December 20, 2015 Lawyers: NYC agrees to reforms in stop-and-frisk New York City's new mayor on Thursday delivered on his promise to reform stop-and-frisk police tactics, requesting to drop an appeal of a federal judge's order requiring reforms and reaching a deal that was praised by those who sued the city over discrimination claims.
December 20, 2015 Medical marijuana touches off big debate in Sunshine State In November, Florida voters will decide whether the Sunshine State will be the next laboratory of democracy to legalize medical marijuana.
December 20, 2015 Virginia GOP calls Dems’ Senate takeover ‘outrageous power grab’ In what Republicans called "a Virginia version of Harry Reid's nuclear option," Democrats in the state legislature invoked new rules giving them control of all state Senate committees.
December 20, 2015 California lawmakers advance bill banning imitation firearms BB guns and pellet guns would have to look clearly different from those that fire bullets to be sold in California under a bill approved Tuesday by the state Senate in response to several recent shooting tragedies involving children.
December 20, 2015 Arizona lawmaker seeks $30M 'virtual fence' near US-Mexico border An Arizona legislator wants the state to spend $30 million for a high-tech surveillance network near the U.S. border with Mexico.
December 20, 2015 Western residents face threat of water rationing as feds reduce water flow For years, experts have been warning people in the American West they will have to make do with less water in the future. That dryer future already may have arrived.
December 20, 2015 Florida high court OKs medical marijuana for ballot A proposed constitutional amendment to allow the medical use of marijuana will go before Florida voters in November after the state Supreme Court narrowly approved the ballot language Monday.
December 20, 2015 Bribery trial opens for ex-New Orleans mayor Jury selection began Monday in the trial of former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who faces charges that he accepted bribes and free trips among other things from contractors in exchange for helping them secure millions of dollars in city work. Nagin, a Democrat who was mayor when Hurricane Katrina stuck in 2005, served two terms before leaving office in 2010. He was living in a Dallas suburb when a federal grand jury indicted him a year ago. Nagin had little to say as he entered the federal courthouse with a noticeable limp.
December 20, 2015 Pro-life activists march in San Francisco Many thousands of anti-abortion protesters from across California marched through downtown San Francisco on Saturday, calling for restrictions on a medical procedure that was legalized more than 40 years ago.
December 20, 2015 California high court asked to take up high-speed rail Gov. Jerry Brown's administration on Friday petitioned the California Supreme Court to overturn two lower-court rulings that have stalled progress on the state's high-speed rail project, one of the nation's most expensive public works projects.
