Publication archives

More than half of Americans surveyed say their family income is falling behind the cost of living, and another third say they are just keeping up with higher living costs, a poll commissioned by the AFL-CIO says.

WASHINGTON - The nation's poverty rate rose to 12.7 percent of the population last year, the fourth consecutive annual increase, the Census Bureau said Tuesday. The percentage of people without health insurance did not change. Overall, there were 37 million people living in poverty, up 1.1 million people from 2003.

Most of us think of America's national parks as everlasting places, parts of the bedrock of how we know our own country. But they are shaped and protected by an underlying body of legislation, which is distilled into a basic policy document that governs their operation.

WASHINGTON - Farmers know a good weather forecast is essential. Now, long-range outlooks a whole season ahead have been shown to help African farmers do better.

Instead, Congress urged to reduce subsidy programs to trim agriculture budget. ----------------------- Advocates for the poor and small farmers want Congress to spare the Food Stamp Program as it cuts $3.2 billion from agriculture programs in the federal budget.

For the better part of 40 years, the federal agriculture budget has attracted an unusual coalition of politicians and lobbyists. Lawmakers from farm states supported the food stamp program to boost consumer demand for groceries, urban politicians supported farm subsidies as a quid pro quo, and together they ensured generous federal spending on food and nutrition.

As wildfires in the Boundary Waters go, the Alpine Lake fire is a wimp. At under 1,400 acres, it pales next to the nearby 1995 Sag Corridor fire, which burned 12,000 acres, and even the 1976 Roy Lake fire, which covered some of the same ground as the Alpine fire.