News
Generous health care and pensions will go by the wayside for future political appointees overseeing the Chicago area's local bus and train service, but the current officeholders will get to keep the benefits until they are reappointed to new terms under new legislation signed by Gov. Pat Quinn.
Even though cities have higher rates of crime and murder, a new study finds that overall, urban areas are safer than the sticks. However, that doesn't apply to every American city.
Despite pent-up demand for e-books, Montgomery County, Md., libraries are stymied by book publishing pricing practices that are straining budgets. A county resolution calls for a remedy to the problem.
America’s cities must ensure that people are prepared for 21st century employment opportunities, that the places they live connect them to those opportunities, and that sufficient jobs are created so their income can grow.
With many of the states that now ban gay marriage not likely to change in the near future, the next wave of challenges could come from legally married same-sex couples seeking to have their marriage rights recognized on their home turf.
Anthony D. Weiner’s improbable campaign for mayor was engulfed on Tuesday by a new scandal involving explicit online messages, imperiling his political resurrection two years after he resigned from Congress over similar behavior.
Denver Auditor Dennis Gallagher disagrees with Mayor Michael Hancock's recreational marijuana tax target, arguing the city should seek a starting tax rate of 3.5 percent instead of the mayor's suggested 5 percent tax rate.
in light of the acquittal of George Zimmerman in the Trayvon Martin case, state Sen. Steve Gallardo called on state lawmakers and leaders to review the state’s “stand your ground” law.
Gov. Robert F. McDonnell announced Tuesday that he repaid more than $120,000 in loans to a businessman whose nutritional supplement he and his wife promoted, and he apologized for the first time for a gifts scandal that has consumed his final year in office.
A former communications director for the mayor of San Diego filed a sexual harassment lawsuit on Monday alleging her ex-boss asked her to work without panties, demanded kisses and dragged her around in a headlock while whispering sexual advances.
The administration of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo agreed on Tuesday to give 4,000 mentally ill people who have been kept in institutional homes in New York City the opportunity to move into their own subsidized apartments, settling a contentious legal battle over the care for such patients that dragged on for a decade.
Gov. Pat Quinn hinted Tuesday that he may summon lawmakers back to Springfield again this summer to take up public employee pension reform, saying next month's State Fair would provide an ideal time for legislators to work on the issue while also having a little fun.
More than 70 protesters were taken to jail during the weekly Moral Monday protests at the North Carolina General Assembly, bringing the total number arrested in the legislative session to 925.
Wisconsin state Rep. JoCasta Zamarripa, on the new law that targets food stamp trafficking, which she believes is redundant and mean-spirited because it targets low-income recipients.
The number of states where the top paid state executive is the person who oversees the higher education or entire education system. The highest of these salaries is $525,000.
The challenges facing today's governments require a management approach that cuts across disciplines and departments.
The Justice Department's civil rights division has filed suit in federal court against Florida healthcare agencies claiming the state is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by forcing disabled children to live and grow up in nursing homes for the elderly.
More kinds of food stamp fraud would be explicitly subject to state sanctions, under a bill signed privately Monday at the state Capitol by Gov. Scott Walker. It was passed in the legislature with broad bipartisan support.
Stepping up efforts to enroll young Americans in health insurance this fall, the Obama administration is enlisting the help of actors and entertainment industry officials to educate 20-something consumers about the need to get covered.
Utah sees a more than 13-to-1 return on investment when inmates complete vocational secondary education in prison and gain employment afterward, according to a University of Utah study released this week by the state’s Department of Corrections.
The use of campaign funds to cover the personal expenses of serving in a legislative session is legal, according to election officials. But it has been controversial for several years, with many legislators avoiding the practice.
A USC student said Monday that she believes university officials performed a shoddy investigation when she told them last year that she had been raped by her then-boyfriend in 2010.
The lawsuit accuses the state of abusing its authority eight years ago by transferring the plaintiffs to psychiatric facilities at the end of their prison terms — in effect, summarily extending their sentences without recourse. None of the plaintiffs are still in mental health institutions.
Will New Jersey Gov. Christie’s constant presence in America’s pop culture become too much, eventually turning off the GOP primary voters he needs to woo before he can advance to the general election?
The contentious dispute between the City of Detroit and the city’s pension funds will be decided by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Steven Rhodes in a federal courtroom and not in state court in Ingham County, Rhodes has declared.
The state’s highest court has ruled that special magistrates appointed by the state courts do not have the authority to free convicts who claim that their cases were tainted by the state drug lab scandal.
A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked a new North Dakota law that bans abortion when a fetal heartbeat is detected — as early as six weeks into pregnancy — calling the law "clearly invalid and unconstitutional."
In the latest ruling on a series of laws targeting immigration that local governments across the nation have passed, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans said multiple parts of the ordinance in Farmers Branch are unconstitutional and encroaches on the federal government’s authority.
Jamie LaRue, who runs the Douglas County, Colo., library system, talking about the need for libraries to change how they operate in a digital age. Read more about his ideas for keeping libraries relevant in our July cover story.
The number of states that have fully recovered the number of jobs they had before the recession. Of those, only oil-rich Texas, North Dakota and Alaska recorded notable job growth exceeding a couple percentage points.
