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50 more found alive under collapsed building
[Updated at 1:11 p.m. ET] Rescuers tunneling Friday into the rubble of the eight-story building that collapsed Wednesday discovered another 50 people trapped on what remained of its third floor, an official said.
Bangladesh Fire Service Deputy Director Maj. Mizamur Rahman said rescuers were hoping to free them within a few hours.
Also Friday, two women who gave birth under the debris were rescued - along with their infants - a fire service official said, according to BSS.
FULL STORY
House OKs measure to end controller furloughs
[Updated at 12:58 p.m. ET] In rare bipartisan accord, normally quarrelsome U.S. lawmakers passed a measure designed to end budget-related air traffic controller furloughs blamed for widespread flight delays.
The House of Representatives approved the legislation, capping a major congressional initiative as delays snarled traffic at airports. The House vote comes a day after unanimous approval by the U.S. Senate.
The measure - which is expected to be signed into law by President Obama - gives the Transportation Department budget planners new flexibility for dealing with forced spending cuts.
FULL STORYImmigration bill: Must secure border
The border with Mexico must be secure.
This requirement is the cornerstone of an immigration reform bill a bipartisan group of senators are to file on Capitol Hill Tuesday. There will be no path to legal residency for migrants without it.
Undocumented immigrants may also not reach the status of fully legal residents under the proposed legislation, until the Department of Homeland Security has implemented measures to prevent "unauthorized workers from obtaining employment in the United States."
FULL STORY
Update: GM family still cranking out cars
Thanks to you, the Green clan is still cranking out cars in Lansing, Michigan.
CNN introduced you in November 2008 to 10 members of the family who had provided a collective 300 years of service to General Motors and the United Auto Workers union. GM's future was hanging in the balance as the federal government weighed whether to save the automaker with an infusion of billions of taxpayer dollars.
"We're not asking to be bailed out, we're asking for a loan," Mike Green, the president of UAW Local 652, said at the time. "We're not asking for a handout, we're asking for a hand up."
The $50 billion loan was approved, a new version of GM emerged, the taxpayers recouped their money, and the extended Green family kept working.
"I think the government made one of the best investments it ever made," Green, now 50, told CNN this week. "I'd like to thank the American public for having faith in an American company."
Green has been re-elected as president of UAW Local 652, his sister Cindy DeLau continues to work on assembly line ergonomic improvements, and his son Rollin, 26, is "hanging in" at GM's Delta Plant, just west of Lansing, despite having been laid off a couple of times in the last three years.
Painful concessions by the UAW were part of the survival plan, Mike Green noted.
"Because of the sacrifices of the membership, we made it through," he said.
Not only did GM survive, but it's bringing 600 to 700 more jobs to Lansing next year when production starts for a new Cadillac product.
"It's been good for Lansing," Green said. "We appreciate that GM is bringing work here. That's what we do here. You bring it, we'll build it."
More updates
Weight up, cholesterol up for man who lost 27 pounds on Twinkie diet
Life a struggle, but she won't quit
Thriving at home after 13 years on death row with multiple sclerosis
Strangers still thank football star who stopped gun-wielding student
Owners of 'last house standing' part of peninsula's comeback
Gotta Watch: They quit! (A Labor Day special)
It's Labor Day, a day that honors all the contributions workers make to the well-being of the United States. For many of you, Labor Day is a work-free holiday. So, while you're out enjoying your barbecues and last days of Summer, we thought we would bring back some videos that highlight some less than exemplary members of the workforce.
Curse-and-slide technique - It's almost impossible to forget the infamous JetBlue flight attendant who gained notoriety in 2010 for his ability to quit in truly spectacular fashion. Forget giving two-week notice. This guy cursed out a customer, grabbed a beer and slid down the emergency chute.
Farm worker advocate Richard Chavez dies in California at 81
Richard Chavez, who dedicated more than three decades to the the farm worker movement, died Wednesday of complications from surgery in Bakersfield, California, the United Farm Workers union announced. He was 81.
The younger brother of UFW founder Cesar Chavez, Richard Chavez was the one who designed the black Aztec eagle that became the famous symbol for the organization.
The Chavez brothers grew up during the Depression outside of Yuma, Arizona, and when the family lost their farm, they became migrant farm workers in California fields, according to the UFW.
By the early 1960s, Richard Chavez began helping his brother create the foundation for the union, and by 1966 was working full-time for the movement, the UFW said on its website Wednesday.
FULL STORY
Tuesday's intriguing people
Ereck Plancher
The University of Central Florida football player's death is in the spotlight this week in an Orlando courtroom, just 11 floors below where the Casey Anthony trial is under way. Plancher's family filed a wrongful death suit against the school, and jury selection for the trial began Monday, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Plancher, 19, died in March 2008 following an off-season workout that head coach George O'Leary conducted. An autopsy confirmed that Plancher died from complications of a sickle cell trait, and his parents allege the school and its football medical support staff did not properly treat their son, according to the newspaper.
The Sentinel's Mike Bianchi reports the trial's outcome could affect college football programs in the future. He also notes the case is unique because it's going to trial rather than being settled out of court.
FULL POST
Wednesday's live video events
Watch CNN.com Live for the latest on the fallout over Rep. Anthony Weiner's confession.
Today's programming highlights...
9:00 am ET - Casey Anthony trial - Testimony resumes in the trial of Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her young daughter.
On the Radar: McDonald's hiring, more strong storms, Sheen's lawsuit
50,000 jobs: McDonald's is looking to hire as many as 50,000 people today as part of its National Hiring Day promotion.
Jobs are available at both the corporate and restaurant levels. Job-seekers can go to the company's website or check at local franchises to find positions.
"I'm hopeful to bring in at least a dozen [new employees] if not more," said Robert Hughes, owner of four McDonald's franchises in eastern Pennsylvania, told CNN affiliate WFMZ. "Sales across the country and then regionally are doing so well that we have that need to be hiring more people."
In the Houston, Texas, area, McDonald's is looking to add 1,500 employees, CNN affiliate KHOU reports.
"At McDonalds, we believe our employees do incredible things. If you have a desire for a career, and a passion for quality, you should see what McDonald’s offers," Kimberly Kelley Elizondo, a McDonald’s owner-operator in the Houston area told KHOU.
The burger chain has more than 32,000 restaurants and 1.7 million employees worldwide.
Severe weather: Another round of severe storms on Tuesday could strike Oklahoma, one of the states hit by a wave of violent weather last week, forecasters say.
CNN's Weather Center in Atlanta described the risk of severe weather as moderate. This time the forecast for severe weather is focused on the Midwest instead of the South, where 45 people perished in a swath of extreme storms, including tornadoes, last week.
The areas facing a moderate risk of tornadoes and high winds on Tuesday extends from the Midwest to the Ohio River Valley. Also included are the cities of Tulsa, St. Louis and Indianapolis.
The threat of heavy storms is predicted to diminish in those areas on Wednesday morning, but the Northeast could experience isolated outbreaks of severe storms later in the day.
Sheen lawsuit: Charlie Sheen's $100 million lawsuit against his former employer is scheduled to come to a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday.
But for those looking for the headline-grabbing actor, Sheen is expected to miss the hearing. His "Violent Torpedo of Truth" tour has him in Washington D.C. Tuesday night.
The lawsuit was filed in March and names Warner Bros. Television and Chuck Lorre, the creator of "Two and a Half Men." Sheen is seeking punitive damages and recovery of unpaid wages in the lawsuit that alleges intentional interference with contractual relations and breach of contract, among other contentions.
In addition to Sheen, 9th Step Productions - a corporation formed by Sheen to contract out his acting services on the series - also is a plaintiff in the lawsuit.
Friday's live video events
Watch CNN.com Live for continuing coverage of the conflict in Libya and the nuclear crisis in Japan.
Today's programming highlights...
9:00 am ET - Casey Anthony hearing - A third day of hearings into whether certain scientific evidence can be used during the trial of Casey Anthony, the Florida woman accused of killing her young daughter.
Wisconsin judge halts state budget law curbing unions' power
A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday halting the state's controversial budget repair law that curbs the union power of most public employees, the Dane County district attorney's office said.
Gov. Scott Walker, who championed the measure and signed it into law last week, said he was confident the initiative would eventually prevail in the court system, a spokeswoman said.
"This legislation is still working through the legal process. We are confident the provisions of the budget repair bill will become law in the near future," Cullen Werwie, the governor's press secretary, said in a statement.
Wisconsin Senate Democrats called the law, which reduces the collective bargaining rights of most state employees, an attack on workers and filed a complaint with the Dane County district attorney, claiming that the Senate's Republican-led vote violated Wisconsin's open meetings law.
The ruling by Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi came in response to a lawsuit filed by District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, charging such a violation of the law.
FULL STORYThe day's most popular stories
The five most popular stories on CNN.com in the past 24 hours, according to NewsPulse.
Wisconsin Assembly passes labor bill: After weeks of demonstrations in the state capital, Wisconsin Republicans cleared a final hurdle to a controversial proposal on Thursday.
Charlie Sheen issues half-apology to Cryer: Charlie Sheen still continues to bash his former "Two and a Half Men" boss Chuck Lorre - but when it comes to costar Jon Cryer, Sheen is rethinking his negative comments.
How the human penis lost its spines: You've read the headline, and it probably made you giggle. Go ahead. Get it out of your system. Then take a deep breath and consider how evolution affected a few specific body parts.
Lohan gets 2 weeks to decide on plea deal: Lindsay Lohan must decide by March 23 if she will accept a plea deal that would send her to jail or move closer to a trial in the necklace theft case.
Controversy precedes radicalization hearings: A controversial congressional hearing Thursday on the radicalization of Muslim Americans touched on sensitive questions involving terrorism and tolerance.
'Koch' name pervades online reaction to Wisconsin bill
If you've been following the reaction to the controversy over the Wisconsin bill to restrict collective bargaining rights, you're probably aware of the sentiments permeating comment boxes and social media. If not, let's bring you up to speed:
- Solidarity with union workers: "I stand with the SLOBS who teach my kids, empty my trash, protect my neighborhood, put out my fires, fix my roads." - linc0lnpark
- Support for the measure: "I live in Wisconsin, I voted for Governor Walker, and I support him and what the Senate did last night 100%. All of the Democrats that fled the state need to be recalled. All of the Union supporters that have infiltrated my state from other places, can pack their crap up and leave – NOW. Oh, and fire all the teachers that called in 'sick' too." - kat101160
- Comparisons to uprisings in the Middle East: "Thanks to Twitter, I can watch the beginning of democracy in the Middle East and the end of it in the Midwest." - achura
There's also a deeper, equally pervasive thread making the rounds accompanied by the hashtag #Koch. Such comments are full of insinuation, speculation, rumor and innuendo over Gov. Scott Walker's connection to Koch Industries, a private, Kansas-based company with diverse holdings in nearly 60 countries, including a presence in Wisconsin.
VIDEO: The two most influential names in politics you've never heard of
The company also has a long history of supporting free-market principles through its political action committee, KOCHPAC, which contributed $43,000 to Walker’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign.
Tweets and comments such as, "Welcome to #FitzWalkerStan we used to be called Wisconsin. We are a division of Koch Industries," or "Walker is deaf to the voice of people. He is a puppet of Koch brothers" speak to speculation that Walker is in the pocket of Koch Industries.
Tensions between police, protesters reach boiling point outside Wisconsin capitol
Outrage and frustration erupted outside the Wisconsin state capitol as scores of protesters tried to push their way inside the building before today's controversial vote.
Eager to get inside to make their voices heard during the vote, they chanted and screamed "Let Us In" and "Shame" to guards standing at the door. Some pounded on the door's windows, others tried to sneak in through windows with the help of friends inside.
The Capitol building was on total lockdown for almost two hours. We saw two Democratic legislators turned away at the door. Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson was also not allowed inside at first.
The tension escalated quickly and for a moment it felt like the situation was going to erupt into fist-flying brawl between the officers and protesters.
We were caught in the middle of the large swarm trying to barrel its way past police officers barricading one of many doors into the Capitol. A handful of livid protesters tried to rip the door open. One protester screamed in my ear "keep pushing forward, let's get in there." A couple of protesters were restrained by the Capitol police officers and pulled back before the scrum erupted into a more dangerous situation.
A few video cameras captured the melee and several protesters, weary of how the fight would appear in the news media, started chanting "peaceful, peaceful, peaceful."
Eventually the officers were able to push the crowd back and shut the door again and regain control of the heated moment.
Later a few entrances were re-opened into the capitol building but many protesters are still saying that access to the capitol building is being denied.
Wisconsin Assembly passes controversial labor bill
The Wisconsin state Assembly on Thursday afternoon passed a controversial bill that curtails most state workers’ collective bargaining rights, one day after state Senate Republicans used a technical procedure to get around the intentional absence of 14 Democrats and pass the measure in their chamber.
Throngs of people upset at the developments have been protesting on the grounds of the Capitol throughout the day.
The bill will reach Gov. Scott Walker's desk for final approval. The bill would, among other things, allow public workers to collectively negotiate wages only and bar unions from taking dues from public workers’ checks. Walker has argued the bill is necessary to help the state correct its deficits and avoid massive layoffs and property tax hikes.
Here is a running account of some of the latest developments:
5:02 p.m. ET: Detail on the vote: The Assembly passed the measure 53-42.
4:47 p.m. ET: The Assembly has passed the bill.
4:41 p.m. ET: The Assembly appears to be voting.
4:33 p.m. ET: Still debating the bill, Democrats in the state Assembly are arguing that the Senate's move to pass the measure yesterday was illegal in part because the bill still addresses fiscal matters.
Senate Republicans, before passing the measure yesterday, stripped the bill of appropriations so that they could vote for the bill without a quorum. This way, they could vote without the presence of the 14 Democrats who fled the state.
Assembly Democrats, however, are arguing that the measure still has changes in appropriations, inclduing a change in appropriations for a tax credit.
4:22 p.m. ET: Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald has received two death threats, Fitzgerald spokesman Andrew Welhouse said. Both threats were e-mailed from the same address, according to Welhouse.
4:04 p.m. ET: Although Democratic state Sen. Jim Holperin apparently is returning to Wisconsin, one of his fellow Democrats in the state Senate, Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, says she and other Senate Democrats are staying in Illinois. She says the matter of whether the Wisconsin Senate legally passed the measure last not hasn't been settled.
She said that because the legality of the Senate's move last night still has to be determined, she and other Senate Democrats still will stay away from Wisconsin because they don't want to be forced to appear in the Senate to deal with the measure.
Vinehout told CNN's Brooke Baldwin that she doesn't know where Holperin is, but she said that if he is on his way back to Wisconsin, he doesn't have the most current information. She added that the courts will need to decide whether yesterday's "legislative trickery" by Senate Republicans was legal.
Wisconsin vote gives rise to anger, satisfaction in social media sphere
Are you there? Share photos and video of the protests, or your views on the issue with the CNN iReport community.
"This is a date that will live in infamy."
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's oft-quoted assessment of the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 surfaced on Twitter Wednesday night, as reaction to the Wisconsin Senate's vote to pass proposed restrictions on collective bargaining for public employees began to flood the social media site.
Accompanied by the hashtag, #AshWednesdayMassacre, the sentiment captured the anger and disbelief of many around the Wisconsin capitol - and in the Twitterverse - who feel that the Republicans manipulated the vote by stripping the budget bill of all things budget-related to get around the need for a quorum in the absence of 14 Democratic senators. The move, some believe, lays bare their true motive from the start: to gut the unions, pure and simple.
"Either #Wisconsin GOPers just violated the constitution, or Scott Walker lied," the pro-labor publication Mother Jones said in another oft-retweeted sentiment.
Not everyone's upset with the vote, which would bar public workers other than police and firefighters from bargaining collectively for anything other than wages, in what Walker and GOP lawmakers say will help close a $137 million budget shortfall.
"wisconsin gop reminds unions that collective bargaining is a privilege, not a right," brooksbayne tweeted.
Here's some more reaction to Wednesday's vote:
"Nothing says democracy like voting with no notice, preventing the public from observing, and locking the doors of the capitol" - mirerony.
"Still waiting for @BarackObama to stand the picket line as promised. This is class warfare of the worst kind." - ericming5
"Tonight #WI GOP showed their true aim: undermining workers' rights. I continue to stand in solidarity with #wiunion." - NancyPelosi
"Hey, Governor KOCH! Some of your shareholders, err, constituents aren't too happy right now. That's bad business." - mariannesp
"This is EXACTLY why we need collective bargaining. Would you trust these legislators to determine your working conditions?" - shankerblog
"Repubs freaked out abt czars, but claim rt 2 dissolve towns. wht planet did I wake up on? Planet Plutocrat?" - XicanaMama
"Furious beyond belief. What happens now? This can not be abided & will not be forgotten. It has only just begun." - HarryWaisbren
"Has anyone else noticed that the state of #Wisconsin looks like a clenched fist?" - Red_Ben89
"Apparently Gov. Walker is giving up democracy for Lent." - blissfulfun
"Since there don't appear to be any rules/laws in WI government now, let's skip the 1 year rule and recall Walker's ass right now." - AnnieRauh
"Hey, things happen. RT @TeresaKopec: I guess the Kochs got their money's worth. And the middle class just got kicked in the teeth." - umarsattar
E-mail exchange reveals Republican concessions in budget bill standoff
An e-mail exchange released by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's office on Tuesday revealed a series of potential Republican concessions to a three-week stand-off over a budget bill that would restrict the collective bargaining rights of most public workers.
The e-mails show a discussion between Walker's deputy chief of staff, Eric Schutt, and Democratic state Sens. Tim Cullen and Bob Jauch.
FULL STORYTired but undaunted, Wisconsin protesters continue to make themselves heard
Francis Clark walked away from the Wisconsin capitol building in Madison with protest signs under his arms and leaned against a stone ledge.
"Man, we're tired. We need a day off," the chef from Madison said Tuesday to anyone walking by who would listen.
For three weeks, tens of thousands of protesters and union supporters from around the Midwest have flocked to Madison to rally against Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to eliminate most collective bargaining powers from state worker unions.
The crowds have thinned since the ferocious early days of protests, but protest chants still echoed through the golden halls of this gorgeous capitol building on Tuesday.
In the rotunda, union supporters took turns leading the crowd in protest chants. A woman held up a sign that read, "Walker's Bill is Sick. I know, I'm a nurse." And a small group of firefighters marched around the rotunda showing solidarity with the union protesters. (Police and firefighters will not lose their collective bargaining powers under the governor's proposal.)
The day's most popular stories
The five most popular stories on CNN.com in the past 24 hours, according to NewsPulse.
Teen basketball star dies after winning shot: As news of Wes Leonard's death spread, a small community on the banks of Lake Michigan convulsed in shock. A moment of enormous school pride was reduced to irrelevance, a moment of joy turned into the opposite.
Walker sends layoff warning to unions: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's administration on Friday issued notices to unions, warning them of possible layoffs in early April if the budget impasse continues.
Are whites racially oppressed? They marched on Washington to reclaim civil rights. They complained of voter intimidation at the polls. They called for ethnic studies programs to promote racial pride. They are, some say, the new face of racial oppression in this nation - and their faces are white.
10-year-old girl upstages Lady Gaga: The 10-year-old girl whose rendition of Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" made her a YouTube sensation joined her idol onstage Thursday night - and stole the show.
Protesters mowed down in Libya, witness says: "Indescribable" violence rippled through the Libyan city of Zawiya on Friday, according to a witness who said pro-government forces gunned down peaceful protesters there.
Wisconsin law requires teaching of history of organized labor
Public school teachers have been among the loudest voices protesting inside and outside the Wisconsin state capitol in Madison over Gov. Scott Walker's proposals for dealing with the state’s budget problems - specifically his legislation to limit public workers' collective bargaining rights.
Here’s a piece of irony: Wisconsin law requires that public school students be taught the history of organized labor. The kids certainly are getting a real-time lesson in the subject.
Some teachers who left their classrooms and hit the bricks in defense of their ability to organize and negotiate contracts likely are those who teach the history of the labor movement to students in those same classrooms.
Wisconsin Assembly Bill 172, passed by Democrat-controlled state legislature, was signed into law by then-Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, in December 2009.
The law requires teachers to include instruction in “the history of organized labor and the collective bargaining process.”
The state’s Department of Public Instruction website reads: “Wisconsin has long been a leader in labor rights. The Progressive Movement, which had its beginnings in our state, led to laws limiting child labor and safety in the workplace. Unions such as the AFL-CIO and Teamsters allow us to enjoy an eight-hour work week and vacation time. In fact, it has been argued by some historians that the history of the United States itself could be a history of labor.” The DPI site notes that the law made Wisconsin the first state in the nation to include the history of organized labor as part of state standards for teaching social studies.
Teachers are referred to websites for the Educational Communications Board Surf Report on Labor History, Wisconsin Historical Society Labor Collections and Wisconsin Labor History Society.
The Wisconsin Labor History Society offers teachers outlines to help them present the subject. “Workers and unions helped to make our nation great and to create our standard of living, with top wages and benefits for all workers. There were many struggles facing workers in reaching these goals. This presentation will discuss some of those struggles and identify the major gains of early workers and their unions. ...
Today, the United States is the richest country on earth. By most standards, U.S. earnings permit the vast majority of us to enjoy the highest standards of living. Most families have cars, sometimes two or three, televisions, refrigerators and their children have access to boom boxes, CDs, computers and cell phones.”
Back in April 2009, when then-historical society President Kenneth Germanson testified before the state legislature in support of the bill, he recounted the contributions by organized labor to American society. “But who is aware of this today?” Germanson asked. “Very few persons, and it’s a result of an education system that has overlooked a key part of American history. It’s precisely this omission that AB 172 seeks to overcome.”
Some politically conservative blogs are now calling to repeal AB 172.
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