Hawaii

LINCOLN, Neb.-- Veterans' groups told lawmakers Thursday that Nebraska's tax on military retirement pay is driving people out of the state, while some lawmakers questioned whether the losses are influenced more by warmer climates and family connections elsewhere.

SACRAMENTO, Calif.-- Hispanics will become the largest ethnic group in the nation's most populous state early next year, the California Department of Finance said Thursday, marking a big milestone in a long-running demographic shift that has already deeply altered the political balance of power, the economy and culture.

HONOLULU-- The U.S. Navy plans to dismantle a minesweeper that ran aground on a coral reef off the Philippines because the ship is a complete loss and because removing it intact would cause more damage to the reef and the ship's hull, a spokesman said Wednesday. Limiting damage to the coral, which is part of a national marine park, is important to the Navy, James said.

*Hagel says cuts would be "devastating" to Pentagon. WASHINGTON, Jan 31- Big automatic cuts in federal spending are fast approaching again, alarming the defense sector but generating little activity in Congress to avoid them.

NEW YORK-- Deutsche Bank downgraded shares of Hawaiian Airlines' parent company on Wednesday, one day after the company reported disappointing fourth-quarter results. On Wednesday, Deutsche Bank lowered Hawaiian to "Hold" from "Buy" and reduced its forecast of the company's 2013 adjusted profit to 90 cents per share from $1.55 per share.

The South Dakota law is based on centuries-old British law. Adelstein had hoped his cause would be helped by a recent trial in Rapid City that attracted a lot of attention in South Dakota. Former county prosecutor Glenn Brenner was sued by his wife's ex-husband, businessman Douglas Rumpca, claiming Brenner stole Kellie Rumpca from a loving marriage.

HONOLULU-- The Hawaii Filipino Chamber of Commerce says Lt. Shan Tsutsui will lead the organization's upcoming trade mission to the Philippines. The goal of the trip is to stimulate trade and investment in Hawaii and the Philippines.

HONOLULU-- Lawmakers in both chambers of the Hawaii Legislature want to charge a 10- cent fee for paper and plastic shopping bags, and four representatives are sponsoring a bill to ban the so-called single-use checkout bags altogether. All of Hawaii's counties already have their own bans on plastic shopping bags.

*WellPoint expects significant Medicaid growth in 2014. Jan 23- A top U.S. insurance industry executive on Wednesday predicted that most states will agree to expand their Medicaid programs under President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law, despite opposition from more than a dozen Republican governors.

*Kaiser found widespread Medicaid coverage gaps. WASHINGTON, Jan 23- U.S. adults who qualify for Medicaid often must have incomes well below the federal poverty line, while adults who have no dependent children are allowed to receive benefits in only nine of the 50 states, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON, Jan 23- U.S. adults who qualify for Medicaid often must have incomes well below the federal poverty line, while adults who have no dependent children are allowed to receive benefits in only nine of the 50 states, according to a survey released on Wednesday.

Neil Abercrombie says the state budget is his top priority for this coming year, in addition to energy and education. The governor detailed his priorities during the annual State of the State address to lawmakers at the state Capitol on Tuesday.

Neil Abercrombie wants to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $8.75. The governor said Hawaii hasn't increased its minimum wage in six years and there are 19 states with higher minimum wages than Hawaii. House Speaker Joseph Souki agreed, saying that raising the rate by a dollar _to $8.25 an hour _ wouldn't be enough to cover the high cost of rent in Hawaii.

WASHINGTON, Jan 15- Last year when NASA researchers in Baltimore discovered the fleeting glimmer of an exploding star, they named it "Supernova Mikulski," after one of their chief patrons in the U.S. Congress.

In its first disaster declaration of the new year, the Agriculture Department made growers in large portions of four major wheat-growing states- Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas- eligible for low-interest emergency loans. Kansas was the No. 1 state at 382 million bushels. In all, USDA listed 597 counties in 14 states as natural disaster areas.

*Obama says Washington brinkmanship undermined confidence. HONOLULU, Jan 5- Fresh from the long legislative fight to prevent a "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, President Barack Obama warned on Saturday that the United States could not afford further budget showdowns this year or in the future.

WASHINGTON, Jan 4- After a brutal "fiscal cliff" battle, President Barack Obama's looming budget confrontation with Congress threatens to sharply curtail his second-term agenda and limit his ambitions on priorities such as immigration reform and gun control.