state's rights

Alaskans have signed enough petitions to put marijuana legalization on the ballot this summer. If the state OKs the initiative, it will join Colorado and Washington as states where the plant – and its effects on smokers – are totally legal.

Across the country, a small but growing number of public universities are looking to cut deals with state lawmakers that scale back direct oversight, often in return for less funding or for meeting certain performance targets. Over the past few years, schools in Texas, Virginia and Florida have all gotten more flexibility to raise tuition. Other plans have recently been broached, though with less success, in Wisconsin, California and Louisiana.

Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation Friday that would have made it a crime for federal agents to attempt to enforce federal gun laws in Missouri and could have landed journalists in jail for publishing the names of gun owners in the state.

Nearly two-thirds of uninsured low-income people who would qualify for subsidized coverage under President Barack Obama's health care law may be out of luck next year because their states have not expanded Medicaid.