Save it? Refund it though tax cuts? Or spend it?

Though they won majorities in more than half the statehouses on principled platforms of making government smaller, some Republicans now are feeling tremendous pressure to spend newfound money on roads, buildings and schools that had been neglected or cut during the recession-induced downturn of recent years.

"Everybody wants that money," said North Dakota Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner, where an oil industry boom has fueled one of the largest per capita budget surpluses in the nation.

Only a few states still face budget difficulties several years after the Great Recession forced widespread cuts to public education and social services, according to a new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures. To the contrary, a growing number anticipate that they will finish the 2013 fiscal year with surpluses, some totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.

That has created new tensions in places such as Michigan, Missouri and Texas, where GOP majorities are wrestling with the morality of spending money.

"I like to save money, I like to keep it in the bank, I like to give it back to the taxpayers," said Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Rick Stream, a self-described fiscal conservative from suburban St. Louis. "But sometimes, you also have to spend money on big capital improvements to move the state forward."

Tax revenues that are running more than 11 percent above last year have given Missouri's largest Republican majority since the Civil War a budget surplus that they estimate at more than $400 million. As recently as a few weeks ago, Stream adamantly opposed spending much of that money. But he now has agreed to use about $120 million to construct an office building in Jefferson City, make repairs to the Capitol and state parks and draw up designs for a new mental hospital.Through such spending now, he said, the state will "save a lot of money down the road."

How states choose to handle their surplus revenues will provide a good first test of whether Republicans can make the cuts they enacted during tough times stick during better times, or whether government will return to its pre-recession levels. Those decisions could depend on whether lawmakers view the financial influx as lasting.

A recent Rockefeller Institute of Government report warned that the surge may be blip caused by wealthy taxpayers taking profits in 2012 to avoid getting hit by a federal tax hike in 2013.

The save-verses-spend conflicts are mounting in a number of states.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder a Republican who is a former accountant is pushing to sock away more money in a state savings account that already is at its healthiest level in about a dozen years. The non-partisan Michigan Senate Fiscal Agency reported that the state could take in $542 million more in revenue than projected four months ago.

But some in the Republican-led Senate have other GOP-friendly uses for the money.

Although Snyder recently staved off a plan for more emergency dredging in Great Lakes harbors, other GOP lawmakers would like more tax incentives for the film industry or to avoid hunting and fishing fee increases.

A revenue surge also has stirred turmoil among Texas Republicans, who are especially zealous about small government.After previously cutting $15 billion from the state budget, lawmakers convened in 2013 to learn they had $8.8 billion more in revenues than projected.

With the state at its constitutional spending limit, the Texas Senate wants to ask voters to approve using $2 billion to develop more water resources, $2.9 billion for roads and bridges and $800 million for public schools. But tea party conservatives, along with Gov. Rick Perry, are calling for tax cuts. Perry says the state already spends plenty on education, even after it cut $5.4 billion from the schools' budget in 2011.

"We have challenges when we don't have money in this legislative body, and we have even bigger challenges when we do," said Texas Rep. Brandon Creighton, a Republican from Conroe.

Republican-led legislatures in Mississippi and Tennessee voted earlier this year to pour millions of dollars into their savings funds.

But in North Dakota, an oil-development bonanza has pumped so much tax revenue into government coffers that the state of about 700,000 residents now boasts a nearly $2 billion surplus even after doubling the size of its budget over the past decade.

The newfound wealth has placed unprecedented demands on lawmakers for spending on roads, schools, law enforcement and emergency medical services. The Legislature recently agreed to provide more than $1.1 billion to help western North Dakota communities affected by the oil boom.But some lawmakers said the record appropriation still was not adequate to meet the swelling demands while others complained that the spending was not benefitting their parts of the state.

Wardner, a Republican from Dickinson who has spent 22 years in the Legislature, said the influx of money has created "more tension in the chambers" and made it harder to craft budgets.

"In the past, we just said 'no,' because we didn't have the money, and we were done with it," Wardner said. "Now if we say 'no,' they say 'we have the money.'"

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Associated Press writers David Eggert in Lansing, Mich.; Lucas Johnson in Nashville, Tenn.; James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D.; Chris Tomlinson in Austin, Texas; and Emily Wagster Pettus in Jackson, Miss., contributed to this report.

“We’re extremely honored to receive this special award from NASC and its nearly 600 members,” said Dave Beachnau, DSC executive director.“Our mission is to enhance the local economy by hosting sporting events and this honor is a reflection of the hard work our team puts in to make sure Detroit remains in the conversation as a popular destination.”

The DSC submitted its successful mascot campaign it promoted nearly a year ago. The campaign, which involved the creation and unveiling of the DSC’s mascot Champ, helped garner media attention and brand awareness.

Judging was based on the cohesiveness of marketing pieces, production quality of marketing collateral and creativity of the campaign.

In 2009, the DSC received the Outstanding Locally Create Event/Program award for the Detroit Sports Commission Prep Kickoff Classic, formerly known as the Big Day Prep Showdown.

“We first established the awards program in 2002 to recognize the good work that our members conduct in their communities. They are all making large contributions through the economic impact of their events and the leadership and expertise they provide,” said Don Schumacher, NASC executive director.

Learn more about the DSC at detroitsports.org.

Marty DobekDetroit Metro Convention and Visitors(313) 202-1977

MIAMI, May 6 (Reuters) - A depleted Chicago Bulls dug deep for another impressive display of character and collective strength as they stunned defending NBA champions Miami Heat 93-86 in the opening game of their Eastern Conference semi-final series on Monday.

On the night when LeBron James was presented with his fourth Most Valuable Player award from league commissioner David Stern, it was instead the more modest but seemingly tireless talent of Chicago's Jimmy Butler which proved decisive.

Butler played all 48 minutes for the third straight game and scored 21 points, while grabbing 14 rebounds and three assists.

On top of that, in the absence of the ailing Luol Deng, Butler guarded James, restricting him to just two points in the first half, a post-season career low for the Miami forward.

Although James stepped it up after the break, finishing with 24 points on 8-of-17 shooting, Butler inspired the Bulls to a fourth quarter rally as they roared back from a seven-point deficit to grab the early advantage in the best-of-seven series.

"I like the mental toughness of this team," said Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau, who was also unable to call on the services of injured Kirk Henrich and long-term absentee Derrick Rose.

"When you are facing adversity, you have to be mentally tough. But this is just one game. We are going to have to play much better in the next one," he added.

Butler, who came into the contest after playing every minute in Game Six and Saturday's Game Seven series decider against the Brooklyn Nets, epitomised that spirit.

"He is a tough kid," Thibodeau said. "He is mentally tough and that is what we need him to do right now. We're short-handed. We have a number of guys playing big minutes and that is what we need."

RUSTY HEAT

Miami's Dwyane Wade, returning from a knee injury which kept him out of Game Four of the series sweep over Milwaukee was impressed with the 23-year-old Butler, who is playing like a veteran in just his second year in the league.

"Jimmy is turning out to be a really good NBA player earlier in his career than some people expected. I think he is better than a lot of people think," he said.

Despite being the most dominant team in the NBA this season, the Heat suffered from what their fans had feared after seven full days of rest - rustiness.

Sweeping the Bucks earned the Heat that week off, while the Bulls were fighting past Brooklyn, and the unusually long break carried the danger of Miami losing their edge.

That certainly looked the case in the first half with Miami failing to make the most of their opportunities, but coach Erik Spoelstra was more concerned with the way his team lost the fourth quarter 35-24.

"We are not making any excuses for time off or anything else. With 35 points in the fourth quarter you are not going to win games in the playoffs giving that amount. We didn't close out the game in the way we are capable of," he said.

"This is going to be about who is going to impose their identity on the other team. They imposed their identity in this first game, no question. We did not," he added.

The defeat ended the Heat's franchise record-tying eight game post-season winning streak and was their second loss to Chicago at home this season.

Nate Robinson top scored for the Bulls with 27 points and the former New York Knicks and Boston Celtics guard said there was a unique team spirit to the current Chicago team.

"There is something special about this group. I don't know what it is but it just feels like we have been playing together for ten years - we just love to play for each other," he said.

The series continues with Game Two in Miami on Wednesday. (Editing by John O'Brien)

[More from BGR: ]

Verizon and Nokia have never clicked as partners. In recent years, Verizon has given strong support to Motorola, HTC and, since 2011, to Apples iPhone. But in Q1 2013, something surprising happened: Windows smartphone share at Verizon jumped to 5.1% from 0.2% in Q1 2012. This happened while the iPhones share slumped to 46% from 52% and BlackBerrys share crashed to 0.4% from 2.2%. In June, Verizon will launch the Lumia 928 flagship phone. Its a make-or-break moment for Nokia in North America because AT&T simply isnt going to work as the main partner. Verizons share of the US smartphone market is rising close to 40% roughly ten points above AT&T. Like Robb Stark, Nokia is compelled to court the House Frey, the owners of the bridge that spans the Trident.

[More from BGR: ]

Despite heavy promotional support for the Lumia 920 launch in November, the Windows smartphone market share at AT&T grew by only a baby step, to 5.3% in Q1 2013 from 4.7% in Q1 2012. The iPhone is diabolically powerful at AT&T, still grabbing 63% of its smartphone sales in an atypically weak quarter for Apple. Nokia cannot make a real impact in North America without a big hit at Verizon. AT&Ts strong dependence on the iPhone makes it barren ground for Windows phones. The new tactic ofcould help Nokia to build budget phone market share. But to get into double digit national smartphone share, it needs Verizon.

It is fascinating that Windows market share at Verizon during the last quarter bounced to precisely the same level as at AT&T even though Verizon sales were limited to rather boring budget Lumias. Verizon subscribers seem far more adventurous when it comes to OS switching. And now that HTC, BlackBerry and Apple are all stumbling simultaneously, Nokia is never going to get a better shot at strong carrier support. Of course, both HTC and BlackBerry are rolling out new models simultaneously with the Lumia 928. But both have lost the big store footprint they had built by having multiple hot models out at Verizon back in 2011.

The Verizon-Nokia relationship has been rocky for more than a decade, starting from the late 90s when Nokia would debut its hottest models at GSM carriers like Voicestream and Omnipoint. As a result, Verizon never promoted Nokia models strongly or gave them flagship treatment. In order to get strong support for the Lumia 928, Nokia will have to convince Verizon to break a 15 year habit of type casting Nokia models as grandma phones. The marketing and sales support for Lumia 928 will be of crucial importance, particularly compared with how strongly Verizon opts to push the new HTC and BlackBerry models.

This article was

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Sometimes you just can't wait for Comic-Con whether you're a fan or a filmmaker.

With the summer movie season now beginning in early May ("Iron Man 3" opens Friday), studios are co-opting the July pop-culture convention's model of stoking interest in anticipated films by bringing sneak-peeks of new material directly to super fans, who then, it is hoped, spread their enthusiasm via word-of-mouth and social media.

For "Star Trek: Into Darkness," which opens May 17, Paramount shared early photos and videos with Trekkies devoted enough to download an iPhone or Android app. Other aspiring blockbusters, including Disney's "The Lone Ranger" and Sony's "Elysium," were subjects of their own individual Comic-Con-style events recently: Studios invited fans to local theaters, where they heard directly from the films' stars and were the first to see the action-packed trailers and other select scenes.

Johnny Depp and Armie Hammer took questions from fans at "The Lone Ranger" event in Las Vegas in a segment streamed live online. Matt Damon and "District 9" writer-director Neill Blomkamp participated in the "Elyisum" showcase, held simultaneously in theaters in Los Angeles and Berlin. Only those who regularly follow the films online find out about such special events.

Studios value the approach because it allows them to reward devoted fans while building early buzz for their films. It also circumvents, in a way, the more traditional method of staging promotional events for entertainment media and then depending on those outlets to spread the news to fans.

There are no better ambassadors to get word-of-mouth going," said Marc Weinstock, Sony's co-president of worldwide marketing. "Movies are such a viral thing."

Asad Ayaz, senior vice president of marketing for Disney, said one aim of "The Lone Ranger" Las Vegas event last month was to generate as much international interest as possible in the film's trailer, which made its public debut there. Fans from as far away as China submitted questions for Depp, Hammer, director Gore Verbinski and producer Jerry Bruckheimer via Twitter during the online broadcast.

One wanted to know what other characters Depp wants to play.

"Carol Channing," the actor said. "I mean that. She's fantastic... Another guy that I would love to do the life story of is Don Rickles, which I don't know if he's well-known in China."

Such starry mini-screenings can help raise a film's social-media profile in the crowded summer marketplace, Ayaz said.

"When we did our event for 'The Lone Ranger,' 'Lone Ranger' was trending on Twitter worldwide and in the U.S. for several hours during and after the event, and that's because of fans tweeting," he said. "It's all about getting eyeballs on our trailer and getting people to see this amazing film, so the social-media aspect just makes it. It's a giant halo and it spreads the word."

"The Lone Ranger" opens July 3.

Weinstock said the positive Twitter response to the "Elysium" event was just what the studio had hoped for.

The film's writer-director, though, confessed that he'd rather keep its content under wraps until the movie opens in August, but that's not the way the marketplace works.

"I try to show as little as I can," Blomkamp told reporters after the fan screening. "The thing is, if you're a responsible, functioning filmmaker in the 21st century, you can't spend $100 million and then try to behave as though you're going to wrap it under a blanket... Rationally, I understand that people have to get to know about the film and word has to get out there. Personally, I don't really like it."

Not all film marketing experts are sold on the ultimate value of fan events. Ben Carlson, president of market tracking firm Fizziology, believes the biggest social-media boost still comes from online trailer releases.

"As soon as you put a good trailer out, it almost immediately becomes a trending topic on Twitter," he said, adding that in-person showcases like those held by Disney and Sony don't have the same social media impact.

"It's more for the influential film bloggers. It does some nice heavy-lifting there," he said. "I don't think the mainstream moviegoer who might be in Kansas City or Memphis or Helena, Mont., is going to necessarily be paying attention to what's happening at an event with a few thousand people, but they will read about it on Ain't It Cool News."

Carlson said the trailer for another anticipated summer release, Guillermo del Toro's "Pacific Rim," premiered for a group of fans before making its online debut, and it was the latter that resulted in a palpable Twitter bump.

"Instantly thousands and thousands of people were talking about it, and that's without any kind of special push to it at all," he said. "People just love the content."

Still, in a hyper-saturated media world, there's something about being the first to see something really cool, never mind seeing movie stars like Depp and Damon in person. Disney's Ayaz said he expects the studio to hold fan-focused events for future "tent pole" releases such as "Thor," ''Captain America" and "Maleficent." Sony previously held an event for "The Amazing Spider-Man," and is releasing the sequel next year.

"People are more distracted than ever before and they have a lot of different mediums to get access to our content, and what is more basic and more powerful than having a live event where you have your creative (people) the actual filmmakers and the actors and the talent from your film directly answering questions and showing their work to the fans?" Ayaz said. "It's a basic idea but it's still one of the most powerful ideas when you've got the goods and you've got a really good movie."

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter: www.twitter.com/APSandy .

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Online:

The Lone Ranger: http://disney.go.com/the-lone-ranger/

Elysium:http://www.itsbetterupthere.com/site/

Star Trek: Into Darkness: http://www.startrekmovie.com/

Pacific Rim: http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/

The Bay Psalm Book was printed in 1640 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is being sold from the collection of Boston's Old South Church to fund building repairs and sustain its ministry.

The church owns one other copy, and others are owned by Harvard and Yale universities and other institutions.

It is the first copy of the book to be offered for sale since 1947, when it achieved a record auction price for a book of $151,000. Sotheby's estimated it will sell for $15 million to $30 million at its New York auction on November 26.

The current auction record for a printed book was set in December 2010 when Sotheby's sold John James Audubon's "Birds of America" for $11,542,683 including commission.

"This little book of 1640 was precursor to Lexington and Concord, and, ultimately, to American political independence," said David Redden, chairman of Sotheby's books department.

Calling the book a "mythical rarity," Redden added that "it has become too rare to collect. Yet here it is today, this modest little book printed in the American wilderness but embodying the values that created our nation: political freedom and religious liberty."

Members of the church, a nonprofit organization dating back to 1669 that is a member of the Protestant denomination United Church of Christ, voted overwhelmingly in December to sell the rare tome.

Nancy Taylor, senior minister and chief executive of Old South Church, said in a statement: "We hope to increase our grants and outreach programs, as well as maintain our National Historic Landmark building" with the substantial proceeds.

The book will go on display in New York at Sotheby's from Friday through Sunday ahead of a traveling exhibition that will visit Philadelphia, Chicago, Los Angeles and Dallas in the coming months.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud; Editing by Eric Walsh)

Deadlines Dominic Patten contributed to this report.

At least they started the playoffs on a winning note.

Bryan Bickell scored in overtime on a two-on-one rush, and theBlackhawks escaped with a victory after dominating the regular season, beating the Minnesota Wild 2-1 Tuesday night.

Corey Crawford settled down after allowing a weak goal in the opening minutes. Marian Hossa also scored, and the Blackhawks took the early lead in this first-round series.

Game 2 is Friday at the United Center.

"We just needed to stay patient," Bickell said. "We were getting our opportunities. Not odd-man rushes like they were, but we got the one, and to capitalize on it is huge. With our speed, through the whole season a lot of teams were trying to shut us down and let us get frustrated."

The Blackhawks finally put this one away when Johnny Oduya chipped the puck off the boards up to Viktor Stalberg on the right side. Stalberg then dished it on the two-on-one rush to Bickell, who was all alone for the winning backhander at 16:35.

Big things are expected in Chicago after a spectacular regular season that included a record start and the team's first Presidents' Trophy since 1991.

The Blackhawks are eyeing a run to the Stanley Cup for the second time in four years. They have been eliminated in the first round the past two seasons after beating Philadelphia for the championship in 2010, and they realize that for all they accomplished thus far in 2013, they'll ultimately be judged by what happens in the playoffs.

"Everybody's patting ourselves on the back and we've got to prove it," coach Joel Quenneville said. "That's where we're at. I think that (being) satisfied with what we achieved doesn't do anything. I think we want to make sure that we're looking for bigger goals and that's playing better each and every game here and pick up the level of intensity for the playoff."

They seemingly caught a break before the game when Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom was scratched because of a leg injury suffered while reaching for a puck in the pregame warm-ups.

Josh Harding replaced him and more than held his own after being limited to just five games following a multiple sclerosis diagnosis last summer. Harding made 35 saves.

"Phenomenal," coach Mike Yeo said. "It's hard to sit here and try to paint an accurate picture of what he's gone through, because I have no idea, we have no idea.He's a guy that, certainly, for many reasons you're rooting for."

Harding didn't want to talk about his medical condition. But he did shrug off the late change, saying he was ready to play.

"After warm-up I was preparing just like I was going to play until somebody came and told me no, and no one came and told me, so I just went on with my business," he said.

As for Backstrom, Yeo didn't have much of an update, although he did say, "It was a bit of a curveball to say the least."

The Wild, trying to match what the Los Angeles Kings did a year ago and win the Stanley Cup as an eight seed, took the lead just under five minutes into the game when Cal Clutterbuck fooled Crawford with a soft shot from the left circle.

The goal on Minnesota's first shot brought back some bad memories for Blackhawks fans who remember him allowing several soft goals in the playoffs against Phoenix a year ago.

Hossa tied it just over two minutes into the second period, streaking down the left side, getting behind Minnesota's Jonas Brodin and firing the puck between Harding's pads after taking a feed from Patrick Kane.

Harding made a big save with his right pad from point-blank range on Kane after he beat Marco Scandella in the opening minutes of the third period to preserve the 1-1 tie.

Chicago appeared to take the lead midway through the third. Minnesota's Jared Spurgeon fell on a loose puck just outside the crease, and the Blackhawks kept swatting at it. Jonathan Toews knocked it into the net, but the whistle had already blown.

Blackhawks fans responded with some nasty chants, but they were letting out big sighs of relief two minutes later when a wraparound shot by Minnesota's Jason Zucker slid across the crease.

After five of their six playoff games against Phoenix last year went to overtime, the Blackhawks found themselves in a familiar spot.

They almost won it in OT when Hossa skated toward the net and drew Harding to the ice, but the goalie barely deflected his backhanded shot. Crawford then had a big blocker save on Zach Parise.

"We were able to battle through a lot today," Crawford said. "We battled through that first goal, had a couple of PKs (penalty kills) in overtime, one in the third there. Our guys did a solid job. It was definitely a good test for us."

Notes: Wild RW Jason Pominville sat out this game, after missing the final two of the regular season following an elbow to the chin by Dustin Brown of the Los Angeles Kings. ... Kane is sporting a playoff mullet again. "I think it's fun," he said. "It's good for a good laugh or two. It's something that's been a little bit of a tradition."The youthful looking Kane gained national attention when he grew the mullet for the championship run in 2010 and he went with it again the following year. He went with a beard, instead, last year. But on Tuesday, he was all business up front and party in the back. ... The Blackhawks were without G Ray Emery and Dave Bolland because of lower body injuries.

Hennes & Mauritz (H&M), the world's second-biggest apparel retailer after Zara owner Inditex, plans to expand its sports collection early next year to help broaden its offering and boost sales.

Olympics organizers say billions of people in over 200 countries watch the games. A team's kit can be as much a talking point as its success on track and field and can have an impact among viewers worldwide.

H&M said it would create outfits for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi 2014, and the Summer Olympics and Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro 2016.

It will also provide outfits for leisure and training in the Olympic village in a deal signed with the Swedish Olympic committees, the company said in a statement.

The Swedish athletes will give input to H&M's expanded sports range and a selection of clothes designed for the Olympic teams will be sold in stores and online around the time of the games, a H&M spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

The Olympics have developed a tradition of attracting famous designers and apparel retailers.

At the 2012 London summer games, Ralph Lauren designed the U.S. team uniforms, while UK high street fashion retailer Next and designer Stella McCartney clothed the British team.

H&M already has connections with the sporting world, providing Czech tennis player Tomas Berdych with his on-court kit this year.

It plans to develop a tennis-wear collection with Berdych and has developed an underwear collection with British soccer star David Beckham.

(Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by Tom Pfeiffer)

Police spokesman Robert Gibbs says a man in his 20s jumped over several pews at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church around noon Sunday and walked up to the choir area where he began his attack.

The injuries to the four church-goers weren't life-threatening. All four were being treated at hospitals.

An off-duty police officer and others at the church subdued the attacker and held him down until police arrived.

Some of those who were stabbed were members of the choir.

Gibbs says the attacker is in custody but that police don't yet know his identity, the motive for the stabbings, whether he had any ties to the victims or whether he regularly attended the church.

The stabbings occurred as the choir had just begun its closing hymns.

Archbishop of Santa Fe Michael Sheehan released a statement saying he was saddened by the attack. "I pray for all who have been harmed, their families, the parishioners and that nothing like this will ever happen again," Sheehan said.

The church didn't immediately return calls seeking comment on Sunday afternoon.