Employee-Paid

A plan to phase out Oklahomas Workers Compensation Court and switch to an administrative system has been endorsed by all of the states major political players and is being hailed by state business leaders as a way to drive down insurance costs.

Business and labor groups announced agreement Thursday on the principles of a key priority for a comprehensive immigration bill: a new system to bring lower-skilled workers to the United States.

A federal judge in Pittsburgh says United States Steel Corp. can randomly test new employees for drugs and alcohol, rejecting a challenge by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission which sued claiming a worker was fired when she falsely tested positive for drinking because she was diabetic.

State employees in South Carolina would pay more for health care under the House Ways and Means budget plan.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says President Barack Obama's campaign was "eight, maybe 10 years, ahead" of the Republican Party last year in understanding the rapidly changing face of the American electorate.

Immigration activists in Las Vegas are hoping to capitalize on the momentum President Barack Obama brought when he spoke on the topic here last month.