AUGUSTA, Maine — The Medicaid program in Maine is short of money, and conservative Governor Paul LePage has a blunt proposal for solving the problem — drop people from the rolls.

TODAY'S TAKE: State attorneys general must decide by today (February 6) whether to join a settlement with five major banks they accuse of using illegal lending practices to cheat homeowners and speed foreclosures.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS BEAT: In this year’s legislative session, Republican Governor Nikki Haley says, “We’ll make the unions understand full well that they are not needed, not wanted and not welcome in the state of South Carolina.”

U.S. states that balked at liability releases in a proposed $25 billion nationwide settlement over bank foreclosure practices must decide today whether its mortgage relief and reforms are worth legal claims they'll lose.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney rolled to victory in Nevada's Republican presidential caucus Saturday, giving him back-to-back victories within four days and increasing his momentum heading into key states including Colorado, Arizona and Michigan.

SEATTLE — This is the University of Washington's new math: 18 percent of its freshmen come from abroad, most from China. Each pays tuition of $28,059, about three times as much as students from Washington State. And that, according to the dean of admissions, is how low-income Washingtonians — more than a quarter of the class — get a free ride.

Gov. Sam Brownback roared up to the Statehouse last week on his Big Dog motorcycle. "A real sweet machine," Brownback said of his Wichita-made bike. It was a grand entrance for the Republican governor attempting to make a grand impact on Kansas.

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. -- Indiana Secretary of State Charlie White was convicted of six felonies early this morning, and consequently lost his job. But the Republican could get it back soon.

His first state budget proposal and its billion dollars in cuts brought months of angry outcry from students, labor unions, Democrats and the physically disabled. This year? Expect more of the same.

Gov. Cuomo and Senate Republicans are on a collision course that could soon return state government to the "chaos of past years," sources close to both sides have told The Post.

Governor Christie wants an across-the-board income tax cut, but Democrats say the priority should be middle-class property-tax relief.

Nearly 30,000 offenders, about 5,600 of them violent, are currently missing from state supervision, some since the 1970s. The majority walked away from work camps, work release programs or stopped calling a probation officer.

Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood hires lots of outside lawyers. They make a great deal of money for the state, and for themselves. Not everyone is happy with that situation.

As the Panama Canal expands to allow larger cargo ships to pass through, states along the Eastern Seaboard are maneuvering to make their ports compatible with the bigger and more lucrative vessels. But there is no guarantee the expensive bets will pay off.

Law enforcement officials say the parties leading up to football’s biggest game attract human traffickers who coerce adults and children into prostitution. Although some doubt there is a link between big sporting events and trafficking, the concern was enough for Indiana to update its laws ahead of this Sunday’s Super Bowl.