Missouri lawmakers stop cities from raising minimum wage
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Reuters) – Missouri’s majority Republican legislature voted on Wednesday to block Kansas City, St. Louis and other municipalities from raising minimum wages above the state’s ceiling, overriding a veto of the bill by Governor Jay Nixo…
Wal-Mart worker group splits in two; both sides vow to continue wage fight
CHICAGO/LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A Wal-Mart Stores Inc worker group that has been one of the loudest voices pushing the retailer to boost wages and improve conditions has splintered over a disagreement about funding and strategic direction, according to…
Obama invites Texas student arrested for homemade clock to White House
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – A Texas teenager taken away in handcuffs this week for bringing to his Dallas-area school a homemade clock that staff mistook for a bomb won a personal invitation from President Barack Obama on Wednesday to visit the White Hou…
Alaska residents to receive record payment from oil royalty fund
(Reuters) – Alaska will give each resident more than $2,000 next month as the annual payout from an oil wealth trust fund, a state revenue official said on Wednesday, a record amount despite the collapse in oil prices last year.
U.S. budget woes send ‘wrong message’ to potential foes: Defense Secretary
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (Reuters) – U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter on Wednesday warned that continued uncertainty about U.S. military spending levels would send “the wrong message at the wrong time” when Russia and China are rapidly advancing their tec…
Obama presses for U.S. funding bill amid Republican disarray
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Barack Obama urged Congress on Wednesday to avoid shutting down the government starting on Oct. 1, as Republicans in the House of Representatives struggled to get enough votes to pass a bill to fund it.
Exclusive: Target pharmacy workers form union, first in company’s history
CHICAGO (Reuters) – A group of pharmacy workers within Target Corp’s store in Brooklyn, New York, have won a vote to form a microunion, making it the first unionized store at the retailer since its inception in 1902.
Pentagon sees risk in F-35 fighter’s complex logistics program
NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. (Reuters) – Long delays in Lockheed Martin Corp’s development of a computer-based logistics system for the F-35 fighter jet pose the biggest threat to the U.S. Air Force’s plan to declare the aircraft ready for combat next summer, …
Tsunami watch issued for Hawaii following Chile quake
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A tsunami watch was issued on Wednesday for Hawaii following a magnitude 8.3 earthquake off the coast of Chile, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said.
Wyoming couple charged in death of boy ‘taught lesson’ about alcohol
SALMON, Idaho (Reuters) – A Wyoming woman and her husband have been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the alcohol poisoning death of her 16-year-old son, whom they plied with mixed drinks and shots of scotch to teach him a lesson about drinking, authorities said on Wednesday.
