Hillary Wicai

Beginning tomorrow, anyone flying anywhere outside the U.S. will need a valid passport. That's worrisome for businesses in Mexico and Canada that count on American tourists. Hillary Wicai reports.

House Democrats wrap up their 100-hours agenda today with a vote on a bill that would end subsidies for Big Oil and invest that money in a renewable energy fund. Hillary Wicai reports.

America's 47 million uninsured are creating a health care crisis, and out of necessity has come a coalition of strange bedfellows working together for a solution. Hillary Wicai reports.

Democrats are set to take up their next big issue tomorrow: interest rates on student loans. The bill would cut rates on some loans in half. Who's going to pay for that? Hillary Wicai reports.

The House is expected to pass a bill tomorrow that would cut interest rates on student loans by half — but banks are hoping to stop it in the Senate. Hillary Wicai reports.

The Senate is focusing new attention on how workplace policies affect families at home. Hillary Wicai has the story.

Rapid urbanization is taking a heavy toll on the environment and human living conditions around the world, but it could also make the problems easier to solve. Hillary Wicai explains.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates today called for 92,000 troops to be added to the military over the next five years. Hillary Wicai looks at what it might take to get recruits to sign on the bottom line.

Congressional Democrats have a lot on their list that might be of interest to working families. Hillary Wicai talks to Kai Ryssdal from Washington.

Congress is expected to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 an hour over the next two years — but proponents may have to cut small businesses a break to make it happen. Hillary Wicai reports.