Kaylee Feight talks about the impact of a minimum wage increase on her job at Quiznos in Helena, Mont., in Dec. Montana's minimum wage workers are getting a small pay raise on New Year's Day when an automatic cost-of-living increase takes effect. (Matt Gouras/AP)
6:43 pm ET -Nine states adjust minimum wage yearly to account for inflation and a tenth passed a new law raising minimum wage. Experts still debate minimum wage's impact on the economy.
Politics (View all)
- 'Fiscal cliff' deal: After rush of relief, debt ceiling clash already looms
- House Republicans' 'fiscal cliff' gripe: When will we ever get spending cuts? (+video)
- New laws on New Year's Day, from gay marriage to ‘Caylee’s Law’
- In 'fiscal cliff' deal, Joe Biden upstages President Obama (+ video)
- Dancing troupe of middle-class taxpayers: Obama's 'fiscal cliff' trump card?
- 'Dairy cliff'? Milk prices poised to spike unless Congress acts.
- Obama, Hillary Clinton top Gallup's most admired: Who else is on the list?
- How much do you know about US entitlement programs? Take our quiz.
- 'Fiscal cliff': How far apart are the sides now on tax cut deal?
- Fiscal cliff: 48 hours to go and Senate negotiations slow to a crawl
More Politics
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Obama, Hillary Clinton top Gallup's most admired: Who else is on the list?
President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both extended their winning streaks as the man and woman most admired by Americans. The women's list is more diverse than the men's.
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How much do you know about US entitlement programs? Take our quiz.
The push to reform entitlement programs is at the heart of debates about the future of the US budget. They include Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (food stamps), and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (welfare).
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'Fiscal cliff': How far apart are the sides now on tax cut deal?
Both sides have appeared to come closer together on Bush-era tax cuts, but many other issues remain, and Senate majority leader Harry Reid still isn't saying much publicly.
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Fiscal cliff: 48 hours to go and Senate negotiations slow to a crawl
A late-breaking Republican demand to cut Social Security benefits through an alternative method of calculating inflation adjustments has put negotiations at an impasse.
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Obama keeps up the pressure as Senators Reid and McConnell negotiate 'fiscal cliff'
President Obama appeared on 'Meet the Press' Sunday as Senators Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell tried to work out a last-minute deal to avoid plunging over the 'fiscal cliff.'
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GOP 'fiscal cliff' endgame: Let big government sting the middle class?
For some tea party Republicans, part of the political calculation ahead of the 2014 elections is whether going off the fiscal cliff would spell political disaster or instead be seen as a return to principled governance.
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Three (thin) reasons why Congress could yet avoid the fiscal cliff
A deadline, the promise of a House vote on whatever the Senate can produce, and a sharp reaction on Wall Street boost prospects that gridlocked lawmakers will act to avert at least some aspects of the fiscal cliff by Jan. 1.
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'Fiscal cliff' meeting at White House: Will it be 'Lincoln' moment for Obama?
Many Senate Republicans say that with Congress deadlocked on averting the fiscal cliff, it is up to Obama to force a deal. The lesson from the movie 'Lincoln,' they say, is 'the president has to lead.'
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Wind energy: Boom sputters as industry tax credit is set to expire
Congress has so far not extended the tax credit for wind energy, resulting in the layoffs of thousands of workers. Communities that a few years ago were elated to attract a promising new industry are left wondering what will the future bring.
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Focus
Immigration reform: Is 'amnesty' a possibility now?Congress seems primed to address immigration reform in 2013, and even a path to citizenship – which critics deride as 'amnesty' for illegals – may be on the table. The shift in the national conversation came suddenly. Here's why.
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'Fiscal cliff': Finger-pointing furiously, Congress slouches toward deadline
Speaker Boehner, who called the House back into session Sunday evening, said Thursday it was up to the Senate to act, while majority leader Reid spoke on the Senate floor of a 'dysfunctional' GOP caucus.
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‘Fiscal cliff’: Will Wall Street light a fire under Congress?
So far at least, many on Wall Street seem to think that no matter what happens over the next few days with the fiscal cliff, Congress will still come through early in the new year.
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Chuck Hagel: why his candidacy for Defense post is losing altitude
Critics of Chuck Hagel's potential candidacy have focused on remarks he made years ago about Israel, Iran, and Hamas. Some even called him anti-Semitic, a charge branded as outrageous, even by other critics.
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'Fiscal cliff': Is Washington missing its chance to 'go big'?
President Obama and Congress are preparing to have another go at a deal on the fiscal cliff, but more and more it's looking like an opportunity for something grand to be wasted.
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Home for the holidays: Fewer US troops are absent this year
Christmas 2012 marks the smallest deployment of combat troops abroad in at least five years, as the war in Iraq ends and US forces deployed to Afghanistan have been drawing down.
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Gloomy predictions as Washington approaches the 'fiscal cliff'
It's still possible that the 'fiscal cliff' with its automatic tax increases and across-the-board spending cuts can be avoided. But the clock is ticking toward Jan.1, and most lawmakers are pessimistic.
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NRA’s LaPierre doesn’t back down from ‘crazy’ guns-in-schools proposal
On Sunday, NRA chief Wayne LaPierre repeated his claim that 'the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.' Opponents of armed guards in schools pushed back, but passing stricter gun control laws is an uphill fight.
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CIA: ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ not a realistic portrayal of hunt for Osama bin Laden
The CIA says scenes of torture in the new film 'Zero Dark Thirty' are not an accurate portrayal of the hunt for Osama bin Laden. This follows similar criticism from three senior US senators who say the film is 'grossly inaccurate and misleading'.
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In 'fiscal cliff' fight, Obama gets better marks than Boehner
President Obama's approval rating is at a three-year high; Speaker Boehner's is at an all-time low, and a majority of Americans view the GOP as too extreme. Is Boehner's position in danger?
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Is the NRA push for guns in schools crazy? It depends on where you live.
Reaction to the NRA’s controversial proposal to have armed guards in all schools illustrates the regional divide over guns – how and even whether to control the nation’s private arsenal.
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Armed guards in schools? Reaction to NRA is swift and strong.
Most gun control advocates rejected out of hand the NRA call for armed guards in every school in the country. New York Mayor Bloomberg said it offered 'a paranoid, dystopian vision' of America.
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NRA press conference: Put armed guards in schools (+video)
At a rare NRA press conference, the group's leaders implored the nation to protect schoolchildren with armed guards. The NRA also blamed media for misreporting on guns and promoting violence.
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John Boehner plays down setback of his fiscal 'fallback' plan
House Speaker John Boehner acknowledged Friday that too many GOP lawmakers saw his bill, which would have let tax cuts lapse for millionaires, as a tax hike. But the setback won't affect 'fiscal cliff' talks with Obama, he says.
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NRA's Sandy Hook press conference: What can it say?
On Friday, the National Rifle Association will hold a rare news conference – a sign that the Sandy Hook massacre has put the gun-rights organization in a tough position.
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Will GOP's 'Plan B' push Obama closer to 'fiscal cliff' deal?
House Republican leaders hope to pass their own 'fiscal cliff' bill Thursday. But Obama and Senate Democrats are solidly against the plan, which could leave the sides no nearer a deal.
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Sandy Hook shooting: why Obama is acting fast (+video)
President Obama announced a White House-led effort that will send a proposal to Congress in a matter of weeks, focusing on firearms as well as mental health, school safety, and law enforcement.
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'Economically catastrophic' to delay raising debt ceiling, warns top Democrat
Democratic budget leader Rep. Chris Van Hollen urges that the national debt ceiling be raised as part of the year-end talks to avoid the 'fiscal cliff,' rather than waiting until late winter to address it.
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