California's unemployment rate fell slightly in October, to 11.7 percent, from 11.9 percent a month earlier, as the state added jobs in construction, education, health services and leisure and hospitality, the state Employment Development Department said Friday.

Gov. John Hickenlooper on Thursday dismissed a Republican idea to explore waivers from Medicaid spending to alleviate budget pressures, saying it's a requirement Colorado can't get out of.

Rhode Island is taking dramatic steps toward fixing one of the nation's most underfunded public pension systems, but the true battle with public-sector unions may be just beginning.