Green Bay News

APPLETON – Seven Broadway shows highlight the 2015-16 season for the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, according to the schedule released Tuesday.

Season ticket packages are now available, either online at broadwayacrossamerica.com or by phone at 800-216-7469. Individual show tickets will go on sale 8-to-12 weeks before the performances.

The schedule for the Kimberly-Clark Broadway Across America series:

KINKY BOOTS
Oct. 13-18

DR. SEUSS’  HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS!
Nov. 17-22

DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
Dec. 18-20

DISNEY’S NEWSIES
Feb. 2-7, 2016

RODGERS + HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA
March 8-13, 2016

MOTOWN THE MUSICAL
April 5-10, 2016

CHICAGO
May 17-22, 2016

MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Wisconsin state AFL-CIO and two local unions have filed a lawsuit seeking to at least temporarily stop implementation of Wisconsin’s new right-to-work law.

The lawsuit arguing that the law is unconstitutional was filed Tuesday in Dane County Circuit Court comes one day after Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law.

Walker spokeswoman Laurel Patrick and Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel both say they are confident the state law will be upheld, just as federal courts have ruled in favor of similar laws in Michigan and Indiana.

The lawsuit is seeking a temporary injunction to prevent the law from being enforced. The unions argue that the law is an unconstitutional taking of their property without just compensation and that enforcing the law would cause them irreparable harm.

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Windell Middlebrooks, an actor who gained TV commercial stardom as a burly, no-nonsense beer delivery man who confiscated the brew from undeserving snobs, has died, his family said Tuesday. He was 36.

Middlebrooks died Monday in the Los Angeles area, said his manager and friend, Steve Ivey. The cause of death and further details were not immediately released.

In a statement, Middlebrooks’ family members said they “with sorrowed hearts, announce the passing of a young, black star” who had exited the stage with “great joy.”

“It was Windell’s biggest wish that his final scene not be lived on social media,” his family said, asking for privacy to mourn.

Besides his eye-catching TV spots for Miller High Life beer, Middlebrooks’ credits included the TV series “Body of Proof,” ”Cougar Town” and “Scrubs.” He is in the new Adam Carolla film “Road Hard.”

“In all my years, I’ve never known a kinder soul, and he will be dearly missed by all of us who knew him,” Ivey said.

Details on survivors were not immediately available.

MADISON (AP) – Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has repeatedly shown a fearlessness, and even affinity, for patiently taking questions from reporters following the most mundane events or in the face of embarrassing slip-ups.

But in the past two weeks the Republican governor has become much harder to reach as he ramps up for a likely 2016 presidential campaign.

While Walker has not been available for questions, he’s been busy making news. In recent days, he has supported a 20-week abortion ban, signed into a law a measure that prohibits requiring a worker to pay union dues, backed elimination of a 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases and criticized Hillary Clinton for using a private email account while at the State Department.

Walker addressed those issues either by issuing statements, holding public events without taking questions or in one-on-one interviews. He hasn’t been available to field questions from reporters in Wisconsin since he was in Green Bay on Feb. 24.

When he has taken questions from audience members at speeches he’s given lately, Walker has gotten a little tongue tied.

In London last month for a trade mission, Walker refused to answer a number of questions about foreign affairs from reporters and others in the audience at a policy think tank. And when asked by the event moderator whether he believed in evolution, Walker said he was going to “punt” on that one as well.

Less than a week after that trip, Walker’s political committee hired a pair of veteran foreign policy advisers.

On Feb. 26, in response to a question from an audience member at a conservative summit outside of Washington, Walker said he was prepared to take on international terrorists because of his experience standing up to pro-union protesters. The comment drew strong rebukes that crossed party lines.

At his first public event in Wisconsin six days after that, a speech to hundreds at a state chamber of commerce event in Madison, Walker didn’t take questions. His spokeswoman Laurel Patrick said that he was sick, and Walker referenced having “a little bit of a cold” before delivering a 25-minute speech.

Reporters were kept at a distance on Monday when Walker signed a right-to-work bill into law at an invite-only event outside of Milwaukee. Patrick said Tuesday that his comments at the event spoke for themselves.

The governor also left an Ag Summit in Iowa on Saturday without taking reporters’ questions. A spokeswoman for Walker’s Our American Revival committee said he was too busy “running from event to event.”

Walker has never shown any fear in standing before the press, even under very uncomfortable circumstances.

Walker held a news conference in 2011 on the same day that news broke he had taken a phone call from someone he thought was billionaire Republican backer David Koch, but who turned out to be a prankster who then posted a recording of the call on his blog.

More recently, in December, Walker took questions after news broke that a letter drafted in his name to a Jewish leader about a decade ago ended with him saying “Molotov” instead of “mazel tov.”

Walker fielded the questions following a Menorah lighting ceremony.

Walker went through a couple “tough weeks” taking questions from reporters, so now he’s limiting access because there’s no advantage for him to be available, said Charles Franklin, a University of Wisconsin political science professor.

“For the most part, that seems to have served him well in terms of rising in polls across the country,” Franklin said.

Despite Walker’s recent reluctance to meet the press, there’s been no change in policy because “there is no set policy,” Patrick said. She said there have been multiple instances where Walker did not take questions. The example she gave was when Walker signed the state budget in June 2013.

“As we typically do, we will advise the Governor’s public events the day ahead of the event and will note in the advisory whether he will be taking questions, as time allows,” she said.

Walker’s critics, including the liberal political action committee American Bridge 21st Century, say he’s dodging reporters while “doubling down on extreme positions that are taking him closer and closer to the right wing conservative base.”

MADISON (AP) – The FBI is investigating a cyberattack focused on Internet resources for city and county governments in Madison that comes after a white police officer shot and killed an unarmed biracial teenager.

The Wisconsin State Journal reports that the attack began Monday afternoon and was still continuing Tuesday afternoon.

Paul Kronberger, the city’s chief information officer, says the attack at times blocked or interrupted official communications involving the Internet, including email and some police and fire dispatch services.

Police spokesman Joel DeSpain says a group calling itself “Anonymous” claimed responsibility for the attack. That is the name used by a group known for hacking governments and other organizations.

The cyberattack is similar to attacks in other cities where officer-involved shootings have taken place.

GREEN BAY – It was a step forward Tuesday afternoon for the proposed $10 million Green Bay psychiatric hospital.

The city’s redevelopment authority approved Strategic Behavioral Health’s development agreement.

After nationwide analysis, the Tennessee based company found there is a need in the Northeast Wisconsin region for its 72-bed facility. It would provide mental health and substance abuse care.

However, at the RDA meeting, Bellin Health said there is no need and its psychiatric hospital consistently has 40 open beds.

“As a partner and one of the largest employers in the city of Green Bay, it is very disappointing to us that we were not engaged in any conversations prior to the news breaking on Friday,” said Chris Woleske, executive vice president of Bellin Health.

“You never typically go to your competitor and ask permission to come into a community,” said Jim Shaheen, president and founder of Strategic Behavioral Health.

The city council still needs to approve the development agreement.

Strategic Behavioral Health wants to break ground on its hospital in June and open one year later.

CAROL COUNTY, IN (WRTV) – A newborn calf almost didn’t survive his delivery deep in an Indiana snowbank.

But the lucky animal belongs to a farmer who did whatever he could to save “Leroy.”

And he keeps his hot tub hot when it’s cold outside.

Reporter Drew Smith from WRTV tells the story of a third generation farmer who rescued a newborn calf with his hot tub.

ATLANTA (AP) – Issuing a clarion call to Americans saddled by student debt, President Barack Obama urged student borrowers Tuesday to stand up for their rights, and announced a medley of modest steps to bring some order to a notoriously chaotic system.

Obama unveiled his “student aid bill of rights” before a gymnasium packed with nearly 10,000 students at Georgia Tech, where he said the nation must mobilize to bring about deeper changes to student loans. Not only should every American be able to afford college, Obama said, they also should be able to afford the loan payments that kick in with a vengeance once they graduate.

“We’re trying to tackle this problem from every angle,” Obama said. “We want to make this experience more affordable, because you’re not just investing in yourselves, you’re investing in your nation.”

In the Oval Office ahead of his brief visit to Atlanta, Obama signed a presidential memorandum with policy tweaks that don’t require new legislation from Congress – a plus as far as the White House is concerned. The memo targets third parties like Navient – formerly Sallie Mae – that contract with the government to collect on loans. Those companies will be required to better inform borrowers about repayment options and notify them when they are delinquent, the White House said.

Obama also called for a single website where students can see all their federal loans in one place – a major problem for students with multiple loans or debt that’s been sold from lender to lender. He also called for a website where borrowers can file complaints.

The presidential steps aim to crack down on a student loan system known for being complex and confusing to navigate. In recent years, lawsuits and critical government reports have cast a light on industry abuses and the difficulties facing borrowers.

A Consumer Financial Protection Bureau study last year found borrowers were getting little help when they ran into trouble and had few affordable repayment options. And in May, Sallie Mae reached a $60 million settlement with the Justice Department to resolve allegations it charged military members excessive interest rates and improperly sought default judgments.

When Vickie Kight of Houston couldn’t afford to pay the interest accruing on her loans, she turned to her loan servicer for help – and says she didn’t get it. Her wages being garnished, Kight dropped out of Louisiana’s Southern University, returning to school only years later once her finances were under control.

“They were very aggressive with me,” Kight said in an interview. Her student loan servicer eventually passed her loan onto a collection agency. “That’s when it got really hectic. They weren’t providing much information. They just said you owe this much to the bank.”

Obama also floated the possibility of proposing legal changes to how student loans are affected by bankruptcy. Currently, student loans cannot typically be discharged even in bankruptcy. His memo also requires servicers to apply early payments to loans with the highest interest rates, helping students pay off debt faster.

Although Obama has long lamented the high cost of college, he’s run into obstacles that have limited his efforts to improve the situation.

Using his executive authority, Obama expanded a federal repayment plan to allow more low-income Americans to cap their payments. But when Obama this year proposed to eliminate the “529” college savings plan to make way for education tax benefits, opposition was so strong that he had to jettison the idea. And the president’s $60 billion pitch this year for two years of free community college has gained little traction in the Republican-controlled Congress.

The government estimates total U.S. student debt exceeds $1.1 trillion, with around 7 million Americans in default.

Before returning to Washington, Obama was to headline a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee, which is beginning to gear up for the 2016 presidential race. Roughly 25 donors paid up to $33,400 to attend.

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Associated Press writer Nedra Pickler in Washington contributed to this report.

MADISON – Think your dog is photogenic?

The Wisconsin Lottery is asking dog lovers for pictures of their pooches to be featured on Top Dog, a new scratch ticket coming out in August of 2015.

Click here to find out how to submit a photo of your dog.

The Wisconsin Lottery will begin accepting photos starting Monday, March 16 at 8:00 a.m. through Friday, March 27 at 4:00 p.m.

After that, people can log on and vote for the picture they like the best. The top 5 dogs will be featured on the new scratch ticket.

Voting begins March 30 and lasts through April 10.

Winning entries will receive $100 Visa gift card, a framed voided scratch ticket featuring their dog and $20 worth of Top Dog scratch tickets.

For more information on the contest, click here.

UNITED NATIONS (AP) – A new U.N. report says a $60 billion campaign to improve the health of women and children has led to a decrease in maternal and child death rates in all 49 targeted countries.

The report released Tuesday cited improvements in the targeted countries including nearly one million new health workers, a 193 percent increase in treatments to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission, and a 25 percent rise in skilled care at births and in post-natal care for women.

But it also said that in 6.3 million children under the age of five died in 2013, the latest year for which data is available, or more than 17,000 a day.

The campaign raised $60 million between 2010 and 2015 of which $26 billion is still available for use, the report said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department says the full trove of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s emails as secretary of state will be published on a website after they are reviewed.

Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki says a review of the 55,000 pages of emails will take several months. They’ll be posted online afterward for the public to see.

Psaki also said Tuesday the reasons for any redactions will be made public, in line with Freedom of Information Act guidelines. Those could include any passages revealing anything from trade secrets to sensitive national security information.

Clinton’s aides have said no classified material was transmitted via that private email account that she used for official business while in office.

BOSTON (AP) – Jurors in the trial of Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Tuesday saw photographs of a blood-stained note speckled with bullet holes inside the boat he was captured in days after the deadly 2013 attack.

Prosecutors consider the handwritten note a confession and say it refers to the motive for the attack carried out by Tsarnaev and his late brother, Tamerlan.

In the note, written in pencil on the inside walls of the boat, Tsarnaev appears to decry U.S. actions in Muslim countries and says he is jealous of his brother because he is dead and now in paradise.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died following a violent confrontation with police during a getaway attempt four days after the bombings. Dzhokzar, then 19, was found hiding in a boat parked in a yard in Watertown.

“I do not mourn because his soul is very much alive. God has a plan for each person. Mine was to hide in this boat and shed some light on our actions,” he wrote, according to the photos shown to the jury by prosecutors.

The note also said: “The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians but most of you already know that. As a M (bullet hole) I can’t stand to see such evil go unpunished, we Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all. …”

“Now I don’t like killing innocent people it is forbidden in Islam but due to said (bullet hole) it is allowed.”

Judge George O’Toole Jr. is still trying to decide whether to allow prosecutors to cut out and bring to court the panels of the boat to show jurors or whether to bring the intact boat to the courthouse to be viewed outside by the jury, as requested by lawyers for Tsarnaev, who is now 21.

The judge ended court early Tuesday so he could go see the boat, accompanied by representatives of the prosecution and defense teams. The judge rejected a request from the media to allow a pool reporter and photographer to also see the boat.

Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured April 15, 2013, when two bombs exploded near the marathon finish line.

During opening statements at his trial, Tsarnaev’s lawyer admitted he participated in the bombings but said Tamerlan Tsarnaev was the mastermind and recruited his younger brother to help him.

Todd Brown, a Boston police bomb technician, testified that he saw the writing inside the boat when he was sent to check it to make sure there were no explosives or booby traps on board.

During cross-examination of Brown, Tsarnaev’s lawyers established that all the bullet holes were from shots coming into the boat when police fired. The officer said no bombs, guns or weapons of any kind were found inside the boat.

Several FBI agents also testified Tuesday about the collection of bomb components and other evidence from the scene of the two bombings. One agent said shrapnel from the two pressure-cooker bombs was found on the ground, inside buildings and the rooftops of buildings, including a four-story hotel.

AHMADABAD, India (AP) – A Swiss-made solar powered aircraft has landed in western India, completing the second leg of its historic round-the-world trip.

The Solar Impulse 2 touched down Tuesday at Ahmadabad airport in Gujarat state, about 16 hours after it took off from Muscat, Oman.

The world’s first aircraft powered by solar energy was to remain in Ahmadabad for two days before flying to the holy city of Varanasi in northern India on Saturday.

The Swiss pilots, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Boschberg, will take turns at the controls of the aircraft during their 35,000-kilometer (21,700-mile) journey.

The five-month long trip intends to highlight the importance of renewable energy.

The aircraft’s wings are covered by more than 17,000 solar cells that recharge the plane’s batteries. It flies ideally at around 25 knots, or 45 kph (28 mph).

BAGHDAD (AP) – Iraqi soldiers and Shiite militiamen captured a town Tuesday on the outskirts of the Islamic State-held city of Tikrit, sealing off Saddam Hussein’s hometown in preparation to confront the extremists in one of their biggest strongholds, officials said.

Seizing Alam puts the offensive on course to attempt to liberate Tikrit in the coming days, the ultimate battle-readiness test for Iraqi forces now advancing there without the support of U.S.-led airstrikes. Their operation likely will set the stage for how Iraq attempts to retake the more-densely populated cities of Mosul and Fallujah from the militants.

Iraqi forces entered Alam early Tuesday morning, their armored convoys roaring past the empty arid fields and occasional palm tree before gaining full control hours later, two Iraqi officials said. By nightfall, the military sealed off Tikrit on all sides, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.

Tikrit, the capital of Salahuddin province, lies about 130 kilometers (80 miles) north of Baghdad. Sniper fire and roadside bombs initially hampered the advance into Alam, said Ahmed al-Karim, the Salahuddin provincial council chief. Extremists also blew up the Alam bridge to slow the Iraqi force, military officials said.

After seizing Alam, Shiite militiamen held assault rifles over their heads, chanting that the Islamic State group was “unable to conquer us.” Their involvement has been key in the Iraqi offensive, as have the involvement of Iranian military advisers guiding them.

Among those directing operations is Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani, commander of the powerful Revolutionary Guard’s Quds Force. The overt Iranian role and the prominence of Shiite militias in the campaign have raised fears of possible sectarian cleansing should Tikrit, an overwhelmingly Sunni city, fall to the government troops.

Most battlefield successes in Iraq have been coordinated efforts, with Iraqi and Kurdish forces and Shiite militias fighting on the ground and the U.S.-led coalition providing air power. The siege of the village of Amirli just north of Baghdad, when many feared the capital itself might fall, was broken last year with the help of U.S.-led airstrikes and a fighting force of mainly Shiite militias. Shiite militiamen backed by a coalition air campaign also retook the town of Jurf al-Sukhr, on Baghdad’s outskirts, from the militants in October.

Soleimani was a key player in both of those campaigns. But Iraqi and Kurdish officials and Shiite militia fighters all acknowledge the crucial role the coalition airstrikes played in their modest victories. And so far, the U.S. has said it isn’t coordinating with Iran on its strikes and hasn’t been asked to provide aerial support in the Tikrit offensive.

The Islamic State group holds a third of Iraq and neighboring Syria in its self-declared caliphate. In Syria, activists said Tuesday that more than 70 prisoners escaped from an Islamic State jail in the northern town of Al-Bab, with militants searching for those who fled.

The prisoners took the opportunity to escape when clashes erupted between rival militant groups, said Bari Abdelatif, an activist from al-Bab who is now based in Turkey.

“There are checkpoints everywhere,” Abdelatif said of the town. He also said militants drove through the town’s streets, calling on people over loudspeakers to hand over any hiding prisoners.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights and Abdelatif said those who fled included Kurdish fighters captured by the Islamic State group in recent months. The Observatory said the extremists were able to recapture some of those who fled but did not provide details or numbers.

In recent months, the Islamic State group has been defeated in some areas, including the Syrian border town of Kobani and several surrounding villages.

U.S. military officials have that said a coordinated military mission to retake Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, likely will begin in April or May and involve up to 25,000 Iraqi troops. But the Americans have cautioned that if the Iraqis are not ready, the offensive could be delayed.

Tikrit is one of the largest cities held by Islamic State militants and lies on the road connecting Baghdad to Mosul. Retaking it will help Iraqi forces have a major supply link for any future operation to retake Mosul.

Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, has emphasized on the importance of sustaining the anti-Islamic State coalition for the longer term. Shiite dominance in Baghdad has upset predominantly Sunni countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Iraq’s own Sunni heartland, leading some to support the extremists. Former members of Iraq’s outlawed Baath party, loyalists to Saddam, also joined the Islamic State group during its offensive.

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Associated Press writer Bassem Mroue in Beirut contributed to this report.

LAUREL, Md. (AP) – Interstate 95’s southbound lanes are closed about 5 miles north of the Capital Beltway in Maryland after officials say a tanker truck overturned, spilling about 400 gallons of bio-diesel fuel.

The tanker overturned Tuesday morning south of state Route 198 near Laurel, bringing traffic to a halt in both directions for more than two hours. Northbound lanes have reopened.

Local media are showing aerial shots of the tanker lying across four lanes, pushing into barrier walls along the median. State police say three passenger vehicles were also involved, but it isn’t yet clear what happened.

Prince George’s County fire officials say two people, including the tanker driver, were evaluated, but didn’t need to be taken to a hospital. Southbound lanes are expected to remain closed for hours while crews clean up.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congressional Democrats on Tuesday accused Senate Republicans who signed a letter to Iran’s leadership of undermining President Barack Obama in international talks aimed at curbing Tehran’s nuclear program and preventing the need for future military conflict.

In remarks on the Senate floor, Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., pronounced the letter reckless, much as it would have been for U.S. lawmakers to “reach out to the Vietnamese” a generation ago.

He said he hoped it would not cause the negotiations to fail, adding that an attempt to avoid a nuclear-armed Iran “is something that should not be undermined for political ambition.”

Durbin spoke a day after nearly four dozen Republican senators sent their letter, a step that Obama and Vice President Joseph Biden both strongly condemned and White House spokesman Josh Earnest said reflected a “rush to war, or at least the rush to the military option.”

The letter’s lead author, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., denied undermining Obama’s negotiating position. Appearing on MSNBC, he said, “We’re making sure that Iran’s leaders understand that if Congress doesn’t approve a deal, Congress won’t accept a deal.”

He accused Iran of seeking “a nuclear umbrella so they can continue to export terrorism around the world.”

In an open letter Monday to the leaders of Iran, Republican lawmakers warned that unless Congress approved it, any nuclear deal they cut with Obama could expire the day he walks out of the Oval Office. It was signed by 47 of the Senate’s 54 Republicans, including members of the leadership and potential presidential candidates.

In a statement issued late Monday night, Biden said Republicans had “ignored two centuries of precedent” and he said the move “threatens to undermine the ability” of any future president to negotiate with foreign countries.

Biden, in his statement, noted that presidents of both political parties have negotiated historic international agreements. “Diplomatic recognition of the People’s Republic of China, the resolution of the Iran hostage crisis, and the conclusion of the Vietnam War were all conducted without congressional approval,” he noted.

The Republican-drafted letter was an aggressive attempt to make it more difficult for Obama and five world powers to strike an initial agreement by the end of March to limit Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran insists is for peaceful purposes.

Republicans worry that Iran is not negotiating in good faith and that a deal would be insufficient and unenforceable, allowing Iran to eventually become a nuclear-armed state. They have made a series of proposals to undercut or block it — from requiring Senate say-so on any agreement to ordering new penalty sanctions against Iran to threats of stronger measures.

The Republicans’ move comes just days after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke to a joint meeting of Congress at Republican House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation. In his address, Netanyahu bluntly warned the United States that a deal would pave Iran’s path to a nuclear bomb.

“I think it’s somewhat ironic that some members of Congress want to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran,” Obama said about conservative Iranians who also are leery of, or downright against, the negotiations. “It’s an unusual coalition.”

The letter, written by freshman Sen. Tom Cotton, was addressed to the “Leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran” and presents itself as a constitutional primer to the government of an American adversary.

Explaining the difference between a Senate-ratified treaty and a mere agreement between Obama and Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the senators warned, “The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen, and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif was quoted by the website of Iranian state TV on Tuesday as saying the letter’s warning that any nuclear deal could be scrapped once Obama leaves office suggests the United States is “not trustworthy.” He called the letter “unprecedented and undiplomatic.” Earlier, he had dismissed it as a “propaganda ploy.”

Not all Republican senators are united. One significant signature missing from Monday’s letter was Bob Corker of Tennessee. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he said he wants to focus on a bipartisan effort that can generate a deal.

“We’ve trying to lead a solid bipartisan effort that tries to generate an outcome,” Corker said.

Negotiating alongside the U.S. are Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia. Nuclear negotiations resume next week in Switzerland.

Officials say the parties have been speaking about a multi-step agreement that would freeze Iran’s uranium enrichment program for at least a decade before gradually lifting restrictions. Sanctions relief would similarly be phased in.

The Obama administration believes it has authority to lift most trade, oil and financial sanctions that would be pertinent to the nuclear deal in exchange for an Iranian promise to limit its nuclear programs. For the rest, it needs Congress’ approval. And lawmakers could approve new Iran sanctions to complicate matters.

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Associated Press writers Alan Fram, Steve Peoples, Chuck Babington, Laurie Kellman and Jim Kuhnhenn in Washington and Cara Anna at the United Nations contributed to this report.

A change to kids’ meals at Burger King is being made.

The fast food chain will no longer offer soda with the meals.

Instead, Burger King will offer fat-free milk, 100 percent apple juice or low-fat chocolate milk. This doesn’t mean you can’t get a soda with the kids meal, it just won’t be listed on the menu.

Child health advocacy groups have been encouraging fast-food chains to make the switch, in an effort to curb childhood obesity.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The labor union members did not boo the Republicans.

Instead, hundreds of firefighters offered polite applause or silence to GOP White House prospects Tuesday at a union-backed presidential forum, a Washington event that highlighted organized labor’s evolving role in national politics.

“Both parties want to work with firefighters,” said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, a likely Republican presidential candidate who addressed the crowded hotel ballroom in a brief video message. “People on both sides of the aisle understand the tremendous commitment our courageous firefighters make each day.”

Bush was among a half dozen potential Republican White House candidates to address Tuesday’s gathering of the International Association of Fire Fighters, an organization that has poured millions of dollars into recent elections – largely to benefit Democrats. Union leaders could not remember endorsing a Republican presidential candidate. Organized labor generally has worked aggressively against some of the GOP’s more controversial leaders such as Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who signed legislation to weaken union members in his state on Monday and did not appear at the firefighters’ conference.

Yet, beyond the cool reception for many Republicans at Tuesday’s event, there are signs the GOP is cutting into the Democratic Party’s long hold on labor unions.

Exit polls taken after last fall’s mid-term elections found that union members were almost evenly split between the Republican and the Democrat in the major statewide races for U.S. Senate. The Republican wave in the November elections left many unions nationwide looking exceptionally vulnerable.

Union leaders on Tuesday conceded that a significant portion of their members – most of them white working-class men – vote Republican.

“We’re a union that understands the diversity of our membership,” said Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, noting that his organization would contemplate presidential endorsements in both parties over the coming year.

Jim Tolley, president of the Florida Professional Firefighters union, said his organization endorsed both of Bush’s successful gubernatorial campaigns.

He described Bush as “very understanding” and said his Florida members might endorse him again should he run for president. “Will this entire body? I think there’s going to be a lot of discussion,” he said.

Would-be Republican presidential candidates did their best to make a good impression.

“We’re sensitive to the issues you care about,” said Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, who is telling donors he will seek the presidency. “You’re an important part of the ability of our governments to respond. And we’ll continue to be allies and advocates for the causes that are important to your profession.”

“God bless firefighters, each and every one of you,” said Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, whose calls to repeal President Barack Obama’s health care law were met with silence.

“You are frontline fighters in the war against terrorism,” said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., who cast some of his Republican colleagues, like Cruz, as hypocrites for voting against a recent bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security.

Democrats were well represented on Tuesday as well.

While former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton did not attend, the speaking program featured several possible Democratic hopefuls, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley.

“There are two important things you did not hear from any of today’s Republican speaker. One is a commitment to collective bargaining,” O’Malley declared, and was immediately interrupted by a standing ovation. “The second is a commitment to funding public safety.”

Webb noted that the firefighters union previously supported his Virginia Senate campaign.

“I may call on you again, so stay tuned,” he said.

Watch as she discusses her use of private email while she was Secretary of State.

WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. employers advertised the most jobs in 14 years in January, and more workers quit – both signs of a steadily strengthening job market.

Job openings rose 2.5 percent to nearly 5 million, the most since January 2001, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The number of people who quit their jobs increased 3 percent to 2.8 million, the most in more than six years.

More quits are generally a sign of confidence in the economy, because people typically leave their jobs when they either have another one lined up, often at higher pay, or are optimistic that they can find a new position.

Increased openings are usually followed by stronger job gains. Steady economic growth, powered largely by consumer spending, has boosted businesses’ confidence in the economy and made them more willing to hire.

The figures follow another strong monthly jobs report released Friday. Employers added 295,000 jobs in February, extending a robust streak of hiring that began last year. The number of Americans earning paychecks has jumped nearly 3.3 million in the past year, the best 12-month gain since March 2000.

That gain has helped to sharply lower the U.S. unemployment rate to 5.5 percent from 6.7 percent a year ago.

The figures that were reported Friday are a net figure: Jobs gained minus jobs lost. The data being reported Tuesday are more detailed. They calculate total hires, as well as quits and layoffs.

Tuesday’s report also includes revisions to the previous five years of data. Job openings in December were revised down sharply from more than 5 million to 4.88 million.

Total hiring actually slowed in January, to fewer than 5 million after reaching 5.2 million, a seven-year high, in December. The number of layoffs also fell that month.

“The slower recovery in hiring suggests employers are taking their time filling openings or are having a hard time finding qualified candidates,” Sarah House, an economist at Wells Fargo, said in a note to clients.

Those difficulties could prompt employers to offer higher pay to fill some positions, economists say. There were, on average, 1.8 unemployed workers for every open job in January. That is typical of a healthy economy and is down from a record high of 6.7 in July 2009, just after the recession ended.

Yet so far, the improving job market has yet to lift wages much. Average hourly pay rose just 2 percent in the 12 months that ended in February, down from a 2.2 percent year-over-year pay increase in January.