Graduate assistants petition for unionUNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State graduate student assistants are seeking union representation.A group called the Coalition of Graduate Employees at PSU filed a petition for a union election with the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board on Wednesday. CGEPSU represents more than 3,700 graduate assistants.The group says its members want more say in determining pay, benefits and working conditions. CGEPSU claims Penn State makes these decisions without any student input.Penn State graduate assistants currently receive stipends and grants that cover tuition costs. The school also offers them health insurance coverage.

McDonald’s to sell $1 sodas in April NEW YORK — McDonald’s is hoping $1 sodas can help draw more customers into its stores in the U.S. as it fights to reverse four years of declining visits.The company says it plans to offer $1 sodas of any size for a limited time starting in April, with smoothies, frappes and shakes being sold for $2. The deals, earlier reported by Bloomberg, come after McDonald’s sales dipped 1.3 percent at established U.S. location in the last quarter of 2016. Customer visits declined for the fourth straight year in 2016 despite the fanfare over its all-day breakfast menu.

Ivanka Trump visits business programWASHINGTON — Ivanka Trump expanded her research on economic policy Wednesday with a visit to a program for business owners in Baltimore.The first daughter visited the Raymond V. Haysbert Center for Entrepreneurship at the Greater Baltimore Urban League, where she participated in a roundtable discussion with minority business owners, mostly from the Baltimore area.National Urban League President Marc Morial invited Trump to show her “a highly successful program that is supported by the federal government that makes a difference in the success of small entrepreneurs.”