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Two officers fired 12 shots at the man, Darrius H. Kennedy, after he ignored their orders to drop the long kitchen knife he had been waving as he skipped backward, frightening the tourists wandering around on a summer day, police officials said.
A bipartisan group of state lawmakers wants to help more than 30 other California medalists by exempting the honorariums and the value of their medals from state taxes.
An outbreak of swine flu is prompting state and county fair officials in about a dozen states to check pigs for the disease and urge fairgoers to be extra cautious around the animals this summer.
Paul Ryan is leaving vulnerable down ballot Republicans with an uncomfortable choice: Embrace a radical new vision on entitlements or run from their party’s national ticket.
In heavily Democratic Hawaii, both Hirono and Gabbard are favored to win in November as well, especially with homegrown President Barack Obama on the ticket.
Four years after social media became a go-to for national politicians, Oregon legislators are harnessing its power.
The legal wrangling comes days after the school board regained authority over academic decisions in Detroit Public Schools.
Gov. Pat Quinn requested a federal investigation of Megabus, its history, and business and operating practices in the wake of two fatal incidents in Illinois.
The law, which takes effect immediately, bans the sale of all tobacco wrapping papers including cigarette papers, blunt wraps and cigar wraps that are flavored with anything other than menthol.
For a variety of reasons, including cutting costs, state legislatures are moving away from the punishment-focused policies for young offenders and moving towards rehabilitation, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.
As drought plagues more than half of the nation, concerns about hydraulic fracturing's effect on available water are increasing.
Firearms have been flying off store shelves all year in Virginia, but last month -- the first in 20 years that didn't limit buyers to one handgun -- saw the most sales yet.
In the past four years, state governments have enacted bills forbidding cities and towns from requiring sprinklers in new homes.
Massachusetts is the only state that has agreed to send mass mailings to register welfare recipients to vote, following a series of state lawsuits brought by the liberal group Demos. Other states have settled Demos’s lawsuits by agreeing to less costly steps.
A fight over the bill looms in the House of Delegates, where similar legislation died during this year’s regular legislative session.
The next closest contenders were New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, who tied with 16 percent of support.
The Justice Department sent elections supervisors in nine counties, including Dade and Broward, subpoenas demanding information about the controversial noncitizen voter purge.
A newly formed and hush-hush coalition of more than 50 high-profile organizations is quietly lobbying the Portland City Council to add fluoride to a drinking water supply serving about 900,000 residents.
Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy M. Frawley issued a tentative ruling that rejected efforts by death penalty proponents to change the wording on a ballot measure that would repeal capital punishment in California.
New census data shows how pension systems fared in 2011. View aggregate totals for each state.
State and local construction spending on K-12 education has dropped by more than 35 percent since 2009.
Governments are getting much quicker and clearer feedback than ever before. It’s data that could be better used to solve problems.
The Anaheim City Council voted down a historic ballot proposal that would have created voting districts to help increase Latino representation.
With budget cuts hitting law-enforcement agencies across the country, residents increasingly are taking matters into their own hands by joining town watches or hiring private security firms to help keep their neighborhoods safe.
The software is New York City’s attempt to build a truly one-stop shop for crime and counterterrorism data that’s accessible in real time.
The judge said the plaintiffs had provided copious documentation of barriers at poll sites, ranging from unsafe ramps to missing signage and improper placement of voting equipment and furniture.
With anticipation high for the expected announcement by Romney’s campaign, TechPresident’s Micah L. Sifry reported that monitoring the increased number of edits on the Wikipedia entries for various contenders might tip off interested observers.
Cars have changed in ways that make rescues more complicated and dangerous for first responders.
The 2010 health care law gives Medicare and Medicaid more authority to track and reject payments for medical procedures believed to be overused. Also, the law and 2009 stimulus act will change payment incentives and allow physicians to use electronic records to limit unnecessary medical testing.
State health officials issued the first 97 allocations to operate medical marijuana dispensaries amid threats of litigation on multiple fronts.
Gov. Gary Herbert wants to know who will occupy the White House before making any decisions about expanding Medicaid in Utah.
The three appellate judges found that after years of adhering to laws governing tuition aid grants, the state authority in 2005 inappropriately began linking students’ residency to their parents’ immigration status.
For the first time, physicians can now register their patients for the state’s long-delayed medical marijuana program. With one dispensary on track to open by September, it means patients could be less than a month away from actually receiving the drug.
Conservative Republicans scored big wins across Kansas as they set themselves up to seize control of the state Senate and clear a path for Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s agenda.
Aiming to get people into the innovative mindset for improving services and saving money, cities are turning to competitions.
President Barack Obama in December announced plans to modify the exemption and extend overtime and minimum wage protections to home-care workers employed by private companies. But the The delay is making labor activists nervous.
Small signs of life in metro Atlanta's real estate and construction industries have local governments asking whether they should charge developers more to build homes, commercial properties and offices.
One of every 4 African-American public school students in Illinois was suspended for disciplinary reasons during the 2009-10 school year, the highest rate among 47 states examined in a national study.
The NCAA and four major professional sports leagues filed suit to stop New Jersey from implementing sports betting at the dozen casinos here and the state's race tracks.
The vote, by a 63 percent to 37 percent margin, means the city will be able to keep community centers open longer, improve park maintenance and -- for the first time -- create a specific street maintenance fund.
Democrat Jay Inslee led Republican Rob McKenna in Tuesday's state primary election in a dry run that promises to be one of the nation's most closely watched gubernatorial races.
Rep. Roy Schmidt, who switched from the Democrats to the Republicans just before the filing deadline in May, successfully fended off a strong write-in challenge in the Republican primary.
Metro Detroit voters took the first step to sending two incumbent Democrats back to Washington: U.S. Rep. John Conyers, the veteran Detroit lawmaker, won easily; U.S. Rep. Gary Peters won a tighter race in the only race pitting two incumbent congressmen in Michigan.
Marvin Wilson's lawyers unsuccessfully argued that an IQ test on which the killer scored 61 - nine points below the standard for competency - should have saved him from execution under a 2002 U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring execution of the mentally retarded.
The Metro Council’s decision to defer a vote on a plan to rezone more than 450 acres of land in the Midtown area will weaken the city’s federal application for bus rapid transit funding, a Metro official said.
Rep. Todd Akin — a six-term social conservative whom Claire McCaskill helped promote to GOP voters because she thought she had the best chance of beating him — won the Republican primary over two rivals.
Twitter officials have complied with a court order to turn over account information to help New York police investigators identify who threatened to carry out an attack like the Colorado movie theater shooting at a Broadway theater where Mike Tyson is appearing in a one-man show.
President Barack Obama said the administration will provide an additional $30 million to aid farmers and ranchers who are dealing with the worst drought in 56 years.
View the current and projected fiscal outlook for all 50 states' budgets.
The Obama campaign's new mobile app includes a Google map for canvassers that recognizes your current location and marks nearby Democratic households with small blue flags.
Former Gov. George Ryan has less than a year left to serve on his 6 1/2-year sentence for racketeering and fraud convictions.
The race for the Democratic nominee for Senate District 39 has come down to a contest between legacies.
Once upon a time, a time before legislative term limits, the Los Angeles City Council used to be a stepping stone to the Legislature.
Taking DNA samples from suspects immediately upon arrest is an increasingly common law enforcement practice. But some courts have ruled it unconstitutional.
After some two years of bitter public clashes, Gov. Christie set aside his differences with the state’s teachers unions and signed a bill making it easier for school districts to weed out underperforming teachers while preserving job security for the most senior educators.
New York state is considering whether control boards for cash-poor cities and counties should automatically go into effect when localities fail certain fiscal tests, instead of being approved on a case-by-case basis as they are today
State officials formally submitted a request to keep $10 billion that recent changes to the Medicaid program have saved the federal government, saying that investing the money over the next five years will further "bend the Medicaid cost curve."
Between 1927 to 1979, Virginia sterilized about 8,000 people deemed unfit to reproduce for reasons such as mental illness, physical deformity or homelessness.
Perry has said he won't implement the healthcare law's Medicaid expansion. But his plan to cut off Planned Parenthood assumes that the Medicaid expansion will happen in Texas.
The races worth watching today are in Michigan, Missouri and Washington. Kansas is also holding primaries, but all four Congressional races are rated as Safe Republican and not competitive this fall.
Young drivers in New Jersey must continue to display controversial red decals on their license plates after the state's high court found the law constitutionally sound.
Local and national experts say the approach may be one of the first of its kind in the country — a regular public school that allows students to build their own schedules, cherry-picking classes from Salt Lake Community College, the district’s career and technical center, the district’s traditional high schools, and the school’s own face-to-face classes,
The state is going to pay school districts $1,000 for every student that graduates with credentials in high-need jobs.
The White House recognized the company for its green buses that can be charged in just 10 minutes.
Most states’ fiscal outlook for the rest of the year is stable, according to an NCSL survey. View maps with projections for every state.
The state Supreme Court says Michigan residents can decide the controversial law's fate in November. What happens until then is less clear.
Bringing an official end to one of the most notable political careers in Alabama history, a federal judge resentenced former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman to six and a half years in prison on bribery and conspiracy charges.
The additional money that lawmakers were unaware of includes funds for healthcare programs, reimbursement of crime victims and cleanup of underground petroleum tanks.
Pennsylvania became the latest state to end its general assistance program, revoking benefits for nearly 70,000 of its citizens after a one-month extension ran out Aug. 1.
Missouri hospitals say they stand to lose millions.
Democrats in both chambers have launched a national effort to enroll young illegal immigrants in a new program letting them stay in the country without threat of deportation. The program will help potential beneficiaries navigate applications, understand fees and avoid expensive scams.
A campaign against Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, fueled by tax-exempt groups backing Republican candidates, may be a precursor to such efforts on a broader scale.
The state is among those last in line for a federal break from the law’s toughest requirements.
The non-pension benefits that governments owe their retirees threaten to swamp their budgets. The time to fund those benefits is now, not when they come due.
Done well, it can serve as the centerpiece of an organization’s work, guiding it in ways both large and small.
The group representing the country's 3,000-plus counties gets its first new boss in more than 20 years.
Plus: Illegal pension recipients, and more management news
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday collected the California Nurses Association's endorsement, a $1 million contribution and a pledge of boots on the street to support his tax-hike measure on November's ballot.
State governments cut 6,000 jobs last month, and localities haven't added total jobs in nearly a year.
City workers were mopping up Wednesday after the city's third water-main break in 10 days.
Cash-hungry states have long tried to poach business from one another. Now many are stepping up their efforts to lure gamblers from their neighbors to their growing ranks of slot machines, leaving states like Delaware, which embraced gambling early, struggling to keep up in what has become a feverish one-armed-bandit arms race.
A tough new Massachusetts crime bill that imposes a "three strikes" rule on violent repeat offenders was signed into law on Thursday by Democratic Governor Deval Patrick.
The U.S. government's only facility for handling, processing and storing weapons-grade uranium has been temporarily shut after three anti-nuclear activists, including an 82-year-old nun, breached four security fences, government officials said on Thursday.
Maine moved to strip about 30,000 low-income Medicaid patients from the state-run health program Wednesday, formally challenging federal officials on a key provision of the health law.
Data shows weekdays with the most and least traffic congestion for metro areas.
Data measuring Friday afternoon traffic delays for 100 metro areas.
New data shows what day you chose to drive matters. View data showing the best and worst days for 100 metro areas.
The national spotlight has been known to burn some politicians back home.
The Highland Park Public Schools emergency manager has contracted with a private company to oversee student instruction.
The false hopes of unnecessary solutions can drown out meaningful conversation about how to fix government processes.
Police around the country have been making increasing use of automatic license plate recognition (ALPR) systems, which combine optical character recognition with database storage and matching to help catch criminals, solve crimes and finding missing people. Their ability to scan massive amounts of data has groups like the American Civil Liberties Union asking questions about privacy.
The United States doesn’t yet face the critical shortage of power that has left more than 600 million people in India without electricity this week but the U.S. grid is aging and stretched to capacity.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy was slowing and unlikely to create nearly enough work this year for millions of jobless Americans, but Fed leaders declined to take any steps to boost growth.
A federal appeals court blocked Arizona on Wednesday from enforcing a new state ban on most late-term abortions that opponents say is the toughest in the nation, and agreed to an expedited review of the controversial measure.
San Bernardino officially filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection in federal court Wednesday, just two weeks after the City Council declared insolvency after learning the city would be too broke to make payroll this summer.
Voters in the Atlanta area overwhelming rejected a dedicated sales tax for transportation projects. Are there lessons to be learned from that vote?
Oakland leaders took their financial troubles to the doorstep of Goldman Sachs on Tuesday, urging other cities to join them in fighting a bank that has become a lightning rod for criticism of the U.S. financial system.
In the maelstrom of criticism surrounding America's unionized public teachers, the woman running the second-largest educator union says time has come to collaborate on public school reform rather than resist.
Randi Weingarten, re-elected this week for a third term as president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) with 98 percent of the vote, wants her 1.5 million members to be open to changes that might improve public schools.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and state officials are pushing initiatives aimed at encouraging new mothers to breastfeed their babies, drawing criticism from some parents who say officials are interfering with their health choices.
Two major provisions of the health-overhaul law take effect Wednesday, testing employers' ability to adapt to changes the measure mandates. The law requires employers to distribute millions of dollars in insurance-company refunds to workers whose plans spent a high percentage of their premium dollars on administrative expenses instead of medical care.
Starting Wednesday, first-time or lapsed clients seeking cash assistance through Utah’s Department of Workforce Services must first take an online drug-screening survey to determine whether they are likely substance abusers. Those who score high will then need to take an actual drug test.
The House of Representatives rejected a bill on Tuesday that would have banned most abortions in the 20th week of pregnancy in the District of Columbia. The closely watched vote marked the first time Congress has voted on legislation that would have limited abortion because of pain to the fetus.
Illinois Governor Pat Quinn on Tuesday proposed a state ban on assault weapons in the aftermath of the July 20 movie theater massacre in Colorado. Quinn, a Democrat, called himself a "strong supporter" of the constitutional right to bear arms, but said in a letter to state legislators that the proliferation of military-style assault weapons undermines public safety.
Distrustful of government and riven by differences, metro Atlanta voters on Tuesday rejected a $7.2 billion transportation plan that business leaders have called an essential bulwark against regional decline.
Massachusetts lawmakers have given final approval to a bill designed to save up to $200 billion in health care costs over the next 15 years.
States have been battling Amazon and other online retailers over sales tax collection for years. Have they finally made progress?
A dozen or more states are expected to submit their plans in September for improving care for those eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare.
Organizations usually have just a few leading indicators -- sometimes a single number -- that will predict success or identify problems.
Enrollment is rising, but a new report highlights weak retention and high student loan default rates.
U.S. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued an opinion Monday saying there is a “fair prospect” the court will overturn the Maryland Court of Appeals controversial Alonzo Jay King Jr. v State of Maryland decision, which prohibited DNA collection from suspects charged — but not yet convicted — in violent crimes and burglaries.
Longtime Republican congressman Steve LaTourette of Bainbridge Township will announce that he won't seek re-election to Congress.
The surplus comes from an increase in revenues and transfers as well as savings in state government.
Arizona joins the ranks of states banning abortions based on the concept of fetal pain now that a federal judge has ruled the state's 20-week ban is constitutional.
Gov. Rick Perry appointed Dr. Kyle Janek, an Austin anesthesiologist and former state legislator, as executive commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to replace retiring Commissioner Toms Suehs.
PPP's final poll of the Republican Senate runoff in Texas finds Ted Cruz opening up a 52-42 lead over Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.
States have been on the front lines of a stimulus-driven revolution in accountability. A new report urges them to build on the lessons they have learned.
Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick told lawmakers that he supports a “three-strikes” policy for criminal sentencing, but only with a “safety value” that would give judges get more flexibility.
A majority of voters oppose the regional transportation referendum that will be on Tuesday's ballot, according to an exclusive poll by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Though incumbents continue to hold vast advantages over political newcomers, entrenched legislators in 2012 are losing primaries at a higher rate than they did in 2010, according to a Ballotpedia study.
At issue is whether sweeping legislative ethics reform, in the form of an initiative sponsored by a citizens group called Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG), can advance to this November’s ballot.
The new chief of Denver Health said he will reach out to Latinos who want more from the key city agency, and offered a cautious endorsement of Colorado's joining the Medicaid expansion to cover more uninsured.
Indiana's next governor will have to decide whether to expand Medicaid under the federal health-care law. Lawmakers and the new governor also will have to find roughly $500 million each year to pay for transportation projects as the money from the leasing of the Indiana Toll Road runs out.
Four years ago, Barack Obama captured 62 percent of the Asian-American vote. But in the 2012 cycle, Mitt Romney’s campaign may have found the formula to chip away at that margin.
The Association of American Medical Colleges estimates that in 2015 the country will have 62,900 fewer doctors than needed. And that number will more than double by 2025, as the expansion of insurance coverage and the aging of baby boomers drive up demand for care.
New York and up to 25 other states are moving toward changing the way they grant licenses to teachers, de-emphasizing tests and written essays in favor of a more demanding approach that requires aspiring teachers to prove themselves through lesson plans, homework assignments and videotaped instruction sessions.
The state cannot even get residents to comply with car insurance laws, and when it comes to health insurance, the effort to sign people up isn’t likely to get much help from the state.
Traditionally, U.S. voters have backed generous pay and benefits for the cops and firefighters willing to risk their lives to keep citizens safe. But as economic conditions have worsened and many local governments have run into severe fiscal problems, that attitude has started to change.
New report shows how all 50 states fare in technology preparedness if electronic voting machines malfunction on Election Day — a factor that could impact voting results in swing states.
After the company's president expressed opposition to gay marriage, two mayors said they'll try to prevent it from expanding.
Saying they feel betrayed by the discovery of $54 million hidden in two state parks accounts, a growing number of groups that donated money to keep California state parks from closing this year now say they want a refund -- or at least a binding promise from lawmakers to spend the extra money on parks.
After an 18-month delay in getting a hearing, acting Education Commissioner Chris Cerf won a unanimous nod from the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday.
The Drug Enforcement Administration seized more than $36 million in cash and arrested 91 people in a nationwide crackdown against manufacturers, distributors and vendors of synthetic designer drugs
Indiana House Democrats ousted Rep. Patrick Bauer as their leader amid criticism of his handling of campaign fundraising and spending heading into the November elections.
The mayor, a political independent, said that he was drawn to Brown because of the senator's stance on gun control. The Massachusetts lawmaker has broken with most congressional Republicans and said he opposes gun legislation that would allow concealed-carry permits issued by states to apply nationwide.
The American Public Transportation Association cited the Southeastern Pennsylvania agency as a "model" for the public-transit industry for improving customer service and outreach, increasing sustainability with hybrid buses and achieving its highest ridership since 1989.
Miami officials pushing for $40 million in union concessions weighed declaring "financial urgency," an action that would allow the Florida city to unilaterally alter employee contracts
The state Department of Health and Human Services announced a $67 million plan to improve the treatment and services for people with mental illnesses by relocating them from assisted living centers in an attempt to avoid being sued by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Which areas have the worst traffic on Friday afternoons? View data for 100 metro areas.
The Redwood City police department is likely the first law enforcement agency in the nation to offer the service to citizens in non-emergency situations.
The undertaking would be one of the country's most expensive transportation infrastructure projects. But at least one hurdle remains: how to pay for it.
A Stateline analysis found that students who participate in state 'School Choice' programs actually have very limited choices.
The state can cut health care costs and reduce the number of medical-related lawsuits by requiring earlier notification of injuries as well as pretrial mediation, according to a recommendation Gov. John Kitzhaber issued.
Unhappy with finances, caucus may vote today to remove him as House leader
Three states that expanded Medicaid in 2001 and 2002, New York, Arizona and Maine, collectively saw a 6.1 percent decline in the death rate for people age 20 to 64 compared to neighboring states, according to the study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Brown plans to pursue a massive project to move water from the Sacramento area into the Central Valley and Southland and help restore the ravaged delta habitat.
The recall race for governor cost a record-busting $80.9 million, more than double the previous record of $37.4 million, which was set in the 2010 race for governor.
Of the 155 Democrats running for reelection to the 200-member Massachusetts Legislature, just 42 will face Republican challengers in November.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania and other groups are asking a judge to knock the state's tough new voter-ID law off the books before it can be used in the Nov. 6 election.
The number of Floridians packing concealed weapons is booming and within a matter of weeks should hit the one million mark, making the state the first in the nation to reach that milestone in personal firepower.
Administering services to vulnerable populations is hard work. But tough public-sector jobs have a way of attracting top talent.
