News
Nationally, fourth grade students’ reading scores have been sliding for a long time. But in the past five years, Louisiana has seen strong improvements.
The cost of housing is one big barrier to family formation. But simply building more single family homes isn't the answer.
Small-town shared workspaces are equipping residents with tools for creative collaboration and entrepreneurship. They’re reshaping how rural residents launch businesses.
Community organizer Katie Wilson challenges Mayor Bruce Harrell with proposals to tax vacant properties, high earners, and large firms — a referendum on how far Seattle is willing to go to close its budget gap without driving employers away.
After state regulators approved direct potable reuse, city officials say they could avoid costly pipelines and reservoir storage — reshaping one of the nation’s largest water recycling projects.
The increase in wholesale turkey prices this year as Avian flu and respiratory viruses continue to strain U.S. turkey farms ...
Michaela Thompson, an unemployed mother in the San Fernando Valley, on the looming halt of federal food assistance as the government shutdown stretches into its fifth week. Thompson relies on SNAP benefits to buy specialized baby formula for her 15-month-old daughter, who has a feeding disorder. With payments suspended, she said she doesn’t know how she’ll afford the $47 five-day supply. About 1 in 8 Americans face similar uncertainty as officials warn November SNAP funds will not be issued without a funding deal in Congress. (Los Angeles Times)
It’s not yet clear how much financial support states can expect from a reimagined FEMA. A new analysis of past costs sheds light on the gaps they might have to fill.
Education technology has a history of failure. It will take years — and a lot of humility, experimentation and assessment — to learn whether artificial intelligence’s classroom benefits outweigh its negative effects.
The number of New Yorkers who cast ballots during the first three days of early voting in the city’s closely watched mayoral race ...
Sen. Thom Tillis. The North Carolina Republican announced the cancellation of his annual Bipawtisan Howl-o-ween Dog Parade amid the federal government shutdown. The Halloween tradition, normally held inside the Hart Senate Office Building, was scrapped as the funding lapse stretched toward a full month — one of many fall festivities derailed by the stalemate in Washington. (Roll Call)
Glitches in signal timing, breakdowns and crowding marred the Metro Express debut, as officials ask riders for patience during a 90-day period to fix the new rapid-transit system.
After federal delays and political shifts, the state’s long-awaited broadband expansion is starting over with half the funding — leaving millions of Texans still offline and waiting.
With some counties lacking a single dentist and Medicaid reimbursements covering less than half of costs, Alabama’s pediatric dental-care system depends on a few practitioners stretched to the breaking point.
The shutdown has caused flight delays across the country. But some rural areas are at risk of losing flight service altogether.
It’s likely the result of confusion about how questions are asked. In reality, people almost universally condemn it.
Short-term interest rates are likely to continue ratcheting down, making it a challenge for state and local financiers to maximize income on investments. But there are a few opportunities here and there.
The amount of cash left in the bank for Republican-backed campaigns opposing California’s Proposition 50, the redistricting measure on the November ballot ...
Former Vice President Kamala Harris. Nearly a year after losing to President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, Harris said she remains committed to public service and hasn’t ruled out another run for the White House. “I have lived my entire career as a life of service and it’s in my bones,” she said. Her remarks come as several high-profile Democrats — including California Gov. Gavin Newsom — begin positioning themselves for the 2028 presidential race amid growing efforts within the party to rebuild after its 2024 defeat. (Los Angeles Times)
Proposition 36 — which made certain repeat drug and theft crimes into felonies — did not allocate funding to expand treatment slots or coordinate referrals.
More than half of surveyed mayors expect affordability to worsen next year, but their powers are constrained by state pre-emption, high construction costs and limited municipal authority.
But it doesn’t seem to be working, at least not yet. Pilot programs in Louisiana and Arizona reveal weak participation, limited functionality and risks of widespread coverage loss.
A stretch of a historic highway in Lancaster, Calif., was transformed from a semi-freeway through town to an inviting space for residents and passersby to linger and connect.
What’s happened in Wyoming illustrates how closed primary elections shut too many voters out of the electoral process, intensify political polarization and raise important questions about funding these elections.
Enrollment decline in Alabama’s K-12 schools for the 2025-26 school year, a decrease of 0.8 percent and the biggest enrollment drop in 40 years ...
Frank Sizemore of the Sports Betting Alliance. Sizemore, speaking before an Oklahoma Senate panel on the potential legalization of sports betting, told lawmakers that Oklahoma is losing millions in untaxed revenue to illegal gambling and neighboring states where sports wagering is already legal. He argued that regulation would curb black-market activity and generate new state revenue, noting that legal sports betting is now allowed in 39 states and taxed at an average rate of 16 percent. (Oklahoma Voice)
While House Republicans filed measures to eliminate non-school property taxes, DeSantis argues that placing multiple measures on the ballot undermines any substantive reform.
The County Council is considering scrapping a mid-century ordinance once used to curb gambling among minors.
Daniel Lurie told the president that deploying the military would hinder the city’s economic rebound. Trump said he would “give him a chance.”
Federal funding is a bigger share of state budgets than ever. It comes with too many strings and strictures that choke off efficiency and innovation, and it threatens democratic self-governance.
Most Read
