State and Local

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...
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,...
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...
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...
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. consumer finance agency expected to punish Equifax: lawyers

By Reuters and Patrick Rucker

By Lisa Lambert and Patrick Rucker WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. consumer finance watchdog agency is expected to punish Equifax for its cyber breach with the wide-ranging powers it has used with...
U.S. incomes, poverty rate bounce back to pre-recession levels in 2016

By Reuters

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. poverty rate fell for the second straight year in 2016 while median income rose to an all-time high of $59,000 as the economy made up ground lost...
Congress sends Trump disaster aid, debt limit increase

By Richard Cowan and Amanda Becker, Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill to provide disaster aid, extend the debt ceiling and fund the federal government for three months on Friday, delivering on...
Should Gold Be Legal Tender? Behind the Push to Revive an Ancient Standard

By Marsha Mercer, Stateline

By the end of the year, Texas plans to open the nation’s first state-supervised gold and silver depository, allowing ordinary Texans, as well as businesses, banks and others, to store their precious...
The Solar Eclipse Could Cause Traffic Jams All Over America

By Jenni Bergal, Stateline

The moon will block out the sun, and day will plunge into night. Birds will stop singing, crickets will start chirping, and many people will gasp, weep, or even howl when they see the sun’s corona...

“You’re Fired!” – Local Budget Wars Turn Tough

By Maureen Mackey, The Fiscal Times

One local fiscal move is making drastic action in Wisconsin and Ohio look tame: The Providence, R.I., school board has voted to terminate all of its nearly 2,000 public school teachers. A wrap-up of...
Governors Differ on Extent of Flexibility for Medicaid

By AMY GOLDSTEIN and Dan Balz, The Washington Post

Democratic and Republican governors, burdened by crushing budget pressures from Medicaid, said Sunday that federal officials should allow them more freedom to change eligibility rules and other...
New Battle: Government Workers vs. Taxpayers

By PETER WHORISKY and AMY GARDNER, The Washington Post

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Across Ohio last week, the legislative push to restrict the union rights of government workers was greeted again and again by noisy protests. But in this state dotted with...
State Debt Crisis: Preview of Federal Pain to Come

By Katherine Reynolds Lewis

Illinois, Nevada and other states struggling with big budget deficits face the added problems of rising interest costs on their debt – a troubling trend that may presage headaches for the federal...
State Budgets: Echoes of the “B’ Word—Bankruptcy

By Maureen Mackey and Jennifer Depaul, The Fiscal Times

Amid the din of state budget-cutting furor and pushback these last few weeks, including the public worker protests in Wisconsin, Ohio, and elsewhere, one word is being bandied about with greater...

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