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CHICAGO (WLS) -- Chicago workers making minimum wage are set to get a raise starting next month. Starting July 1, the city's minimum wage will be $16.60 and the minimum wage for subsidized youth employment programs, the minimum wage will be $16.50. Under the One Fair Wage Ordinance, the wages of tipped workers such as restaurant servers, bartenders, bussers and runners who earn a subminimum wage of $12.62 per hour will increase by eight percent per year until it reaches parity with Chicago's standard hourly minimum wage on July 1, 2028. Other regulations for paid leave, paid sick time and...

Joy Behar told her co-hosts Wednesday on ABC’s “The View” that President Donald Trump’s plan to offer financial assistance to new mothers is to increase the number of “white children.” Partial transcript as follows: SUNNY HOSTIN: I want to reframe the issue a little bit because when I look at something like this, these proposals, I want to know why and I want to know who is making them. And so when I looked into that, they’re saying that the U.S. birth rate is declining, however, in 2024 there was a 1% increase in U.S. births, but that increase was...

On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) said that “If you believe in capitalism, like I do, if you believe that the market has given us this incredible country,” you should address healthcare costs, housing, child care, and reducing the amount of debt the U.S. has and Congress “should be reducing some of the burden on people who make less, but actually increasing some of the corporate taxes so we can bring more funds in to do something about the debt.” Klobuchar said, “If you believe in capitalism, like I do, if you believe that the...

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk announced a number of new initiatives to bolster defence in a speech in Warsaw, as European powers appear set to comply with U.S. President Donald Trump’s demands that the continent pay for its own protection rather than relying on America. Speaking before the Sjem parliament, Prime Minister Tusk declared Friday: “Hope is no substitute for strategy. Hope is a beautiful feeling, but in politics, it is often adjacent to naivety or illusion… Today, Europe is beginning to understand that since the United States expects much greater outlays, determination and courage from us, it must be...

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – The two political parties expected to form the next German government have agreed to loosen the country’s constitution restrictions on borrowing, enabling 1 trillion euros ($1.08 trillion) or more in spending on defense and infrastructure. It´s a major change in Germany´s debt-averse political culture, rejecting conventional economic wisdom that long dominated Europe´s biggest economy and one of the world´s wealthiest countries. Here are key facts about the debt brake and what the changes will mean for Germany and Europe. The debt brake was passed in 2009, when a global financial crisis led to sharp increase in...

The Washington, DC, area housing market has seen an increase in homes being listed for sale as more government employees have either been laid off or have accepted buyouts. According to Devon & Dustin Fox Homes website, “big changes” are happening in the Washington, DC, housing market as people are seeing an increase in homes being listed and “homes are sitting longer.” The median sale price of homes in the Washington, DC, housing market is reported to be around $600,000, a four percent increase year-over-year. Homes listed are reportedly staying on the market around 22 days, according to the Fox...

During an interview with Denver’s 9NEWS on Monday, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston stated that the city will cooperate with ICE on violent criminals and has and that all the requests for notification from ICE have usually been for violent criminals, but “If we see a dramatic expansion in the number of requests that come from this administration, versus the last, then we could re-evaluate. But right now, we honor those requests that come in because those requests almost always focus on violent criminals.” Johnston began by saying, “We will partner on violent criminals, as we have always done. In the...

Outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week” that there had been a “significant increase” in the past 10 years of homegrown violent extremism. Mayorkas said, “We have a heightened threat environment, as Director Wray and the attorney general both articulated, and we’ve been saying this for quite a number of months. We have not only the persistent threat of foreign terrorism that, of course, created the Department of Homeland Security, but we have adverse nation-states, and for the past 10 years, we’ve seen a significant increase in what we term homegrown violent extremism. It is...

Democrats this week touted their theme of “joy” at their convention, which took place in Chicago this week, but there is nothing joyful about Americans having to pay 14 percent more for airfare in the Biden-Harris America. According to data from the Consumer Price Index (CPI), the cost of airfare has increased 14 percent since both President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris — the latter of whom has been coronated as the top of the ticket candidate, shirking the will of 14 million voters who cast their ballot for Biden — in January 2021. In March 2022, one...

State Farm recently requested its largest home insurance rate increase to date, a move that would worsen the insurance crisis in California but also signaled that the company may be in financial trouble. State Farm General, the company’s California subsidiary, recently submitted a request to the California Department of Insurance to raise insurance rates for homeowners, condo owners and renters in the Golden State.

Robberies in New York City are surging, police data show. While most major crimes are down, including shootings and murders, robberies shot up 5.6% so far in 2024 over the same period in 2023 — to 5,522 from 5,228 as of May 5. Joseph Giacalone, a retired NYPD sergeant and adjunct professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, pointed out that robberies have a low arrest rate — with only about 25% of cases solved because victims typically don’t know their attackers.

As President Joe Biden visited Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, he called for an increase in taxes on the rich. “When I look at the economy, I don’t look at it through the eyes of Mar-a-Lago,” Biden said during his speech. “I look at it through the eyes of Scranton.” Biden explained that he wanted to make the tax code fair, in order to allow regular American citizens to keep more money in their pockets. In an attempt to make the tax code fairer, Biden suggested a 25% minimum tax rate for billionaires, while slamming former President Donald Trump for being...

On Aug. 14, 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. Eighty-eight years later, our Social Security system is among the most successful and popular government programs in history. Nearly every worker pays premiums (Federal Insurance Contributions or FICA) for Social Security. In return, they receive insurance benefits when they retire, become disabled, or lose a family breadwinner. Social Security is secure, efficient, and the most important source of retirement income for the vast majority of Americans. Social Security does have one major flaw, though: Its benefits are too low. The average Social Security benefit is only $1,700...

House Republicans’ go-it-alone debt limit bill would pair a $1.5 trillion increase in the debt ceiling expected to last into next year with $4.5 trillion in savings, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said Wednesday. The bill unveiled Wednesday, dubbed the Limit, Save, Grow Act, proposes reverting discretionary spending for non-defense programs to fiscal year 2022 levels, while proposing limiting growth to 1 percent annually over the next decade. It will raise the debt limit by $1.5 trillion or through March 31, 2024, whichever comes first, McCarthy told reporters.

A Duke Energy Corp. subsidiary for North Carolina electric customers has asked state regulators to let them raise residential rates by 16.6% in the coming months largely to recover their fuel costs, which it said soared mainly from natural gas prices last year. Duke Energy Carolinas serves about 2 million households and businesses in western and central North Carolina. It said Wednesday that if the request is approved by the state Utilities Commission, the typical residential customer's monthly bill would increase from $115.01 to a little over $134.11. The Charlotte-based utility emphasized such approved requests don't widen anticipated profits, but...

(NEXSTAR) – Millions of America’s older adults will see a bump in the amount they receive in monthly Social Security benefits, starting in January. The increase in payments is the largest in decades at 8.7%, and is designed to help offset the soaring inflation that would otherwise limit recipients’ purchasing power. The bump in benefits is aptly titled a cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA. On average, Social Security benefits will increase in January by more than $140 per month, according to the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Driving up prices are supply troubles with natural gas, used in New England’s gas distribution and electric systems. November is here, and so are higher utility rates for Massachusetts customers. The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities has approved suppliers’ new gas and electric rates, WCVB reported, with bills expected to rise after new rates went into effect Tuesday. National Grid previously warned residential heating customers that they could see their bills increase 22% or 24% from last winter, depending on whether they fall under Boston Gas or Colonial Gas. Massachusetts’ other major utility company, Eversource, similarly predicted that average residential...

Cancer begins when genetic changes interfere with the normal replication and replacement of cells in the body. Cells start to grow uncontrollably and may form a tumour. It is the No. 2 leading cause of death in the United States.Unfortunately, it appears the disease may be on the rise thanks to the experimental Covid-19 injections. Because official U.S. Government data confirms the risk of developing cancer following Covid-19 vaccination increases by a shocking 143,233%. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) hosts a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) which contains historical data on adverse reactions reported against every vaccine that...

President Joe Biden called on U.S. oil refiners to produce more gasoline and diesel Wednesday, warning because they are not doing so their profits have tripled as Americans struggle with record high gas prices. But the federal government that Biden heads reported that refineries are already running at capacity and face other limits following the coronavirus pandemic.

Gas prices have increased by over 47 cents in the last month alone as the U.S. continues to smash gas price records day by day under President Joe Biden’s leadership. On Wednesday, May 25, the U.S. recorded yet another all-time high, as the average price of gas stands at $4.599 for regular gas. This reflects an over 47 cent rise in the last month alone. One month ago, the gas price average stood at $4.123. Some of the states experiencing the worst average gas prices include Alaska, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington, all of which have averages above $5.00 per...