Government And Institutions

Mayor Bill de Blasio, faced with a shifting leadership in the Legislature and an uncertain alliance with the governor, implored lawmakers in Albany on Wednesday to give New York City its fair share in funding and him more control over its schools and housing laws.

New York's top financial regulator says his office is considering tougher cyber security requirements for banks with more complex computer sign-ins and certifications from their contractors of their defenses.

The New Mexico House of Representatives has approved a $6.2 billion spending proposal for the next fiscal year that includes pay raises for new teachers and state police officers.

State utility regulators decided Wednesday to reconsider agreements with two companies planning to develop wind power projects in Maine, despite widespread criticism from industry officials who said doing so would be inappropriate and set a dangerous precedent.

The House voted Wednesday to expand the benefits of popular college savings plans that President Barack Obama failed to scale back.

Gov. Charlie Baker sought and received the resignations of four member of the state's health connector board, including MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, who came under fire for saying it was "the stupidity of the American voter" that led to the passage of President Barack Obama's 2010 heath care law.

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated).

The city of Inglewood has unanimously and emphatically approved a $2 billion stadium plan backed by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke that clears a path for a return to the Los Angeles area of the NFL for the first time in two decades.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is back on the town-hall circuit for the first time in six months with a focus on selling voters his latest plan for a public worker pension and health benefit overhaul.

China's annual Lunar New Year variety show, which mocked unmarried women and suggested female officials provide sexual favors to get promoted, has led to online outrage and some state media to urge more attention to discrimination against women.

Anti-smoking advocates are hoping to strike out chewing tobacco at California baseball games.

Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins announced a proposal Wednesday to expand affordable housing in California by charging a $75 fee to record some real estate documents.

The Treasury Department says it is offering a reprieve for some taxpayers affected by health care law errors.

Concerns about long-term increases in gas taxes to help pay for South Dakota's roads and bridges prompted House lawmakers on Tuesday to buy about two more weeks to examine the issue.

Top Texas conservatives are now seemingly one-upping each other by pledging deeper and deeper tax cuts as part of the 2016-2017 budget, with all sides insisting that the state's economy will stay strong enough to cover the costs of vital services despite the loss in revenue.

At a hearing Tuesday, California lawmakers will examine why the state's foster children are being prescribed psychiatric drugs at three times the rate of other youth.

Authorities say a New Jersey man collected his father's Social Security benefits for 29 years after he died, stealing more than $243,000.

A bill that would bring Utah a step closer to accepting bitcoin as payment has passed its first hurdle.

Gov. Gary Herbert's Medicaid plan faces a make-or-break vote in the state Senate this week, possibly as early as Tuesday.

The IRS says budget cuts forced the agency to reduce the number of tax audits last year to the lowest level in a decade.