While Congress remains stalled on a long-term plan for funding highways, state lawmakers and governors aren’t waiting around. Nearly one-third of the states have approved measures this year that could collectively raise billions of dollars through higher fuel taxes, vehicle fees and bonds to repair old bridges and roads and relieve traffic congestion, according to an analysis by The Associated Press.
Federal regulators turned away a push by Northwestern University football players to unionize, in a closely watched case that could have reshaped American collegiate sports by essentially classifying athletes more as employees than students.
Don’t hold your breath for a bigger pay raise next year. American employers are tightening their belts. Pay raises for U.S. employees are not expected to improve next year, according to a survey released by global professional services company, Towers Watson, based on a nationwide survey of more than 1,100 U.S. companies. Virtually all respondents (98%) are planning to give employees average pay hikes of 3% in 2016, for their non-management employees, unchanged from both this year and 2014. It’s not all bad news for hardworking employees; many companies are introducing more bonuses, rather than linking salary increases to performance.
Much more is highlighted in A Look Around the Nation and the World.
