FDNY leaders were pressed at a City Hall budget hearing as the mayor’s $127B preliminary plan forces agencies to hunt for savings. Overtime, station repairs and EMS pay were central concerns.

Allegheny County approved 10 staffed ballot-return locations and four satellite offices ahead of the May 19 primary, giving voters multiple in-person options to return or cast mail ballots.

The SEC says it has made substantial progress toward settling civil claims against Bill Hwang. The parties asked the court for a mid‑May update.

Court filings and watchdog records show agency downsizings slowed FOIA responses, with lawyers in 26 cases blaming staff cuts for delays in public records. The trend has prompted new lawsuits and oversight.

A Manhattan judge ordered the removal of viral DOGE deposition videos after scholars posted hours of testimony showing staff used ChatGPT to flag NEH grants.

Former Miami mayor Francis Suarez has been named president of Alpha Wave Global as the firm welcomes Abu Dhabi investment to back an AI-driven insurance push.

Aldermen advanced a narrow smoking exemption aimed at bringing a high‑profile cigar convention to St. Louis, with backers pointing to $4.2M in regional impact.

An interactive tracker turns NYPD encounter spreadsheets into neighborhood maps, showing where officers record Level 1–3 interactions across the city.

A Senate budget packet found roughly $649,351 tied to California’s Imagination Library lacks receipts; lawmakers pressed State Librarian Greg Lucas for answers.

Austin ISD is proposing an SB 1882 partnership with TCIS to run Burnet, Dobie and Webb middle schools as a bid to avoid a state takeover; trustees could vote March 26. An application for TEA benefits is due March 31, 2026.

The Education Department says Jefferson County Public Schools violated Title IX, demanding the district reverse policies that let transgender students access girls’ teams and facilities within 10 days. The decision sets up a fast legal fight in Jeffco.

Austin’s council moved the job of logging lobbyist contacts from council offices to lobbyists themselves, a shift that supporters call efficient and critics call a transparency risk.

Ben Shuldiner plans to pare Seattle Public Schools’ central office, letting positions go unfilled to redirect funds and simplify decision-making amid a multimillion-dollar gap.