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New Census data show 11.3 percent of homes were vacant last year.
As state security officials mopped up ransomware that attacked Colorado Department of Transportation computers last week, malware struck again Thursday.
Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley announced Thursday that his office had opened an inquiry into The Mission Continues, the charity Gov. Eric Greitens founded in 2007 and left in 2014.
In the two weeks since the Florida school massacre, state lawmakers around the country have introduced bills to ban bump stocks, ban assault weapons, and expand background checks — and also to arm teachers, lighten penalties for carrying without a permit, and waive handgun permit fees.
The White House on Thursday said the Department of Justice was reviewing the actions of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who last weekend alerted residents in advance of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid in Northern California.
Republican Gov. Rick Snyder on Wednesday signed a $176.3 million personal exemption expansion law he said should save an average family of four more than $100 a year once fully implemented in 2021.
After more than a year of tentative approvals, Elizabeth City changed its mind Monday and voted against placing a 25-ton Russian war monument in the North Carolina coastal town’s U.S. Coast Guard Park.
Despite early enthusiasm, even the most liberal states are struggling to get enough support to restore the health insurance requirement that Congress repealed in December.
How well are doctors, nurses and other workers at your local hospital vaccinated against the flu?
When Arkansas lawmakers debated in 2016 whether to renew the state’s Medicaid expansion, many Republican lawmakers were swayed only if some of the 300,000 adults who gained coverage would have to start paying premiums.
Social service providers slammed the LePage administration for its decision to end a statewide child abuse and neglect prevention program even as Maine has witnessed its second horrific case of child abuse in three months.
Scott Surovell was a baby in a stroller when his mother took him to hearings on the Equal Rights Amendment in the early 1970s, and growing up, he often heard stories about the need for the ERA.
More than 40 city leaders have joined a new exchange to share disaster relief expertise with their local counterparts on the island.
In case the Supreme Court legalizes it this summer, states are racing to take advantage of the new revenue. But it likely won't be the jackpot they're hoping for.
Members of the state House released a parody video explaining how a bill becomes a law “with a surprise twist.”
As one award-winning proposal demonstrates, there's much that could be done to get a lot more out of our existing transportation network.
By tapping their residents' knowledge and creativity in sustained ways, cities can achieve more with less.
The Justice Department has sued the city of Houston over sex discrimination claims launched by two female firefighters who say their male coworkers tormented them by urinating on the women's bathroom walls and sinks and scrawling vulgar slurs on their belongings.
Gov. Scott Walker said Wednesday he is working with lawmakers on legislation to address school safety, though he wouldn't divulge which ideas he supports.
The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election — but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials.
A new road project serving the $10 billion Foxconn plant in Racine County could reduce funding for other state roads by as much as $90 million in the current budget, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.
The statewide public school employees strike that began last Thursday will continue today, despite state-level union leaders' call for workers to return to schools today following a new proposal from the governor.
Mayor de Blasio has selected Miami Superintendent Alberto Carvalho -- an illegal immigrant who rose to prominence and became a citizen in the process -- to lead the city's school system.
The Supreme Court grappled Wednesday on where to draw a line when it comes to voters who want to wear a "Make America Great Again" hat, a "#resist" T-shirt, a "Parkland Strong" button or other political messages when they cast ballots.
State Rep. David Baria of Bay St. Louis, the House Democratic leader, announced Wednesday he is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Roger Wicker, a Tupelo Republican.
Federal officials and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf traded bitter accusations Wednesday over Schaaf's decision to alert the public about a multiday Northern California immigration sweep that the Trump administration launched to counter local sanctuary laws.
It's the first legislature to pass a law of this kind since the FCC repealed federal net neutrality regulations in December. Lawsuits are likely to follow.
Bolstered by an energized base of grassroots activists, Connecticut Democrats on Tuesday picked up a seat in the state House of Representatives that's been held by Republicans for more than 40 years.
Regardless of whether a proposal to drastically expand the reasons for denying green cards becomes law, many legal immigrants are afraid to use government assistance -- for themselves and their children.
Emails, voicemails, texts, Facebook and Twitter have made it easier for residents to reach out to governments -- and harder for governments to respond.
Guns have suddenly emerged as a central issue in this year's races. Navigating the issue will be difficult for both parties.
Congress and the state of New York are trying to bring down the infrastructure bills. But what's making them so high?
By ensuring proper plans and systems are in place, you can keep your citizens safe and informed, no matter when a disaster strikes.
With a proposal for an even higher pay raise next school year, this year's statewide public school employees strike -- the second teacher strike in West Virginia history and the first to also include school service personnel -- is planned to end, at least for now.
Teachers could take up arms under wide-ranging measures dealing with mental health, school safety and gun access that are headed to the floor of the Florida House and Senate after passing through final committee hearings Tuesday.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday strengthened the Trump administration's power to hold immigrants in jail for months or years as they fight deportation, ruling federal law gives these detainees no right to a bail hearing nor a chance to go free.
There are now two Republicans running for governor in California after former Sacramento Rep. Doug Ose dropped out Monday. And if state party Chairman Jim Brulte had his way, there would be only one.
The five candidates vying for the Republican nomination in Maine's 2018 governor's race bucked a national tide by agreeing during a Monday night debate at Colby College that the way to make schools safer isn't through stricter gun control laws.
After initially skipping some top Texas Republicans when dishing out endorsements, President Trump on Tuesday gave his blessing to GOP candidates who are facing fierce primary challenges.
With U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts saying it was "chilling" to watch a video of Fane Lozman being led out of a 2006 Riviera Beach city council meeting in handcuffs, the high court on Tuesday may have signalled a willingness to make sure Americans' right to speak freely at public meetings isn't compromised.
In a move to address the nation's deadly opioid crisis, the Justice Department says it will target the prescription drug pipeline with a new focus on companies that manufacture and distribute the drugs.
Coal companies linked to the billionaire governor of West Virginia owe $2.9 million in delinquent property taxes in Kentucky, shorting schools and local government programs of money at a time many are struggling with tight finances.
The federal response to Florida's school massacre remained captive to competing political imperatives Tuesday, as House Republicans declined to sign onto President Trump's proposal to arm and reward teachers willing to carry weapons, even as they made clear their aim is to oppose further restrictions on guns.
A divided California Supreme Court took another step Monday to reduce lengthy prison sentences for juveniles tried as adults, ruling that terms of 50 years or more for violent sex crimes violate constitutional standards based on youths' lack of maturity and their prospect of future rehabilitation.
The federal government is sending another wave of investigators to Michigan State University to look into the university's handling of the Larry Nassar case, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced Monday.
As deaths from mass shootings have mounted across the United States, some states are moving to collect hard data to guide their decisions about guns — even as the federal government has retreated from such research in the face of pressure from pro-gun groups.
The federal government's response to Idaho's unprecedented plan to ignore parts of the federal health law could have ripple effects throughout the country.
A new report suggests that high fatalities may be the new normal and that cellphone and marijuana use could be two factors driving the death toll.
A Denver coffee shop received city approval Monday for the nation’s first business license to allow marijuana use by patrons under a 2016 voter-approved initiative.
Much like President Trump, many U.S. cities make an effort to use the goods and services of companies in their own city limits. It has some troubling side effects.
When the ice breaks, someone wins a cash prize.
The cost of post-retirement benefits is threatening governments’ ability to provide vital services.
Everyone thinks they know what a mayor does, but the role of a city leader varies greatly from one place to the next.
Atlanta, Chicago and Minneapolis have won funding to better identify and help victims.
A tragic school fire decades ago brought about real change that has saved lives. Today's school shootings call for the same kind of comprehensive response.
President Donald Trump said he wanted to meet with state attorneys general to hear their ideas about gun laws — he brought in two anti-gun-regulation Republicans, and the White House says that’s enough.
The National Redistricting Foundation sued Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin on Monday for not holding special elections for two state Legislature seats.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday turned down a legal claim over the secrecy surrounding Texas' lethal injection practices and the possibility that aging death drugs could cause suffering.
Texas is suing the federal government over President Barack Obama's landmark health law — again.
Union leaders announced Monday the statewide teacher and school service personnel work stoppage would continue Tuesday.
Gov. Gina Raimondo moved to keep attention focused on gun violence Monday, signing an executive order aimed at disarming potentially dangerous residents and making Rhode Island the first state to act on gun policy since a gunman shot and killed 17 people at a Florida high school earlier this month.
Too many state licensing boards are not fulfilling their objectives, yet, more are popping up.
The savings gap is a looming crisis, and states aren’t sure how to help.
Clearing out blight has its benefits, but it can also erase crucial assets.
Before we invest in new infrastructure, we need to maintain and update what we have.
A new study soothes worries of massive power outages but points to the need for future planning to consider EVs.
The stats are most troubling in Utah and among boys, whose suicide rate had been on the decline for almost two decades.
The Supreme Court handed President Trump a significant defeat Monday, turning down the administration's plea for a quick ruling that would have upheld the president's power to end special protections for so-called Dreamers.
States are hoping to bring their case over animal welfare and interstate commerce to the Supreme Court.
President Donald Trump told the nation's governors, including Florida Gov. Rick Scott, that they don't need to worry about the National Rifle Association when considering gun control policies the powerful group may oppose.
The multistate coalition to combat gun violence is getting some reinforcements.
Since the shooting and killing of 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, the Montana chapter of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense has been busy.
The high court revisited an issue that has divided its members several times. The viability of public-sector unions could hang in the balance.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott on Sunday asked the state Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the response to the Parkland school massacre, as questions mounted over the Broward County Sheriff's Office's handling of the shooting.
California Democrats overwhelmingly decided not to endorse Sen. Dianne Feinstein this weekend, an embarrassing rebuke of a party icon who has represented California in the Senate for a quarter-century.
The relationship between U.S. immigration officials and California's liberal leaders soured long ago, but Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's decision to warn potential targets of federal arrest that an immigration sweep could be imminent was an extraordinary escalation.
One promise of ride-hailing companies like Uber and Lyft was fewer cars clogging city streets.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, under felony indictment, has resigned his position on the executive committee of the Republican Governors Association.
The National Governors Association largely avoided the topic of guns at its meeting this weekend, suggesting that -- despite some Republicans' recent embrace of gun control -- there is still a lack of bipartisan agreement about how to make schools safer.
More than a dozen alternative weeklies have shut down in the past 20 years, increasing the likelihood that local scandals will go unnoticed.
But renters may not want to celebrate just yet.
Some are increasing the amount of stolen goods that make theft a felony. But it can be a hard sell politically.
Four decades after the law spurred an anti-tax movement across the country, rival efforts to weaken or strengthen it have emerged.
Like a lot of other places, the California city is struggling to grow without leaving longtime residents behind.
Housing prices in California continue to soar, in part because many cities have discouraged dense development. That’s led to a big fight in Sacramento over whether the state should force cities to allow apartment and condo buildings near transit stations.
The city of Portland will join a national movement by suing drug companies behind America's opioid crisis.
With federal spending on Medicaid experiments soaring in recent years, a congressional watchdog said state and federal governments fail to adequately evaluate if the efforts improve care and save money.
Frustrated by declining federal regulation of the environment and health disparities between poorer and wealthier communities, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Thursday appointed a team of lawyers to fight pollution.
He wanted me to see the boxes. They were piled six or seven high, and there were so many stacks on the shelves it was hard to take them in all at once.
State Sen. Carlos Uresti and co-defendant Gary Cain were found guilty Thursday on 20 combined felony charges in a criminal fraud trial over the past month that has stunned San Antonio and the state Capitol.
New studies suggest that school vouchers have minimal impact on college enrollment and even less of an effect on college graduation rates.
Clinics and health departments won't get more Title X funding until months after last year's money will have expired, and organizations like Planned Parenthood have new reason to worry they might get less.
They are calling on the Trump administration to, among other things, restore subsidy payments and support more state reinsurance programs.
Eight days after mass shooter Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward's top cop on Thursday revealed a stunning series of failures by the sheriff's department.
Sen. Tony Mendoza resigned from office Thursday as his colleagues considered an unprecedented vote to expel him.
Kansas acted improperly when it tried to cut off Medicaid dollars to Planned Parenthood under former Gov. Sam Brownback, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.
John Kasich’s inner circle is gearing up for a possible presidential run in 2020 — actively weighing the prospect of a Republican primary challenge to President Donald Trump against the feasibility of a long-shot general election campaign as an independent.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott agreed Thursday evening to spare the life of death row inmate Thomas Whitaker, announcing his decision less than an hour before the Houston-area man's scheduled execution.
America has a skills gap. Governments across the U.S. are turning to European-style apprenticeship programs as a possible solution.
Eric Greitens, who already faced calls from both parties to resign, was charged on Thursday with a felony in connection with an extramarital affair and an alleged blackmail scheme.
Most states limit governors to two terms, but not New York and Wisconsin, where Andrew Cuomo and Scott Walker are both seeking reelection this year.
Water utilities are struggling to lower their operation costs and simultaneously meet stricter environmental rules. Blue Drop, the brainchild of DC Water’s former leader, wants to help.
In moments of disaster, local and federal resources are rarely enough. But another answer is emerging.
President Donald Trump on Thursday accused California law enforcement of being soft on street gangs and suggested he might pull immigration agents out of the state, prompting a strong rebuke from local officials who said the president doesn't understand their war on gangs.
Teachers across West Virginia walked off the job Thursday, demonstrating at the state Capitol and at some schools in frustration over what they say is state leaders' refusal to pay them and fund their benefits adequately.
Amid federal inaction on gun control, the Democratic governors of Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey have formed a multi-state coalition to better share information and pool resources to combat gun violence.
Hennepin County, Minn., did a deep dive into what it was spending on the opioid crisis. The numbers were alarming.
Gov. Scott Walker is poised to sign a sweeping package of bills that would make it harder to qualify for many safety net programs.
Barely one in 10 students scored proficient on recent state reading exams.
Startups are where most jobs come from. There's a lot that can be done to connect, support and empower entrepreneurs.
Auto dealers aren't doing much to sell them. One state is trying to get them to step up their efforts.
Gov. Jim Justice signed the bill Wednesday to raise the salaries of state government employees, despite the inadvertent removal of language that would make the teachers’ pay raises permanent and the teachers’ walkout planned for Thursday.
Almost exactly a year ago, a federal appeals court considered whether a Maryland law banning assault weapons was unconstitutional.
While lawmakers and activists in Tallahassee and Washington, D.C., furiously debate gun control, deputies in Broward County will be adding firepower to deal with the threat of school shooters, effective immediately.
President Donald Trump embraced arming educators to stop mass shootings as students and parents from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., pleaded with him to make America's schools safer.
New provisional data released this month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that drug overdose deaths declined in 14 states during the 12-month period that ended July 2017, a potentially hopeful sign that policies aimed at curbing the death toll may be working.
Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner said Wednesday that prosecutors would no longer seek cash bail for people accused of some misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, a significant policy shift that could have a wide-ranging impact on the city's criminal justice system.
Democratic governor candidates J.B. Pritzker and Daniel Biss clashed Wednesday night over who was more closely allied with House Speaker Michael Madigan as each sought to tarnish the other at a Downstate candidate forum.
Congress and almost half the states have a bipartisan caucus dedicated to working on issues that young people care about.
In 2012, longtime Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek admitted he would have loved to have been one of the questioners at a presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.
Gov. Matt Bevin has filed a lawsuit seeking to block a legal challenge to his controversial plan to restructure the state Medicaid program, and asks for the case to be heard in Kentucky, rather than Washington D.C.
With Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's signature on Tuesday, almost half the states now ban government workers' insurance from covering abortion services.
The mass shooting at a Florida high school may be turning the tide of gun politics as some Republicans, including President Trump, embrace the idea of gun control.
When pension reform happens, new workers often carry the biggest financial burden. But they don't always have to.
Near the end of the Colorado legislative session last year, one of Democratic state Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet’s interns revealed something she had been holding inside for months: A male lawmaker had been harassing her.
Prince George's County Executive Rushern L. Baker III tapped Elizabeth Embry as his running mate in the race for governor, bringing an experienced criminal prosecutor with deep Baltimore ties to Baker's campaign for the Democratic nomination.
The bail system in California is set to undergo a major shakeup, starting next week, after state Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Tuesday that he would not appeal a court ruling that prohibits holding criminal defendants in jail because they can't afford to pay their way out.
State lawmakers in Virginia and across the country are weighing a host of bills aimed at preserving driver’s licenses and other benefits for undocumented immigrants who may lose the protected status long afforded them by the federal government.
The Supreme Court made clear again Tuesday that the government has broad power to restrict and regulate firearms, dismissing a 2nd Amendment challenge to California's 10-day waiting period for new gun purchases.
Democrat Linda Belcher is heading back to Frankfort, giving her party fresh hope of retaking the Kentucky House of Representatives this fall.
In what could signal the start of a shift in Republican politics, some GOP donors and officials in Florida are urging their political networks to consider some gun control measures and buck their party's longstanding refusal to even engage in the debate.
A move to push a bill banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines directly to the Florida House floor Tuesday afternoon was rejected on mostly party lines, six days after a gunman killed 17 people and injured several more at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Republicans eliminated some of the tax benefits for owning a home. But experts aren't sure how much that will matter.
A review of the 20 finalists finds that several are already forgoing hundreds of millions of dollars in potential revenue each year and might not be able to afford to give up more.
Since the Supreme Court raised prosecutors' burden of proof, several politicians have had their convictions thrown out. There are new questions about what exactly counts as corruption.
South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard may be one of the most liberal mayors in Florida, so he would be a natural candidate to push through a package of local gun-control rules in the wake of the Parkland massacre 50 miles away. But that would be against the law.
More than 15 months after a general election that was stained by covert Russian interference, the chief election officials of some states say they are still not getting the information they need to safeguard the vote.
As public debates swirl around "Dreamers," President Trump's border wall and Black Lives Matter, the study of race and ethnicity is booming in public schools.
As Democrats make raising the minimum wage a centerpiece of their 2018 campaigns, and Republicans call for states to handle the issue, both are missing an important problem: Wage laws are poorly enforced, with workers often unable to recover back pay even after the government rules in their favor.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Monday released a new congressional district map, upending familiar boundaries, renumbering districts across the state and giving a potential boost to Democrats in the 2018 House elections.
Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway on Monday urged the National Rifle Association to find a new home for its annual meeting in May.
For Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel, the anguish of Florida's worst school shooting remains raw. Families are still burying some of the 17 students and faculty members killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, victims of a deeply troubled ex-student with an assault rifle.
Nikolas Cruz cut his arms on Snapchat and said he wanted to buy a gun in September 2016, more than a year before he was accused of killing 17 people in a school in Parkland, Florida, records obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel show.
Congress indirectly diluted the tax incentives for building affordable housing -- a change that's predicted to result in a quarter of a million fewer units.
Norm Thurston is a “free-market guy” — a conservative health economist in Republican-run Utah who rarely sees the government’s involvement in anything as beneficial.
Three abortion clinics sued Ohio in federal court Thursday to block implementation of a new law prohibiting an abortion when a patient believes the fetus may have Down syndrome.
Members of the Oregon House of Representatives passed legislation Thursday that would expand the number of people banned from owning guns because of domestic violence or stalking convictions.
Gov. Rick Scott of Florida expressed openness on Thursday to imposing additional restrictions on guns in his state in response to the deadly school shooting in Parkland.
There are strong arguments for its proposals that would remove barriers to innovative financing and streamline the regulatory process.
