Around the Nation

Chicago TV Anchor Wrestles With Alligator Story

12:08pm December 19, 2013

A Miami man captured a small alligator, took it to a store and offered to trade it for a 12-pack. His attempt made news on Chicago TV, where an anchor tried to tell the story. Instead, he started laughing uncontrollably.

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Manny Cardenas, seen here with his 5-year-old daughter Zoe, has earned $16 an hour as a part-time security guard at Google.

What It's Like To Live On Low Pay In A Land Of Plenty

1:11pm December 18, 2013

by Laura Sydell

Employees at Silicon Valley companies such as Apple, Google and Facebook are highly paid and enjoy a wide range of perks on the job. The security guards who watch over their workplaces earn around $16 an hour, a tough wage to get by on in the high-priced San Francisco Bay Area.

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High school senior Pat Cordova-Goff would be allowed to use the girls' bathroom under a California law slated to go into effect next year. The law's critics call it the "co-ed bathroom bill."

Education

Religious Groups Challenge Calif. Transgender Law Over Privacy

12:14pm December 18, 2013

by Aaron Schrank

Opponents of a new California law that aims to accommodate transgender students say they've gathered enough signatures to try to overturn it on next year's ballot. The law allows transgender students to use the bathrooms and join the sports teams that match their gender identity.

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A 'Tale Of Two Cities' As Detroit Looks To 2014

8:13am December 18, 2013

by Sarah Hulett

It became the largest city in U.S. history to file for bankruptcy. Its former mayor was sentenced to 28 years in prison. And a TV personality compared it to Chernobyl. But a new year is on the horizon, and for some parts of Detroit, things are looking up. Really.

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Economy

Fed's Final 2013 Meeting Could Indicate Course For Early 2014

8:02am December 18, 2013

Federal Reserve officials end a two-day meeting on Wednesday amid signs that the U.S. economy is slowly mending. David Greene talks to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about the Fed's last meeting of the year.

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Want More Holiday Music? Ring Up Dial-A-Carol

8:02am December 18, 2013

Missing the Christmas spirit? Dial-a-Carol may help you get into the holiday mood.

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Education

Fla. School To Change Name Tied To Ku Klux Klan Leader

8:02am December 18, 2013

by Karen Feagins

A school board in Jacksonville, Fla., has decided that one of its schools should no longer be named after Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest. He was also a general in the Civil War. Nathan Bedford Forrest High School received its name in the 1950s, and for decades the decision has been debated.

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Why N.Y. Mets Should Avoid Donning Santa's Suit

8:02am December 18, 2013

The Santa suit is cursed, according to The Wall Street Journal. Consider these former Santa Mets: Center-fielder Mike Cameron got badly injured, right-fielder Jeff Francoeur was traded and pitcher John Maine's career tanked. The list stretches back a decade.

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Jersey City Spends Big To Find Out What's Inside Safe

8:02am December 18, 2013

A new boss comes in and wants to clean house. For Jersey City's new mayor Steven Fulop, that meant cracking some dusty old safes in City Hall. What would he find? No stash of cash or anything interesting — just an extension cord.

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National

A Majority In U.S. Favor Legal Pot, But Will That Stick?

1:49am December 18, 2013

by Martin Kaste

Colorado and Washington state are setting up legalized marijuana markets, and advocates are celebrating. But there are signs of discontent. Even a founder of a marijuana legalization group says there's a possibility of a popular backlash.

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