Business

Raisin farmer Marvin Horne stands in a field of grapevines planted next to his home.

Economy

The Raisin Outlaw Of Kerman, Calif.

9:39pm August 09, 2013

by Zoe Chace

In most industries, competitors getting together and conspiring to control supply of a product is illegal. But in the raisin world, the law actually says competitors have to work together. It's going against your competitors that can get you in trouble.

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A pen at a feedlot in central Kansas that houses 30,000 cattle. Feedlots are where cattle are "finished" before slaughter, often with the use of growth-promoting drugs like zilpaterol.

National

Did Tyson Ban Doping Cows With Zilmax To Boost Foreign Sales?

6:36pm August 09, 2013

by Peggy Lowe

Tyson Foods said it will stop using the controversial drug, which fattens cattle, because of potential animal welfare issues. But many in the beef industry say the company is just interested in boosting exports to countries like China and the European Union, where growth-promoting drugs for meat production are banned.

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Amber Alerts were issued as cellphone text messages in California this week.

National

New Digital Amber Alerts Could Create A Backlash

1:20pm August 09, 2013

by Steve Henn

Recent Amber Alerts startled millions of mobile phone owners and left them confused. The wireless emergency alert system just rolled out for mobile phones earlier this year. Some child advocates worry that the alerts' lack of context may cause people to turn them off.

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Tourre Juror: 'We Saw Goldman As The Bigger Problem'

12:06pm August 09, 2013

by Lisa Chow

"We didn't feel any malice" toward Tourre, a juror said. "We felt sympathy at times."

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UBS To Pay $120 Million In Lehman Brothers Dispute

12:06pm August 09, 2013

Swiss banking giant UBS has agreed to pay $120 million to settle a lawsuit by investors. The case goes back to 2007. Investors said they were misled about the health of the financial firm Lehman Brothers when UBS was selling them investments linked to Lehman's debt. Lehman collapsed into bankruptcy in 2008.

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Why Hasn't The Internet Blown Up Cable TV's Business Model?

6:56pm August 08, 2013

by Dan Bobkoff

The Internet has a history of blowing up business models. Now we buy music by the song, and who needs the newspaper for classifieds? But cable television hasn't budged much. You're still forced to buy a bundle of channels, whether you watch them or not.

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Though you'd never see it listed on your monthly cable bill, nearly every channel you get has a secret price.

National

The History — And Future — Of Cable's Bundling

6:13pm August 08, 2013

by Dan Bobkoff

For Time Warner Cable customers in major cities, the battle for the future of television is playing out before their eyes as CBS and the cable giant fight over fees. You might not realize it, but between a third and half of your cable bill goes directly to pay for channels like CBS or ESPN.

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A screenshot from the FreedomWorks website, which is urging citizens opposed to the Affordable Care Act to opt out of the law's requirement to have insurance. It asks Americans to symbolically "burn your Obamacare card." In reality, no such card will exis

Health & Safety

Obamacare Foes Make Final Push To Stop Health Law's Implementation

10:47am August 08, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Less than eight weeks before the official launch of the new health care marketplaces, the Obama administration is ramping up efforts to encourage people to sign up. But some opponents want young people to pay a fine rather than sign up for health insurance, hoping to harm the new law.

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Ted Andrews, CEO of HerbCo International, says the H-2A agricultural guest worker program needs improvements.

After Immigration Bust, Herb Grower Tries A New Path

10:58pm August 07, 2013

by Liz Jones

One of the nation's largest herb producers once relied heavily on undocumented labor, but has learned some hard lessons since an immigration crackdown. He says transitioning to a legal workforce was well worth it, but that navigating a cumbersome foreign worker program has been challenging.

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Patty Stonesifer once watched Martha's Table serve food to the homeless outside the Washington, D.C., offices of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. When the top post at the charity came open, she knew it was the job for her.

National

For One-Time Tech Exec, Leading D.C. Charity Is No Small Job

6:43pm August 07, 2013

by NPR Staff

Patty Stonesifer once held a top spot at Microsoft. After that, she spent years at the helm of philanthropy giant the Gates Foundation. But this year, Stonesifer downsized. She's taken on a smaller-scale role as CEO of Martha's Table, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that serves the poor.

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