NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are climbing in afternoon trading on Wall Street, with energy stocks leading the way as the price of oil rose. Benchmark crude was up 2 percent, near $95 a barrel, in afternoon trading in New York. Humana shares are higher after the health insurer said it plans to repurchase as much as $2 billion of its own shares, double what it had previously planned.
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — NASA is a giant step closer to launching Americans again from U.S. soil. It’s announcing today which private company or companies win the right to transport astronauts to the International Space Station, ending NASA’s reliance on Russian crew transport. The contenders include SpaceX of California, which already delivers space station cargo; Sierra Nevada Corp., which is developing a mini-shuttle in Colorado; and Boeing, which would assemble its crew capsules at Kennedy Space Center.
DETROIT (AP) — Early demand is so high for General Motors’ new small pickup trucks that the company is hiring more workers to build them even before one is sold to the public. GM plans to add 750 workers around March to staff a third shift at its plant in Wentzville, Missouri, west of St. Louis. The company says it has 30,000 advance orders from dealers and nearly 100,000 prospective buyers have gone online to customize a Chevrolet Colorado or a GMC Canyon pickup and get a price.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — New York’s attorney general has settled a false advertising investigation at Wal-Mart. The attorney general’s office says the retailer launched a national sale in June advertising Coca-Cola 12-packs for $3, but consumers at 117 Wal-Mart stores in New York were routinely charged $3.50. Investigators say some consumers who complained were falsely told the state has a “sugar tax.” They say the markup of more than 16 percent violated state laws.
ATLANTA (AP) — The Atlanta Braves’ new suburban stadium is going to be called SunTrust Park. The team announced a 25-year sponsorship deal with the state’s largest bank today at a ground-breaking ceremony at the site. The festivities took place in a tent in the middle of the massive construction zone. Crews are clearing the 60-acre site even though the team is still finalizing designs of the project. The stadium is scheduled to open in 2017.
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