Government And Institutions

A federal judge agreed Wednesday with a court-appointed panel's recommendation that a natural gas company should pay $7.3 million for storage rights and natural gas under nearly 9,200 acres of land spanning three southern Kansas counties, far below the more than $100 million that the property owners wanted.

Health care stocks were leading early gains in U.S. trading, while the energy sector also rose as the price of oil recovered from a stumble.

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

Federal regulators say problems in the design of a network of pipes and valves at a Houston-area DuPont chemical plant contributed to a poisonous gas leak that killed four workers in November.

Regulators in California, the country's third-largest oil-producing state, have authorized oil companies to inject production fluids and waste into what are now federally protected aquifers more than 2,500 times, risking contamination of underground water supplies that could be used for drinking water or irrigation, state records show.

A legislative committee overseeing implementation of the health insurance system in New Hampshire under the federal Affordable Care Act may be taking on new duties.

Arkansas lawmakers gave final approval Thursday to Gov. Asa Hutchinson's proposal to cut income taxes for the middle class by $102 million a year, a measure that also calls for reducing part of a 2013 capital gains tax break.

The U.S. Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week.

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has proposed eliminating 329 state positions as part of a spending package that is still expected to require billions of dollars from savings as the state struggles to meet ends amid plunging oil prices.

The White House is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act by earmarking $50 million to restore key civil rights areas around the nation.

Even with gas prices hovering around $2 per gallon, Washington state lawmakers are considering a raft of bills to encourage more drivers to turn to electric cars in the name of reducing pollution.

Gov. Bill Walker has proposed a $65 million supplemental spending bill, including $50 million in unrestricted general funds.

Turkey's banking regulator has taken over control of a bank affiliated with a moderate Islamic movement which is locked in a bitter feud with the government.

Gov. Bruce Rauner laid out a first-year agenda Wednesday he said will help Illinois better compete with its neighbors, largely by stripping power from labor unions, shrinking the size of government and making the state more attractive to companies looking to create jobs.

More than 7,000 Northeast dairy farmers stand to get an average of $4,000 in a proposed settlement with the cooperative Dairy Farmers of America to resolve antitrust allegations.

New Mexico legislators will have to pare down their spending plans because dropping oil prices have left the state with about $60 million less in new revenue than they anticipated.

A week after Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt broke rank with GOP Gov. Brian Sandoval in joining an immigration lawsuit aimed at the federal government, more of the state's top Republicans are turning away from the governor.

Share of cable providers jumped on Wednesday, before giving up some of the gains, after the Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler outlined his proposal for "net neutrality" regulations in the greatest detail yet.

Hungary's media industry has reiterated its call for the revocation of an advertising tax after signals from the government indicating some changes would be made.

The European Central Bank has added pressure on the Greek government by withdrawing a key borrowing option for the country's banks.