Target Corporation

Proposition G, the ballot fight over converting the former Great Highway into Sunset Dunes park, follows a pattern San Francisco has seen before: the removal of the Central Freeway after the 1989 earthquake led to multiple contentious ballot measures before neighbors won a permanent boulevard and what became Patricia's Green in Hayes Valley. That fight took three elections over several years, with opponents repeatedly warning of traffic chaos that never materialized.

Supporters of Sunset Dunes point to that precedent, along with the Embarcadero and Panhandle freeway removals, as evidence that predicted gridlock rarely arrives and that converted roadways tend to become popular public space. Opponents continue to push traffic and safety arguments, but the park has prevailed in every vote so far.

Chief Judge John McConnell granted summary judgment for Providence City Councilman Miguel Sanchez, ruling that Gov. Dan McKee's top aides, Chief of Staff Antonio Afonso and Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph Almond, violated Sanchez's First Amendment rights by firing him from a constituent-services role in 2023 over social media posts criticizing Israel's actions in Gaza and calling for a ceasefire. McConnell found Sanchez spoke as a private citizen, his firing drew far more public and media attention than the posts themselves, and other staffers who posted dissenting views were not disciplined. McKee's office disagrees with the ruling and is reviewing its options; a trial on damages remains ahead. Sanchez, soon to be City Council president, called it a free speech victory.

Candidates in Rhode Island's 2026 governor's race have spent about $9.9 million combined, making it the cheapest contest in inflation-adjusted terms since 2006 and well below the $14.8–$22.2 million range of the last three cycles. Democratic nominee Helena Foulkes accounts for roughly 69% of that spending at about $6.8 million, followed by Gov. Dan McKee, who lost the September primary to her, at nearly $2.6 million. Independent Ken Block and Republican nominee Aaron Guckian have spent far less. Analysts attribute the drop-off to a thin post-primary field, though outside spending by parties and unions is filling some of the gap and rising media costs continue to push overall campaign costs higher.

A Los Angeles-area state Senate race between labor-backed West Hollywood City Councilmember John Erickson and business-supported media consultant Brian Goldsmith has become California's most expensive state Senate general election contest this cycle, driven by heavy outside spending. The district, covering Malibu, Santa Monica, the Pacific Palisades, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, carries a 12-year term limit as both seek to succeed termed-out Sen. Ben Allen.

Business groups have targeted Erickson with attack spending, while tech-linked donors and Goldsmith's own personal funds have boosted his campaign; labor groups opposing Goldsmith have spent far less. Nancy Pelosi recently endorsed Goldsmith. Ads focus on affordability, housing, public safety and partisan loyalty, reflecting a broader business-labor struggle over California Democratic Party direction.

The three leading candidates for Rhode Island governor — Democrat Helena Foulkes, Republican Aaron Guckian and independent Ken Block — met for a televised debate hosted by 12 News at Rhode Island College, two weeks ahead of the November 3 election. The debate, moderated by Target 12's Tim White and Ted Nesi, was the candidates' last major face-off before voting ends. It followed a 12 News/Emerson College poll showing Foulkes leading with 44% support, Block gaining ground at 35%, and Guckian trailing at 10%, with undecided voters expected to split among the three. Independents Jay Gotra and C Reynolds also appear on the ballot. Early voting began October 14.

New York City residents are reporting an unusual shortage of Diet Coke across grocery delivery services and retailers, with customers on Amazon Fresh, FreshDirect, Costco and Target describing empty shelves and unfulfilled online orders for weeks. Shoppers from the Upper East Side to Brooklyn, Harlem, Queens and Long Island have swapped stories online, with some only half-jokingly declaring a household "emergency" over the missing soda.

The cause remains unclear. Some Amazon Fresh customers suspect a business dispute, such as a contract or invoice issue with Coca-Cola, rather than an actual product shortage, and one commenter claiming to work at an Amazon Fresh warehouse said Pepsi products were still arriving while Coca-Cola's were not. Coca-Cola, Amazon and FreshDirect have not commented. The episode echoes a genuine Diet Coke shortage in India this year, where aluminum can supplies were disrupted by Strait of Hormuz shipping issues tied to the U.S.-Iran conflict, though no link to New York's situation has been confirmed. Diet Coke remains one of Coca-Cola's billion-dollar brands, with global volumes up this year.

New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Clara County, King County and 22 states and the District of Columbia — including Illinois, California, Colorado, Washington and others, plus Pennsylvania's governor — have sued in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York over a Department of Homeland Security rule change to the "public charge" standard set to take effect Friday, Sept. 18. The rule lets immigration officials deny green cards or visas to applicants deemed likely to use any means-tested public benefit, including SNAP, Medicaid, housing vouchers or school lunch programs, reversing a narrower 2022 rule limited to cash assistance. It applies to family- and employment-based visa applicants; refugees, asylum recipients, TPS holders and certain trafficking or domestic violence victims are exempt. A similar policy from Trump's first term was blocked by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2020.

Plaintiffs, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James and joined by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and Illinois Deputy Attorney General Cara Hendrickson, call the rule unlawful, "arbitrary and capricious," and lacking clear standards for how benefit use counts against applicants. They warn it could push eligible immigrant and mixed-status families, including U.S. citizen children, away from benefits out of fear, straining local health, housing and school systems and costing states billions. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Colorado AG Phil Weiser led public criticism. DHS and USCIS defend the rule as protecting taxpayers from subsidizing dependent immigrants and dismiss the suits as politically motivated.