Florida's population growth slowed, and Louisiana appears to be rebounding from the effects of Hurricane Katrina, gaining 50,000 residents in the year ending July 1, according to Census Bureau state population estimates released Wednesday. ...more

December 27, 2007

Fifty-four nursing homes, including one in St. Petersburg, are being told by the government that they are among the worst in their states in an effort to goad them into improving patient care. ...more

November 28, 2007

It's been 68 years since the U.S. Supreme Court examined the right to keep and bear arms secured by the Second Amendment. It's been 31 years since the District of Columbia enacted its feckless ban on all functional firearms in the capital. It's been eight months since the second most important court in the country, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, declared the D.C. ban - among the most restrictive in the nation - unconstitutional. The obvious incongruity of those three events will be resolved soon. ...more

November 26, 2007

Just as the holiday shopping rush begins, the three major credit bureaus have decided they will provide consumers with a powerful tool to protect themselves from identity theft. ...more

November 25, 2007

The Supreme Court set the stage Tuesday for a historic ruling on whether the Second Amendment protects the rights of Americans to keep handguns at home. ...more

November 21, 2007

The House on Tuesday agreed to name the largest room in the new Capitol Visitor Center in honor of the slaves who helped build the U.S. Capitol. Under the measure, the room would be called Emancipation Hall. ...more

November 14, 2007

Both sides in a closely watched legal battle over the District of Columbia's strict gun-control law are urging the Supreme Court to hear the case. If the justices agree - a step they may announce as early as Tuesday - the Roberts court is likely to find itself back on the front lines of the culture wars with an intensity unmatched even by the cases on abortion and race that defined the court's previous term. ...more

November 12, 2007

The House overwhelmingly passed federal protections for journalists pressured to reveal confidential sources Tuesday, as lawmakers from both parties backed legislation that advocates for the news media have sought for a generation. ...more

October 17, 2007

It's an increasingly common refrain among foster parents: no more children. The stipend they get to raise someone else's child just isn't enough. ...more

October 12, 2007

Amid growing concern about identity theft, Experian has joined the nation's two other major credit bureaus in allowing consumers to freeze access to their credit files. ...more

October 5, 2007