• Supreme Court Outlines Limits on Right to Remain Silent
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• In a 5-4 decision the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that crime suspects need to speak up if they want to invoke their legal right to remain silent. The ruling highlights the limited reach of the famous Miranda decision.
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• Report: U.S. Teacher Training System is Broken
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• The U.S. teacher training system is badly broken, turning out rookie educators who have little hands-on experience running classrooms and are quickly overwhelmed by the job, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality.
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• Garcetti Aims to Be Different Kind of L.A. Mayor
• Source: The Los Angeles Times   |   Los Angeles, Calif.   |   June 18, 2013
• Since his victory last month, Mayor-elect Eric Garcetti has set himself to the task of being a more low-key public official than his predecessor. He is not using a transition team studded with big names and has scraped plans for a black-tie inaugural ball, opting instead for a public party in Grand Park with music and food.

• National Shortage of Large Air Tankers Hampers Firefighting Efforts
• Source: The Denver Post   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• A growing challenge for fire commanders attempting to slow and contain dangerous fires is a continued shortage of large air tankers that are available to them.

• Florida Governor Signs Bill to Speed Up Executions
• Source: The Tampa Bay Times   |   Florida   |   June 18, 2013
• Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill into law Friday aimed at accelerating the pace of the death penalty process in Florida, which could make the governor the most active executioner in modern state history.

• Fracking Fuels Water Battles in Drought Plagued States
• Source: AP/Politico   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• In Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah and Wyoming, the vast majority of the counties where fracking is occurring are also suffering from drought, according to an Associated Press analysis of industry-compiled fracking data and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official drought designations.

• Director of U.S. Immigration Agency Resigns
• Source: Reuters   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• The director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency said on Monday he will step down at the end of July to go to the private sector after heading the agency for four years.

• Choice of Health Plans to Vary Sharply By State
• Source: The New York Times   |   Nation   |   June 18, 2013
• Under President Obama’s health care law, it is becoming clear that the millions of people purchasing policies in the exchanges will find that their choices vary sharply, depending on where they live.

• The "Metropolitan Revolution" and the Changing Role of Cities
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   June 18, 2013
• Why cities and their leaders could wind up mattering more than Washington.

• States Rush to Cash in on Cybersecurity Boom
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   June 17, 2013
• As data dragnets and information breaches dominate the news, states are scrambling to cash in on a rapidly expanding business sector by offering tax incentives to firms that protect sensitive information from outside attacks.

• Texas Enacts Unemployment Drug-Testing Law
• BY: The Texas Tribune   |   Texas   |   June 17, 2013
• Gov. Rick Perry has signed a bill that will subject Texans applying for unemployment benefits to a drug test if their responses to a screening questionnaire indicate possible drug use.
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• Phildadelphia Schools Face Severe Budget Cuts
• Source: The New York Times   |   Philadelphia, Pa.   |   June 17, 2013
• Lacking adequate state funding and using a draconian budget passed by the Philadelphia School District last month, some schools may be forced to cut all support staff including nurses, aides, counselors, and security monitors and still be short money for books. Mayor Michael A. Nutter is seeking an additional $304 million in extra revenue from the city, the state and teachers' givebacks, but thus far has failed to come up with the money.

• New England States Look to Increase Hydropower
• Source: The Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   June 17, 2013
• Hydropower could play a larger role in New England’s energy mix as five of the region’s states, including Massachusetts, move to import more of it -- most likely from Canada -- and at least one has passed a law that could allow electricity from large-scale hydroelectric dams to be classified as green as wind or solar energy.

• California's Inland City Budgets Remain Weak
• Source: The Sacramento Bee   |   California   |   June 17, 2013
• California's monthly report on jobs and unemployment includes a county-by-county breakdown that shows a sharp east-west economic split with cities along the coast recovering well from the recession while inland cities remain mired in deficits and high unemployment.

• Some GOP Lawmakers Refuse to Answer Constituent Questions on Obamacare
• Source: The Hill   |   Nation   |   June 17, 2013
• Constituents frequently contact their Congress members with questions or requests for help with Medicare, Social Security and other government programs. But when it comes to Obamacare inquiries, some GOP lawmakers say they won't assist constituents or will forward the calls to the Obama administration.
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