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AP Top Political News At 5:40 p.m. EST
Calls for action at Senate immigration hearing
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Lawmakers who are shaping the fate of the millions of people in the U.S. illegally were told by one Wednesday that it's time to rewrite immigration laws so that they, too, can live the American dream....
Obama minimum wage plan renews economic debate
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama's call to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour and boost it annually to keep pace with inflation is already getting a trial run. Ten states make similar cost-of-living adjustments, including Washington state, where workers earn at least $9.19 an hour, the highest minimum in the country....
Celebs, enviros arrested at WH pipeline protest
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Celebrities and environmental activists, including lawyer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and civil rights leader Julian Bond, were arrested Wednesday after tying themselves to the White House gate to protest the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada....
THE RESET: Obama agenda has many missing pieces
As most recent presidents have done, President Barack Obama hit the road to rally public support for his State of the Union wish list from the night before. But a lot of pieces are still missing....
GOP senator says she'll oppose Hagel confirmation
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A moderate Republican senator said Wednesday she'll oppose the confirmation of Chuck Hagel to become President Barack Obama's secretary of defense, while other GOP senators signaled they may delay a floor vote on the nomination unless the White House provides more information about the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya....
Boehner voices skepticism on budget prospects
WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Speaker John Boehner expressed doubts Wednesday that the Republican-led House and Democratic-controlled Senate could reach agreement on a budget and avoid automatic spending cuts that could jeopardize economic growth....
AP sources: US to back NKorea human rights probe
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The U.S. will support an international push at next month's U.N. Human Rights Council to initiate an inquiry into conditions in North Korea, U.S. officials said Wednesday....
Obama pitches manufacturing plan on plant tour
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) -- Striking a decidedly populist tone, President Barack Obama stood in a resurrected factory Wednesday, imploring lawmakers to work as hard as American blue-collar workers as he pitched his plan to jump-start manufacturing and expand opportunities for the middle class....
House clears disaster aid for houses of worship
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The House on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill to allow houses of worship damaged by Superstorm Sandy to receive federal disaster aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency....
Do tax increases kill jobs? Minn. soon to find out
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Dik Bolger is a lifelong Minnesota Democrat, a gray-bearded baby boomer with a braid down his back whose Minneapolis printing company's plant displays work by local artists and sculptors. He backed Mark Dayton for governor, but his take on the Democratic chief executive's plan for new business taxes could be the voice-over for a Republican campaign commercial....
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