Government And Institutions

Momentum is building for a $15-an-hour minimum wage in Connecticut, at least for some workers, given the formation of a new low-wage worker advisory panel and this week's recommendation to raise pay for fast-food workers in neighboring New York, according to some state lawmakers and activists.

Looking at the big picture, the financial health of Social Security and Medicare doesn't appear to have worsened.

A Senate panel has voted to make it easier for businesses that legally produce and sell marijuana to do business with banks and other financial services providers.

UPPAbaby is recalling 71,000 strollers and seats because of a choking hazard, saying children could bite off a piece of the stroller's foam crossbar, according to federal regulators.

The government's biggest small business loan program is on hold after running out of money.

Puerto Rico's power company has rejected a new proposal from a bondholders group that calls for an $8.1 billion debt exchange amid growing concerns the public agency could be the first one in the U.S. territory to go bankrupt.

As President Barack Obama returns to Africa this week, his signature program to help the continent double its access to electricity is in jeopardy, undermined by Congress' refusal to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank.

As President Barack Obama returns to Africa this week, his major initiative to help the continent double access to electricity is in jeopardy, undermined by Congress.

Greece's radical left-led government emerged bloodied but alive early Thursday from a key vote in parliament, which overwhelmingly approved new creditor-demanded reforms despite a revolt among hardliners in the main coalition partner.

Lax oversight at the IRS increases the risk that political and religious groups could be unfairly targeted for audits, government investigators say in a report that raises concerns about an IRS division that has been under scrutiny for singling out conservative organizations.

Figures on government spending and debt (last six digits are eliminated).

The European Union has opened an antitrust case against six major U.S. movie studios for preventing British satellite broadcaster Sky from showing their products outside the U.K. and Ireland.

General Motors Co. is looking past last year's safety recalls of 36 million vehicles worldwide as recall costs continue to shrink.

The Labor Department reports on the number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Thursday.

States could no longer require labels on genetically modified foods under legislation the House is considering.

Scientists have developed a vaccine strain that is 100 percent effective in protecting chickens from bird flu and testing is underway to see if it protects turkeys.

The Senate agreed Wednesday to take up a sweeping transportation bill a little over a week before states will face a cutoff of highway and transit aid in the middle of the summer construction season.

Senate Republicans are trying to use a must-do spending bill to advance legislation significantly rewriting landmark 2010 legislation that tightened regulation of the financial services industry.

The government says people who receive Social Security disability face steep benefit cuts next year unless Congress acts.

The government spends $900 million a year to train Kentucky workers, yet just 8 percent of employers say the state's workforce has "good skills" according to a new report from the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce.