vote in Wisconsin (amazingly close to the national %). On Tuesday, Crawford got 55%. Her MAGA opponent got 45%. This was a big loss for Trump & Musk.

Route Fifty: Georgia House passes bill to criminalize using AI-generated political ads intended to deceive. “A bill aimed at reducing misleading AI-generated political ads passed the state House with a bipartisan 152-12 vote Thursday. Under Senate Bill 9, originally authored by Roswell Republican Sen. John Albers, it would be a crime for political campaigns to knowingly publish certain audio […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/29/route-fifty-georgia-house-passes-bill-to-criminalize-using-ai-generated-political-ads-intended-to-deceive/

NC Newsline: NC treasurer announces 12-week artificial intelligence pilot. “The state Treasurer’s Office is using ChatGPT in a 12-week artificial intelligence pilot program. State Treasurer Brad Briner said the department is using the OpenAI product to identify businesses with unclaimed property and analyze local government financial data.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/28/nc-newsline-nc-treasurer-announces-12-week-artificial-intelligence-pilot/

KTBS: Bill would require live broadcast of Louisiana ethics board meetings. “A bill introduced by Rep. Steven Jackson, D-Bossier, seeks to increase transparency in the state’s Board of Ethics the Supervisory Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure by mandating the live broadcast and online archiving of meetings. The bill would amend Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law to require that all […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/02/ktbs-bill-would-require-live-broadcast-of-louisiana-ethics-board-meetings/

NC Newsline: NC House committee approves measure to limit student cellphone use. “A bill that would require North Carolina school boards to adopt policies that either eliminate or severely limit student use of cell phones during the school day is moving in the state House of Representatives. The House Committee on Education voted to advance House Bill 87 on Tuesday.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/28/nc-newsline-nc-house-committee-approves-measure-to-limit-student-cellphone-use/

Route Fifty: Lawmaker favors ‘issue by issue’ approach to AI regulation. “Amid that state-level activity, Congress is seemingly preparing itself for national regulations, which could preempt much of these new laws. The House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence issued a lengthy report on how lawmakers should approach the technology late last year laying out various options for […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/28/route-fifty-lawmaker-favors-issue-by-issue-approach-to-ai-regulation/

Pioneer Press: Minnesota bill would ban using AI to create sexually explicit images of real people. “A bipartisan group of Minnesota state senators is pushing for more restrictions on convincing computer-generated sexually explicit images of real people. Under a new bill, companies that provide artificial intelligence-generated ‘deepfakes,’ or photorealistic videos or images of people, would […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/26/pioneer-press-minnesota-bill-would-ban-using-ai-to-create-sexually-explicit-images-of-real-people/

Boston Herald: Massachusetts launches ‘user-friendly’ tool for veterans to access financial benefits. “Massachusetts veterans and their families seeking financial assistance can now use a tool that state officials say is designed to help them ‘quickly determine their eligibility’ for the monthly benefits.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/16/boston-herald-massachusetts-launches-user-friendly-tool-for-veterans-to-access-financial-benefits/

Utah News Dispatch: Utah lawmaker wants police to disclose when they use artificial intelligence. “A Utah lawmaker wants police departments to be more transparent about how they use artificial intelligence, proposing a new bill that would require officers to disclose when and how they use the technology in police reports.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/14/utah-news-dispatch-utah-lawmaker-wants-police-to-disclose-when-they-use-artificial-intelligence/

VTDigger (Vermont): Want to know if your legislators have any conflicts of interest? We have a tool for that.. “The new tool includes state legislators’ 2025 ethics disclosures, which were filed at the beginning of the 2025 legislative session, and each person’s 2024 campaign disclosures, which were filed before the latest state elections. The two records contain slightly different […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/12/vtdigger-want-to-know-if-your-legislators-have-any-conflicts-of-interest-we-have-a-tool-for-that/

StateScoop: New chief data officer tracker compares state efforts. “The Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation on Thursday published a new tracker that catalogs the growing number of chief data officers working inside of state governments. The new tracker includes details on the 32 state chief data officers, or equivalent roles, including their names, year the role was established and […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/09/statescoop-new-chief-data-officer-tracker-compares-state-efforts/

ProPublica: Washington Governor Orders Team to Study Data Centers’ Impact on Energy Use, Job Creation and Tax Revenue. “Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson on Tuesday signed an executive order forming a team to evaluate the impact of data centers on energy use, state tax revenue and job creation. The order follows a Seattle Times-ProPublica investigation last year into the clean-energy and […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/08/propublica-washington-governor-orders-team-to-study-data-centers-impact-on-energy-use-job-creation-and-tax-revenue/

Route Fifty: Slow approach to law enforcement AI could combat errors and bias, experts say. “Several law enforcement agencies across the U.S. have started the new year by experimenting with artificial intelligence tools. Local police departments from California, Maine, Illinois and others are leveraging AI to draft police reports, a move some proponents say will help speed up the process and […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/31/route-fifty-slow-approach-to-law-enforcement-ai-could-combat-errors-and-bias-experts-say/

Route Fifty: Serious concerns raised over proliferation of Ohio data centers. “As Ohio entices yet more data centers, a watchdog group is raising important questions about whether that’s good for average Ohioans. Among them are whether the state is giving up too much in tax revenue for the number of jobs they’ll create, who will pay to add electricity generation to meet the centers’ […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/30/route-fifty-serious-concerns-raised-over-proliferation-of-ohio-data-centers/

Route Fifty: California is investigating OpenAI’s conversion to a for-profit company. “As part of what it described as an ongoing investigation, the California attorney general’s office has sought answers from OpenAI about its reported plan to convert to a for-profit corporation and how it intends to transfer assets out of its existing nonprofit.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/29/route-fifty-california-is-investigating-openais-conversion-to-a-for-profit-company/

New Hampshire Union Leader: Getting There: ‘Skibbity’ state transportation update goes viral on social media. “No cap, a recent social media post by state transportation officials ate and ate hard. The ‘Skibbity Weather Warning’ for road conditions was shared nearly 5,000 times and triggered nearly 4,000 comments. New Hampshire Department of Transportation officials flexed to better engage […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/27/getting-there-skibbity-state-transportation-update-goes-viral-on-social-media-new-hampshire-union-leader/