• Christie Underwent Weight-Loss Surgery
• Source: Newark Star-Ledger   |   New Jersey   |   May 7, 2013
• Gov. Chris Christie — whose weight has long been the subject of public worry and late-night talk show jokes — said he underwent lap-band stomach surgery in February.

• Online Sales Tax Bill Passes Senate
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   May 7, 2013
• It's the first time any version of the legislation, which state and local leaders have long fought for, has ever been approved by either chamber of Congress.
• 7 Comments

• Youth Unemployment Rate, Figures by State
• BY: Mike Maciag   |   May 6, 2013
• View youth unemployment figures and graphs.

• SEC Charges Harrisburg with Securities Fraud
• BY: Liz Farmer   |   Harrisburg, Pa.   |   May 6, 2013
• Pennsylvania's capital, which is under receivership after nearly going bankrupt, is the second municipality or state to get charged with securities fraud this year.
• 1 Comments

• States' Seek Limits on Undisclosed Political Donations
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• States are trying to figure out ways to stem the tide of the secret money that played an unprecedented role in the 2012 election cycle. The first step is to force tax-exempt advocacy organizations and trade associations out of the shadows.

• States Make Needed Upgrades to Capitol Buildings
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• At least ten states are considering renovations to their capitol building. Though repairs and upgrades are expensive and can take years, more than two-thirds of the states have carried them out since 2000.

• U.S. Forest Service Asks States to Return Funds Due to Sequestration
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• The U.S. Forest Service has asked a dozen states to return $17.9 million in federal revenue-sharing funds, so the agency can meet its sequestration budget cut obligations.
• 2 Comments

• Texas Gov. Perry: NRA is Voice of Reason
• Source: Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   May 6, 2013
• As members of the National Rifle Association gathered with a wide array of national figures in Houston, Rick Perry talked up Texas' gun-friendly nature and again called for weapons manufacturers to come to his state.
• 1 Comments

• Former Indiana Gov. Bowen Dies
• Source: Indianapolis Star   |   Indiana   |   May 6, 2013
• Otis “Doc” Bowen, the small-town doctor who succeeded in providing property tax relief as Indiana governor in the 1970s and then became one of the first federal officials to seek funds to battle the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, has died.

• New Jersey Seizes Affordable Housing Funds from Municipalities
• Source: Philadelphia Inquirer   |   New Jersey   |   May 6, 2013
• Amid objections from municipal officials and housing activists, the Christie administration has begun the process of seizing $150 million or more in subsidized housing money from municipalities around the state and is keeping a tight lid on its policy objectives.

• Prisons Test Crisis Intervention for Dealing with Mentally Ill
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   May 6, 2013
• Over the past 25 years, crisis intervention team training has spread among law enforcement agencies across the country. Now it is being tested in the nation’s prisons, which have become the largest repositories for people with mental health problems.

• States Take Lead Regulating Compounding Pharmacies
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   May 6, 2013
• After a lack of congressional action after last fall's deadly meningitis outbreak, 15 states have taken up bills to step up the regulation of facilities like the one linked to the outbreak.

• Federal Funding for Cities' Anti-Terrorism Centers Dwindling
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   May 6, 2013
• The so-called fusion centers -- they sift intelligence about terrorism, determine threat levels, and investigate suspicious activity and potential crises -- have become a fixture in post-9-11 America. There are 78 centers nationwide.

• West Virginia to Expand Medicaid
• Source: Charleston Daily Mail   |   West Virginia   |   May 6, 2013
• Tens of thousands of West Virginians will soon be eligible for Medicaid coverage after Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin announced the state would expand its program under the federal health care overhaul.

• Immigrants Are Transforming Port Chester, New York
• Source: New York Times   |   Port Chester, N.Y.   |   May 6, 2013
• Port Chester, N.Y., presents a microcosm of the costs and benefits that immigration reform could offer.