A proposal that would reserve half the seats at India's most prestigious universities for people from the lowest ranks of society is running into opposition from other students. Miranda Kennedy reports.
The issue of immigration is still rolling around in the American dialogue. Humorist and commentator Tim Bedore has a solution: build a fence. But not just on our border with Mexico. He's taking on Canada as well.
Harvard Business Review says the average mom loses 37% of her earning power, if she takes off three or more years. Sarah Gardner reports the road back onto the career track has a few potholes.
Special effects artists for TV's "ER" spend their office hours creating fake trauma victims out of clay and silicon. We observe one of these artists operating.
AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth are going to have to answer to the American people. The companies have been handing over phone records to the government, and the lawsuit parade is already underway. Bob Moon reports.
The hugely popular social networking Web site MySpace has caught the attention of advertisers. But a lot of young people use it and that could get the attention of Congress. Janet Babin reports.
In honor of Mother's Day this Sunday, Hillary Wicai reports on a job-placement service exclusively for corporate-minded moms looking to work part-time to keep their skills sharp.
While lawmakers trumpet the positive impact the tax cuts have had on the economy, many special interests and big companies are getting big breaks from the fine print of the deal too. Scott Tong reports.
Washington was rocked this morning by a USA Today story revealing that three major phone companies sold the phone records of millions of Americans to the government. John Dimsdale reports.
The Dominican Republic is the main source of imported sugar to the US, and that's expected to increase when CAFTA goes into effect. But, Reed Lindsay reports, workers aren't seeing any of the profit.
A package of $70 billion in tax cuts is expected to land on President Bush's desk Friday. Many Republicans say their tax-cutting policy has sparked economic growth. Economist and commentator Brad DeLong disagrees.
In reporting his piece on corporate laptop theft last week, Sean Cole happened upon the story of a data security breach that sent one CEO marching off to Washington to crusade for stricter information security laws.
A new TV channel promises 24-hour entertainment… for babies. The channel hopes to reach one of the last untouched TV markets, but some researchers are worried about the impact on child development. Cheryl Glaser reports.
Video game makers and players are in LA this week for the Electronic Entertainment Expo. One thing you won't find this year — scantily clad women. There's a reason for it, Ethan Lindsey reports.
Millions of Americans connect to the Internet with high-speed connections from their phone or cable company. But now electricity companies are starting to get into the mix with Broadband over Power Lines or BPL. From Pittsburgh, Mark Nootbaar reports.
The airline on Wednesday reported a quarterly loss of $1.1 billion. Tess Vigeland looks at how the mounting red ink is likely to impact Northwest's efforts to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Personal finance expert Chris Farrell and host Scott Jagow discuss why the US economy continues to grow despite soaring energy costs and rising interest rates.
Verizon and other telecom companies are looking to sell portions of their vast network of phone lines as more consumers disconnect their landlines. Janet Babin reports.
Internet auctions have delivered good business for eBay. So could a similar online system be used to buy and sell TV advertising? Some Fortune 500 executives think so. Jeff Tyler explains.
Special subsidies that ultra-Orthodox Jews have long enjoyed from the Israeli government are being phased out. For the first time, many of them have to find employment. Hilary Krieger reports.
Big chain restaurants have filled out major cities, so now they're entering smaller markets such as Nashville. Kim Green reports on how independent restaurants there aren't waiting around for their lunches to be eaten.
Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline got an injunction against an animal rights group today, after it threatened to release personal information about its stockholders. Stephen Beard reports.
A public apology is something of a ritual when companies are caught misbehaving. Paul Slansky tells host Kai Ryssdal about some of those apologies from the book he co-wrote called "My Bad."
The White House and Congress are trying to crack down on what they call gas price gouging. But at the same time, they want to give more subsidies to oil and gas companies. Commentator and economist Glenn Hubbard is very confused.
Planning on getting new plumbing or rewiring your house? It may be time to think again. Copper prices hit an all-time high of $8,000 a ton today. Amy Scott finds out what record copper prices may mean for the world economy.
The Senate is expected to pass a tax bill today extending many of President Bush's tax cuts through 2010. The move is intended to make it very hard for whatever party controls Congress in 2010 to raise taxes again. John Dimsdale explains.
Congressional Republicans agreed to pass $70 billion in tax cut extensions Tuesday despite criticism the move could worsen the federal budget deficit. Tess Vigeland reports.
Biopesticides are the fastest-growing segment of the pesticide market, touted as a less toxic alternative. One California company is determined to show that "nature's chemistry" can make money…at least, one day. Sarah Gardner reports.
Commentator Robert Reich argues the very idea of a democratic Internet is threatened by the so-called net neutrality bill working its way through Congress.
Ahead of today's Federal Reserve meeting, Cheryl Glaser reports new Fed chief Ben Bernanke may have learned his lesson about speaking too freely about US monetary policy.
President Bush and House Majority Leader John Boehner have proposed relaxing tariffs on foreign ethanol to help reduce gasoline prices. But it won't be an easy sell to Corn Belt lawmakers. Curt Nickisch reports.
When the new games roll out at E3 this week, many will remind hardcore gamers of one very successful older game: Grand Theft Auto. It was based on the movie Scarface, which itself is being made into a game. Ethan Lindsey reports.
Both houses of Congress are working on bills that will make it harder for the executive branch to approve foreign takeovers of American companies without Congressional approval. John Dimsdale has the story.
A report today suggests GM and Ford are lobbying for rules that would reduce the incentive to buy hybrids. Why? Japanese auto giants Toyota and Honda are miles ahead in the hybrid game. Bob Moon explains.
The Treasury Department is expected to declare tomorrow that China is manipulating its currency. Some businesses are worried the move could end in a trade war. Hillary Wicai reports.
Markets have been whipsawed lately by media interpretations of our new Fed chief's plans. Best guesses are short term interest rates will rise another quarter point tomorrow, but commentator Carolyn Baum says we shouldn't have to guess at all.
Senate Republicans are trying to change the nation's health insurance system to encourage small businesses to offer coverage. But Democrats are worried the bill may reduce coverage for millions who are already insured. Helen Palmer reports.
Warner Bros. will become the first major studio to distribute its films and TV shows over the Internet using peer-to-peer technology developed by BitTorrent. Until now, the program has been a popular tool for trading pirated files. Janet Babin reports.
It's still a seller's market in Britain, thanks largely to super-rich buyers looking for prestige homes. Commentator David Wells argues that wealth does not always translate into good taste.
Instead of losing $323 million in the first quarter, GM claimed yesterday it actually made $445 million. Tess Vigeland explains how the automaker arrived at the new figure.
Many large corporations run background checks on potential hires, but now some employers are going even further. They're keeping regular tabs on their employees — long after they're hired. Sarah Gardner reports.
Wachovia made a $25 billion offer for California's Golden West Financial today. But the deal gets the banking giant deeper into the mortgage business and investors are questioning the timing as the housing boom slows. Amy Scott reports.
Silicon Graphics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. Its super-fast computers were once used to make special effects for blockbuster movies, but the increasing power of cheaper computers has put a crimp on sales. Jeff Tyler explains.
We learned today that Disney will drop its decade-long promotional partnership with McDonald's. But McDonald's says the break-up has nothing to do with childhood obesity. From New York, Bob Moon has the story.
Warner Brothers is scheduled to release a CD of protest songs by Neil Young today, weeks earlier than originally planned, possibly because Young was giving the songs away on his Web site. Jeff Tyler reports.
This corporate earnings season marks at least the 10th straight quarter of double-digit earnings growth. Bob Moon takes a look at what's behind the trend.
The Smithsonian Institute's board of regents today reviews a controversial contract that gives Showtime the right to block some independent filmmakers from accessing Smithsonian archives. Ashley Milne-Tyte reports.
