By Karen Pierog CHICAGO (Reuters) - Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan on Tuesday proposed a comprehensive plan to fix the state's sagging public pension system - the worst-funded state pension system in the country - with only a month to go in the legislature's spring session. The 271-page measure sets a cap on salaries used to determine pensions, limits cost-of-living adjustments on pensions for future retirees, increases retirement ages for workers currently under 45 years old, and hikes worker pension contributions by 1 percent over each of the next two fiscal years. ...


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama needled a GOP senator Tuesday, then praised Republicans working to solve the immigration riddle. He pledged to re-engage with Congress to close the U.S. detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, then decried the intractability of Congress. He cast Republicans as potential allies, then criticized their obstruction.
By Nanette Byrnes (Reuters) - The Justice Department said on Tuesday that a federal court had authorized the Internal Revenue Service to seek information on U.S. taxpayers who may have accounts at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce FirstCaribbean International Bank (FCIB). In a move resembling a recent IRS inquiry into Americans with Swiss bank accounts, the Justice Department said a court order would let the IRS serve a 'John Doe' summons seeking records of FCIB's U.S. correspondent account at Wells Fargo & Co. ...

By Chris Michaud NEW YORK (Reuters) - The musical "Kinky Boots," with the score by pop star Cyndi Lauper, on Tuesday earned 13 nominations for the Tony Awards, leading the field for Broadway's highest honor and closely followed by British import "Matilda," which received 12. Both shows were nominated for best musical, along with "Bring It On: The Musical" and "A Christmas Story: The Musical." Lauper was nominated for best score along with book writer Harvey Fierstein and three members of the show's cast. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Plan B morning-after pill is moving over-the-counter, a decision announced by the Food and Drug Administration just days before a court-imposed deadline.