Airing on Friday Dec. 5, 2014: Tesla is building a battery factory outside of Reno that has electric companies scared. The idea is to build batteries that can store the solar power collected by rooftop solar panels. Plus, Starbucks has plans to open dozens of stores selling pricey craft coffees. The gourmet coffee trend is spreading to hip neighborhoods across the country. 

Airing Thursday Dec. 4, 2014: The US fertility rate edged down last year to a record low. The now-5-year-old economic recovery has yet to translate into an upturn in births. Plus, if someone were to pen the story of Barnes & Noble today, booksellers would probably file it under mystery. We take a look at the future of the Nook.

Aired Dec. 3, 2014: The House is voting on whether to bring back certain tax credits that expired at the beginning of the year. It raises the question: Why do they expire in the first place?

Struggling with falling oil prices and continued sanctions, the Russian ruble just suffered its biggest one-day fall against the U.S. dollar in more than two decades. Plus, newly reported auto sales figures are strong. We look at the factors driving sales, including the improving economy and heavy discounts. Finally, working out can benefit your body and your bank account, beginning this month in Massachusetts. Pact Health is an add-on benefit that lowers your insurance deductible if you work out while wearing a health-tracking device.

We’re launching our gentrification project about the Highland Park neighborhood in Los Angeles. Use the hashtag #GentrificationIs on Twitter and Instagram to show how your neighborhood is changing. Plus, one option under consideration for keeping the government running beyond Dec. 11? Congress could pass an omnibus spending bill that would solve the problem for only nine months and affect every agency except the Department of Homeland Security, which would be kept on a shorter funding leash. Finally, Facebook makes a money grab by making small businesses and certain political outfits pay for things they used to get for free. 

In addition to holiday shopping and leftover turkey, it’s open-enrollment season—time to think about financial choices for next year, like retirement savings. Plus, some law professors and now some entrepreneurs are playing with the idea of outsourcing boards of directors. How would it work?  Like an accounting firm provides accounting services, or a law firm provides legal services.

Oil slides … stores gear up for Black Friday mania … and two lucky turkeys get off scott free.

Pollution is an issue in big cities in the U.S., but how and when do regulators weigh the economic costs of allowing pollution against the environmental benefits of curbing it? And how has the process changed over the years? Plus, Deere & Co. earns two-thirds of its revenue from farm and turf machinery, so when times are tough for farmers, times are also tough for John Deere. The company says it expects sales to fall further, because low prices for commodities like grain are pushing down demand for tractors and other equipment.

People in Ferguson are dealing with police actions, fires, and closings of businesses and schools. We look at the long-term setback in light of the years of redevelopment work in the area. Plus, just who counts those calories in the fast-food items that we see displayed? How do they do it, and how real are the numbers?