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Plus: A scathing Rhode Island audit, and more management news
Texas officials have proposed phasing-out federal funding for the women's health program through November after Washington said it was illegal to ban the participation of Planned Parenthood.
Secretaries Duncan and Vilsack encouraged state and local leaders to take advantage of federal programs.
Philly's police commissioner is encouraging more officers to embrace Twitter as a policing tool. The department hopes to have 15 officer tweeting at the end of the month.
More than two years after New Jersey’s medical marijuana law was passed, state officials have given the go-ahead for the first crop of cannabis to be planted.
Utah moved from an F to an A minus in a periodic nationwide analysis of child fatality disclosure laws, despite recent restrictions to the amount of information the state gives out about children who die during or shortly after receiving state services. Utah was one of two states classified as "most improved" by the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the University of San Diego School of Law and First Star.
Rep. Steve Israel said there is a 2012 strategy to recruit non-traditional candidates with compelling biographies or achievements outside of the political arena in an effort to compete in traditionally safe Republican territories.
The state Supreme Court refused to immediately take up a pair of cases that struck down the state's new voter ID law, a decision that will likely mean citizens won't have to show identification when they cast ballots in recall elections in May and June.
With U.S. Rep. Mike Pence, the Republican candidate to replace Gov. Mitch Daniels, leading the way, the race is on track to compete with, and perhaps exceed, the record $33 million spent in 2004.
Much has been accomplished with the widespread deployment of these citizen-service systems. In the future, they will do much more.
Virginia’s General Assembly reconvenes Tuesday to vote on a two-year, $85 billion state spending plan hashed out earlier this month by budget negotiators. It’s not clear that the plan will clear the Senate, which is evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant signed into law a bill that could shut down the only abortion clinic in the state. House Bill 1390 requires all physicians at abortion clinics in Mississippi to be board-certified OB-GYN and to have admitting privileges at a local hospital.
Adis Medunjanin is accused of plotting to bomb subways with two friends from Queens after training by Al Qaeda.
Jeffrey E. Thompson, the District businessman at the center of a federal investigation into campaign finance has stepped down as chairman of D.C. Chartered Health Plan, which holds a lucrative city contract to manage health care for low-income District residents. That contract, worth as much as $322 million yearly, is the city’s largest and accounts for nearly all of Chartered’s business.
Shrinking budgets and enrollments are forcing school closures and consolidations across the nation.
From food stamps to child tax credits and Social Service block grants, House Republicans began rolling out a new wave of domestic budget cuts Monday but less for debt reduction — and more to sustain future Pentagon spending without relying on new taxes.
Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) plans to introduce legislation that would sever the link between the District’s budget and the Congressional appropriations process, a senior Senate Democratic aide confirmed.
A number of political observers, including Governing's Louis Jacobson, have updated their electoral college breakdown predictions. Here is a list of recent breakdowns.
Backers of legislation requiring that genetically modified food be labeled in more than a dozen states say their intent is to give consumers more information about what they're eating.
Many Republicans view Ted Cruz as the Texas version of Marco Rubio, the Hispanic U.S. senator from Florida whose conservative philosophy and strong oratory skills helped make him a national tea party force seemingly overnight.
Like a performer waiting to take the stage, Chris Christie stands quietly alone behind the curtains and takes a moment to himself, and a few deep breaths.
The civil rights groups that turned outrage over Trayvon Martin's death into action say their work is far from over now that his killer has been charged with second-degree murder. Next, they hope to harness the activism to challenge Florida's "stand your ground" law and similar statutes in 24 other states.
Independent Senate candidate Angus King, the undisputed front-runner in the campaign to replace retiring Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe, has a woman problem. He's not one.
Gov. Bob McDonnell’s administration said 40 transportation projects across the state would be gutted if the legislature included another $300 million in bonding for the extension of Metrorail to Dulles International Airport.
The executive director of the N.C. Democratic Party resigned amid mounting questions about a secret settlement to pay a former staffer to keep quiet about sexual harassment allegations.
ov. Martin O’Malley’s budget secretary recommended that the governor hold off signing any bills that will cost the state money next year until Maryland’s budget is brought into balance.
Connecticut will be the fifth in five years to do away with it. The high cost to taxpayers is increasingly a factor.
New York Rep. Ed Towns, who was first elected to the House in 1982 and eventually rose to become chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, will not seek reelection in 2012, several Democratic sources said. His decision to bow out comes just a day before petitions for a spot on the primary ballot were due.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich had temporarily put talk of a Washington run to rest when he decided to face off in a primary at home in Ohio against a fellow Democrat whose district had merged with his. After losing, Kucinich told reporters he intended to serve out the remainder of his term until January.
Oregon doesn't allow cities to go bankrupt, leaving them to work through financial problems on their own.
Like Rhode Island's Gov. Lincoln Chafee, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo stepped in after legislation stalled in the statehouse.
Former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson pleaded guilty to misusing money involved in an illegal political donation made years after he left office, and the longtime Democratic stalwart apologized for his misdeed.
In at least 20 states, new laws would limit consumers’ payments for expensive drugs used to treat diseases like cancer, multiple sclerosis and inherited disorders.
Greenland's chief of police was killed and four local officers were wounded in a drug raid on a house in this seacoast town.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, stepping into the national debate over President Obama’s health care law, issued an executive order to establish a health insurance exchange, after the state’s Republican lawmakers blocked legislation to do so.
A measure signed by Gov. Jan Brewer will bar most abortions in Arizona after 20 weeks of pregnancy, a ban supporters say protects both mothers and fetuses but one that abortion-rights advocates say is among the most restrictive in the nation.
Newark Mayor Cory Booker was taken to a hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation he suffered trying to rescue his next-door neighbors from their burning house. "I just grabbed her and whipped her out of the bed," Booker said in recounting the fire. Booker said he suffered second-degree burns on his hand.
A court of appeals struck down a law that bans political ads on public TV and radio stations, clearing the way for campaign ads on the public airwaves.
Just before Pennsylvania's new natural gas law, which takes effect Saturday, passed, medical provisions were added that now have some physicians worried it will compromise public health.
Parental accountability courts are cropping up throughout the state. They are a joint effort of the state’s Child Support Services division and local court systems to offer a low-cost alternative to jail and set delinquent parents on the road to making regular payments. Using resources already in place within each community, the courts address problems parents have, such as unemployment, drug use and lack of transportation, that keep them from making regular support payments.
Detroit Mayor Dave Bing's administration calls them essential core services, but the budget proposal presented to the City Council on Thursday doesn't spare public safety, transit or lighting from cuts, possible privatization or major restructuring.
Deaths caused by heroin overdoses in Hennepin, Ramsey and Anoka counties nearly tripled in 2011 compared to the year before, rising from 16 to 46. New test results showed that heroin purchased in the Twin Cities is 93.5 percent pure -- the highest potency in the nation.
After months of stalemate, the Board of Aldermen finally voted to dissolve the city's embattled police department and hand over policing to St. Louis County.
After a rocky three years marked by budget cuts and drastic policy changes, Randy Dorn says he wants another term leading the state's public schools.
A financial blueprint for linking the San Joaquin Valley to Los Angeles by high-speed trains within 10 years was approved Thursday by the California High-Speed Rail Authority. The authority's latest business plan now heads for the Legislature.
Interactive map shows use of public transit, biking, walking and other alternate modes of transportation for U.S. cities
New figures show state revenues rose in FY2011, but remain below pre-recession levels. View data for your state.
Authorities are working on a program to allow police-identified victims of identity theft to share their tax returns with law enforcement, potentially securing their tax refunds.
Veterans in the Omaha, Neb., area will have access to a new form of online PTSD treatment under a pilot program led by Creighton University and the University of Nebraska, the Omaha World-Journal reports.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg launched a national campaign that aims to repeal or reform the laws that eliminated a person's duty to retreat when threatened with serious bodily harm or death. These laws have passed in 25 states.
State lawmakers have passed legislation that would make Connecticut the 17th state to abolish the death penalty. The bill awaits a signature from Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who has said he would sign it.
The U.S. Justice Department said Wednesday there is substantial evidence Texas' voter identification law will discriminate against minorities.
An Alaska state representative who made national headlines last year for refusing an airport security pat-down plans to run for the state's lone U.S. House seat.
Republican Gov. Nikki Haley will face an ethics inquiry after a Democrat complained that her campaign incorrectly reported more than $1.3 million in contributions.
A federal court released Prince William County from requirements mandating that local officials must get the approval of the Justice Department before changing local voting procedures or drawing district lines.
George Zimmerman, 28, has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of the 17-year-old. He could face life in prison if convicted. The murder charge is likely to face intense scrutiny in the weeks ahead as it is weighed against Florida's "stand your ground" law, which police cited the night of the shooting as the reason Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, was never charged in the first place.
Gov. Rick Snyder signed legislation to ensure Michigan lottery winners can’t continue collecting food assistance after reaching a certain asset limit.
The Republican governor’s approval stands at 59 percent and disapproval at 36 percent, according to a Quinnipiac survey — his best rating to date in the group’s polling. A whopping 92 percent of Republicans said they approve of the job Christie is doing, while 64 percent of independents and 30 percent of Democrats said the same.
Dr. Bruce Blackmon, 90, has a cure for high taxes: create a state endowment. Gardenia Henley says she can find the skeletons in the state budget. And Gary Dunn’s platform includes legalizing marijuana. Whether you know them or not, all three want the Democratic nomination for governor.
Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk says threat of a budget veto would be more effective than Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett's plan of calling a special session of the Legislature.
At least eight Idaho legislators received invitations to join the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. The most notable is District 19 Rep. Cherie Buckner-Webb, the only black lawmaker in the Legislature.
Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates filed a federal lawsuit to block a rule excluding their health centers from a key program for low-income women, the latest round in a protracted skirmish between the state and federal governments.
UC Davis police violated policy and used poor judgment in pepper-spraying student demonstrators in November, while school leaders badly bungled the handling of that campus protest, according to a highly critical report.
The state Legislature adjourned Wednesday morning after a 22-hour marathon of negotiations and votes. In the end, both Republicans and Democrats got some of what they wanted.
One professor argues it's a way to bring revenue gushing into state coffers.
Unions are facing a make-or-break moment in their campaign to drive Wisconsin's Republican governor from office.
Stop thinking about the work involved in a given task, and start thinking about everything else.
Half of the states and Washington, D.C. do not have effective methods for evaluating tax incentives for economic development, according to a new report by the Pew Center on the States.
Officials say a Texas mayor and an attorney were targeted by an alleged murder-for-hire plot that federal authorities say was orchestrated by the owner of a topless club embroiled in a dispute with the city.
Eastern European hackers stole personal information for as many as one in four Utah residents from a server at the Utah Department of Health.
The District of Columbia Board of Elections opened an investigation after an undercover video posted online showed an activist against voter fraud going into a Washington polling station and beginning the process to vote under the name of U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder.
Within hours of shootings that terrified Tulsa's north side and left three people dead, leaders of the predominantly black community declared the spree a hate crime and warned of a possible vigilante response.
Eight couples filed suit to overturn Nevada’s ban on same-sex marriage. Attorneys in the suit highlighted what they suggested was a contradiction in which the state’s Constitution limits marriage to couples composed of a male and a female, while at the same time the Legislature in 2009 created Nevada’s Domestic Partnership law.
In an email about financial aid awards, UCLA told 894 high school seniors that they were admitted to the highly competitive campus. Those students actually remain on the waiting list.
In what law enforcement officials say is one of the largest such busts in the nation, 32 Massachusetts men have been charged this week with possession of child pornography.
Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell vetoed an unprecedented seven bills but he also amended more than 100 bills approved by the General Assembly this year, making it slightly easier to vote on Election Day and allowing localities to spread the cost of new pension regulations over years, among other changes.
Tennessee enacted a law that critics contend allows public school teachers to challenge climate change and evolution in their classrooms without fear of sanction. Republican Gov. Bill Haslam allowed the controversial measure to become law without his signature and expressed misgivings about it.
By shaving 30 minutes from his controversial call for a 71/2-hour elementary school day, Mayor Rahm Emanuel gave a nod to growing opposition to his plan while fulfilling a campaign pledge to lengthen one of the shortest school days in the nation.
The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform wants to look into possible conflicts of interest and how backers plan to spend billions in federal funds.
The nation’s largest wireless carriers agreed to help federal regulators and local law enforcement crack down on cellphone theft by creating a centralized database to identify stolen phones and render them useless.
Detroit is about to devolve the management of some of its high schools to the school-building level. It's an approach to school reform that has a good track record.
Many city dwellers are opting to ride their bikes to work. See data for your area on our interactive map.
A new report from the federal watchdog says that state and local governments should move quickly to address financial challenges facing them.
Quite a few governors end up as president. So what skills and experience could a state executive bring to the White House?
Even as enrollment increases, state per-child funding has decreased.
A better relationship between the feds, states and localities equals better outcomes.
Several states are experimenting with an “on-bill” loan financing program that aims to spur investment in energy efficiency for homes and businesses -- even for owners who lack capital.
City officials say a vacant warehouse had been cited for fire code violations several times and court action was in the offing when the building was hit by a massive blaze that led to the deaths of two firefighters in a collapse at an adjacent furniture store where the flames had spread.
NEW YORK — New York City must release a consultant's review of the city's 911 system and emergency response times that Mayor Michael Bloomberg's administration has been fighting to keep private, a civil court judge decided Monday.
Angus King is keeping people guessing whether he would side with Democrats or Republicans as a U.S. senator.
A data security breach of Utah's state health records was far larger than first reported, with hackers from Eastern Europe now believed to have gained access to private information of some 780,000 patients.
The U.S. Department of Justice described a sting video from James O’Keefe’s The Project Veritas in which a young white activist was offered Attorney General Eric Holder’s ballot as a “manufactured” example of “voter fraud.” Holder is 61 years old and an African-American; he bears no resemblance to the young white man who was able to obtain his ballot.
A package of tax increases on high-income earners and a measure to build a full-fledged casino collapsed in stunning fashion in the Maryland General Assembly. The failure to bring the tax bill to a vote all but assured that for the first time in two decades work related to Maryland’s annual spending plan would continue beyond the legislature’s scheduled 90-day session.
The chairman of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors said that he plans to officially announce this week that he’s running for lieutenant governor. Stewart is the first candidate to officially jump into the race to replace Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling.
A new federal report says Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey exaggerated the projected cost of a new train tunnel, the nation’s largest public works project, when he scrapped it in 2010.
Teen births are at their lowest level in almost 70 years, federal data report. Birthrates for ages 15-19 in all racial and ethnic groups are lower than ever reported.
Prompted by the death of Orlando 2-year-old Caylee Anthony in 2008, Gov. Rick Scott signed a measure to bolster penalties for lying to police when a child goes missing.
The American Civil Liberties Union says it will file suit over the month-old law's constitutionality by the end of April, and two Philadelphia Democrats are set to introduce a bill Tuesday that would repeal the controversial measure.
A federal lawsuit was filed Monday asking that Georgia's "stand your ground law" be struck down because it's vague and could result in a disproportionate number of minorities being shot. The laws have received national attenti0n in recent weeks after 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed by neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman in an Orlando, Fla. suburb.
Gov. Mark Dayton couldn't keep the voter ID amendment off the November ballot, but he said he will do whatever he can to convince voters to defeat it and kicked off his pledge with a symbolic veto of the amendment.
President Obama's Minnesota campaign waded into the state's marriage amendment fight with a statement saying the president opposes the proposal that would define marriage only as the union of a man and woman.
Starting later this year, police, prosecutors and judges will get faster, electronic access to juvenile criminal records, which should result in more accountability for juvenile criminals. Gov. Scott Walker signed Senate Bill 173 and six other criminal justice bills into law Monday morning.
Tthe Seattle City Council unanimously passed an ordinance to allow mothers to breast-feed at any time, place or manner, making it illegal for restaurant or store management to tell them to leave or to cover the baby with a blanket or towel. The ordinance expands on state protections afforded in 2009 to mothers breast-feeding in public. The new federal health-care act also provides protection for breast-feeding mothers.
A draft opinion that the Federal Election Commission issued indicates that it probably will reject a request from Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein's re-election campaign to allow her to replace millions of dollars in contributions embezzled by her treasurer with new donations from the original donors.
Students like Delano Coffy are at the heart of brewing political fights and court battles over whether public dollars should go to school vouchers to help make private schools more affordable.
Half a century after the last of the lost Pacific Electric Red Cars rumbled through Los Angeles, a move has begun to return streetcars to downtown LA.
School suspensions were once reserved for serious offenses including fighting and bringing weapons or drugs on campus. But these days they're just as likely for talking back to a teacher, cursing, walking into class late or even student eye rolling.
Money for the primary training program for dislocated workers is 18 percent lower than it was in 2006, even though there are six million more people looking for work now.
Police and African-American leaders in Tulsa expressed relief Sunday that the terror faced by the local black community may be over after the arrests of two white men charged with killing three black men and critically injuring two more people in a shooting spree.
Ask any unaligned Arizona Republican who will win the special election primary to replace Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D) and there is only one name mentioned: veteran Jesse Kelly.
The legislature once again is considering bills to eliminate the property tax, oft-criticized for being unfair, antiquated, and baffling. For a variety of reasons, the levy has come under fresh attack in the Keystone State.
Miami city commissioners are considering changing city elections from odd to even years, a move that would translate to enormous savings for the cash-strapped city, but also would give all six elected officials an extra year in office, until 2014.
Georgia’s proposal to drug-test parents who seek welfare faces significant questions about its constitutionality as well as challenges of how to set up the program, despite support by state lawmakers and similar efforts in other states.
Gov. Pat Quinn granted clemency and expunged the criminal records of more than 50 people and denied another 136 clemency requests as part of his effort to whittle down a backlog of cases that piled up under ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who is now serving time in federal prison.
The outdated systems we use to register voters are often inaccurate, costly and inefficient. A new collaboration among states promises to go a long way toward bringing these systems into the modern age.
The turnaround effort hinged on adding hours to the school day.
View recent population shifts for each county in the U.S.
The latest jobs report shows state and local government employment remained mostly unchanged in March.
Critics of an Arizona proposal to limit birth control coverage have given a personalized gift to more than a dozen state lawmakers — a fuzzy, knitted uterus with googly eyes.
Nevada state health officials are trying to cope more effectively with phony providers. A former Nevada state attorney general is heading a task force examining the issue, and the Latino Research Center at the University of Nevada, Reno, has been commissioned to document reports of unlicensed care in the state's Hispanic community.
The Mississippi Senate has given final passage to a bill that could close the state's only abortion clinic.
View 1940 U.S. Census records with population, labor, establishment and other historical data for all counties.
Nobody likes traffic and potholes. So why isn't the public engaged in the Congress's debate about transportation?
View 2011 population estimates for all counties and metro areas, released today by the Census Bureau.
With states taking on a bigger role in assessing accountability for school reforms, the Thomas B. Fordham Institute released a paper this week outlining its thoughts on how states can craft effective accountability systems.
The Detroit Public Schools emergency manager has unveiled plans that allow 10 schools to self-govern and put the services of the district's central office for sale for charter schools and others in the area, the Detroit Free Press reports.
A new bill signed by St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay aims to make the city a more bike-friendly place.
As the country debates the future of highways and transit, a major investment in air is planned.
State businesses faced a shortfall of qualified candidates, leading to a plan to find 1,000 workers to fill jobs...
A new report points the way to achieving efficiencies and cutting operating costs to bridge that funding gap.
The Supreme Court has reaffirmed certain states' rights in the workplace.
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley says she would decline an offer to be Republican Mitt Romney's vice-presidential nominee or to serve initially in his administration should he be elected.
Authorities on Wednesday were focusing on what caused a construction boom crane to crash to the ground at a Manhattan work site, killing one construction worker and seriously injuring another.
An Anchorage official says an "unprecedented number of voters" turned out for a municipal election and multiple precincts ran out of ballots.
Plus: Wise words from a former dicator, and more management news
A Supreme Court ruling that strikes down the health-reform mandates would have a profound impact on our federal system — one that ultimately might backfire on the law’s opponents.
A homeless woman's death from blood clots hours after officers arrested her for trespassing at a suburban St. Louis hospital was a tragedy, but was not the fault of police, the town's mayor said.
Surging above $1 trillion, U.S. student loan debt has surpassed credit card and auto-loan debt. This debt explosion jeopardizes the fragile recovery, increases the burden on taxpayers and possibly sets the stage for a new economic crisis.
Efforts to repeal a law that allows the state to take control of financially foundering local governments has placed the future of several cities and school districts in doubt.
An all-Republican conference committee hammered out a compromise version of the House and Senate voter identification proposals and passed it unanimously, over the vocal protests of the Minnesota Secretary of State's office. The compromise plan now returns to the House and Senate for a final vote.
The long road toward a possible consent agreement took yet another detour late Monday after another court ruling that could push the process past its Thursday deadline. An Ingham County judge ordered the state's financial review team not to meet or vote on any issues until an April 11 hearing.
Gov. Rick Snyder's handling of the Detroit financial crisis may result in increased support from city residents for a new recall effort, a spokesman for the group said.
The state House's consideration of a bill to trim the 203-member chamber by 50 seats marks the first time in 45 years that lawmakers have taken up such a proposal. The 50-member state Senate would not be affected.
Two Boston city councilors want state lawmakers to reject a bill for a Florida-style “stand your ground” law in Massachusetts. The proposal, which would expand the right to use deadly force outside people’s homes, has become part of a national controversy after the shooting death of teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla.
Local police departments across the country are tracking cellphones without obtaining a warrant, according to a report released by the American Civil Liberties Union.
Police said seven people were dead and three others injured after a gunman opened fire Monday at a small Korean Christian school.
Adriano Espaillat, a Democratic state senator, announced that he would run against Representative Charles B. Rangel, ending months of speculation over his potential candidacy and setting the stage for a campaign that could test the strength of Latino influence in the district.
