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Newsfeed NEW YORK McDonald's says it's raising pay for workers at its company- owned U.S. restaurants, making it the latest em- ployer to sweeten worker incentives in an improv- ing economy. The company owns about 10 percent of its more than 14,300 U.S. restaurants, represent- ing about 90,000 work- ers. The rest are run by franchisees, and McDon- ald's said they "make their own decisions on pay and benefits." The announcement comes as several other major companies includ- ing, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., have announced wage hikes as the econ- omy has picked up and made it more difficult to find reliable workers. Over the past 12 months, the unemployment rate has dropped to 5.5 per- cent from 6.7 percent. "It's a very competitive environment and a sig- nificant rationale for this plan is that we want to be the most competitive and attractive employer," said McDonald's USA President Mike Andres. EMPLOYMENT McDonald's:Workers at company-owned stores get pay hikes PORTLAND, MAINE A treasure hunter's effort to salvage what he calls $3 billion in platinum from a World War II shipwreck off Cape Cod has been ended by a fed- eral judge. Greg Brooks' com- pany Sea Hunters LP is no longer allowed to sal- vage additional items from the S.S. Port Nich- olson, which was sunk by a Nazi U-boat in 1942, U.S. District Judge George Singal ruled Wednesday. Brooks' treasure hunt had led to a criminal in- vestigation and legal ac- tion by investors who paid him millions of dol- lars. Brooks said he be- lieved the Port Nicholson carried platinum bars from the Soviet Union that were payment to the U.S. for war supplies. He didn't immediately return a message left at his business in Gorham on Wednesday. MAINE Judge ends man's attempt to salvage Cape Cod shipwreck KANKAKEE, ILL. A con- victed murderer await- ing sentencing escaped from a jail in eastern Il- linois Wednesday after beating a guard into un- consciousness, taking his keys and uniform and speeding off in his SUV. Kamron T. Taylor, who has a history of es- cape attempts, fled from the Jerome Combs De- tention Center in Kanka- kee at about 3 a.m. He somehow escaped from his cell, hid inside the fa- cility and then beat and choked the guard who was making rounds, said Kankakee County Sher- iff Timothy Bukowski. Taylor, a 23-year-old from Kankakee, is con- sidered armed and dan- gerous, the sheriff said. Heightening the sense of urgency, authorities issued a missing per- son alert Wednesday af- ternoon for a 15-year- old girl who they believe may be with Taylor. The relationship be- tween the girl and Tay- lor was unclear, but she's considered to be in dan- ger, Chief Deputy Ken McCabe said. The alert described her as white, 5 feet 7 inches tall, and 160 pounds with brown eyes. ILLINOIS Convicted murderer overpowers guard, escapes from jail By Kevin Freking TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON Be prepared to pay a bit more if you're headed to some national parks and recreation areas this summer. After a six-year morato- rium, the federal govern- ment is increasing the price of admission at some of its public lands and raising the fees charged for camp- ing, boating, cave tours and other activities. The National Park Service says the money expected to be raised is just a fraction of the $11.5 billion needed to repair and maintain roads, trails and park buildings. Some members of Con- gress have expressed con- cern about the fee in- creases, but National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said at a March con- gressional hearing that vis- itors are still getting an in- credible deal when com- pared to other recreational pursuits. "We cannot greet them with failing facilities," Jar- vis said of the 295 million people expected to visit Na- tional Park Service proper- ties, which also include sites like the Lincoln Memorial. Fees have increased in eight parks, including Yo- semite, so far and are likely to rise in several dozen more parks in the coming months. Each park determines how much to charge visi- tors after public input and approval from Washington. Jarvis told park superinten- dents last September to be- gin the public outreach that must accompany fee increases. The service went to Facebook as part of its ef- forts to gauge the prospect of higher fees at Yosemite National Park. "Keep in mind — this belongs to the people, and it shouldn't be priced out of the reach of the average person," wrote Gayle Part- mann of Rohnert Park, California. Partmann and her family spent sev- eral summer vacations at Yosemite when she was growing up. "I'd rather pay money to get into Yosemite than any theme park I've been to," wrote William Sanger of Berwick, Maine, who vis- ited the park in October. Only about a third of the 400-plus properties within the National Park Service system charge an entrance fee. Even in those places that do charge a fee, many visitors are exempted. For example, federal law re- quires parks to issue free passes for the disabled and to provide the elderly with the option of buying a life- time pass for just $10. Families can also buy an $80 annual pass that allows them to go to as many na- tional parks as they desire, and that price will remain the same. By comparison, the cost of going to Disneyland for a day is a minimum of $99 for one person age 10 and over. NATIONAL PARKS En tr an ce f ee s to g et a b it s tee pe r CARSONWALKER—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Hikers walk on the South Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona. A er a six-year moratorium on increasing park fees, the federal government is raising admission prices. KENT D. JOHNSO — ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION Former Deerwood Academy assistant principal Tabeeka Jordan is led to a holding cell a er a jury found her guilty in the Atlanta Public Schools test-cheating trial, Wednesday in Atlanta. Jordan and 10other former Atlanta Public Schools educators were convicted of racketeering charges. By Kate Brumback The Associated Press ATLANTA In one of the big- gest cheating scandals of its kind in the U.S., 11 for- mer Atlanta public school educators were convicted Wednesday of racketeering for their role in a scheme to inflate students' scores on standardized exams. The defendants, includ- ing teachers, a principal and other administrators, were accused of falsifying test results to collect bo- nuses or keep their jobs in the 50,000-student Atlanta school system. A 12th de- fendant, a teacher, was ac- quitted of all charges by the jury. The racketeering charges carry up to 20 years in prison. Most of the defen- dants will be sentenced April 8. "This is a huge story and absolutely the biggest de- velopment in American ed- ucation law since forever," said University of Georgia law professor Ron Carlson. "It has to send a message to educators here and broadly across the nation. Playing with student test scores is very, very dangerous busi- ness." A state investigation found that as far back as 2005, educators fed an- swers to students or erased and changed answers on tests after they were turned in. Evidence of cheating was found in 44 schools with nearly 180 educa- tors involved, and teachers who tried to report it were threatened with retaliation. Similar cheating scan- dals have erupted in Phila- delphia, Washington, D.C., Nevada and other public school systems around the country in recent years, as officials link scores to school funding and staff bonuses and vow to close schools that perform poorly. 11 former educators convicted in Atlanta cheating scandal GEORGIA The Associated Press SIOUX CITY, IOWA Texas Sen. Ted Cruz says con- cern about religious free- dom, awakened in the de- bate over a new Indiana law, could unite conserva- tive Republicans and rally some Democrats to the GOP in 2016. Cruz told an audience Wednesday he could carry the banner for that cause in his GOP presidential cam- paign. "We need to stand up as courageous conserva- tives," he told a packed au- ditorium in the heart of northwest Iowa's conserva- tive northwest in his first visit to the state since de- claring his candidacy last week. "Religious liberty is not some fringe view." Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a law giving height- ened protections to busi- nesses that object on re- ligious grounds to pro- viding certain services. That's prompted a national backlash from critics who say the law discriminates against gays, and it's draw- ing threats of boycotts and other economic punish- ment. Cruz suggested that he, in the field of likely Repub- lican contenders, is the one who can turn out conser- vatives who were not mo- tivated to vote in the last two presidential elections. "I think the most impor- tant question, if we're go- ing to win in 2016, is how do you bring back the mil- lions of conservatives who have been staying home?" he said during the hourlong speech followed by ques- tions from the audience. "I don't see a lot of folks who I think are likely to moti- vate, energize and mobilize the millions of conserva- tives to come out." POLITICS Cruz backs religious liberty The Associated Press LITTLE ROCK, ARK. Arkan- sas Gov. Asa Hutchinson backed away Wednesday from his promise to sign a controversial religious- objections bill, bowing to pressure from critics, in- cluding some of the state's biggest employers, who say the legislation is anti-gay. The Republican gover- nor said he wants the Leg- islature either to recall the bill from his desk or pass a follow-up measure that would make the proposal more closely mirror a 1993 federal religious-freedom law. "What is important from an Arkansas standpoint is one, we get the right bal- ance. And secondly, we make sure that we commu- nicate we're not going to be a state that fails to recog- nize the diversity of our workplace, our economy and our future," Hutchin- son said at a news confer- ence at the state Capitol. Hutchinson initially supported the bill, and on Tuesday, his office said he planned to sign it into law. But by Wednesday, his position had changed. After Indiana Gov. Mike Pence signed a similar measure last week, Pence and fellow Republicans en- dured days of sharp criti- cism. The Indiana governor is now seeking follow-up legislation to address con- cerns that the law could al- low businesses to discrim- inate based on sexual ori- entation. ARKANSAS Governor urges changes to bill RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 No Money Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM THURSDAY, APRIL 2, 2015 4 B