Business
3:00 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

Ford Union Works Ratify New Contract

Union workers at Ford have ratified a new contract that does not include wage increases for most workers — but does obligate Ford to create 5,750 new jobs in the U.S.

Business
3:00 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

How Are Business Impacted By Occupy Wall Street?

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, host: An icon of radio has died. Norman Corwin wrote and directed some of the most renowned dramas from radio's Golden Age. He was 101 years old.

Independent producer Mary Beth Kirchner worked with Corwin for the last 20 years of his life, when he found a new audience on public radio. She has this tribute.

Read more
Politics
2:53 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

Opponents Say S.C.'s Voting Law Unfair For The Poor

South Carolina is one of several states that passed laws this year requiring voters to show a government-issued photo ID at the polls. The South Carolina measure still needs approval from the U.S. Justice Department to ensure that it doesn't discriminate against certain voters.

Voting rights advocates say the requirement will be a big burden for some, especially the elderly and the poor, who can have a difficult time getting a photo ID — even in this day and age.

The Bureaucratic Maze

Read more
The Two-Way
2:51 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

Fed Sees An Expanding Economy; Check How Its Language Has Changed

Eight times a year the Federal Reserve releases "beige book" reports about how the economy is doing. Named for the traditional color of their covers and based on reports from the central bank's 12 districts, they're largely anecdotal and full of generalizations about what businesses leaders and others are saying about current conditions.

Read more
Education
2:34 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

Why Is College So Expensive?

Many of the protesters occupying Wall Street and other places say they are are upset about the rising price of going to college. Tuition and other costs have been going up faster than inflation and family incomes can't keep up. Despite public outrage about the problem, there's little sign these costs will drop anytime soon.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
2:29 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

IQ Isn't Set In Stone, Suggests Study That Finds Big Jumps, Dips In Teens

Credit iStockphoto.com

Brain researchers say the big fluctuations in IQ performance they found in teens were not random — or a fluke.

For as long as there's been an IQ test, there's been controversy over what it measures. Do IQ scores capture a person's intellectual capacity, which supposedly remains stable over time? Or is the Intelligent Quotient exam really an achievement test — similar to the S.A.T. — that's subject to fluctuations in scores?

The findings of a new study add evidence to the latter theory: IQ seems to be a gauge of acquired knowledge that progresses in fits and starts.

Read more
The Salt
2:11 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

FDA Probe Points To Cantaloupe Packing Plant As Source Of Listeria

Credit Ed Andrieski / AP

Owner Eric Jensen examines cantaloupe on the Jensen Farms near Holly, Colo., last month.

Originally published on Wed October 19, 2011 5:42 pm

The Jensen Farms cantaloupe blamed for the deadliest listeria outbreak in years may have become contaminated in the farm's own packing facilities.

That's the conclusion of the FDA's investigation into the source of the outbreak so far, although the saga is far from over.

And once again, the likely culprit is poop.

Read more
The Two-Way
1:54 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

Americans' Student Loans Balance Now Exceeds $1 Trillion

Originally published on Wed October 19, 2011 2:04 pm

USA Today parses through New York Federal Reserve's latest report (pdf) on Household Debt and Credit and finds that for the first time, this year the amount of student loans will surpass the $100 billion mark and the outstanding balance will exceed $1 trillion.

Read more
The Two-Way
1:01 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

Reports: U.S. To Resume Talks With North Korea, Appoint New Envoy

"The United States will hold a fresh round of talks with North Korea on its nuclear weapons program next week and appoint a new full-time envoy as its seeks to deepen its engagement with the reclusive regime," U.S. officials and a Washington-based foreign diplomat tell The Associated Press.

Read more
The Two-Way
12:59 pm
Wed October 19, 2011

More Than 90 Dead, Thousands Displaced In Central American Floods

Credit Orlando Sierra / AFP/Getty Images

People observe the damage caused by a landslide on the Pan-American highway 55 Km south of Tegucigalpa.

For the past week, the rain across Central America has been relentless. The AFP reports that some places have received 47 inches over the course of a week.

The floods have killed nearly 100 people and displaced 700,000. The AFP has more:

The unusually heavy rainfall came as the region was pounded from one weather system from the Pacific and another from the Caribbean.

Read more

Pages