SelectPlusAP Top StoriesAP Top StoriesThe Associated PressHere's the latest news for Thursday July 24th: Tropical Storm Dolly dumps inches of rain in Texas; Barack Obama lands in Germany; Federal minimum wage increases; Latest crash test ratings signal bad news for small pickup trucks.[Notes:ANCHOR VOICE]This is A-P NewsMinute. Dolly is now a tropical storm ... But it is still dumping a lot of rain as it moves through Texas. More than five thousand people are in shelters and that number is expected to rise as more people get flooded out. Forecasters expect the storm to weaken into a tropical depression as the day goes on. Senator Barack Obama is now in Germany. He left Israel this morning after a visit to the Western Wall. He bowed his head in prayer and pushed a small note into a crevice in the ancient wall in keeping with Jewish custom. The federal minimum wage goes up by 70 cents an hour today. Minimum wage workers will now make six 55 an hour. This is the second of three annual increases. After next year's hike ... The minimum wage will be seven 25 an hour. The latest round of crash tests are out, and its mostly bad news for small pickup trucks. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says several small pickups offer dismal protection in side crashes. Safety institute president Adrian Lund says people thinking about buying a small pickup, "won't find many that afford state-of-the-art crash protection."___ ___, The Associated Press with AP NewsMinute. (****END****) VOICE:---------------------------------------PRODUCER:---------------------------------------VIDEO APPROVAL:--------------------------------------- Station: Affiliation: Location: Contact: Number: E-Mail: Author: AssociatedPress Keywords: minute world ap Added: July 24, 2008
