The New York Times

ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, vowing to revive New York’s stagnant economy, on Wednesday unveiled more than a dozen initiatives aimed at creating jobs across the state, including building the nation’s largest convention center in Queens and offering $1 billion in incentives to lure companies to Buffalo.read more >>

AUSTIN, Tex. — Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday entered the turbulent political waters of voting rights, signaling that the Justice Department would be aggressive in reviewing new voting laws that civil rights advocates say will dampen minority participation in next year’s elections.read more >>

HOUSTON — Jim Landtroop, a freshman Republican who represents a largely rural swath of West Texas in the State House of Representatives, filed for re-election in Austin on Friday afternoon.read more >>

A series of television ads began running a few days ago supporting Gov. Rick Perry’s presidential bid. They were the usual fare — “conservative leadership that works” — and they featured old photos of him in the Air Force and video from the trail. A casual viewer might assume they were run by his campaign, but they were run by a new phenomenon this year: the candidate “super PAC” — by far the most noxious weed yet to emerge in the lawless new jungle of campaign finance.read more >>

COLUMBUS, Ohio — A year after Republicans swept legislatures across the country, voters in Ohio delivered their verdict Tuesday on a centerpiece of the conservative legislative agenda, striking down a law that restricted public workers’ rights to bargain collectively. read more >>

WASHINGTON — Republican presidential candidates are issuing biting and sustained attacks on the federal courts and the role they play in American life, reflecting and stoking skepticism among conservatives about the judiciary.   read more >>

The once-a-decade process of redrawing Congressional districts is moving from the smoke-filled back room to the courtroom. Lawsuits related to redistricting have been filed in more than half the states, asking judges to decide issues that include whether the new maps take partisan gerrymandering too far or discriminate against minority voters. read more >>

Since Republicans won control of many statehouses last November, more than a dozen states have passed laws requiring voters to show photo identification at polls, cutting back early voting periods or imposing new restrictions on voter registration drives.

With a presidential campaign swinging into high gear, the question being asked is how much of an impact all of these new laws will have on the 2012 race.read more >>

The Justice Department announced on Monday that it would not ask the full Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit to reconsider a three-judge panel’s ruling against the 2010 health care law. That presumably leaves the government to appeal its loss directly to the Supreme Court, although Tracy Schmaler, a Justice Department spokeswoman, declined to comment on the next steps.read more >>

As many as one-quarter of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus could face significant primary opposition in their new House districts in 2012, a development that could significantly change the face of the CBC and/or reduce its membership heading into 2013.

With nationwide redistricting slightly more than halfway done, at least 10 of the 41 members of the CBC already have well-known politicians eyeing their new districts.read more >>