The Effects of a Minimum-Wage Increase on Employment and Family Income  —  Increasing the minimum wage would have two principal effects on low-wage workers.  Most of them would receive higher pay that would increase their family's income, and some of those families would see their income rise above the federal poverty threshold.

Baca apologizes for calling Negrete McLeod a ‘bimbo’  —  Former Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) is apologizing for calling Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Calif.) “some bimbo” after the woman who defeated him last year announced her retirement.  —  In an interview earlier Tuesday with The Hill …

Kiev Protesters Set Square Ablaze to Thwart Police  —  KIEV, Ukraine — With hundreds of riot police officers advancing from all sides after a day of deadly mayhem here in the Ukrainian capital, antigovernment protesters mounted a final desperate and seemingly doomed act of defiance late on Tuesday evening …

President Obama Pens Personal Apology to an Art Historian  —  Art historian Ann Collins Johns of the University of Texas at Austin (image used with permission)  —  Professor Ann Collins Johns at the University of Texas at Austin was just as peeved as many people were about President Barack Obama's knock on art history majors.

Scott Brown no longer under contract with Fox News  —  Ex-senator mum on whether he will run in N.H.  —  Former US senator Scott Brown, a frequent presence on Fox News, is no longer under contract with the widely watched cable station, a development sure to fan flames of speculation about his potential US Senate bid in New Hampshire.

Release Detail  —  February 19, 2014 - Ohio Gov Can't Break Free Of Unknown Challenger, Quinnipiac University Poll Finds; Voters Divided On Death Penalty  —  Watch Video: Assistant Director Tim Malloy discusses poll results  —  Ohio Gov. John Kasich has a 51 - 36 percent job approval rating …

Scott Walker, eyeing 2016, faces fallout from probes as ex-aide's e-mails are released  —  MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who has been eyeing a 2016 presidential run since his battles with labor unions made him a Republican star, is in the midst of dealing with the fallout …

Homeland Security is seeking a national license plate tracking system  —  The Department of Homeland Security wants a private company to provide a national license-plate tracking system that would give the agency access to vast amounts of information from commercial and law enforcement tag readers …

It's True: Liberals Like Cats More Than Conservatives Do  —  Preferences for pets or particular kinds of food can accurately predict partisanship, research from more than 200,000 TIME readers shows  —  In January, TIME ran a 12-question quiz that guessed your politics based on things …

The IRS targets political speech again  —  Discouraging debate and curbing information … The Internal Revenue Service is used to being universally disliked every April 15.  But this year, the widespread denunciations have started early, and for good reason.

Who are the real thugs?  —  Let's play a game.  It's called: “Who's the Thug?”  —  It's the day after Thanksgiving 2012, and four teenagers are sitting in a Dodge Durango outside a convenience store in Jacksonville, Fla.  —  The Durango is red, which is unimportant.  The teenagers are black, which is important.

McCain eyes Armed Services Committee  —  Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) on Tuesday night said if Republicans win control of the Senate this year, he would want to be chairman of the Armed Services Committee.  —  McCain was asked in an interview on Phoenix radio station KFYI's “The Mike Broomhead Show” …

Obamacare changes may include extension of risk corridors  —  CONGRESS OBAMACARE HEALTH CARE PENNAVE  —  The Obama Administration may extend beyond 2016 a federal reimbursement program for health insurance companies that lose money by participating in the newly created health care exchanges.

Why the Archbishop of Westminster is wrong about welfare  —  Our plan for Britain is not just about saving money, but about doing what is right, says the Prime Minister  —  It is sometimes said that the Church should not get involved in politics.  I disagree.

Jim Crow laws for gays and lesbians?  Column  —  Kansas legislation could make discrimination easy.  —  What's the matter with Kansas?  A bill protecting the religious freedom of businesses and individuals to refuse services to same-sex couples passed the state House of Representatives last week.

Loan Complaints by Homeowners Rise Once More  —  A growing number of homeowners trying to avert foreclosure are confronting problems on a new front as the mortgage industry undergoes a seismic shift.  —  Shoddy paperwork, erroneous fees and wrongful evictions — the same abuses that dogged …

Soldier convicted in rape, murder of Iraqi girl is found hanged  —  Steven Dale Green in a booking mug shot taken at the Mecklenburg County Jail in Charlotte, N.C., in July 2006.  (Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office / July 3, 2006)  —  This post has been updated.  See below for details.

Venezuela opposition leader surrenders, protesters flood streets  —  (Reuters) - Venezuelan security forces arrested opposition leader Leopoldo Lopez on Tuesday on charges of fomenting unrest that has killed at least four people, bringing tens of thousands of angry supporters onto the streets of Caracas.

Obama's stimulus became a special-interest feeding frenzy  —  President Obama came into office just over five years ago promising to reduce the power of corporate lobbyists and to increase government's role in the economy.  —  In his first month, he showed that the two promises were incompatible.

Teachers could spank harder under bill pending in KS Legislature  —  A Kansas lawmaker wants to give school teachers and caregivers more power to spank children.  —  Kansas House member Gail Finney, D-Wichita, said the bill is designed to restore parental rights.

Low-Wage Workers Have Experienced Wage Erosion in Nearly Every State  —  Though six years have passed since the Great Recession officially began in December 2007 and four-and-a-half years since its official end in June 2009, U.S. workers continue to feel the impact of the recession …