Savannah, GA, USA. As the Panama Canal expands to allow larger cargo ships to pass through, states along the Eastern Seaboard are maneuvering to make their ports compatible with the bigger and more lucrative vessels.

But there is no guarantee the expensive bets will pay off.

Baltimore, MD, USA. A new study finds that the number of guns that were subsequently linked to crime sold by Badger Guns & Ammo, a Milwaukee-area gun shop, increased dramatically after Congress adopted measures likely to reduce the risks gun dealers face if they divert guns to criminals.

The study is the first to examine the impact of these amendments on the diversion of guns to criminals.

Washington, DC, USA. Federal law requires states to impose strict guidelines for registering sex offenders, or risk a financial penalty. But some would rather pay the penalty than bear the costs of revamping their rules.

Six years ago, Congress passed what is known as the Adam Walsh Act, aimed at protecting children from predators by collecting sex offender data in a national public registry and requiring those people listed in it to report their movements to law enforcement.

Las Vegas, NV, USA. The bright lights of Las Vegas depend in large part on a steady water supply. Worried that the supply is in danger, the city is seeking to import new water from the eastern Nevada desert.

Will Las Vegas, Nevada’s economic engine, get permission to draw extra water from underneath the state’s rural eastern counties? One state bureaucrat has the power to decide a question that has long concerned environmentalists and has aggravated a statewide political rift.

Binghamton, NY, USA. Due to state, federal and local budget shortages, the U.S. Geological Survey may shut off hundreds of streamflow gauges across the country, increasing danger in flood-prone areas.

Gauges in the U.S. Geological Survey’s National Streamflow Information Program measure the levels of rivers, lakes and streams, recording critical information used to forecast floods. The system is very much a federal, state and local partnership.