December 20, 2015 Study: No connection between school spending, student outcomes For decades, it's probably the most troublesome question facing education: Why are results for U.S. public school students so mediocre, despite the billions of taxpayer dollars spent?
December 20, 2015 Kan. lawmakers OK bill to void local gun rules Kansas legislators gave final approval Saturday to a bill that would nullify city and county gun restrictions and ensure that it's legal across the state to openly carry firearms, a measure the National Rifle Association sees as a nationwide model for stripping local officials of their gun-regulating power.
December 20, 2015 Secrecy surrounds execution drugs in most states Dating to the days when the guillotine operator or the hangman wore a mask, a certain amount of anonymity has always surrounded executions. But that secrecy is increasingly coming under fire, with judges, death penalty opponents and lawyers questioning why so little can be known about a state's most solemn responsibility.
December 20, 2015 Missouri House passes bill aimed at nullifying federal gun control laws Under the bill, which passed with enough support to override a possible veto, Missouri would refuse to enforce past, present and future federal gun control laws that are deemed to be infringements on gun rights.
December 20, 2015 Colorado lawmakers weigh ban on red-light, speeding traffic cameras A proposal to ban red-light and speeding cameras in Colorado is back at the Capitol, and the bill sponsor says he has more support than when he pitched the idea two years ago.
December 20, 2015 Florida lawmakers approve 'warning shot' bill revising self-defense laws The Florida Senate on Thursday approved the so-called warning shot bill, moving to significantly revise the state's self-defense laws for the first time since the shooting death of Trayvon Martin.
December 20, 2015 Florida transit authority on hot seat for using taxes to campaign for tax increase A Pinellas County public transit board is on the hot seat over its use of taxpayer money to promote a $1.7 billion light rail plan that requires a significant local tax increase to fund it.
December 20, 2015 Stay granted for new Ariz. abortion drug rules A federal appeals court has granted a preliminary injunction to temporarily block the country's most stringent restrictions on the use of abortion drugs.
December 20, 2015 Iowa scrambles to keep millions from tax that didn’t exist Faced with the possibility of having to refund more than $20 million collected for a nonexistent tax, not to mention losing an estimated $7 million in taxes a year going forward, lawmakers passed a bill Thursday reinstating the tax and making it retroactive to the date of its accidental repeal.
December 20, 2015 Maryland to revamp glitch-ridden ObamaCare health exchange A Maryland board voted Tuesday to replace technology in the state's badly flawed health-exchange website instead of fixing its current system or partnering with the federal health care exchange.
