Business & Economy

The Senate will debate a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 bill and aim to pass it using a process that avoids a Republican filibuster. A battle over efforts to raise the minimum wage still splits Democrats.

The U.S. power grid was designed for technology and weather that existed in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, says energy consultant Alison Silverstein. Now, she says, it needs to be updated for a future that includes climate change.

The Minnesota Department of Commerce says qualifying households can now receive up to $1,200 in emergency energy assistance this year, up from the usual $600 maximum, in the wake of this month’s severe winter weather that drove up utility costs.

Texas racked up tens of billions of dollars in electricity expenses as a free-wheeling market design sent prices skyrocketing in the wake of winter storms. The state could spend years paying down those costs — costs that many experts say were avoidable.

The Democrats' goal is to have COVID-19 relief approved by mid-March, when extra unemployment assistance and other pandemic aid expires. The Senate, which Democrats control with a tie-breaking vote from the vice president, will consider the bill next.

The House approved a $1.9 trillion pandemic relief bill that was championed by President Joe Biden, the first step in providing another dose of aid to a weary nation as the measure now moves to a tense Senate.

Meat and poultry processing plants were at the epicenter of some of the earliest COVID-19 outbreaks in communities in central and southern Minnesota. Vaccinations for the 45,000 workers at the state’s food processing plants are expected to begin in April.

A $1.9 trillion package aimed at helping the country rebuild from the pandemic seems headed toward House passage. Now, Democrats are also searching for a way to revive their drive to boost the minimum wage. 

Lawmakers are weighing a proposal to give families with kids a monthly, cash benefit to help ease the lifelong pull of poverty. Experts say it could cut U.S. child poverty nearly in half.

Backers of President Joe Biden's ambitious stimulus plan say it will help struggling families and businesses, but critics say it goes too far.