Feed items
President Obama today ordered federal agencies to develop new rules to address the handling and storage of industrial chemicals such as the ammonia nitrate fertilizer that caught fire and exploded in West, Texas, killing 15 and leveling large portions of the town in April. AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said the executive order was:Urgently needed to improve chemical safety and security throughout the country...and provides the direction and roadmap to address chemical hazards.
The U.S. House of Representatives joined forces with the Senate late yesterday to temporarily lower federal student loan interest rates. In a show of bipartisan force, the House voted to provide 7 million students and their families with a measure of relief as they prepare to finance their futures this fall.
President Barack Obama on Thursday issued an executive order aimed at improving the safety of the nation’s chemical facilities following April’s deadly explosion at a Texas fertilizer plant that killed 15 people and leveled much of the small town.
Earlier this year the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its annual report card about the health of the nation's infrastructure, giving the U.S. an overall grade of "D+" and stating that $3.6 trillion in investment is needed by 2020 to avoid catastrophes that could cost lives and cripple local economies. Not only would this investment protect lives, it would also boost job creation at a time when the economy is still struggling to get back to full employment. Here are 14 of the most critical areas the U.S. needs to invest in before it becomes too late to prevent needless deaths, according to ASCE.
Outside the Cannon House Office Building this afternoon, immigration activists, including AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Arlene Holt Baker and Communications Workers of America (CWA) President Larry Cohen, took arrest for blocking traffic during a sit-in protest.
Newly released photos meant to portray the softer, human side of James “Whitey” Bulger include a picture of the Boston crime boss hanging with a priest defrocked by the Catholic Church for allegedly sexually abusing teenagers, according to an attorney who represented the accusers.
Casey Anthony has agreed to pay $25,000 to her bankruptcy estate to avoid having to sell her life story. A judge in her bankruptcy case in Tampa approved the agreement between Anthony and her bankruptcy trustee in court papers made public Wednesday.
In late July, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) made widely condemned remarks that disparaged immigrants, saying that "for every one [DREAMer] who’s a valedictorian, there’s another hundred out there who weigh a hundred and thirty pounds—and they’ve got calves the size of cantaloupes because they’re hauling seventy-five pounds of marijuana across the desert.” Sens. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are responding to the comments by making the case for a comprehensive immigration policy with a road map to citizenship in King's home district in Iowa. The two senators will be holding a round-table discussion with DREAMers, farmers, students and small business owners from across the state.
Cleveland kidnapping victim Michelle Knight faced down her captor in court on Thursday as her fellow captives spoke through family members at Ariel Castro’s chilling sentencing hearing.“I cried every night, I was so alone,” Knight said. “Years turned into an eternity.
After nearly a month of mediated negotiations, Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) management held a news conference this week to proclaim it hadn’t budged an inch from its contract proposals that forced some 2,500 workers to strike last month. If an agreement isn’t reached soon, union officials say workers may be forced to hit the picket lines Monday morning.
