Rio de Janeiro hit with police walkout over wages

Brazil says it is ready to deploy troops on the streets of Rio de Janeiro as a strike by the state’s police force threatened to disrupt upcoming carnival festivities and raised new questions about security before the 2014 World Cup. The strike for higher wages began early on Friday and follows an continuing walkout by police in the northeastern state of Bahia. There, police stopped work on Jan. 31, unleashing a crime wave with more than 150 homicides, looting, and vandalism mostly concentrated in the state capital.