KAVISH HARJAI

Lindsay Ruck, a server at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport restaurants, pauses in Terminal 3 as she is anticipates the vote on Arizona Prop 138 on minimum wage Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Should the minimum wage be lower for workers who get tipped? Two states are set to decide
Voters in Arizona and Massachusetts are set to decide whether employers should be able to continue to pay tipped workers such as servers and bartenders a lower minimum wage than non-tipped workers.
 
Jessica Rosenworcel, Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, talks to parents during a visit to Union Avenue Elementary, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
After millions lose access to internet subsidy, FCC moves to fill connectivity gaps
The FCC voted in July to allow schools and libraries to use federal money to loan out WiFi hotspots to students and patrons.
 
Attendees pull damaged fiber optic cables during the Tribal Broadband Bootcamp held on co-founder Matthew Rantanen's ranch in Aguanga, Calif., Wednesday, June 19, 2024. More than one in five homes on tribal lands lack access to adequate broadband, compared to fewer than one in 10 on non-tribal land in 2024, according to Federal Communications Commission data. But experts say the disparity is likely greater. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
How boot camps are helping to address the historic gap in internet access on US tribal lands
A boot camp on a California ranch could help improve internet access on U.S. tribal lands. Tribal Broadband Bootcamps have brought together 72 tribal nations from across the U.S. to learn more about how to build sustainable broadband networks.
 
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., speaking about the Affordable and Connectivity Program, ACP, at the Shaw Library in Washington, Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Advocacy groups and policymakers are pushing for Congress to fully fund the ACP, because April 2024 marks the last month of full funding. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Lawmakers and advocates make last-ditch push to extend affordable internet subsidy
Millions of families will face bigger internet bills starting in May because a federal broadband subsidy program is set to expire. The Affordable Connectivity Program provided families $30 a month toward their internet bills.
 
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 18, 2024. The White House is pressing Congress to extend a subsidy program that helps one in six families afford internet and represents a key element of Biden's promise to deliver reliable broadband service to every American household. "For President Biden. internet is like water," said Tom Perez, senior adviser and assistant to the president, on a call with reporters on Monday. "It's an essential public necessity that should be affordable and accessible to everyone." (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
White House renews calls on Congress to extend internet subsidy program
The White House is pressing Congress to extend a federal program that helps families afford internet. The Affordable Connectivity Program is projected to run out of money at the end of April.
 
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in Raleigh, N.C., Jan. 18, 2024. Twenty-three million families will either have to pay more for internet or cancel their subscriptions altogether if a federal subsidy program to help with the monthly bill runs out of money in April, 2024. The potential expiration of the program comes as Biden recently touted his administration's goal of internet for all in North Carolina, where more than 900,000 families receive the benefit. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Biden’s vow of affordable internet for all is threatened by the looming expiration of subsidies
Twenty-three million families will either have to pay more for internet or cancel their subscriptions altogether if a federal subsidy program to help with the monthly bill runs out of money.
 
Wooden pallets are stored on a property adjacent to the Interstate 10 in Los Angeles, Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Guards hired by California keep eye on sites deemed risky under Los Angeles freeway damaged by fire
Since an arson fire damaged a key Los Angeles freeway, the state has hired security guards to watch out for smoke and other trouble at three other sites deemed equally risky under Interstate 10.
 
Kimberlyn Barton-Reyes, who is paraplegic and visually impaired, poses for a photo at a rehabilitation center, Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2023, in Austin, Texas. For Barton-Reyes, the Affordable Connectivity Program is a lifeline and its one-time allocation of $14.2 billion is projected to run out by the middle of 2024. That could end access to affordable broadband for her and more than 20 million households. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Broadband subsidy program that millions use will expire next year if Congress doesn’t act
One of the programs set up to ensure affordable internet for all is set to run out by the middle of 2024. The Affordable Connectivity Program’s primary allocation of $14.2 billion is projected to run out unless Congress takes steps to renew it.
 
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks during an event about high-speed internet infrastructure in the East Room of the White House, Monday, June 26, 2023, in Washington. The Biden administration on Monday, Aug. 21, continued its push toward internet-for-all by 2030, announcing about $667 million in new grants and loans to build more broadband infrastructure in the rural U.S. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden administration announces more new funding for rural broadband infrastructure
The Biden administration is continuing its push to bring internet connectivity to every home and business in the U.S.
 
FILE - President Joe Biden signs the American Rescue Plan, a coronavirus relief package, in the Oval Office of the White House, March 11, 2021, in Washington. Federal officials estimate that local governments now have spending plans in place for most of the money they received under a prominent pandemic relief law. In some cases, it's hard to know exactly how the money is being used, because some governments haven't supplied details about their projects. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
Local governments are spending billions of pandemic relief funds, but some report few specifics
Federal officials estimate that local governments now have spending plans in place for most of the money they received under a prominent pandemic relief law.
 
President Joe Biden speaks during an event about high speed internet infrastructure, in the East Room of the White House, Monday, June 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Biden’s broadband plan aims to connect every home and business in U.S. by 2030. What’s next?
The Biden administration’s plans to bring affordable, reliable broadband to every home and business in the U.S. could transform underserved communities.
 
President Joe Biden speaks during an event about high speed internet infrastructure, in the East Room of the White House, Monday, June 26, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
High-speed internet is a necessity, President Biden says, pledging all US will have access by 2030
President Joe Biden says high-speed internet is no longer a luxury but rather an “absolute necessity.” To that end, he pledged Monday that every household in the U.S. would have access by 2030, using cables made in the country.