Earthquake off the Oregon coast around 6:30 EST … [Read more...]

I am out of the hospital from a minor albeit unnecessary (hindsight is 20/20) medical procedure. I will be back on a somewhat normal schedule on Thursday...Wait, I do not have a normal schedule. Thanks for the well wishes..Have a good night! … [Read more...]

Dollar stores are killing it. Industry leader Dollar General is opening hundreds of new stores for the fourth year in a row, and it now has around 30 percent more locations than top competitor Family Dollar. Family Dollar knows it can't win in a direct battle with Dollar General in its current state, so it's firing up a bold plan to revamp its business and reposition itself. It wants to grab share from a variety of sources: grocery, convenience, drug and mass retail stores. Here's what it's going to do, according to a report from Citi: Invest in new categories — Family Dollar is rolling out tobacco products to around 5,000 of its stores nationwide. Beer is being tested as well, along with additional impulse items at the register. Expand product assortment — In the next couple months, Family Dollar is adding a variety of Pepsi products. The Pepsi brand matches well with the retailer's core customer base, and the move will likely grab some share from grocers. Renovate its … [Read more...]

Kofi Annan, the UN’s special envoy has traveled to Iran to ask it for help with the fast deteriorating situation in Syria, the AP reports. "Iran, given its special relations with Syria, can be part of the solution," Annan said during a news conference with Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi. Annan’s peace plan seems to be quickly losing its appeal with the Syrian government. While it initially agreed to a ceasefire, which is supposed to begin on Thursday morning at 6 a.m., reports from within the country say fighting continues on the ground, with government forces still on the offensive, according to CNN. Cities like Homs continue to be bombed, and troops have not been pulled back. Nine thousand people have died so far, the UN says. Annan's decision to involved Iran shows he is not completely confident of his peace plan's success. Iran's Shiite government has long been one of Syria's strongest allies in the region, Time reports. Although Syria is predominantly Sunni … [Read more...]

http://www.google.com/gwt/x?noimg=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fmiami.cbslocal.com/2012/04/11/report-zimmerman-to-be-charged-in-trayvon-shooting-wednesday-afternoon/&wsi=794cfc7cc71c3e8c&ei=LACGT8HWEqPiwALm2c2KCg&wsc=bf&ct=pg1&whp=30 AP: Zimmerman Charged With 2nd Degree Murder « CBS Miami [Image]81° Buy Tickets Your Home More CBS Miami cbs4 My 33 Header Logo FOLLOW USCBS Miami Home News Health Sports Best Of Events Video & Pics Traffic Weather Directory Deals Autos Latest News Local Politics Business Consumer Entertainment Health CBS4 Investigates National World Blogs LIVE: 6PM - Charges Announced In Trayvon Marting Investigation LOCAL AP: Zimmerman Charged With 2nd Degree Murder April 11, 2012 5:58 PM Share this View Comments (CBS4) (CBS4) Filed Under Local, News Related Tags Angela Corey, CBS News, Craig Sonner, George Zimmerman, Hal Uhrig, Post, Sanford, Tracy Martin, Trayvon, Trayvon Martin, Washington Post, Zimmerman Charges Travyon … [Read more...]

Florida prosecutor will announce specific charges this afternoon … [Read more...]

http://abcnews.go.com/m/blogEntry?id=16112186 High Gas Prices: Should You Blame Your Bank? - ABC News (Image credit: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images) Should you blame your bank for high gas prices? A new report out today says it's not just supply-and-demand and Middle East politics that determines the price of a barrel of crude; Visa and Master Card and the other card companies share some of the blame for the high price of gasoline, the report said. The new report by the National Association of Convenience Stores says it's those so-called swipe fees at gas stations. That's the fee that stores have to pay credit card companies every time a card is swiped. (Congress took aim at those fees for debit cards, but not credit cards). According to the report, when gasoline is $4 a gallon, about 7 cents of that can be blamed on swipe fees. At $4.50 a gallon, the fee rises to 7.6 cents. That swipe fee, which is partly a percentage of the sales price, goes up with the price of … [Read more...]

http://www.americanbanker.com/magazine/122_4/charlotte-banking-hub-1047521-1.html?ET=americanbanker:e10370:2261916a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=AB_Intraday_041112 CITY AFTER THE STORM APR 1, 2012 1:00am ET Joe Rauch The Duke Energy Center in Charlotte, N.C., was designed to be a nighttime attention grabber. Some evenings, the tower lights up the skyline with colors paying tribute to local athletic teams, or in patterns tied to special events, like the rolling rainbow that celebrated gay pride week last summer. On Nov. 29, the top of the 786-foot building glowed in the bright yellow hue of a ripened banana. It was an electric homage to Chiquita Brands International, which announced earlier that day that it would be moving its corporate headquarters from Cincinnati to Charlotte. The relocation would bring 400 jobs to a city known less for fresh produce than for Cam Newton, NASCAR and big banks. And there was something else Chiquita … [Read more...]