New Mexico governor repeals death penalty in state

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson signed a bill Wednesday repealing the death penalty in his state, his office confirmed. “Regardless of my personal opinion about the death penalty, I do not have confidence in the criminal justice system as it currently operates to be the final arbiter when it comes to who lives and who dies for their crime,” Richardson said in a statement Wednesday

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California: One Vote Short of Averting Catastrophe

It’s becoming a cliché: California lawmakers again fail to reach agreement on a budget. As California engages in a budget battle that has left the government of the world’s eighth largest economy slipping toward insolvency, Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and the Democratic legislative majority continue to search for one last Republican vote to pass a budget

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Will Burris Be the Next to Fall in the Blagojevich Scandal?

One can forgive the voting public of Illinois for not knowing whether to laugh or cry these days. Just when it seemed that the Rod Blagojevich corruption scandal might actually recede from the spotlight, with the accused governor booted out of office and his seemingly unimpeachable Senate pick Roland Burris firmly ensconced in Washington, comes another baffling chapter in the saga.

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California’s Big Race to Succeed Schwarzenegger

Ever since gold miners first scraped their fortunes out of the hills of northern California, America’s most populous state has been a land of titanic dreams. These days, though, it’s a place with even bigger problems. Its $42 billion budget deficit would make an out-of-control Hollywood director blush — and bankrupt a small nation

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