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Lawmakers Aim to Help People Balance Work, Family
© AP In many states this year, lawmakers debated measures designed to make life a little easier for Americans struggling to balance work and family obligations. (AP) After years of focusing on Great Recession job losses, increasing economic inequality and a shrinking middle class, lawmakers in many states this year turned to a related front: […]
Religious Freedom, States’ Interests Clash Over Autopsies
AP Photo/The Brainerd Dispatch, Kelly Humphrey People attend the 45th annual Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe powwow Saturday, Aug. 20, 2011, at the Iskigamizigan Powwow Grounds in Onamia, Minn. When Tadd Johnson got a call in February that a Native American tribal elder in northern Minnesota had died and authorities were preparing to do an […]
Which Metro Areas Have Gained the Most Jobs Since the Great Recession?
© Getty Images Workers hoist a statue as part of a $14 million renovation of Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee. Tennessee’s capital city is the only large metro area outside California and Texas to rank among the top five for job growth since the Great Recession. (Getty Images) Five years removed from the worst of […]
Which States Have the Most Job Growth Since the Recession?
© AP Michelle Albritton loads stamped wheel housings in a GM plant in Pontiac, Michigan. Michigan, which had the highest unemployment rate in the nation during the recession, is among the states that have created the most jobs since the downturn. (AP) Although the nation’s unemployment rate is at a seven-year low of 5.4 percent, […]
States Struggle to Pay for Police Body Cameras
© AP Officer Dan Merseth demonstrates the docking procedure for police body cameras at police headquarters in Duluth, Minnesota. The department received 84 cameras and charging bays for less than $5,000, but a three-year agreement for data storage costs about $78,000. (AP) As the nationwide push intensifies for police to wear body cameras, states and […]
Could States Afford Jobless Benefits If Another Recession Hits?
© AP Veterans attend an annual job fair earlier this year in Miami. Many state unemployment insurance funds are in precarious financial shape. (AP) Tens of billions of dollars in debt. Cuts to jobless aid that have been called “historic and disturbing.” Unemployment insurance trust funds that are still clawing their way back to solvency. […]
States Target Long-Term Unemployment, Food Stamp Rolls
© AP Republican Gov. Sam Brownback announced March 23 that Kansas will expand a jobs training program under a federal grant. His state is one of 10 that will launch pilot programs aimed at reducing long-term unemployment and food stamp rolls. (AP) After years of struggling with stubbornly high unemployment and elevated food stamp rolls, […]
States Consider Slapping Limits on Their Lotteries
© AP Assistant manager Renee Plowman prepares to load one of the 72 slots for scratch-off lottery games at Carlton’s convenience store in Clemmons, North Carolina. Many states are questioning whether state lotteries have gone too far in promoting games like these. (AP) For years, lotteries have been a lucrative enterprise for states, reliably bringing […]
Can States Slow the Flow of Military Equipment to Police?
AP A member of the St. Louis County Police Department points his weapon in the direction of a group of protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, last summer. Alarmed by images like this, lawmakers in several states are seeking to rein in the militarization of law enforcement. (AP) Police in Minneapolis-St. Paul trained military-grade launchers and used […]
The Most Unique Job in Each State, in One Map
AP Models display designer Marc Jacobs’ fall collection during New York Fashion Week last month. New York has an outsized concentration of fashion designers based on the national average and its population. (AP) The state of Hawaii has almost 13 times as many professional dancers than would be expected based on the national average. In […]