Jesse Jackson Jr. Leads the Charge on Increasing the Minimum Wage to $10/Hour

Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. is leading the fight to increase the minimum wage.  The congressman would like to see every American get a wage of at least $10 per hour, which is an increase from the current rate of $7.25 per hour.  President Obama promised that the minimum wage would be over $9 per hour by this year, but he has not been able to make it happen.

Jackson is citing President Obama’s campaign promise and is promoting his wage increase as the Catching Up Act of 2012.    Jackson notes, however, that even an increase to $10 per hour would not match the real wage that was paid in 1968 (adjusted for inflation).

“I’m calling on President Barack Obama to honor his campaign commitment of 2008 to stand behind legislation that raises the minimum wage for the American people a little more than he requested in 2008 because the numbers and the economy reflect that $10 is not an unreasonable starting point,”

Calhoun County star among wounded in Auburn shooting

  A former Calhoun County football standout was wounded in a deadly shooting at an apartment complex at Auburn University.

Auburn Offensive Lineman Eric Mack was among three people wounded in the shooting Saturday. He was taken to the hospital where condition is not known.

Mack is a sophomore from St. Matthews.

Auburn football players among six shot, three killed at party

Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson holds photos of DesMonte Leonard, 22, of Montgomery, Ala., who is wanted in connection with the shootings of six people, three fatally, at a party Saturday night. (Vasha Hunt / AP Photo / Opelika-Auburn News / June 10, 2012)

A manhunt is underway for the suspect police say shot and killed three young men and injured three more at a Saturday night party near Auburn University in Auburn, Ala.

Former Auburn football players and current students Edward Christian and Ladarious Phillips were pronounced dead along with Auburn resident Damario Pitts. All were 20.

Current player Eric Mack, 20, was still being treated at an area hospital, and John Robertson, 20, was "fighting for his life" and undergoing critical surgery at the University of Alabama-Birmingham, Auburn Police Chief Tommy Dawson said at a Sunday news conference. A 19-year-old man was treated and released.

"I don’t believe they were targeted; I believe there was a fight and someone got carried away and things went too far," Dawson said.