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WEATHER

WEDNESDAYMostly cloudy High 35, low 16

THURSDAYPartly sunny High 46, low 36

FRIDAYSun, clouds High 57, low 50

WEDNESDAYVolume 200Number 116© 2014 Alabama Media Group

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Jim KuhnhennAssociated Press

WASHINGTON — Challenging law-makers to help him create greater economic opportunity, President Barack Obama was expected to use his State of the Union address to announce he’s raising the mini-mum wage for new federal con-

tract workers to $10.10 an hour, underscoring a go-it-alone strat-egy in an election year critical to Democrats’ hopes for retaining Senate control.

Obama’s speech to a joint session of Congress was to be wrapped in a unifying theme: The federal government can play a key role in increasing opportunities

for Americans who have been left behind, unable to benefit from a recovering economy.

Yet the president will deliver a split message, pressing issues that will distinguish him and Demo-crats from Republicans in the 2014 midterm elections.

Illustrating his willingness to act on his own, the White House

says Obama will announce that he will sign an executive order increasing the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 for new fed-eral contracts.

The measure affects only future contracts, not existing ones, and would only apply to contract renewals if other terms of the agreement changed. As a result,

the order would benefit far fewer workers than the number fore-seen by advocates of federal con-tract employees.

Still, the issue dovetails with what will be Obama’s broader call for an increase in the national minimum wage to $10.10 and for

STATE OF THE UNION

Obama to challenge Congress on minimum wage

Barack Obama See UNION, Page 7A

SNOW, ICE SNARL ALABAMAMobile gets freezing rain, but Birmingham blanketed with snow, bringing area to halt

Water runs through a frozen fountain outside the Alabama Association of Realtors across from the Capitol on Tuesday in Montgomery. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

It’s rare that virtually the entire state of Alabama is gripped by winter’s fury. But such was the case on Tuesday. In Mobile, schools including the Univer-sity of South Alabama closed due to a

storm forecast. Many didn’t get the heavy snow and ice forecast, yet from Interstate 10 north, chaos emerged as ice slowed traffic and closed roadways.

In Huntsville, light snow caused traffic issues and closed schools.

And in Birmingham, the forecast called for a 50 percent chance of light snow, with less than an inch of accumulation. Yet in just one hour Tuesday morning, what began as only a flurry had turned into a full-fledged winter onslaught.

With moderate to heavy snow fall-ing and a temperature of just 19 degrees, schools closed, cars crashed, and anxious folks found they couldn’t get through to their loved ones’ cellphones.

At mid-morning, many schools and businesses were closing at once, creat-ing havoc on roadways. Many tried to use mobile phones at the same time, over-loading systems.

By Tuesday afternoon, the snow con-tinued pouring down in the Birmingham area and the forecast had become a Win-ter Storm Warning. Total snow accumu-lations of from two to three inches were expected.

The treacherous conditions even impacted the normal press time for The Birmingham News, as staff members who navigated the conditions to get to work — some arriving by foot instead of car — hurried to beat the early press time. Nor-mal delivery times may vary as a result for many customers due to the extreme weather conditions despite the early press time. E-editions of the newspaper will be free through Thursday.

INSIDE   WINTER STORM BRINGS COASTAL ALABAMA TO A STANDSTILL, 8A

A winter storm dumps snow in central and southern Alabama on Tuesday. Traffic creeps along I-20/59 near downtown Birmingham. (Tamika Moore/tmoore@al.com)

ONLINE UPDATES   GET THE LATEST NEWS ON THE WINTER STORM AT AL.COM