• Obama Declares Oklahoma Tornado a Major Disaster
• Source: USA Today   |   Oklahoma   |   May 21, 2013
• At least 51 people were killed when a massive tornado blasted through central Oklahoma, flattening neighborhoods and destroying two elementary schools. The grim work of search, rescue and recovery continues today.

• Federal-Run Health Exchanges Won't Mirror Massachusetts'
• Source: Boston Globe   |   Nation   |   May 21, 2013
• Massachusetts, which served as the model for Obamacare, conducts competitive bidding to promote cost-efficient plans in its exchange. But in the 34 states where the federal government will be running the exchange, the government has decided to permit any plan to qualify that meets a minimum set of standards set by the law.

• Alaska Pushes Feds on Arctic Drilling
• Source: Politico   |   Alaska   |   May 21, 2013
• Alaskan officials are hoping to prod the federal government into measuring the amount of oil and gas beneath the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and are offering state money as part of their plan to push the project forward.

• Air Service in Steep Decline at Small and Mid-Sized City Airports
• BY: Tod Newcombe   |   Nation   |   May 20, 2013
• The days of numerous flights from the nation’s small, medium and large airports are over.

• Feds Issue New Fracking Rules
• BY: McClatchy News   |   Nation   |   May 17, 2013
• The Interior Department proposed new rules to regulate hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas drilling on federal lands, drawing criticism from environmentalists and the industry.

• Brewer's Immigrant-License Policy Upheld in Court
• Source: Arizona Republic   |   Arizona   |   May 17, 2013
• A federal judge refused to suspend Gov. Jan Brewer’s policy denying driver’s licenses to young undocumented immigrants who receive work permits through President Barack Obama’s deferred-action policy.

• LAPD Freed from Federal Oversight After 12 Years
• Source: Los Angeles Times   |   Los Angeles   |   May 17, 2013
• In a brief, three-line order, a judge formally lifted the binding agreement the U.S. Department of Justice imposed on the LAPD in 2001, which spelled out dozens of major reforms the police agency had to implement and frequent audits it was required to undergo.

• House Farm Bill Cuts Food-Stamp Funding
• Source: AP/Des Moines Register   |   Nation   |   May 16, 2013
• The House bill would cut about $2.5 billion a year — or a little more than 3 percent — from the food stamp program, which is used by 1 in 7 Americans.

• Tavenner is 1st New CMS Leader in Nearly a Decade
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   May 16, 2013
• Marilyn Tavenner on Wednesday was easily confirmed by the Senate to run the agency in charge of Medicare, Medicaid and setting up much of the health care law.

• GOP: Leave Blood-Alcohol Rules to the States
• Source: Politico   |   Nation   |   May 16, 2013
• Republicans are warning the government against withholding federal funding from -- or offering financial incentives to -- states to prod them to adopt tougher drunken driving laws.
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• North Carolina Officials Pitch Medicaid Managed Care to Doctors
• Source: Raleigh News & Observer   |   North Carolina   |   May 16, 2013
• In a national address earlier this month, Gov. Pat McCrory called on President Barack Obama to approve the state’s Medicaid request, but it’s clear that the state’s doctors and other health care professionals aren’t convinced that managed care is the best course.

• Former Congressman Tancredo Considers 2014 Run for Colorado Governor
• Source: Denver Post   |   Colorado   |   May 16, 2013
• Former Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo, known for his hard-line stances on immigration, is strongly considering a run for governor in 2014.

• Feds Block Utah Public-Lands Law
• Source: Salt Lake Tribune   |   Utah   |   May 15, 2013
• A federal judge signed an order blocking implementation of a Utah law prohibiting some Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service employees from enforcing state laws anywhere in Utah after the U.S. Department of Justice argued the law was unconstitutional.

• DUI Bill Advances in Washington State Amid NTSB Calls for Crackdown
• Source: Seattle Times   |   Washington state   |   May 15, 2013
• A bipartisan bill to stiffen Washington state’s DUI penalties cleared its first legislative hurdle, while a safety board in the other Washington sought to kick off a national conversation about changing the very definition of drunken driving.

• Legislation Aims to Save State Mineral Revenues From Sequestration
• BY: Stateline   |   Nation   |   May 14, 2013
• Wyoming Republicans Sen. Mike Enzi and Rep. Cynthia Lummis plan to introduce bills next week allowing states to collect royalties directly from companies that develop oil, gas and coal on federal lands.

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