Odra Heitmann hauled the heavy package labeled “Dora’s Talking Kitchen” off a Toys R Us shelf and set it on the floor for a better look.

CHERAW, S.C. — Louise McQueen has scrimped all her life, working two jobs while raising two daughters alone and now earning $5.47 an hour as a cook in a small restaurant. So it’s a comfort to her in this rural corner of South Carolina that Congress this week was poised to raise the minimum hourly wage to $7.25 over the next two years.

LOS ANGELES — Amana Siddiqi loved swimming as a child but gave it up as a teenager because her Muslim faith required she fully cover her body in public.

NEW YORK — It’s not often you can compare Internet addresses with clothing, but a growing practice comes close, contributing to a global shortage in good names.