Government And Institutions

The Social Security Administration says a budget increase this year will allow it to keep field offices open an extra hour on most weekdays, starting in March.

The Cannabis Patient Protection Act found little support among cannabis patients Thursday as lawmakers considered the proposal for overhauling the state's medical marijuana system.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter profit of $1.51 billion.

Top financial regulators say they believe changes need to be made to the process of choosing which big financial firms need to be designated for stricter oversight.

To build or not to build? That question is at the heart of the debate over the Keystone XL oil pipeline.

Ratings company Standard & Poor's will pay $77 million to settle with the U.S. government and two states to resolve an investigation into mortgage-backed securities.

In the first State of the State address of his second term, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is promising a long list of measures including tax cuts for small business, property tax relief, funding for bridges and subways and efforts to improve public schools.

Mitt Romney says one of the biggest challenges facing the country is climate change and that global solutions are needed to combat it.

Rhode Island's new governor faces a $34.5 million shortfall for the current fiscal year instead of a surplus and a deficit that will likely continue growing, a public policy group said Wednesday.

The Republican-controlled House has easily passed a bill designed to expedite the approval of natural gas pipelines.

President Barack Obama has chosen a veteran White House aide and deputy director in his budget office, Brian Deese, to replace John Podesta as a senior adviser and presidential whisperer.

Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew dismissed efforts in Congress to overhaul the nation's tax laws by lowering the top income tax rate paid by individuals, saying Wednesday that Democrats and Republicans are too far apart to forge such a sweeping package.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo plans to launch a $35 million program to help New York companies export to established and emerging international markets while planning to lead trade missions in the coming year to Cuba, Mexico, Canada, Italy, China and Israel.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants New York to raise its minimum wage to $10.50 an hour.

Most Asian stock markets rose Wednesday as investors anticipated European policymakers would soon unleash more stimulus while Chinese shares extended their rebound following a steep plunge at the start of the week.

Authorities scrambled to decontaminate a water system serving 6,000 eastern Montana residents after a cancer-causing component of oil was found downstream of a Yellowstone River pipeline spill.

The Internal Revenue Service has auctioned off for $1.3 million the deferred compensation agreement that was part of Darryl Strawberry's 1985-90 contact with the New York Mets.

House Speaker Mark Eves and other Democratic lawmakers launched a "jobs tour" on Wednesday at Pratt & Whitney's manufacturing facility, part of an effort to promote proposals for an economic boost.

Lawyers for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson sought on Wednesday to revive the Wisconsin Republican's challenge to the federal health care overhaul, arguing before an appellate panel that he was indeed harmed by executive rules associated with the legislation.

Lower gas prices have had an added bonus in Minnesota beyond fatter wallets: Train traffic is leveling off, giving regulators space to refocus on safety issues, a state railroad official told lawmakers Wednesday.