State and Local Minimum Wage Increases in 2023
In 2023, an estimated 8.4 million American workers will see a raise in their hourly pay. This is because 23 states and Washington, D.C., are increasing their minimum wage. The raises range from an additional 23 cents per hour in Michigan to $1.50 per hour in Nebraska. Twenty-seven cities and counties are also increasing their […]
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Glass Half Full or Half Empty? The world’s most used natural resource is water. Can you guess the second-most-used resource? It’s not coal or trees: it’s sand. Every year, the world uses fifty billion tons of silica sand. (That’s enough sand to build a wall more than 88 feet high and 88 feet wide around […]
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Formula Shortage A nationwide baby formula shortage has families of infants scrambling. They are searching for ways to feed their children. By late April 2022, six states had half their normal amount of baby formula on store shelves. Twenty other states are also having trouble meeting demand. The situation is especially challenging for babies that […]
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Crisis at the Pump Have you noticed the rising price of gasoline? As of the week of March 6th through 12th, 2022, gas prices in the United States hit a record high average of $4.17 a gallon. This was a 55 cent increase in a single week. So why this recent price increase? The answer […]
Black History Month: Tulsa, Oklahoma and Black Wall Street
The Tulsa Race Massacre took place just over a hundred years ago. Hundreds of African Americans died, and an entire Oklahoma neighborhood was destroyed. Today, that same neighborhood faces another challenge to its success. Here, btw takes a closer look at the development–and redevelopment–of this historic neighborhood over time and the challenges it continues to […]
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COVID Vaccine Approved for Younger Children Up until now, children under twelve have been too young to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. But all of that changed on October 26, 2021,when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended vaccine distribution for children from ages five to eleven. The vaccine is a lower-dose version of […]
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Barbados Elects First President The Caribbean island of Barbados was a British colony until fifty-five years ago, when the country first announced its independence. But it remained in the British commonwealth and Queen Elizabeth remained the ceremonial head of state. In 2020, Barbados declared its plans to become a republic. This meant replacing Queen Elizabeth […]
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The Teal Pumpkin Project One out of every thirteen American children lives with a food allergy. So, Halloween is not a simple night of free candy for them. That’s where the Teal Pumpkin Project comes in. This movement began in 2012 in Tennessee and has now expanded to all fifty states. It encourages households to […]
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Higher Pork Prices Coming? In 2018, voters in California overwhelmingly approved an animal rights proposition (Proposition 12, the Farm Animal Confinement Proposition). It required more space for breeding pigs, egg-laying chickens, and calves. The law applies not only to California farmers, but to any products imported by California from other states. Only 4 percent of […]
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Tokyo 2021 Olympics Update Have you been following the Tokyo Olympic Games so far? Now that the event is more than halfway through here are some highlights. At the end of the second weekend of the Games, China leads the gold medal count with 24, followed by the United States (20) and Japan (17). The […]