Around the Nation

Economy

Regulators Warn Banks On Direct-Deposit Loans

8:16pm April 25, 2013

by John Ydstie

Regulators are warning some of the nation's largest banks to stop offering loans that are hard to distinguish from those given out by storefront payday lenders. The banks have been offering high-interest-rate, short-term loans to customers with direct deposit as an advance on their paychecks.

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National

Thousands Attend Memorial For Plant Explosion Victims

8:16pm April 25, 2013

by Wade Goodwyn

President Obama visited Waco, Texas, on Thursday day to take part in a memorial for those killed in the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas, last week.

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National

Tweeting Crime: Law Enforcement Adapts To Social Media

2:57pm April 25, 2013

The Boston Police Department tweeted photos of bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and later announced his capture via social media. As the number of Twitter users grows, police forces face new opportunities and challenges in using social media for communicating with the public.

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Economy

Signing Up For Food Stamps: The Choice And The Stigma

2:25pm April 25, 2013

Forty-seven million Americans now rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, commonly known as food stamps. For many people, the decision to sign up is fraught with conflicting feelings about taking government assistance.

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Surviving Tragedy: The Various Paths Beyond

2:29pm April 24, 2013

Survivors of sudden, unexpected events, like the bombings at the Boston Marathon, the explosion in West, Texas and natural disasters, may deal with a wide variety of emotions. Some may discover a newfound appreciation for life, while others may experience extreme feelings of guilt.

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National

AP Twitter Account Hacked, Tweet About Obama Shakes Market

9:56am April 24, 2013

by Mark Memmott

It quickly became clear that the "news" was not true. There had been no explosions at the White House and President Obama was fine. But a message on the wire service's Twitter account rattled investors.

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Missouri farmer Gary Riedel says wet weather will put him about a month behind last year's planting.

For Corn, Fickle Weather Makes For Uncertain Yields

9:06am April 24, 2013

by Abbie Fentress Swanson

Corn production was down last year thanks to drought. This year, conditions are too cold and wet for farmers to plant the crop. Without a break in the clouds pretty soon, there may be another shortage of the crop at harvest time.

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Young people wait in line to enter the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles office on the first day of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in August.

National

Deferred Action: A Bird In Hand For Young Immigrants

8:05am April 24, 2013

by Hansi Lo Wang

An overhaul of the country's immigration laws by Congress is not yet a done deal. One change already in place, though, is a program that prevents young adults brought to the country illegally as children from being deported. Still, the majority of the eligible 1.7 million have yet to apply.

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TV Captioning Service Apologizes For Identity Mistake

7:34am April 24, 2013

Viewers in Dallas saw the Boston bombing suspect misidentified. The screen read: "Marathon Bomber: He is 19-year-old Zooey Deschanel." For the record, the suspect is 19-year-old Chechen immigrant Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — and not the star of the TV series New Girl.

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National

Ricin Case: Charges Dropped Against Miss. Man

7:20am April 24, 2013

The federal probe of poisoned letters sent to President Obama and others has taken an abrupt change of course. On Tuesday, U.S. prosecutors dropped charges against the Mississippi man first arrested in the case. FBI agents have taken their search for clues to another man's house in Tupelo.

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