
Scott Brown says he won't seek Kerry's Senate seat
Former Sen. Scott Brown said Friday he would not run in a special Senate election in Massachusetts, dealing a setback to Republican hopes of winning ...

Oil bottleneck gives Rockies cheaper gasoline
A boom in domestic oil drilling has helped lower U.S. gasoline prices, though the steepest drops have missed California commuters, Midwestern farmers ...

Puerto Rico teeters on fiscal edge over pensions
Office clerk Lillian Marti hopes to retire one day with a decent pension. Now, like many other employees of Puerto Rico's government, she's beginning ...

Hawaii lawmakers propose shielding celeb privacy
More than two-thirds of Hawaii's state senators have signed onto a bill to protect celebrities from paparazzi, giving them power to sue over unwanted ...
US looking at action against China cyberattacks
The Obama administration is considering more assertive action against Beijing to combat a persistent cyber-espionage campaign it believes Chinese ...

Hispanics to soon surpass whites in California
Hispanics will become the largest ethnic group in the nation's most populous state early next year, the California Department of Finance said ...

Ark. Senate passes measure to ban most abortions
The Arkansas Senate voted Thursday to prohibit most abortions if a heartbeat is detected, ignoring warnings from opponents that banning the procedure ...

Arizona lawmakers struggle to stay on priorities
One Republican proposal would ban state enforcement of federal gun laws. Another would require that hospitals check the citizenship of anyone treated ...
NJ Gov. Christie appearing Monday with Letterman
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie will soon be crossing the Hudson River to appear on "Late Show with David Letterman." CBS says the colorful, outspoken ...

Ex-Ill. governor returns home after prison release
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan was released from prison before dawn Wednesday, stopping only briefly at a halfway house before he was allowed to ...

Mass. gov's ex-aide Cowan named interim US senator
Although his time in the U.S. Senate will be brief — less than five full months — William "Mo" Cowan could find himself in the thick of major policy ...

Sandra Day O'Connor steps carefully in NY gun case
Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor warned Tuesday against a rush to judgment in a New York gun ownership dispute, citing the recent ...

Dems agree on candidate to challenge NJ's Christie
You might not have heard of New Jersey state Sen. Barbara Buono, though you've probably heard of the man she's itching to take on in the November ...
4 of Illinois' last 7 governors went to prison
Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan will be leaving prison and heading to a halfway house after serving more than five years for corruption.
Ark. gov. announces $1.1 billion steel mill plan
The wraps came off Arkansas' largest ever economic development project Tuesday as Gov. Mike Beebe unveiled plans for a $1.1 billion steel mill along ...
After school shooting, Conn. debates mental health
Connecticut lawmakers on Tuesday began reviewing mental health care following the deadly Newtown school shooting, even though they and the public have ...

Ex-Michigan justice pleads guilty to bank fraud
A former Michigan Supreme Court justice pleaded guilty to bank fraud Tuesday for concealing assets, including a Florida home she and her husband ...

Newtown parents urge enforcement of gun laws
Parents of children killed in the Newtown school shooting called for better enforcement of gun laws and tougher penalties for violators Monday at a ...
In Washington, a proposal to sell naming rights
As many state and local governments across the nation deal with the aftermath of severe budget cuts prompted by the Great Recession, a Washington ...

Push for futuristic guns builds on embattled past
It sounds, at first, like a bold, next-generation solution: personalizing guns with technology that keeps them from firing if they ever get into the ...

Do penalties for smokers and the obese make sense?
Faced with the high cost of caring for smokers and overeaters, experts say society must grapple with a blunt question: Instead of trying to penalize ...

Once GOP stronghold, West veers into Dems' column
A political generation ago, the West signaled the nation's rightward swing, from the emergence of Ronald Reagan to the success of tax-limitation ...
S&P lowers Illinois credit rating, blames pensions
Illinois' already disastrous financial situation worsened Friday as another credit rating agency downgraded its rating to the worst of any state in ...
GOP senators will oppose VA electoral change
The prospects appear doomed in Virginia this year for Republican-backed legislation that would replace the state's winner-take-all method of ...

Religious exemptions key to RI gay marriage debate
The fate of gay marriage legislation in Rhode Island could hinge on the exemptions it affords religious groups that oppose it, the state Senate ...