Outside the Beltway

The economy contracted in the first quarter of 2015, and that suggests the rest of the year isn’t going to be very good either.

A minimum wage for thee, but not for me.

Several of the top representatives of soccer’s governing body have been indicted by a Federal Grand Jury in New York.

Los Angeles became the latest major city to increase its minimum wage. It’s a risky bet that is likely to do more harm than good.

A New Jersey legislator is proposing finally getting rid of an antiquated law that makes it illegal to pump your own gas in the Garden State.

There’s a better way to finance news than hiding it behind paywalls.

What if this is the new normal?

If a new campaign succeeds, Harriet Tubman could replace Andrew Jackson on the $20 bill.

Congressman Darrell Issa says that America’s poor are generally better off than the poor in the rest of the world. While he’s correct, he’s also incredibly tone deaf.

Economic growth slowed significantly in the first three months of 2015, but it’s not clear what that means going forward.

The N.F.L.’s league office is giving up its tax exempt status, but that means far less than the headline implies.

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker is now appealing to the worst aspects of economic populism on the right.

“Chewie, we’re rich.”

The scandal that will make everyone forget about Benghazi.

One Missouri legislator is going on a crusade against a “problem” that may not actually exist.

The US economy added 126,000 jobs, much less than the guess of 244,000.

A tale of Kafkaesque torture by Comcast Customer Service reveals that the person who really made the mistakes here was the homeowner.

February’s jobs report came in stronger than analysts expected, but wage growth remains stubbornly stagnant.

As expected, President Obama has vetoed the bill that would have authorized the Keystone XL Pipeline.

The January Jobs Report showed that the trend of strong jobs growth we saw in 2014 appears to be continuing into the new year.

While the issue of income inequality is quite real, Oxfam’s numbers are not.

President Obama’s decision on Keystone XL is apparently to delay things long enough so he doesn’t have to decide at all.

Just one day into the new Congress, the first confrontation is already set.

JetBlu is joining the competition in charging bag fees and cramming in more seats.

Reversing a previous decision, Sony will allow The Interview to be screened in a small number of theaters.

The Commerce Department had a Christmas present for investors, businesses, and consumers today.

Talk about your second- and third-order effects.

President Obama criticized Sony for backing down, and said that the U.S. would respond to North Korea’s cyber attack “at a place and time we choose,”

With major theater chains having pulled out, Sony bowed to the inevitable, but now there appears to be proof that a foreign power is behind the Sony hacking attacks and threats of violence.

For a year that started out with regaining long-lost territory in Ukraine, 2014 is not ending so well for Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

The U.S. Government continues to lose money on production of two coins that people barely use anymore.

Unlike Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson has lost his bid to have his suspension overturned.

It looks like Congress has averted a budget fight for the second straight year.

The Court holds that Federal Law does not require employees to be paid for the time waiting to get through mandatory security screening.

Russia’s own government is projecting that its economy will slip into recession next year. How that will impact Putin’s current belligerence remains to be seen.

The Food & Drug Administration’s new regulations requiring calorie and other information on menus in restaurants and elsewhere won’t work, could limit consumer choice, and may not be Constitutional.

The U.S. Government is looking for lawyers willing to work for free.

In a slap to the face of the N.F.L. and Commissioner Roger Goodell, an arbitrator has overturned the indefinite suspension that was imposed on former Ravens Running Back Ray Rice back in September.

Black Friday chaos has crossed the pond.

Once again, some people are upset because retailers are opening on Thanksgiving Day, but that’s only because people are coming out to shop.

Sen. Charles Schumer says Democrats made a mistake by concentrating on getting health care reform passed instead of on fixing the economy.

Once again, a Federal Judge has barred New Jersey’s effort to legalize sports betting based on Federal law. it’s time for the Federal Government to get out of the way on this issue.

A knowledgeable observer has a dim forecast.