State and Local

Budget Battles

  • Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) arrives at Democratic Party caucus meeting on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas/ File Photo

    Factbox: What happens in a U.S. government shutdown?

    By Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker and Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker, Reuters

    In shutdowns, nonessential government employees are furloughed, or placed on temporary unpaid leave. Workers deemed essential, including those dealing with public safety and national security, keep...

  • FILE PHOTO: A pharmacist holds prescription painkiller OxyContin at a local pharmacy in Provo

    Delaware Sues Opioid Manufacturers, Distributors Over Epidemic

    By Nate Raymond, Reuters

    (Reuters) - Delaware on Friday became the latest state to file a lawsuit accusing corporations of helping fuel the national opioid epidemic, suing a wide range of companies involved in making,...

  • FILE PHOTO - Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin listens as U.S. President Donald Trump hosts a tax reform industry meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    Trump Tries to Sell Tax Reform to Democrats

    By David Morgan, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump intensified his efforts to sell Democrats on his tax reform plan on Wednesday even as Senate Republicans edged closer to passing a budget measure that...

  • FILE PHOTO: U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson (L) listens to Representative Tom Marino (R-PA) (R) before a House Judiciary committee hearing on the 'Oversight of the US Department of Homeland Security' on Capitol Hill in Washington July 14, 20

    Trump's drug czar nominee withdraws from consideration

    By Sarah N. Lynch and Makini Brice, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. lawmaker who was President Donald Trump's pick for drug czar withdrew on Tuesday after a report he spearheaded a bill that hurt the government's ability to crack down...

  • U.S. President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran nuclear deal in the Diplomatic Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

    Senate Republicans Gain Crucial Support for Budget Vital to Tax Reform

    By David Morgan, Reuters

    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Senate Republicans on Monday gained crucial support for a vote on a budget resolution that is vital to President Donald Trump's hopes of signing sweeping tax reform...

  • U.S. Targets Tough Immigration Laws

    By Jerry Markon, The Washington Post

    The Obama administration is escalating its crackdown on tough immigration laws, with lawyers reviewing four new state statutes to determine whether the federal government will take the extraordinary...

  • 17M Households Now ‘Food Insecure’ in U.S.

    By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press

    Emergency food pantries have now become a mainstay in this economy: According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, 14.5 percent U.S. households, about 17 million, were termed “food-insecure” in...

  • Austerity Age Arrives in U.S. Cities

    By Gus Lubin, Business Insider

    The Age of Austerity has arrived with a vengeance in U.S. cities. City budgets shrank 1.9% in 2011 after 4.4% declines in 2010, according to the annual report from the National League of Cities (via...

  • Texas Refineries May Get $135M Tax Refund

    By RAMIT PLUSHNICK-MASTI

    Three commissioners appointed by Gov. Rick Perry may grant some of the nation's largest refineries a tax refund of more than $135 million — money Texas' cash-strapped schools and other local...

  • House GOP Disarray Again Raises Specter of Shutdown

    By ROSALIND S. HELDERMAN and PAUL KANE, The Washington Post

    The surprise defeat in the House Wednesday of a special funding measure to keep the federal government functioning past Sept. 30 was a sharp rebuke of the GOP leadership that controls the chamber and...