• Oklahoma Tornado Damage Could Reach $2 Billion
• Source: USA Today   |   Oklahoma   |   May 23, 2013
• Up to 13,000 homes were damaged or destroyed by Monday's tornado that may have caused up $2 billion in damages, nearly double earlier estimates.

• Chicago OKs Massive School Closings
• Source: Chicago Tribune   |   Chicago   |   May 23, 2013
• Months of argument and anguish over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's push for sweeping school closings came to a climax Wednesday as his hand-picked Board of Education voted to shut 49 elementary schools and transfer thousands of children to new classroom settings.
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• 33 States Settle E-Book Price Fixing Lawsuit
• Source: CNET   |   Nation   |   May 23, 2013
• Penguin has agreed to pay $75 million to settle e-book pricing lawsuits filed by many states and private class plaintiffs, bringing an end to the long-running complaints in the U.S.

• Connecticut's Landmark Gun Law Faces Court Challenge
• Source: Hartford Courant   |   Connecticut   |   May 23, 2013
• A coalition of gun owners, gun dealers and firearms rights organizations have sued the governor and members of the state's attorney's office, contending that the gun law passed in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings violates the Constitution.

• Massachusetts Lt. Gov. to Resign
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Massachusetts   |   May 23, 2013
• Lieutenant Governor Timothy P. Murray will resign from the administration next month to run the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, positioning himself as a hometown cheerleader far from Beacon Hill where he saw his reputation tarnished the last few years.

• Arkansas Treasurer Resigns
• Source: Arkansas News   |   Arkansas   |   May 23, 2013
• State Treasurer Martha Shoffner resigned a day after appearing in federal court to face an extortion charge.

• Minnesota to Fund All-Day Kindergarten Starting in 2014
• Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune   |   Minnesota   |   May 23, 2013
• All-day kindergarten should become a reality throughout Minnesota in fall 2014 under an education-funding bill signed by Gov. Mark Dayton that DFLers consider one of their chief accomplishments of the legislative session.

• EMILY’s List Endorses Allyson Schwartz for Pennsylvania Governor
• Source: Politico   |   Pennsylvania   |   May 23, 2013
• The pro-Democratic women’s group EMILY’s List is throwing its support behind Pennsylvania Rep. Allyson Schwartz in her bid to defeat incumbent GOP Gov. Tom Corbett.

• Wisconsin Legislators Back Walker's Broad Authority to Sell State Property
• Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel   |   Wisconsin   |   May 23, 2013
• Republicans on the Legislature's budget committee largely signed off Tuesday on giving Gov. Scott Walker broad authority to sell heating plants, highways and other state property without seeking competitive bids, but stipulated that lawmakers must approve any sale.

• The Three M's of Infrastructure
• BY: Judith Rodin ,John Kitzhaber   |   May 23, 2013
• America shouldn't settle for infrastructure that gets a grade of D-plus. There are steps we can take right now to build the infrastructure we need.

• Transportation Nominee Foxx Sails Through Easy Hearing
• BY: Ryan Holeywell   |   May 22, 2013
• The Charlotte mayor didn't face many hardball questions from senators.

• Big Challenges for LA's New Mayor
• BY: Tod Newcombe   |   May 22, 2013
• How will Eric Garcetti lead a city that's been stuck in the economic doldrums and suffered through four years of budget deficits?

• Big Data and Even Bigger Efficiencies
• BY: Stephen Goldsmith   |   May 22, 2013
• The ever-growing volume of information created and captured by the modern digitized world is an opportunity for government to reinvent itself.

• States Racing to Build Health Exchanges in Time
• BY: Dylan Scott   |   May 22, 2013
• The pressure mounts as 18 states work to build Obamacare's online insurance marketplaces before the deadline -- a task that some health care veterans say is the most challenging they've ever faced.
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• Florida Enacts Election Law to Ease Long Voter Lines
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Florida   |   May 22, 2013
• Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law a number of election law changes that roll back ones made by GOP lawmakers in 2011. The changes focus on expanding voter access and easing long lines at the polls.