U.S. relations with China are important to states, many of which have seen exports to China triple and, in some cases, quadruple in the last 10 years. Those trade relationships are sure to be discussed by President Barack Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping at meetings starting today.
Nearly three-quarters of Americans say same-sex marriage has reached the point in which it is certain to become legal, according to a newly released poll from the Pew Research Center.
Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn is summoning lawmakers back to the Capitol for a special session June 19 to try to break a stalemate over the state's massive public employee pension debt that triggered two downgrades from major credit rating agencies this week.
A federal judge Thursday dismissed a lawsuit and concluded there was no legal basis for the governor to challenge the sanctions assessed against Penn State University last year in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal.
Source: Detroit Free Press | Detroit |
June 7, 2013
Detroit’s attempt to avoid bankruptcy will hit a critical stage next week as emergency manager Kevyn Orr brings together dozens of creditors to present a stark offer: less than 10 cents on the dollar for the loans, bonds, retiree obligations and other debts that have been strangling the city for years.
A solid majority of Americans opposes a broad national right to same-sex marriage, saying the power to legalize gay unions should rest with the states — even as most support marriage equality for gay people, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
Source: AP/Des Moines Register | Iowa |
June 7, 2013
A spokesman said that the public safety commissioner believes investigators should follow every lead, including those from psychics, but he said the department isn’t using psychics “as some sort of philosophy."
Source: AP/Boston Globe | New Hampshire |
June 7, 2013
New Hampshire is posthumously emancipating 14 slaves who fought in the Revolutionary War and had asked state lawmakers for their freedom more than 200 years ago.
The plan to carve off the northeastern corner of the state — Weld, Morgan, Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington, Yuma and Kit Carson counties — and form the state of North Colorado was hatched at a Colorado Counties Inc. conference earlier this week.
Despite a contract requiring unions representing state workers to reimburse the state for deducting voluntary contributions to political action committees, no such payments have been made, according to a sworn affidavit obtained by the Tribune-Review.
Source: Newark Star-Ledger | Camden, N.J. |
June 7, 2013
The state Board of Education voted unanimously to approve Gov. Chris Christie's plan to seize control of the state's lowest performing school district starting June 25, the last day of school this year.
In the last few months, lawmakers in four states have voted to increase speed limits. Studies show doing so doesn't cause more accidents, but critics say it makes them more severe.
Some police and firefighters are getting hundreds of thousands of dollars in pension payouts, draining the city's finances and helping to shrink the public-safety workforce. Pension benefits need to be tied to contributions.
Is your state ready for Marketplace open enrollment in October 2013?
In a few short months, millions of uninsured Americans will qualify for affordable healthcare coverage either through Medicaid, CHIP or tax subsidies.
Nationally, six straight years of revenue declines have put enormous pressure on state and local governments, nevertheless, some are thriving. Standard & Poor's, the credit-rating agency, reports that it issued more bond upgrades than downgrades in 2012.