New concerns about financial links to terrorism are prompting some public retirement system managers to scrutinize the companies in which they invest.

Saying they are protecting the First Amendment rights of donors, the Republican-controlled state Senate voted Tuesday to remove all restrictions on how much any individual or political action committee can spend to influence elections.

In the May 5 edition, you reported on the passage of a bill that changed the designation of an intersection, which in turn changed the law on running a yellow/red light, changing the violation standard.

Twenty years ago, accountant Sharon Lechter decided to devote her career to financial education and literacy after her oldest son graduated from high school and soon fell into credit card debt.

Ignoring a likely lawsuit, House Republicans pushed through legislation on Thursday to let privately financed candidates take much more money from individual donors and political action committees.

Lottery confidentiality

WASHINGTON — The close race for majority control of the Senate comes down to whether Republican candidates in Massachusetts and Connecticut can win over President Barack Obama's voters and Democrats from Indiana to Arizona can impress Mitt Romney's GOP backers.

CHICAGO - A defiant Gov. Rod Blagojevich on Tuesday named a black political trailblazer to Barack Obama's Senate seat, a surprise move that put the governor's opponents in the uncomfortable position of trying to block his choice from becoming the Senate's only black member.

CHICAGO - U.S. Sen. Roland Burris kept out of sight Friday as longtime friend Gov. Pat Quinn joined the roster of fellow Democrats calling for his resignation following new disclosures about his controversial appointment, while the White House urged the senator to take the weekend to consider his future.

Rebuffing the concerns of mayors from around the state about lost revenues, a Senate panel voted Wednesday to sharply revamp how sales taxes are assessed and collected.

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans pressed for speedy approval of President Bush's request for $87 billion for Iraq and Afghanistan, even as some GOP lawmakers questioned whether Iraqis should be required to eventually pay back some of the money.

Saying the legislation could curb terror, a Senate panel voted 7-1 Monday to require the treasurer and state retirement funds to report every six months on investments they have with publicly traded companies that do business with outlaw states.

State election officials launched a probe Friday to find out who is paying for those campaign signs urging people to support Olivia Cortes in the Nov. 8 special recall election against Senate President Russell Pearce.

Hoping to lure more movies, TV shows and commercials, state lawmakers are moving to once again provide income tax credits for those who produce them in Arizona.

I was surprised to learn from the Friends Committee on National Legislation that 37 cents of every dollar we pay in federal income taxes go to pay for current and past wars. At the same time, education, diplomacy, and help to the nearly 100 million people living in poverty in this country get only pennies on every dollar.

Arizonans who fear the federal government will make their folding money worthless may soon be able to substitute privately minted gold and silver coins.

House lawmakers on Thursday approved legislation that links student loan rates to the ups and downs of the financial markets in spite of a veto threat from President Barack Obama.

The Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative political groups has little if anything to do with most everyday taxpayers, but some lawmakers are hoping attention to the budding scandal will swell public and political support for rewriting and simplifying a federal tax code that has undergone some 5,000 changes in the past dozen years.

WASHINGTON - The World Trade Organization imposed penalties Friday on U.S. exports ranging from apples to textiles, escalating a trade dispute the Bush administration has struggled to defuse by unsuccessfully urging Congress to repeal legislation aimed at protecting American steelmakers.

The Arizona Legislature has gone from the fast track to stuck in the mud as lawmakers have become bogged down by the three key issues: Medicaid, sale taxes and the state budget.

PHOENIX -- Arizona is moving toward making online merchants collect sales tax on residents' purchases, a departure from the state's previous hands-off stance.

Congressional investigators, using fake identification, obtained genuine driver’s licenses from Arizona and six other states, the General Accounting Office reported Tuesday.

In case you forgot, Gov. Jan Brewer has other priorities this year besides getting the Legislature to approve Medicaid expansion.

State lawmakers return to the Capitol on Monday facing something they have not seen in years: More money than they immediately need to balance the budget.