The secrecy around Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s selection of Cathleen P. Black to run the city’s schools highlighted his faith in business leaders and dislike of public debate.
Starting Thursday, Wal-Mart plans to offer free shipping on its Web site, a move that may create an expectation among consumers and a threat to smaller retailers.
AP - Stung by revelations that his plan would cut spending less than advertised, House Speaker John Boehner on Tuesday postponed a vote on a debt-ceiling measure that was already running into opposition from tea party conservatives. The move came just a week before an Aug. 2 deadline for staving off the potential financial chaos of the nation's first-ever default.
AP - Could the U.S. lose its top credit rating even if a deal is reached to raise the debt limit? Market analysts and investors increasingly say yes. The outcome won't be quite as scary as a default, but financial markets would still take a blow. Mortgage rates could rise. States and cities, already strapped, could find it more difficult to borrow. Stocks could lose their gains for the year.
AP - When Anders Behring Breivik launched his assault on the youth campers of Utoya Island, he expected Norway's special forces to swoop down and stop him at any minute.
Workers who were involved in the response to the World Trade Center attack will not have their cancer treatments compensated, program administrators say.
The CBO said Rep. John Boehner's plan failed to reduce deficits as much as advertised. A source told CNN that the vote was being postponed until at least Thursday.