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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

State's Middle Class Families Feeling the Squeeze

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Thursday, June 7, 2007   

Many Washington workers are feeling the squeeze between low wages and a high cost of living, and experts say that's hurting their family lives. A forum this weekend at Seattle Town Hall will look at what employers can do to help those workers balance jobs and families. The event is sponsored by the United Food and Commercial Workers' Union, which says 40 percent of its members make less than $10 an hour, and 60 percent are part-timers. Union spokesperson Jackie O'Ryan says they are representative of many other Washington workers -- holding on, and barely making it.

"When you have workers working sick, when you have them unable to go to a parent-teacher conference or a Little League game because they can't afford that wage cut, that affects the community. That affects everyone."

O'Ryan notes that the union is in the midst of collective bargaining and is asking the major grocery chains to "Share Their Wealth" by improving working conditions. The Food Marketing Institute, a supermarket trade association, reports last year that grocers made almost $500 billion in sales with profits of only one-and-a-half percent.

He adds that money is only one issue -- benefits and scheduling practices are other concerns.

"If you ask any worker, they'll say, 'Hey, more money always helps.' But what they also need addressed is the amount of time that they can spend with their family."

The town hall forum takes place Sunday, June 10 at 1:30 p.m. at Seattle Town Hall (1119 North 8th Avenue). Panelists include John de Graaf (Take Back Your Time), Pramila Jayapal (Hate Free Zone), Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner (Moms Rising), and moderator Dr. Pepper Schwartz (University of Washington author & sociologist).


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The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments this week about the popular abortion pill Mifepristone and will weigh in on whether the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was correct in how it can be dosed and prescribed. (Ascannio/Adobe Stock)

Health and Wellness

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Missouri residents are worried about future access to birth control. The latest survey from The Right Time, an initiative based in Missouri…


Social Issues

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Wisconsin children from low-income families are now on track to get nutritious foods over the summer. Federal officials have approved the Badger …

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Almost 2,900 people are unsheltered on any given night in the Beehive State. Gov. Spencer Cox is celebrating signing nine bills he says are geared …


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Education advocates are calling on lawmakers to increase funding for programs to combat the teacher shortage. Around 37% of schools nationwide …

Environment

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New York's Legislature is considering a bill to get clean-energy projects connected to the grid faster. It's called the RAPID Act, for "Renewable …

Social Issues

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