Just a little more than a year ago, President Obama was in Fremont, Calif., to tout the jobs created by a solar cell manufacturing company called Solyndra.

As NPR's Scott Horsley reported:

"The federal government guaranteed a $500 million loan for the company that, White House economic adviser Jared Bernstein said, is allowing Solyndra to build a new solar cell factory employing 3,000 construction workers and creating 1,000 permanent jobs."

If you live in Southern California, the chances that your doctor's paycheck will be cut by a UnitedHealth Group company are on the rise.

The insurer, the nation's largest by revenue, is acquiring the operations of Monarch HealthCare, a 2,300-physician group, trade magazine Modern Healthcare reported. Financial terms weren't disclosed.

Having grown up in "pop" country, gone to college in a "soda" city and lived for nearly 30 years in a place where the two cultures mix, this blogger is well aware that folks can get excited when they start debating about what to call carbonated beverages.

Top officials from President George W. Bush's administration continue to fire back at former Vice President Dick Cheney for things he says in his new memoir.

First it was former Secretary of State Colin Powell who accused Cheney of taking "cheap shots" with some of his criticisms of former colleagues.

By Scott Harvey

Bonham – Veterans at Bonham's Community Living Center have formed an honor guard program that renders a final salute and tribute to honor their comrades who pass away there.

The 136-bed facility is part of the 78-acre Sam Rayburn Memorial Veterans Center and member of VA North Texas Health Care System.

The group recently performed a full-dress rehearsal to be sure the final honor would be appropriate for America's heroes. The ceremony includes playing of TAPS, salutes from the group, and formal folding of the flag.

The number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment insurance fell by 12,000 last week from the week before, to 409,000, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

It adds that "the 4-week moving average was 410,250, an increase of 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 408,500."

One staple of economics and business reporting is the "odd indicator" story.

Having done a few in our time, we know a good one when we see it.

A wind-whipped wildfire that destroyed more than three dozen cliff-top homes in North Texas was expected to burn through most of the tinder-dry trees and shrubs in its path by daybreak Thursday, helping firefighters contain the late-summer blaze during the state's severe and seemingly endless fire season.

Nate Smith, 11, slapped a hockey puck through a tiny hole from 89 feet away. The shot during a charity game in Minnesota was for a $50,000 prize. But the insurance company won't pay. Nate was standing in for his twin brother Nick, whose winning raffle ticket made him the one who should've held the hockey stick.

A business dispute that's now in court has brought to light some more details about the secret flights that took terrorism suspects and U.S. officials to CIA-operated "black sites" and prisons around the world in recent years.

As The Associated Press reports: