WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) —Democrats plan to make raising the minimum wage an issue in the 2014 campaign, U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said. Pelosi said Democrats will use the same message as they did in 2006, when
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) —President Barack Obama made his first call to Republican leaders in weeks to discuss $85 billion in looming U.S. spending cuts, the White House said. Obama spoke with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and House
BERLIN, Feb. 19 (UPI) — Tony Sheridan, a singer who collaborated with the Beatles during their formative years, has died in Hamburg, Germany, his family said on Facebook. He was 72. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr’s
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 19 (UPI) — Prince Michael Jackson, the 16-year-old son of late U.S. pop music icon Michael Jackson, is working as a special correspondent for TV’s “Entertainment Tonight.” Jackson began his new job Monday. One of his first
NEW YORK, Feb. 17 (UPI) — Oscar-winning actor Forest Whitaker said he was accused of shoplifting and was publicly frisked inside a deli in Manhattan. The New York Post said Whitaker, in town to film “Black Nativity,” was about to
LOS ANGELES, Feb. 15 (UPI) — Hollywood screen icon Harrison Ford is to reprise his role of intergalactic smuggler Han Solo in an upcoming “Star Wars” sequel, Latino Review reported Friday. Ford, 70, played the handsome, wisecracking hero in “Star
SIMI VALLEY, Calif., Feb. 12 (UPI) — “Storage Wars” cast member Mark Balelo has committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in Simi Valley, Calif., TMZ reported. One of Balelo’s employees found his body Monday morning in his car, which was
WASHINGTON, Feb. 11 (UPI) — Weapons allegedly sent by Iran to anti-government forces in Yemen are “clearly” meant as a threat to Yemen and the region, the U.S. State Department said. The State Department commended the government in Yemen after
COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 8 (UPI) — A family in southern Ohio has asked a federal court to order the local school board to remove a portrait of Jesus from a public middle school. The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio
WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 (UPI) — Business executive and Hyatt Hotels heiress Penny Pritzker is the leading candidate to be the next U.S. commerce secretary, people familiar with the matter say. Pritzker, a close personal friend of President Barack Obama and
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) — The U.S. Treasury Department Wednesday announced additional sanctions aimed at limiting Iran’s access to oil revenues and punishing its censorship activities. The sanctions, announced Wednesday, target the Central Bank of Iran and other Iranian financial
CAIRO, Feb. 6 (UPI) — The Iranian people are ready to destroy Israel, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on the sidelines of the Islamic summit in Cairo. “The Iranian people are ready to march on Israel to destroy it if
WASHINGTON, Feb. 5 (UPI) —U.S. President Obama’s meetings with two groups Tuesday were to focus on getting a bipartisan immigration reform bill passed this year, the White House said. Obama was to meet with 16 progressive and labor leaders in
(UPI) — One of the deadliest incidents in the history of the Mexican energy industry is unlikely to have much of a long-term effect, an analyst said. At least 34 people were killed in an explosion at the Mexico City
WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 (UPI) — The Boy Scouts of America should end its ban on gays, President Barack Obama said as the Scouts’ board was to mull lifting the ban at a meeting to begin Monday. “Yes,” Obama said in
HOLLYWOOD, Feb. 3 (UPI) — Ben Affleck won the best director award for his film “Argo” at the Directors Guild of America Awards ceremony in Hollywood. “I don’t think this makes me a real director, but I think it means
UPI_ “Fiscal cliff” averted (sort of). Check. Debt ceiling postponed. Check. Credit rating reduction avoided. Check. Economy apparently stabilized for now. Check. Deficit reduction? Hmmmm. The partisan arguments that characterized discussions related to averting the fiscal cliff and vanished when
(UPI)- Turkish security forces arrested al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law, Suleiman Abu Gheith, in Ankara, Turkish media agencies reported. The CIA tipped off Turkish authorities to Gheith’s whereabouts, Afghanistan’s Khaama Press reported Saturday. The CIA told the Turkish National
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (UPI) — The Washington Post has joined the list of targets attacked by Chinese hackers that includes The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, the Times reported. The Times reported Wednesday its computer systems had
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 30 (UPI) — Two-time Oscar winner Barbra Streisand is to sing at next month’s Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles, the telecast’s producers announced Wednesday. This will be the second time the actress, film director and
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Jan. 25 (UPI) —Republicans must “stop being the stupid party,” recognize voter maturity and “go after every single vote,” Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal told party members. But the party can come back by returning to its conservative principles,
WASHINGTON, Jan. 24 (UPI) —A retooled U.S. assault-weapons ban to be introduced Thursday was to include handguns and shotguns in addition to rifles, The Washington Times reported. The bill, by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., titled “The Assault Weapons Ban of
MALIBU, Calif., Jan. 18 (UPI) — Patrick Leach, son of a co-creator of the PBS children’s program “Barney and Friends,” was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder in California, police said. Leach, 27, of Malibu, Calif., was arrested Jan. 9
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 (UPI) — Sarah Jessica Parker’s portrayal of U.S. feminist trailblazer Gloria Steinem has been cut from the porn-themed film “Lovelace,” its co-directors told EW.com. “Mamma Mia!” and “Les Miserables” actress Amanda Seyfried plays porn star Linda
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 15 (UPI) — Lee “Uncle Poodle” Thompson from the reality show “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” told the Atlanta magazine Fenuxe he was diagnosed as HIV-positive last year. “I was adamant about getting my HIV status checked
