MINIMUM WAGE HIKEEVER since the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1938 set up a federal minimum wage, there have been few public issues in the U.S. on which there was so much agreement on the rightness of the goals and so much disagreement on how to get there. Last week the debate was fueled anew. In his economic message, President Kennedy urged Congress "to raise the minimum wage immediately to $1.15 an hour and to $1.25 within two years.'' The ...

As President Obama navigates his way through a series of issues as controversial as they are vital, he's getting a yellow flag from the American people. For the first time since Obama took office, fewer than half of Americans agree with the president on issues important to them, according to a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released Tuesday. A majority, 51 percent, disagree -- a jump of 10 percentage points since April. Despite the majority disagreement on issues, the poll also ...

The bombings, shootings and fighting across Iraq in nearly five years of war have left more than 85,000 Iraqis dead, a government ministry said in a report. The Iraqi Human Rights Ministry said 85,694 people were killed from 2004 to October 31, 2008, in the violence across the country. There were 147,195 people wounded during the same period. The figures include civilians and Iraqi security forces but not insurgents and militias. The review is considered the first official report ...