Despite drawing intense scrutiny over the last few weeks, U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Mississippi) will hold onto the seat she was appointed to earlier this year, following the resignation of U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi) over health concerns...
DEMS CLAIM 3/4 MAJORITY IN CA ASSEMBLY Democrats won 60 seats in the CALIFORNIA Assembly in the 2018 election, giving them a historic three-quarters majority in the 80-seat chamber. The Assembly Democratic caucus will be the largest since the state...
Citing a court ruling that declared the state’s 6 th Congressional District to be illegally gerrymandered, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) created a nine-member commission tasked with taking politics out of drawing the district’s lines. ...
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) lauded the approval of a closely-watched weed legalization measure last week, but declined to say if he would sign the measure if it reaches his desk. Murphy has long supported legalizing cannabis in the Garden State...
BAKER URGES NEW STEPS FOR REPORTING MA HATE CRIMES Taking a cue from the recommendations of a state task force, MASSACHUSETTS Gov. Charlie Baker (R) said the Bay State will create a new website to track hate crimes and urged police chiefs to designate...
MI Senate Approves SB 1171 The MICHIGAN Senate approves SB 1171 , legislation that would delay the state’s planned minimum wage increase to $12 until 2030. The measure, which would also limit tipped workers’ minimum wage to $4 per hour...
MI Senate Approves SB 796 The MICHIGAN Senate approves SB 796 , a bill that would ban paid “release time” contract provisions that allow public school employees to conduct union business during their work day. The measure moves now to the...
IL Governor Vetoes SB 2332 The ILLINOIS House fails to override a veto by Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) of SB 2332 , a bill that would have raised the legal smoking age to 21 (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES).
MS Law Bans Abortion Saying it “unequivocally” infringes on the due-process rights of women, U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves strikes down a MISSISSIPPI law that bans abortions after the 15 th week of pregnancy. The state is expected...
The LOS ANGELES City Council approves a measure to legalize and regulate sidewalk vendors. Under the newly-adopted rules, vendors must pick up trash; ensure that people can pass on the sidewalks; and do business at a minimum distance from fire hydrants...
For decades, every California governor followed up their January budget release with an appearance at a Sacramento Press Club luncheon. It was always the most heavily attended event of the year, and thus also the best moneymaker for the SPC’s journalism...
Politics has always driven intense emotions. Some would say now more so than ever, while others might counter that it has always been this way and we just know more of what is said and done than we used to. For example, like when Illinois state Rep. Stephanie...
California state Sen. Joel Anderson has always been a little ornery. But as the Sacramento Bee reports , that crankiness – and a little too much booze - got the better of him last summer when he responded to a disagreement at an after-hours party...
Corruption is a significant problem—no matter what sector it originates in. But a recent report from corruption watchdog Transparency International takes aim at one industry in particular: Defense. The report notes, “While it may be true that...
The state news agency of China has launched a digital version of its regular news presenter. Powered by artificial intelligence (AI) this version can keep breaking news stories 24 hours a day. Working in collaboration with search engine company Sogou...
In two weeks, hundreds of delegates across different industries will converge on London for the Impact Investing Summit 2018 . The annual conference is just one sign of increasing interest by investors and consumers to put their money where it can do...
Several months ago, we highlighted news that Kroger was phasing out plastic grocery bags as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) commitment . The national grocery chain is not alone. When it comes to addressing food supply chain risk, corporate...
Rajita Kulkarni is the President of the World Forum for Ethics in Business (WFEB) , which promotes ethical approaches to business and corporate governance. It has organized global forums to discuss ethics in sport and ethical approaches of young people...
While Congressional and state legislative races drew most of the attention on Election Day, those races were hardly the only critical issues voters would decide. Missouri, Colorado and Michigan became the latest states to endorse independent commissions...
As of April, 13 states relied primarily on redistricting commissions rather than lawmakers to draw their legislative districts, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures . In seven of those states, redistricting commissions also had primary...
As of early last week, the numerous wildfires raging in California - including the Camp Fire, the most destructive in the state’s history - had collectively burned over 280,000 acres, destroyed almost 7,000 homes and businesses, forced the evacuation...
There were some big wins for transportation funding in this month’s election. The biggest was California voters’ rejection of Proposition 6, a GOP-backed effort to repeal the gas tax enacted by the state’s Democrat-controlled Legislature...
After a year of deliberating, Amazon finally announced it has selected two locations for its second headquarters: Queens, New York and Arlington, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C. “These two locations will allow us to attract world-class...
GA GOV PROPOSES HURRICANE RELIEF MEASURES: GEORGIA Gov. Nathan Deal (R) proposed $200 million in income tax credits last week for landowners in the southwestern part of the state who replant trees destroyed by Hurricane Michael last month. The incentive...
When Election Day ended two weeks ago the “blue wave” many had predicted for the first midterm of the Trump presidency seemed relatively modest in size. But since the election that wave has continued to roll in, bringing more Democratic gains...