The Supreme Court has agreed to revisit the issue of church-state separation and decide whether a town council can begin most of its monthly meetings with a prayer from a Christian pastor.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.