Burlington shut down online sales in March right before coronavirus lockdowns. But it's among the discount retailers that have endured the pandemic surprisingly well, even opening new stores.

Retail sales soared 5.3% last month compared to December, much more than anticipated, as U.S. families began receiving new federal coronavirus relief checks.

Burlington is one discount retailer that has done surprisingly well during the pandemic. It closed its website before the March lockdown but managed to get shoppers into stores and even open new ones.

Raising the federal minimum to $15 an hour by 2025 would boost pay for at least 17 million people and cut 1.4 million jobs, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.

Despite the online push that sent GameStop's price into the stratosphere, the brick-and-mortar video game retailer is still struggling as more people shop for games online.

Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO of Amazon — the company he founded 27 years ago. This summer he will transition to executive chairman to focus on new products and early initiatives.

Amazon's CEO will be Andy Jassy, the head of its cloud computing division. "As much as I still tap dance into the office, I'm excited about this transition," Bezos says.

If workers from Amazon's warehouse near Birmingham vote to unionize in the next two months, they would turn a new page not only for the company but for the region.

Amazon could be on the verge of its first unionized warehouse in the U.S. If workers at the Alabama facility vote yes next month, they would turn a new page both for the company and the region.

The nation's capital was quiet amid unprecedented security on Inauguration Day — but there were also celebrations for the history-making vice president.

Howard marching band members and dancers are thrilled to escort Vice President Harris during the inauguration parade. "I honestly can't believe it's happening," one student said.

President-elect Joe Biden will seek to increase the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour as part of his relief bill. On Friday, workers across the U.S. staged protests to press him to keep the promise.

Although the company has unionized workers in Europe, it has held off organizing efforts here. About 6,000 workers at an Amazon facility in Alabama can cast a mail-in ballot starting Feb. 8.

Restaurants and bars are reeling from spikes of coronavirus cases in their communities. Earlier holiday sales meant online shopping and electronics sales dipped in December. Retail sales fell 0.7%.

Parler sued after Amazon Web Services booted it off the public Internet. The cloud service says the site has allowed threatening and hateful posts, even after last week's riot at the Capitol.

Money-in-politics groups have welcomed this unusually widespread — and self-initiated — reckoning by corporations over their own role in contributing to the nation's current political state.

More than 200 Google employees have unionized to press grievances with management over pay, sexual harassment and corporate ethics. It's an escalation of activism by workers at the company.

Over 200 engineers and others joined the Alphabet Workers Union, a big win for labor organizing in largely anti-union Silicon Valley. They are supported by the Communications Workers of America.

Online purchases drove this year's sales, and they are much more likely to get returned than items bought in person. Plus, people are shopping like Goldilocks.

All year, cleaning products have been flying off the shelves — now, they're flying straight into Christmas stockings and wrapping paper.