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Average US 30-year mortgage rate up to 4.20 pct 06/12/2014 02:49pm • WASHINGTON (AP) -- Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose this week for a second straight week but remained near historic lows.Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate for a 30-year loan increased to 4.20 percent from 4.14 percent last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage Costa Rica relishing underdog role 06/12/2014 02:24pm • DEREK GATOPOULOS Associated Press SAO PAULO (AP) -- Only eight countries have ever won the World Cup, and in Brazil three of them face Group D underdog Costa Rica.Coach Jorge Luis Pinto greeted them with a warning: "We respect England, Italy, and Uruguay. But they should know that we can play footba Stocks lower...Retail sales gain...Jobless claims up slightly...Stockpiles growing 06/12/2014 11:29am • NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are lower in morning trading. Investors aren't finding much encouragement in this morning's economic data, including government reports that show retail sales rose less than forecast last month and more Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week. The Dow, S&P 500 and Senate Republicans block student loan bill 06/12/2014 08:40am • ERICA WERNER Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Republicans on Wednesday blocked legislation aimed at letting people refinance their student loans at lower rates, a pre-ordained outcome that gave Democrats a fresh election-year talking point against the GOP.The 56-38 vote fell short of the 6 Obama holds up technical school as model for US 06/12/2014 03:14am • JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- Saluting graduates as they leave the safety of high school behind, President Barack Obama held up a revitalized New England technical school on Wednesday as a model for the United States in an increasingly competitive global workforce.At Worcest Obama holds up technical school as model for US 06/12/2014 03:14am • JIM KUHNHENN Associated Press WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) -- Saluting graduates as they leave the safety of high school behind, President Barack Obama held up a revitalized New England technical school on Wednesday as a model for the United States in an increasingly competitive global workforce.At Worcest Prothro goes from "The Catch" to the courtroom 06/12/2014 02:32am • TIM DAHLBERG AP Sports Writer OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Tyrone Prothro made a play so spectacular it's known in Alabama as "The Catch," immortalized both in photos and an advertising campaign by automaker Pontiac.But when it came time a few years ago to get surgery on the leg he broke during a 2005 ga Bucs Pro Bowl DT McCoy eager to learn new defense 06/11/2014 07:47pm • FRED GOODALL AP Sports Writer TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Gerald McCoy walked off the practice field, dripping with sweat and smiling. His mood got even better when he began talking about the revamped Tampa Bay Buccaneers.The Pro Bowl defensive tackle has emerged as one of the NFL's best at his position ove Martha Hyer, Oscar-nominated actress, dies 06/11/2014 04:41pm • RUSSELL CONTRERAS Associated Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- Martha Hyer, an Oscar-nominated actress who starred alongside the likes of Frank Sinatra and Humphrey Bogart, and later gained notoriety for her extravagant lifestyle, has died.Hyer passed away May 31 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Raymond Lucer AUTO RACING PACKAGE: Auto Racing Glance 06/11/2014 03:21pm • The Associated Press All Times EDTNASCARSPRINT CUPQUICKEN LOANS 400Site: Brooklyn, Michigan.Schedule: Friday, practice (Fox Sports 1, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.), qualifying (Fox Sports 1, 3:30-5 p.m.); Saturday, practice (Fox Sports 2, 9:30-10:30 a.m., 12:30-1:30 p.m.); Sunday, race, 1 p.m. (TNT, noon-4:30 Food companies work with farmers on sustainability 06/11/2014 02:12pm • DAVID PITT Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Some big food makers are getting serious about making sure farmers grow crops in ways that minimize damage to water, soil and the environment, according to a report released Wednesday that called for more companies to demand sustainable supplies.C SBA agenda: Communicate, counsel, loan faster 06/11/2014 02:06pm • JOYCE M. ROSENBERG AP Business Writer NEW YORK (AP) -- Loans are the primary reason small businesses seek help from the Small Business Administration, but the new head of the agency says that more capital may not be what owners always need.Maria Contreras-Sweet has been a small business owner hersel Mexico and Cameroon: Rocky roads to Brazil 06/11/2014 12:50pm • GERALD IMRAY AP Sports Writer SAO PAULO (AP) -- Mexico owes its place at the World Cup to an injury-time comeback by the United States. Cameroon needed a last-minute loan to end a player strike over bonuses and put the squad on a plane to Brazil.However rocky their roads to the World Cup, both are h AP IMPACT: Tax cheats took billions from Ukraine 06/11/2014 06:36am • MARIA DANILOVA Associated Press KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- As Ukraine's tax chief tells it, the billion-dollar theft was planned at a see-through plastic table in a vault of sound-proof steel.The table and six matching transparent chairs sit in a secret chamber on an upper story of the Tax Ministry in Ki Africa's women entrepreneurs take the lead 06/11/2014 06:20am • RODNEY MUHUMUZA Associated Press KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) -- Madinah Nalukenge recalls the day she set out to sell food on the filthy edges of a bus terminal in the Ugandan capital in 2004. She had just $10 left over from a failed attempt to sell bed sheets.Now she runs a catering business that makes a