Broker Regulation

In response to the killing of schoolchildren in Connecticut, the federal government should consider California's strategy for dealing with mental illness, experts and lawmakers said Thursday.

The administration of Gov. Rick Scott is now contending that the federal health care overhaul will cost state taxpayers billions more than estimates from just a few months ago.

House Speaker John Boehner signaled on Friday he's still open to negotiations with President Barack Obama on avoiding across-the-board tax increases set to hit taxpayers Jan. 1, but sounded pessimistic about reaching a grand deal with the president.

In the "fiscal cliff" standoff, President Barack Obama wants to raise taxes by about $20 billion a year more than House Speaker John Boehner. The president wants to spend about that much more yearly than Boehner does, too.

Three more states are on track to run their own health care exchanges as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

The Republican-controlled House pushed ahead Thursday with a bill that would raise taxes on people earning over $1 million a year as hopes faded for a pre-Christmas deal between President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.