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Walmart Goodies: retail giant goes gourmet

"'For only $7 a month, including tax and shipping, subscribers receive a gift box at their doorstep filled with five to eight hand-picked taster samples ranging from healthy and organic to artisan and ethnic,' Walmart said in a statement Wednesday. 'The new Goodies Co. box underscores Walmart’s commitment to e-commerce and its use of social innovations to create new offerings for consumers.' Goodies has been in beta testing for a few months, and now has over 3,000 subscribers, according to the company. The more popular products have a good chance at eventually being offered in Walmart stores." Continue reading →

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The Twinkie, a Suicide

"The snack giant endured $52 million in workers' comp claims in 2011, according to its bankruptcy filing this January. Hostess's 372 collective-bargaining agreements required the company to maintain 80 different health and benefit plans, 40 pension plans and mandated a $31 million increase in wages and health care and other benefits for 2012. Union work rules usually required cake and bread products to be delivered to a single retail location using two separate trucks. Drivers weren't allowed to load their own vehicles, and the workers who loaded bread weren't allowed to load cake. 'Pull up' employees moved products from back rooms to shelves." Continue reading →

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Shots fired during FBI warrant search in District Heights

"Around 6 a.m. he says he came up to the living room and saw 15 FBI SWAT agents coming inside, guns drawn. Hughley says he looked up and saw his daughter standing outside her bedroom in the hallway. Then he heard gunfire. Myasia was treated at a local hospital for a flesh wound and released. The Hughley’s say none of them were armed an in fact, none of them own guns. They were never told why their home was raided." Continue reading →

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Man with strange watch arrested at Oakland airport

"A bomb squad arrived within five minutes and determined there were no explosive materials in the watch, Nelson said. The checkpoint was closed while officers secured the area. McGann was taken to Santa Rita Jail in Dublin where he was charged with possessing materials to make an explosive device, sheriff's officials said. He was still in custody Friday night and could not be reached for comment. McGann told Transportation Security Administration officers that he's an artist and the watch is art, Nelson said." Continue reading →

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How The Alternative Minimum Tax Could Slam You

"This year, unless Congress applies a new patch, the AMT will apply to nearly half of people with incomes of $75,000 to $100,000. Without action, an estimated 27 million more tax filers could find themselves paying an average of $3,700 more in taxes for 2012. And yes, the financial hit applies to this tax year. Even if the new, incoming Congress applies an AMT patch after January, experts say it will be an accounting nightmare. It's difficult to undo the tax once the filing season has begun in January, and at the least, it would result in long processing delays of all returns." Continue reading →

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Gaza, an impoverished and besieged sliver of land

"Some 1.6 million Palestinians live in the cramped territory spread over 362 square kilometres (140 square miles) along the Mediterranean, making it one of the most densely populated parts of the world. The economic and humanitarian situation in the enclave has been precarious since Israel imposed an economic embargo after Hamas seized power in 2007. Under its blockade, Israel controls all goods entering the Gaza Strip, except those smuggled through tunnels under the border with Egypt. The blockade also involves a blanket ban on all weapons and munitions." Continue reading →

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U.S. gives ‘full backing’ to Israel while urging de-escalation of Gaza violence

"The Israeli ambassador to Washington, Michael Oren, says the US has given his government a free hand in its assault on Gaza as the Israeli cabinet ordered a large call up of military reserves, prompting fears of a ground invasion. The Palestinian delegation to Washington condemned the US response to the crisis as 'biased and weak', and called on the White House to stop Israel using American-made weapons against civilians. It also described as 'shameful' what it called the justification of the murder of Palestinians by countries supporting Israeli actions, including Britain." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. gives ‘full backing’ to Israel while urging de-escalation of Gaza violence

Israel taking steps to mobilize up to 75,000 reservists

"Defence Minister Ehud Barak sought government approval on Friday to mobilize up to 75,000 reserve troops for Israel's Gaza campaign, political sources said, in a sign of preparations for a possible ground offensive. The sources, speaking after Palestinian rockets were fired at Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, said ministers were being polled by telephone by the cabinet secretary to approve the call-up." Continue reading →

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Swiss middle class real income continues to rise

"Switzerland’s middle class has never enjoyed as much income as it does today, but the richest and poorest groups of the population have seen theirs grow more substantially. Sixty to 80 per cent of the Swiss population are considered middle class. A couple without children with a revenue between SFr67,000 ($70,800) and SFr150,000 belongs to this category, as does a couple with children and income between SFr94,000 and SFr210,000. Over the past 20 years, real income for the Swiss middle class has increased six to eight per cent, better than in most other countries." Continue reading →

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French officials furious at Economist “time-bomb” taunt

"French officials angrily rejected a charge by Britain's The Economist weekly on Friday that France was the 'time-bomb at the heart of Europe' and a danger to the euro single currency, accusing the magazine of sensationalism. French public spending accounts for 56 percent of gross domestic product, the highest level in the euro zone, and public debt reached 90 percent of GDP this year. Hollande's deficit-reduction strategy is based two-thirds on tax increases, much of it on businesses, and one-third on spending cuts." Continue reading →

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