HOLIDAYS WEEKENDS

If the state’s ballot initiative to fund Medicaid’s expansion passes, it will mean a $2-per-pack increase in taxes on cigarettes and a new tax on electronic cigarettes.

We tapped our network of political reporters and editors across the country to bring you an analysis of every one of the 36 gubernatorial races in 2018. Here’s what they said.

The inmate had challenged the constitutionality of lethal injection execution. His lawyer said he chose electrocution because he expected it to be less painful than the drug method.

“My continued presence on the board will inhibit its ability to move Maryland’s higher education agenda forward,” James Brady said, after outrage over the decision not to fire the football coach.

In focus groups for the U.S. census, some participants identified the citizenship question as a significant reason why they would avoid taking part in the head count.

President Trump is not on the ballot but the midterm elections are a referendum on him. GOP candidates are using four strategies to discuss their close, not so close or nonexistent ties to Trump.

President Trump addressed what the White House called a “crisis” of illegal immigration on Thursday, underscoring what has become the central focus of his midterm election campaign.

As a woman ages, choosing when to try for a second or third child means weighing fertility odds against the risks of getting pregnant again too soon. A new study provides more data to help decide.

The midterm elections are days away, and Friday’s jobs report will give voters a final glimpse of the strength of the economy. A key recurring question: Is wage growth finally picking up?

NASA mission managers haven’t heard from the Martian rover Opportunity since June. A dust storm interfered with communication but the storm is over now and engineers hope to hear from the rover soon.

Observers offer three key reasons why the world isn’t paying heed to what a UNICEF official calls a “living hell for its citizens and their children”

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has appointed several women to senior government posts, part of a wave of reforms since he came into office last April.

A bipartisan sanctuary law that Oregon lawmakers passed easily in 1987 is now subject to a repeal vote.

Atlantic journalist McKay Coppins says Gingrich “set a model for future Republican leaders” by engaging in extreme partisanship while serving as speaker of the House.

The Environmental Protection Agency has given farmers the OK to continue to spray the controversial weedkiller dicamba. The chemical is prone to blowing in the wind and damaging other vegetation.

Hmong immigrants began losing native bacteria in their guts soon after arriving in the U.S., a change associated with more obesity. Eating an American diet plays a role but doesn’t explain everything.

Setting up the case for a jury trial, Robert Bowers pleaded not guilty to all 44 counts against him in connection with Saturday’s massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue that resulted in 11 deaths.

Polls show that Americans broadly support the concept of affirmative action but oppose preferential treatment for minorities in college admissions.

The pharmaceutical giant will stop delivering its rotavirus vaccine to four West African countries and will begin to sell it in China for likely more than 10 times the cost.

Many at Google have been simmering since The New York Times reported the company gave generous exit packages to alleged harassers. Thousands of employees walked out of its offices around the world.

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds that voters are worried that the lack of a civil tone and negativity in Washington will lead to violence, but they don’t agree on who to blame.

They’re running strong in suburban districts, where independents and women want to send a message to President Trump. It’s also a year when historical trends and a GOP exodus could boost Democrats.

The flight data recorder from Lion Air flight JT610, which crashed on Monday with 189 people aboard, could provide insight into the cause of the disaster.

Dewayne “Lee” Johnson, 46, says the company’s Roundup weedkiller caused his illness. He will accept the award after a judge reduced a jury’s original figure of $289 million.

The massive telescope with a nearly 100-foot mirror is set to be built atop 13,800-foot Mauna Kea, considered sacred land by some of the project’s opponents.

Premature birth rates are heading in the wrong direction after nearly a decade of decline. Some states have started to tackle the problem, while others struggle with stubbornly high rates.

McCovey was known as one of the most powerful left-handed batters in baseball and is tied for 20th on the all-time home run list.

It’s hard to find a bucket, pail or plastic receptacle in the city of millions that isn’t full of water. Residents stored water in whatever they could find in preparation for the pipes going dry.

The president says he may triple the number of forces that were deployed just this week. The defense secretary likens the deployment to when troops help after a natural disaster.

University President Wallace Loh says “a departure is in the best interest of the University, and this afternoon Coach Durkin was informed that the University will part ways.”