Jeff Bezos Makes Big Cuts To Washington Post Benefits

Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos will make significant cuts to its retirement plans for both union and nonunion employees, the newspaper said in a letter to staffers on Tuesday.

From the Post's report on the cuts, which slash medical and pension plans for staffers:

The changes will hit hardest at employees hired before 2009 who could plan on receiving pension payments based on their income and years of service. Each of those employees could see scores — or hundreds — of thousands of dollars less over the course of a retirement. More recent hires do not have traditional pension plans.

Federal Court Lifts Injunction In Scott Walker Case

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday removed one barrier to restarting an investigation into possible illegal coordination between Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's campaign and more than two dozen conservative groups, a legal setback for the Republican who is locked in a tough re-election campaign.

The three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that halted the probe, but the judges found state courts are the proper venue to resolve legal issues with the case.

Critics accuse Harper of using UN, foreign affairs for domestic gain

OTTAWA - A broad coalition of former diplomats and public servants is questioning whether Stephen Harper's return to the United Nations this week is politically motivated.

The World Federalist Movement renewed its criticism Wednesday that the prime minister has snubbed the UN and downgraded Canada's relations with the world's most influential multilateral body since taking power in 2006.

John Trent, a University of Ottawa expert on international political science, said Harper's return to the UN is welcome — but could well be motivated by the prospect of a coming federal election at home.

Speaker chastises NDP, urges all MPs to elevate tone of Commons debate

OTTAWA - The Speaker issued a broad plea for better behaviour in the House of Commons on Wednesday as he chastised the Opposition New Democrats for openly questioning his neutrality during question period.

NDP Leader Tom Mulcair called Andrew Scheer's impartiality into question Tuesday after Conservative MP Paul Calandra responded to Mulcair's question on the Iraqi mission by raising a completely unrelated subject.

G.O.P. Error Reveals Donors and the Price of Access

WASHINGTON — In politics, it is sometimes better to be lucky than good. Republicans and Democrats, and groups sympathetic to each, spend millions on sophisticated technology to gain an advantage.

They do it to exploit vulnerabilities and to make their own information secure. But sometimes, a simple coding mistake can lay bare documents and data that were supposed to be concealed from the prying eyes of the public.

17 Numbers That Will Make You Realize Just How Pathetic The Federal Minimum Wage Is

If you have a job that pays the federal minimum wage, an hour of your work is worth $7.25, before taxes. Activists and lawmakers from around the country say this amount and slightly higher state-based rates don't offer workers enough to pay for life's basics. President Barack Obama and his administration have called for Congress to raise the federal minimum wage, but Republicans have resisted a proposal to raise the federal minimum to $10.10 an hour over three years, claiming businesses can't afford to pay workers more. A wage hike would lead to devastating job losses, they say, and would do nothing to increase job opportunities or address poverty.

Stephen Harper considers U.S. request for further military help in ISIS fight

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says Canada is considering a U.S. request for further military contribution in the fight against ISIS in Iraq.

Harper's comments came during a question and answer session with Gerard Baker, editor in chief of the Wall Street Journal, before a business audience in New York.

Asked by Baker if he would rule out "a directly military contribution" to any effort, Harper said no.

CEOs Get Paid Too Much, According to Pretty Much Everyone in the World

Rumblings of discontent about executive wages, the 1 Percent, and wealth gaps know no borders. And neither does fierce debate about income inequality in general. But until now, it's been relatively unclear how much people think CEOs should really make compared to other workers on a global scale.

Top Liberian Official Warns Ebola Crisis May Plunge The Country Back Into Conflict

A top official in Liberia's government warned on Wednesday that the Ebola outbreak ravaging through West Africa may have disastrous consequences for the peace and stability of the region.

Liberia's Information Minister Lewis Brown told the Agence France Presse that the slow response to the Ebola outbreak could cause the region to "slip back into conflict."

A 91-Year-Old Man Gives Incredibly Moving Speech on the Importance of Universal Health Care

Speaking at the Labour Party’s conference in Manchester, England, on Wednesday in what seems like poetic verse, the nearly century-old Harry Smith recalls his youth in the tenements of Britain, the “desperation of poverty” and the horrors of life before the National Health Service was implemented, all of which inspired him to vote for the first time. Though Smith starts off with a joke about the BBC show “Downton Abbey,” the rest of his speech is gut-wrenching as he recounts the preventable death of his 10-year-old sister due to lack of funds and the cries of a neighboring woman dying of cancer without being able to afford morphine. In the middle of his talk, the 91-year-old British citizen received a standing ovation from an emotional crowd.