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...

  • Russia convicts lawyer Magnitsky in posthumous trial

    Russia convicts lawyer Magnitsky in posthumous trial

    By Maria Tsvetkova and Steve Gutterman, Reuters

    MOSCOW (Reuters) - Sergei Magnitsky, a Russian lawyer who died in prison in suspicious circumstances, was found guilty of tax evasion on Thursday in a posthumous trial that has further damaged...

  • One injured in toxic gas leak at Total refinery in France

    One injured in toxic gas leak at Total refinery in France

    By Reuters

    PARIS (Reuters) - A leak of toxic gas from a Total oil refinery in northwestern France in the early hours of Thursday caused the plant to be briefly evacuated, disrupted local train services and...

  • Obama Falls Short in Blunting Mountaintop Removal

    By Eric Pianin

    President Obama promised during the 2008 campaign to rein in the coal industry’s efficient but highly destructive practice of mountain top removal, but environmentalists say he has had mixed success...

  • Deadly Quebec train crash to be fertile ground for lawsuits

    Deadly Quebec train crash to be fertile ground for lawsuits

    By Randall Palmer and Casey Sullivan, Reuters

    OTTAWA/NEW YORK (Reuters) - As investigators try to piece together how a parked oil freight train broke free and demolished the heart of a small Quebec town last weekend, a barrage of litigation...

  • States Ramp Up Tax-Free Periods, Draining Treasuries

    By Elaine Povich Stateline, Pew Center on the States

    Many states with back-to-school sales tax “holidays” are expanding them to cover almost any purchase, in addition to the usual kids’ clothing, shoes, books and school supplies.