As one voracious non-native fish bears down on the Great Lakes, notorious mussels are spreading across the West. Frustrated state officials say it’s time for the federal government to play a bigger role in stopping the spread of invasive species.

In Missouri, the new retirement age for government employees is 67. For legislators and other elected officials, it’s 62. As states look at reining in pension costs, are lawmakers giving themselves a better deal than everyone else?

TODAY’S TAKE: Arizona Governor Jan Brewer is promising a fast-track legal appeal of a court ruling Wednesday (July 28) that invalidated key parts of the state’s new immigration law. The ruling will have broad ramifications not only legally, but politically.

In the South and West, providing drivers a sanctuary on the Interstate costs states dollars they don’t have. But many Northeastern states make lots of money by commercializing rest areas. The difference is due to an obscure federal law that critics want to change.

There’s good news to be found in the National Conference of State Legislatures’ most recent survey of state budgets — if you can look past the bad news.

A federal judge in Arizona on Wednesday broadly vindicated the Obama administration's high-stakes move to challenge that state's tough immigration law and to assert the primary authority of the federal government over state lawmakers in immigration matters.

Southern Michigan crews were working Wednesday to contain and clean up an estimated 877,000 gallons of oil that coated birds and fish as it poured into a creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, one of the state's major waterways.

More than 150,000 California state workers will again face unpaid furloughs, beginning in August, after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Wednesday declared a financial state of emergency and ordered them to take three days off per month.

Gov. David A. Paterson and his advisers made errors of judgment in their handling of a domestic violence case involving a top aide, but their actions were not criminal, a retired judge who investigated the case announced on Wednesday.

A proposal aimed at making sure dead people are purged from Illinois' voting rolls will be in legislative purgatory at least until after the November election.

Lawmakers questioned a job perk given to Pennsylvania employees Wednesday that allows them to travel the turnpike for free for both business and personal reasons.

Cuyahoga County is a major contributor to a troubled criminal justice system that sends too many low-level criminals to costly prisons, a new study reports.

More than half the owners of medical-marijuana centers in Colorado have criminal arrest or conviction records for crimes such as dealing drugs, sexual assault, burglary and weapons violations, according to statistics developed by the Drug Enforcement Administration and obtained by 9News.

Gov. Gary Herbert's office continues to be flooded with e-mails and letters from people angry he went after the state employees who compiled a list of allegedly illegal immigrants.

TODAY'S TAKE: The Nebraska Democrat is limited to 100 days of campaigning for the governor’s seat. The conservative Colorado candidate joins a race that still has two Republicans vying for a primary victory.

This time of year, politicians love to give shoppers a break on clothes, shoes and back-to-school supplies. The short bursts of tax relief are popular with consumers and retailers, but tax experts say the benefits are oversold.

New high-tech electric meters are supposed to help save energy. As states let utilities roll out smart meters, however, consumers are complaining that their costs are going up rather than down.