11.   And even in flush times, states began channeling some of their new federal resources away from the poor and toward causes like tax relief.

12.   And most states have already begun work on electronic systems for a range of welfare programs.

13.   Arab states also began issuing their own conditions on Saturday.

14.   As a way of forcing them to deal with it, states are beginning to require school districts to break out their test score data by race.

15.   As details of the incentives dribbled out, the state began struggling to pay for them.

16.   As states begin to install tests to measure that knowledge, millions of students who fail the exams are expected to be held back.

17.   As part of a comprehensive revision of its welfare laws, the state began denying additional aid to welfare mothers who have more children.

18.   As public concern over the safety of cosmetics grows, a few states have begun taking notice.

19.   As various states begin pilot programs to investigate electricity deregulation, marketers of power are finding that offering some form of green power is a selling point.

20.   At the same time, African states have begun to pursue their own interests more vigorously than ever before.