Business

Business News: A Man, A Plan, A Canal

6:59am June 14, 2013

The Nicaraguan congress has granted a Chinese tycoon the exclusive right to develop a multi-billion dollar rival to the Panama Canal. The bill grants the investor 50 years of control over the potential shipping route — pending a study of its viability.

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Economy

Detroit's Emergency Manager Meets With Creditors

6:49am June 14, 2013

by Sarah Swiek

Kevyn Orr will ask unions, retirees and banks to take big losses on debt the city just can't afford to pay. But Orr is walking a fine line trying to convince those parties to accept a bankruptcy-style settlement, without actually going to bankruptcy court — at least, not yet.

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Unpaid No More: Interns Win Major Court Battle

7:36pm June 13, 2013

by Tovia Smith

A federal ruling against a major movie studio's use of unpaid interns could have a wide impact on uncompensated labor, including internships for college credit. Workers' advocates say many interns are preventing workers who can't afford to work free from entering the labor force.

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Antonio Basualdo Solorzano has worked at the Ladder Ranch in south-central Wyoming for eight years. On his wages as a guest worker, he's supported seven children back home in Peru.

Immigration Bill May Keep Wage Exemption For Foreign Herders

5:53am June 13, 2013

by Sara Hossaini

Peruvian shepherds on guest worker visas tend thousands of sheep in Wyoming, but they only make about half of what agricultural workers elsewhere are paid. Some ranchers say the exemption from minimum wage requirements is necessary; workers' rights advocates say it's exploitation.

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Economy

Technology Columnist Sheds Light On New Bulbs

5:53am June 13, 2013

Buying a light bulb isn't as simple as it used to be. Now, you can choose a light bulb that will save you money because it uses less power. And, you can pick a bulb that might last longer than you do. Linda Wertheimer talks to Rich Jaroslovsky, technology columnist for Bloomberg News, about the latest light bulb technology.

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Google Acquires Israeli Mapping Service Waze

5:53am June 13, 2013

by Wendy Kaufman

Waze makes a crowds-sourced traffic app that uses input from drivers. It will complement Google's mapping capability. The deal is seen by many as a defensive move by Google to keep Waze from being acquired by Apple or Facebook.

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Google, like Facebook, Microsoft and other Internet companies, is concerned that data requests from U.S. surveillance agencies could ultimately damage its reputation in the U.S. and overseas.

National

Net Giants Try To Quell Users' Jitters About Their Data

7:00pm June 12, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

Tech companies that field National Security Agency data requests are currently barred from sharing those requests publicly. But Google, Microsoft and Facebook all have a financial interest in showing their users that the NSA does not enjoy unfettered access to their data.

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A central Illinois farmer plants corn seed into the evening in Farmingdale, Ill.

National

As Drought Turns To Flood, Farmers Get 'Weather Whiplash'

6:20pm June 12, 2013

by Peggy Lowe

In the past three years, Midwestern farmers have seen flooding, then record-setting drought, and now flooding again. "As much as we think we have things cornered and we know what's going to be happening, you just don't know what will happen," a meteorologist says.

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Pushed Off The Job While Pregnant

8:20pm June 11, 2013

by Jennifer Ludden

At a time when most pregnant women work, there are new efforts to keep companies from unfairly targeting employees because of a pregnancy. Allegations of pregnancy discrimination persist and have even risen in recent years despite a decades-old law against it.

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Third-generation Oklahoma farmer Scott Neufeld says crop insurance is important to his family's business.

How The Senate Farm Bill Would Change Subsidies

3:40pm June 11, 2013

by Tamara Keith

The Senate passed legislation Monday that would do away with direct payments to farmers and instead create an expanded crop insurance program. It's designed to protect farmers from losses, but some say it amounts to a highly subsidized gift to agribusiness.

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