Business

President Obama, with Education Secretary Arne Duncan at his side, calls on Congress on June 21, 2012, to stop interest rates on student loans from doubling. He is going to make that appeal again Friday.

Obama Presses Congress On Student Loan Rates

11:25am May 31, 2013

by Scott Horsley

Interest rates on government-backed college loans are set to double July 1 — unless Congress agrees on a fix before then. The president is expected to urge Congress on Friday to block that increase.

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Moto X: First Smartphone To Be Assembled In U.S.

8:34am May 31, 2013

by Lauren Silverman

There are more than 130 million smartphones in the U.S., but none read: assembled in the USA. Motorola's flagship device, Moto X, will be the first smartphone assembled in the U.S. Motorola Mobility, which is owned by Google, has already begun hiring for the plant based in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Many drive-ins and mom and pop theaters will soon have to make the switch from film to digital after putting it off because of the high cost of new projectors.

Arts

Drive-Ins Soon Face Hollywood's Digital Switch

5:48pm May 30, 2013

by Brenna Angel

This is the year that drive-in movie theater owners have dreaded: They must convert their projectors from film to digital. It costs tens of thousands of dollars to make the switch, and that may be too much for many of the remaining 400 or so drive-ins left in the United States.

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Girl Scout Troops Look To Sell Real Estate

3:05pm May 30, 2013

Citing lower attendance and increased maintenance costs, Girl Scout groups across the country say their camps have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. The proposed closures have outraged many Scouts and troop leaders, who say the camps are a central part of the Scouting experience.

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White House Economic Adviser To Leave

10:19am May 30, 2013

by Scott Horsley

Alan Krueger, the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, says he will step down to return to Princeton to resume his post as a professor of economics. Krueger, who has served as CEA chairman for the past two years, will return to Princeton in time for the beginning of the fall term.

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Alex Pope, owner of The Local Pig in Kansas City, Mo., says he hopes the deal serves as a wake-up call to consumers.

Will Chinese Firm Bring Home The Bacon With Smithfield Deal?

9:38am May 30, 2013

by Peggy Lowe

It isn't clear yet whether U.S. regulators will approve the takeover of the iconic American company by China's Shuanghui International. There are concerns that Shuanghui could ratchet up production to feed the growing demand for meat in China.

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Amazon Scraps TV Show Focus Groups

8:19am May 30, 2013

Amazon asked subscribers of its video-streaming service to do the jobs usually left to focus groups and executives. The company released 14 pilot TV shows, then looked at customer reviews and view counts. Amazon announced five pilots have been approved for a full season.

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What a potential employer finds when researching an applicant online can make or break a job opportunity.

Fixing Your Online Reputation: There's An Industry For That

7:21am May 30, 2013

by Steve Henn

What an employer finds when researching an applicant online can make or break a job opportunity. Pete Kistler says he found this out the hard way. Since online reputation-management services were too pricey for his college budget, he started his own.

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By leasing land for drilling, city leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, hope to generate funds to demolish vacant buildings.

What's Under Youngstown May Help What's On Top

7:18pm May 29, 2013

City leaders in Youngstown, Ohio, are hoping that by leasing land to drilling companies, they might generate funds to demolish vacant homes and buildings. Some refer to this as "frackmolishing," and opponents worry the drilling will cause environmental damage.

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World News

China's Shuanghui Buys Pork Giant Smithfield For $4.7 Billion

10:47am May 29, 2013

A Chinese meat producer plans to buy the U.S. meat company Smithfield, the world's largest pork producer, for $4.7 billion. The Shuanghui company is enticing Smithfield's shareholders by offering $34 a share, about 30 percent more than Smithfield's current stock price.

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