Free Republic

House Democrats said Thursday they will try to highlight GOP resistance to a higher minimum wage with a tactical maneuver meant to bring new attention to an issue they consider a political winner. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said her party will push a “discharge petition” when Congress returns from its recess on Feb. 24. If Democrats can persuade roughly two dozen Republicans to sign the petition, it would force GOP leaders to allow a House vote on the wage issue. Most Republican lawmakers oppose a higher minimum wage. They say it prompts employers to cut down on hiring, a...

UK Christmas billboard campaign showing Jesus in the womb has drawn fire from secularists and praise from Christian leaders and the pro-life lobby in Great Britain LONDON, UK - The "Ultrasound Jesus," a poster which shows a scan of a child in the womb with a halo above its head with the slogan, "He's on his way: Christmas starts with Christ," has provoked a storm of protests from secularists and praise from many Christian leaders and the pro-life lobby in the UK.

A sports agent has been charged with smuggling Cuban baseball players into the US, with the aim of getting them signed by America’s top teams.Gustavo “Gus” Dominguez is accused of hiring four men to use a speedboat to carry 19 Cubans to Florida in 2004, five of whom were talented baseball players. Experts say that the case, the first time a baseball agent has been charged with smuggling, reveals the dark side of businessmen who represent defectors from Cuba, where baseball is the national sport. For years agents have helped Cubans to get signed by baseball teams once they were...

Reuters - Prostitutes working in a Berlin brothel have been offered employment contracts with a 40-hour working week and a profit-sharing scheme, a German newspaper reported Monday. Bild newspaper said Felicitas Weigmann, the owner of the posh Berlin brothel "Cafe Pssst!," drew up the first job contracts for her staff after the German parliament passed a law last year giving prostitutes new employment rights. In exchange for a regular 40-hour week, prostitutes at "Cafe Pssst!" are entitled to a basic wage of 600 euros per month plus a "profit sharing" payment of 40 euros per client. They can, however, choose...