What Is a Right-to-Work Law?

This week Michigan became the 24th state in the country to adopt a right-to-work law. The passage of the bill by the state legislature, and eventual signing by Rick Snyder, the state's Republican governor, brought a huge wave of protests in a state with deep union roots.

Right-to-work laws have garnered a lot of national attention in recent years as more states have implemented this legislation that prohibits unions from requiring workers to pay dues as a condition of their employment. The laws are meant to regulate agreements between employers and labor unions that would prohibit the employer from hiring non-union workers.

The laws are particularly divisive--proponents argue that businesses will be more likely to set up shop in the state, while opponents argue that weakening union power will lead to lower wages. Because each state has a variety of factors that must be considered individually when assessing its overall economic standing, it's difficult to fully assess the validity of each side's argument, since you can't isolate the direct effect of these laws on the state's economy.

However, a study conducted in 2007 by Lonnie Stevans of Hofstra University suggested that both sides of the argument are, to some degree, accurate.

Strip Club Organizes 'Toys for Tatas' Drive Watch Video

Photographer Falls Into Chimney Atop Chicago Hotel, Dies Watch Video

San Francisco Cop's Speeding Facebook Video Under Review Watch Video

"Findings are that the number of businesses and self-employed are greater on average in right-to-work states, but employment, wages, and per-capita personal income are all lower on average in right-to-work states," Stevans wrote.

But he noted that there was little "trickle down" from the business owners to the workers--the laws benefitted the business owners who did not have to contend with union contracts, but business employees didn't get those same positive effects--as evidenced by the lower salaries on average.

An analysis by ABC News of the most recent seasonally adjusted unemployment rates in states with right-to-work laws vs. those without such laws found that on average, the unemployment rate in states with right to work laws was slightly lower than those without. The average unemployment rate in the 24 states with right-to-work laws was 7 percent, while the average rate in the 26 states plus D.C. that do not have right-to-work laws was just under 7.6 percent--a difference of just under .6 percent.

The state with the lowest unemployment rate in the country--Nebraska at just 3.8 percent unemployment--has such a law in place, as does the state with the highest unemployment rate, Nevada at 11.5 percent.

Support for the laws has often tended to fall along party lines, with Democrats opposing and Republicans supporting. The vast majority of states with right-to-work laws are Republican led, the majority of states without are led by Democrats.

Below is the list of the 24 states with right-to-work laws.

Alabama

Arizona

Arkansas

Florida

Georgia

Idaho

Indiana

Iowa

Kansas

Louisiana

Michigan

Mississippi

Nebraska

Nevada

North Carolina

North Dakota

Oklahoma

South Carolina

South Dakota

Tennessee

Texas

Utah

Virginia

Wyoming

Read More..

Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s 2012 Christmas card: Fiscal cliff, Gretzky in heaven

Here it is, ladies and gentlemen — your Rep. Loretta Sanchez Christmas card for 2012!

(Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez)
Over the past decade, the California Democrat’s wacky holiday greetings have drawn a cult following. “I’ve seen them being sold on eBay,” the congresswoman told us.

Nice topical theme this year! “The ‘fiscal cliff’ is a very serious situation, so we didn’t want to make light of it,” she said. “But sometimes a chuckle makes things a lot easier.” (Last year’s card tipped a hat to Occupy Wall Street and all that 99 percent talk: “May the joy of the holidays occupy 100 percent of your heart.”)

(Courtesy of the Office of Rep. Loretta Sanchez)
That’s husband Jack Einwechter dancing with her. Sanchez’s late beloved cat Gretzky, the star of so many cards over the years, is represented inside the card, a halo over his furry head. “Of course — Angel Gretzky,” she said. “We keep Gretzky every year because he has so many followers.”

Earlier:
Rep. Loretta Sanchez’s ‘Call Me Maybe’ parody, with summer interns, 7/2/12

Last year:
Rep. Loretta Sanchez carries on holiday card tradition, without beloved cat Gretzky, 12/9/11

Loretta Sanchez’s 2011 Christmas card, 12/16/11

Also in The Reliable Source:

Jenna Bush Hager announces pregnancy on ‘Today’

Hey, isn’t that. . .?: Steve Harvey; Max Baucus and Tim Geithner

Quoted: Marco Rubio on his hair loss

D.C. power players appear in new video portrait — but is it art?

Elizabeth Kucinich becomes a real-estate agent; will keep public-affairs job, too

Albert Small buys George Washington letter for $290,000 — but don’t tell his wife

Read More..

35-year-old man jailed for causing death of motorcyclist

SINGAPORE: A man who caused the death of a motorcyclist, and cajoled his friend into lying for him to escape punishment, was sentenced to 30 months' jail on Thursday.

35-year-old Sivabalan Suppiah, who is self-employed, was also disqualified from driving for 12 years.

Suppiah was found guilty of one count of causing the death of 51-year-old Jalal Abdul Rahman by driving dangerously, and another count of internationally perverting the course of justice.

In sentencing, a district judge berated Suppiah for "preying on the concern and kindness of his friends" and called his conduct "abhorrent and repugnant."

On March 7, 2010, Suppiah was traveling at a speed of 91 kilometres per hour (km/h) along Upper Aljunied Road towards Upper Serangoon Road.

This exceeded the 50 km/hour limit for the road he was on.

Suppiah lost control of his car when he was negotiating a left bend and swerved into the opposite traffic lane.

He then collided with the victim's motorcycle, causing the victim to be flung to the side of the road.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Suppiah sustained injures and was warded for two days at Tan Tock Seng Hospital.

It was then Suppiah tried coercing his friends to be false witnesses when they visited him in hospital.

Suppiah painted a false picture of how the accident happened and persuaded his friend Bryan Tiven Feroz Sandirasegaran to go along with it.

The ruse involved Bryan lying to the police that he had witnessed the victim's motorcycle entering Suppiah's lane instead.

Although Bryan eventually agreed to the ruse, the plan was discovered by authorities later.

In mitigation, the court heard that Suppiah was remorseful and suffers from a major depressive disorder.

However, this cut no ice with the judge who said Suppiah showed "absolutely no remorse and no regard for the deceased's family by shifting all the blame to the deceased."

The judge said Suppiah's post-accident conduct is "clearly deplorable", and added that he had "absolutely no qualms about getting his friends into trouble for selfish reasons."

- CNA/lp

Read More..

Venkaiah Naidu for privilege motion against Moily

NEW DELHI: Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu demanded bringing privilege motion against petroleum minister M Veerappa Moily for "misusing" his office by announcing government's intent to increase cap on subsidised LPG outside Parliament when the session was on.

Raising the issue in Rajya Sabha during Zero Hour on Thursday, Naidu said the policy decision was announced by Moily outside the House when Parliament was in session.

This is also violation of "code of conduct" as elections were going on in some parts of the country and the announcement could "influence" the voters, he said.

"This is misuse of the office," he said terming it as a matter of breach of privilege.

Naidu had raised the issue on Wednesday also. Moily had on Tuesday stated that the decision to raise the cap will be taken by the Cabinet "very shortly" and that he had two rounds of discussion with finance minister P Chidambaram on the impact of the decision.

Read More..

Hubble Discovers Oldest Known Galaxy

The Hubble space telescope has discovered seven primitive galaxies formed in the earliest days of the cosmos, including one believed to be the oldest ever detected.

The discovery, announced Wednesday, is part of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field campaign to determine how and when galaxies first assembled following the Big Bang.

"This 'cosmic dawn' was not a single, dramatic event," said astrophysicist Richard Ellis with the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Rather, galaxies appear to have been formed over hundreds of millions of years.

Ellis led a team that used Hubble to look at one small section of the sky for a hundred hours. The grainy images of faint galaxies include one researchers determined to be from a period 380 million years after the onset of the universe—the closest in time to the Big Bang ever observed.

The cosmos is about 13.7 billion years old, so the newly discovered galaxy was present when the universe was 4 percent of its current age. The other six galaxies were sending out light from between 380 million and 600 million years after the Big Bang. (See pictures of "Hubble's Top Ten Discoveries.")

Baby Pictures

The images are "like the first ultrasounds of [an] infant," said Abraham Loeb, a specialist in the early cosmos at Harvard University. "These are the building blocks of the galaxies we now have."

These early galaxies were a thousand times denser than galaxies are now and were much closer together as well, Ellis said. But they were also less luminous than later galaxies.

The team used a set of four filters to analyze the near infrared wavelengths captured by Hubble Wide Field Camera 3, and estimated the galaxies' distances from Earth by studying their colors. At a NASA teleconference, team members said they had pushed Hubble's detection capabilities about as far as they could go and would most likely not be able to identify galaxies from further back in time until the James Webb Space Telescope launches toward the end of the decade. (Learn about the Hubble telescope.)

"Although we may have reached back as far as Hubble will see, Hubble has set the stage for Webb," said team member Anton Koekemoer of the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore. "Our work indicates there is a rich field of even earlier galaxies that Webb will be able to study."

Read More..

N. Korean Missile Hits Target of Alarming the World

North Korea's successful launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile hit its target: it bolstered the standing of its young tyrant Kim Jong Un and raised the specter of being able to eventually strike the U.S. with a nuclear weapon.

The pride in the success of the launch -- after several failures -- is a huge boost for Kim Jong Un, 29, who took power one year ago. He has been trying to cement his authority and win the hearts of the people with soft social and economic reforms, like allowing women to wear pants or more small businesses to operate based on profit.

But the rocket launch was on a different scale. A North Korean female announcer in a pink and dark grey national costume excitedly read an announcement of the missile's success and national TV aired interviews with people jumping and cheering on the news.

There had been reservations within and outside of North Korea when Kim Jong Un took power after his father's death on Dec. 17 last year as to whether the young Kim could lead a nuclear state. Looking determined at his first official appearance earlier this year, he had pledged to fulfill the legacy of his father Kim Jong Il to become a "self-sufficient strong nation" with space rocket technology.

The missile is believed to have a range of 6,212 miles, enough distance to reach the west coast of the United States. Its existence, along with a small North Korean nuclear arsenal, is an alarming possibility for many.

PHOTOS: An Inside Look At North Korea

North Korea, however, says it was simply putting a satellite in orbit.

"Picking on our launch (and not others) accusing that ours is a long-range missile and a provocative act causing instability comes from seeing us from a hostile point of view," said North Korea's foreign ministry in an official statement. "We do not want this to be overblown into something that none of us intended to be and hope all related nations act with reason and calmness."

But North Korean denials carry little credibility.

This evidence that North Korea has mastered the long-range missile technology does not mean there will be an imminent nuclear threat.

"They haven't figured out how to weaponize a nuclear (bomb) that will fit in a missile, nor do they have accurate guidance at long ranges," said Stephen Ganyard, ABC News consultant and former deputy assistant secretary of state.

Another crucial technology North Korea is yet to achieve is a proper heat shielding required to protect the warhead while re-entering the earth's atmosphere.

"This is a big leap for Pyongyang. They have been a threat with potential capability. But now a new era begins as a threat with possible capability," said Hwee-Rhak Park, professor of political leadership at Kookmin University in Seoul.

There was obvious alarm, however, as the international community condemned the launch, as North Korea is banned from developing nuclear and missile-related technology under U.N. resolutions.

South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak convened an emergency national security meeting. Japan's envoy to the United Nations called for consultations on the launch within the U.N. Security Council. Russian Foreign Ministry said it "has caused us deep regret," and even China "expressed regret," a significant notch up in condemnation from previous statements on North Korea, its traditional ally.

That international attention, analysts in Seoul say, is exactly what North Korea wanted.

Read More..

Boxing: Philippines' Pacquiao promises to 'rise again'

MANILA: Philippines boxing icon Manny Pacquiao vowed to "rise again" as he flew home Wednesday after a brutal knockout defeat that prompted some fans and experts to urge him to retire.

"Don't worry, we will rise again," he told well-wishers as arrived in Manila from the United States, where he suffered his second consecutive loss with a sixth-round knockout by Mexican Juan Manuel Marquez on Saturday.

Pacquiao, who has 54 wins, five defeats and two draws in nearly 18 years in the pro ring, lost his World Boxing Organization welterweight crown in June on a controversial points decision to unbeaten US fighter Timothy Bradley.

But retirement appears far from the mind of Pacquiao, who turns 34 on Monday and was once regarded as the world's best pound-for-pound fighter.

"I watched a replay of my fight and I am satisfied with my movement," said Pacquiao.

"I was fighting very well from the first to the sixth round. I was moving well. It was just that I got hit with a lucky punch on the last second of the round."

Pacquiao, who on Wednesday also announced he was donating US$244,000 to the victims of a typhoon which devastated the Philippines' south last week, said he had been looking to finish off Marquez by the eighth round.

"The way the fight was going, there was no way it would have reached the 12th round," he said.

He cited how he had broken the Mexican's nose, leaving him with breathing difficulties that Pacquiao claimed had forced his foe to remove his mouthpiece at one point.

But Pacquiao acknowledged: "He owned that night. Let's give him due credit."

Former world champion Ricky Hatton, who was knocked out by Pacquiao in May 2009, has added his voice to calls for the Filipino to hang up his gloves.

"The only advice I could give Manny Pacquiao is that his legacy is already secured," said the Briton, a former world light-welterweight and welterweight champion who retired for a second time last month.

"The thing is with us fighters is that there is always one more fight," the 34-year-old told AFP during a visit to Hong Kong.

"What's he (Pacquiao) going to achieve by having one more fight? Probably nothing. He's an eight-weight world champion. There's nothing more to be said."

Hatton, who was knocked out in a failed return to the ring in November, in what he says was his last fight, said of his Filipino rival: "You'd like to see him go into retirement and spend some time with his family and be happy.

"He can't do any more from a boxing point of view."

- AFP/jc

Read More..

Mayawati warns government of tougher stand, says outburst against Ansari 'first step'

NEW DELHI: Accusing the government of not being serious in passing the bill for providing quota for SC/STs in promotions in government jobs, BSP chief Mayawati threatened to take a "tougher" stand, saying her Wednesday's "outburst" in Rajya Sabha was only "the first step".

BSP had stalled proceedings in both Houses of Parliament on Wednesday and Mayawati had questioned Rajya Sabha chairman Hamid Ansari for not initiating action against those members who were disrupting business in the House.

"I had said two days ago that BSP would adopt a 'tough' stand. It is the responsibility of the government and the Rajya Sabha chairman to bring the House in order...Today's (outburst) was our first tough stand in Rajya Sabha. We will take our next stand at an appropriate time," Mayawati told reporters outside Parliament House.

She accused the government of not being serious on the passage of the SC/ST quota bill.

"If the government is actually serious about the passage of the bill and other public interest legislations, then the government as well as the chairman should see that the House should function in order," she said.

Earlier, the BSP chief shocked the Rajya Sabha by telling chairman Hamid Ansari that he is "not seen" in the House in the afternoon after which the House is not allowed to function.

"I am not ready to listen to anything. We have seen in the last few days that every day the House is not allowed to function after 12pm. It is your responsibility to ensure that it functions. Who will ensure that it functions," she told the Chair from the Well as also from her seat.

"You are not seen here after 12pm... What kind of House is this? You have to take decision that what has to be done for this (ensuring the functioning of the House)," the BSP chief said.

She was protesting against the frequent disruption over a Bill for providing reservation in promotion to SC/STs in government jobs, an issue that has seen the party at loggerheads with the Samajwadi Party, its arch detractor in UP politics.

The protest by the BSP on the quota issue saw the House being adjourned twice before lunch.

Mayawati's remarks left the House stunned. The chairman told her that she was a senior leader and should allow the House to function. He said it was the responsibility of everyone to let the House function.

But, BSP members were unrelenting.

Mayawati's outburst came at 11.30pm when minister Anand Sharma was replying to a query on the plight of weavers in Uttar Pradesh.

The BSP supremo, along with her party colleagues, came into House and started speaking even before taking her seat.

As the chairman tried to pacify Mayawati and asked her to allow the question hour to proceed, the BSP chief went into the Well with her party members continuing with her verbal attack.

Read More..

Best Space Pictures of 2012: Editor's Picks

Photograph courtesy Tunç Tezel, APOY/Royal Observatory

This image of the Milky Way's vast star fields hanging over a valley of human-made light was recognized in the 2012 Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition run by the U.K.’s Royal Observatory Greenwich.

To get the shot, photographer Tunç Tezel trekked to Uludag National Park near his hometown of Bursa, Turkey. He intended to watch the moon and evening planets, then take in the Perseids meteor shower.

"We live in a spiral arm of the Milky Way, so when we gaze through the thickness of our galaxy, we see it as a band of dense star fields encircling the sky," said Marek Kukula, the Royal Observatory's public astronomer and a contest judge.

Full story>>

Why We Love It

"I like the way this view of the Milky Way also shows us a compelling foreground landscape. It also hints at the astronomy problems caused by light pollution."—Chris Combs, news photo editor

Published December 11, 2012

Read More..

Gunman 'Tentatively' Identified in Oregon Shooting

A masked gunman who opened fire in the crowded Clackamas Town Center mall in suburban Portland, Ore., killing two individuals before killing himself, has been "tentatively" identified by police, though they have not yet released his name.

The shooter, wearing a white hockey mask, black clothing, and a bullet proof vest, tore through the mall around 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, entering through a Macy's store and proceeding to the food court and public areas spraying bullets, according to witness reports.

Police have not released the names of the deceased. Clackamas County Sheriff's Department Lt. James Rhodes said authorities are in the process of notifying victims' families.

The injured victim has been transported to a local hospital, according to Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts.

PHOTOS: Oregon Mall Shooting

Nadia Telguz, who said she was a friend of the injured victim, told ABC News affiliate KATU-TV in Portland that the woman was expected to recover.

"My friend's sister got shot," Teleguz told KATU. "She's on her way to (Oregon Health and Science University hospital). They're saying she got shot in her side and so it's not life-threatening, so she'll be OK."

Witnesses from the shooting rampage said that a young man who appeared to be a teenager ran through the upper level of Macy's to the mall food court, firing multiple shots, one right after the other, with what is believed to be a black, semi-automatic rifle.

Christopher Onstott/Pamplen Media Group/Portland Tribune

911 Calls From New Jersey Supermarket Shooting Watch Video

More than 10,000 shoppers were at the mall during the day, police said. Roberts said that officers responded to the scene of the shooting within minutes, and four SWAT teams swept the 1.4 million-square-foot building searching for the shooter. He was eventually found dead, an apparent suicide.

"I can confirm the shooter is dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound," Rhodes said. "By all accounts there were no rounds fired by law enforcement today in the mall."

Roberts said more than 100 law enforcement officers responded to the shooting, and at least four local agencies were working on the investigation, including the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which is working to trace the shooter's weapon.

READ: Guns in America: A Statistical Look

"For all of us, the mall is supposed to be a place where we can take our families, especially during the holiday season," Roberts said. "Things like this are not supposed to happen."

Roberts also said that shoppers, including two emergency room nurses and one physician who happened to be at the mall, provided medical assistance to victims who had been shot. Other shoppers helped escort individuals out of the mall and out of harm's way, he said.

"There were a huge amount of people running in different directions, and it was chaos for a lot of citizens, but true heroes were stepping up in this time of high stress," Roberts said. "E.R. nurses on the scene were providing medical care to those injured, a physician on the scene was helping provide care to the wounded."

Mall shopper Daniel Martinez told KATU that he had just sat down at a Jamba Juice inside the mall when he heard rapid gunfire. He turned and saw the masked gunman, dressed in all black, about 10 feet away from him.

"I just saw him (the gunman) and thought, 'I need to go somewhere,'" Martinez said. "It was so fast, and at that time, everyone was moving around."

Martinez said he ran to the nearest clothing store. As he ran, he motioned for another woman to follow; several others ran to the store as well, hiding in a fitting room. They stayed there for an hour and a half until SWAT teams told them it was safe to leave the mall.

Read More..