What do the following names and phrases have in common?

1. Lifetime membership
2. Coming against
3. Eli Lily and Company
4. Headline news
5. Scenes From A Mall
6. Singin' in the Rain
7. Bear a resemblance to
8. Claude Debussy
9. Am I missing something?

10. Royal Albert Hall

HINT:
It has to do with US geography.

Answers:

Each clue contains the postal abbreviation of a US state twice, in consecutive order:

1. me - Maine
2. ga - Georgia
3. iL/il - Illinois
4. ne - Nebraska
5. mA/Ma - Massachusetts
6. in - Indiana
7. ar - Arkansas
8. de/De - Delaware
9. mI/mi - Michigan 
10. al/Al - Alabama

Credit: NY Times Crossword
Frank Longo
TWIN STATES