The COVID-19 pandemic stopped the U.S. economy in its tracks, driving unemployment to double-digits and shutting employers from coast to coast. But it also had another effect for some Americans: Wages for low-paid workers surged at their fastest rate in 40 years, interrupting a decades-long period of stagnation. Between 2019 …

Washington — President Biden issued the first veto of his presidency on Monday, rejecting a bill that would have nixed a Department of Labor rule that gives room for retirement plan managers to consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in their investment decisions.  “There is extensive evidence showing that …

In the summer of 1976 three young men from wealthy families kidnapped a school bus full of children in the small town of Chowchilla, California. Twenty-six children ages 5 through 14 and their bus driver were on their way home from summer school when they were taken hostage at gunpoint. …

Washington — Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell was discharged from the hospital on Monday after suffering a concussion and rib fracture, but he will continue being treated at an inpatient rehabilitation facility, his office said.  “Leader McConnell’s concussion recovery is proceeding well,” his spokesman David Popp said in a news …

Arkansas is rolling back some child labor protections after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders this week signed a new law to make it easier for children under 16 to get hired.  The new law is part of a push by some states to loosen child labor rules at a time the …

Next month’s scheduled execution of a Texas death row inmate, whose attorneys say gouged out both of his eyes – each a separate incident – because of severe mental illness, was delayed by a judge on Tuesday. Andre Thomas had been set to be executed on April 5, sentenced to …

Washington — House Republicans on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to release more information about its handling of documents marked classified found in a private office once used by President Biden. The request from Republican House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer came after the committee interviewed Gary Stern, the …

A Michigan man has been arrested after using social media to threaten to kill Jewish members of the state’s government, according to an FBI affidavit. Michigan’s attorney general, Dana Nessel, said on Twitter Thursday that she was told that she was one of the targets of the “heavily armed” suspect. …

Netflix’s “Stranger Things” stage play will debut in London theaters later this year, offering up a prequel to the events of the hit sci-fi series, the company announced Wednesday.  The play, titled “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” is Netflix’s first ever live stage production.  The stage show, set in the …

A pregnant Illinois woman was beaten, carjacked and run over in her driveway as her car was stolen — with her 2-year-old son in the backseat, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. The incident unfolded around 3:35 p.m. on Thursday when deputies responded to a residence in the 16000 …