US president Obama asks for governors’ help with economy

U.S. President Barack Obama Monday appealed for help from the nation’s governors as he seeks to advance economic policies that stand little chance of winning passage in Congress. “Even when there’s little appetite in Congress to move on some of these priories, on the state level you guys are governed by practical considerations,” Obama told the governors during a meeting at the White House. “You want to do right by your people.” Obama pressed in particular for states to act on their own to raise the minimum wage and expand access to early childhood education, two initiatives that have gained little traction in Congress since the president first introduced them last year.