0:00
News Story
AL: Alabama governor considers cuts to state services
Alabama Gov. Robert Bentley, a Republican, is reviewing plans to cut services, such as parks, driver’s license offices and National Guard armories, despite legislative language in Alabama’s new budget forbidding cuts in services.
MA: Massachusetts governor outlines changes in wake of high-profile child deaths
Beset by a series of high-profile problems at Massachusetts’ child welfare agency, Republican Gov. Charlie Baker pledged new policies and a dedication to decreasing the chance that children will become victims of violent crime at the hands of those closest to them.
FL: Florida governor wants more transparency in hospital pricing
Republican Gov. Rick Scott is calling for legislation that would require Florida hospitals to post their revenue and billing information online in a move to try to bring down what he has called “unfairly high hospital costs.”
TX: U.S. Supreme Court could hear Texas abortion case
If justices take it up, it would be the most significant abortion case in two decades. It centers on a series of far-reaching restrictions on Texas abortion providers and clinics, which led to the closure of about half of the state’s abortion facilities.
VT: Memo to Vermont state workers: Call governor’s office before talking to media
Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin’s office says a memo directing Vermont’s state commissioners, agency secretaries and their employees to call the governor’s office before they responded to reporter inquiries was never intended to muzzle anybody.
MI: Michigan Democrats propose B in middle-class tax credits
House and Senate Democrats unveiled a $1 billion proposal to expand tax credits and deductions for families and college students, saying it would help reverse a shift in Michigan’s tax burden that favors corporations over the middle class.
CA: Tool for fighting California wildfires: Prison inmates
There are 196 California inmate crews in orange jumpsuits that perform more than 3 million hours of emergency response work each year, including working on the front lines of wildfires. The pay is the highest among state prison jobs.
WI: Majority of new farmers in Wisconsin are first-generation
A new state report finds that 60 percent of new farmers in Wisconsin in recent years are first-generation and attracted by the lifestyle. Many have backgrounds working in offices, rather than on farms.
SC: South Carolina Supreme Court sets deadline in school-equity case
The court has given Republican Gov. Nikki Haley and the South Carolina Legislature until February to devise a plan to improve the state’s rural schools.
LA: Racial bias in New Orleans apartment renting cited in new report
Criminal background checks are used as a tool by New Orleans landlords to discriminate against black renters, a new report from the New Orleans Greater Fair Housing Action Center finds. It says that 42 percent of housing providers quoted more lenient background check policies to white applicants and gave them the benefit of the doubt when it came to their criminal convictions.
ND: North Dakota tribes say tax agreements aren’t bringing in enough revenue
Tribal officials say if North Dakota doesn’t afford them more flexibility on tax agreements with the state, they may pursue other avenues for generating revenue, including taxes on alcohol, tobacco, pipelines and vehicles.
NE: Group wants to legalize casino gambling at Nebraska horse racing tracks
Saying too much Nebraska gambling money is going to casinos in Iowa, the group proposes asking voters next year to allow casino-style gambling at the state’s ailing tracks.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Related News
