Governors, Mayor | featured news

Detroit is in a state of financial emergency, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) said Friday. "There's probably no city that's more financially challenged in the entire United States," said Snyder. "We need to start moving upward with the city of Detroit." Mayor Dave Bing has a 10-day period in which he can request a hearing, after which point, according to the Associated Press, Snyder can appoint an emergency financial manager for the city or revoke his decision.

There was only one official Democratic candidate for governor of California, and now, officially, there is none. San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom — who announced last spring via Twitter that he would seek the state’s highest office in 2010 — announced Friday that he was withdrawing from the race.

President Barack Obama announced fresh aid to struggling homeowners in California Thursday, playing a bit of divide-and-conquer by pitting his Republican critics in Washington against GOP governors and mayors eager for the federal money.