“The impact of a $9 minimum wage”

1. “The impact of a $9 minimum wage”

2. In his State of the Union address, Obama pressed to raise the hourly rate to $9 an hour in 2015, up from the current $7.25, and index it to inflation. Currently, some 3.8 million hourly workers earn at or below the minimum wage. Worker advocates say that raising the minimum wage would help boost the economy by putting more money into the hands of people who work and are likely to spend it. at small businesses in their communities. The federal minimum wage has lost 30% of its purchasing power in recent decades, according to the law project. If the minimum wage had kept pace with the cost of living since 1968, it would now equal $10.56.

3. In Other News In an emotionally wrenching hearing Tuesday, a judge upgraded the charge against Oscar Pistorius to premeditated murder, saying he could not rule out the possibility that the track star planned the shooting death of girlfriend. Mindy McCready is the fifth former cast member of “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” to die in the past two years. The 37-year-old country star, who appeared on Season 3 of the VH1 show, where she suffered an on-camera seizure, was found dead on the front porch of her Arkansas home on Sunday. As an heir to the King of Pop, Prince Michael Jackson should not have to work, but at age 16, he has taken a gig as a reporter for "Entertainment Tonight.” After receiving an on-camera coaching session on journalism techniques from ET's Brooke Anderson, Jackson recorded his first interview. The topic: an upcoming remake of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz."