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France's Socialists detail hefty spending cuts 10/01/2014 10:06am • SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press PARIS (AP) -- France's Socialist government has detailed a 21 billion-euro ($26.5 billion) cost-cutting plan, the biggest in the country's modern history, saying it will focus on trimming welfare benefits.Presenting the 2015 budget on Wednesday, Finance Minister Michel Decriminalized pot in Md., yoga tax in DC now law 10/01/2014 08:10am • WASHINGTON (AP) -- A spate of new laws went into effect Wednesday for the District of Columbia and Maryland.Now, getting caught with less than 10 grams of marijuana will be akin to getting a parking ticket. Instead of jail time, civil penalties will include $100 for a first offense, $250 for a secon School spending by affluent is widening wealth gap 10/01/2014 07:26am • JOSH BOAK AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) -- Education is supposed to help bridge the gap between the wealthiest people and everyone else. Ask the experts, and they'll count the ways:Preschool can lift children from poverty. Top high schools prepare students for college. A college degree boosts California becomes first state to ban plastic bags 10/01/2014 04:50am • FENIT NIRAPPIL Associated Press SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores, driven to action by pollution in streets and waterways.A national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers immedi In Georgia, 2 parties battle over minority votes 09/30/2014 10:28pm • BILL BARROW Associated Press DECATUR, Ga. (AP) -- Behind a nondescript storefront just outside Atlanta, Delores Washington makes telephone call after call in this Democratic stronghold using a list of potential voters handed to her by a young party staffer.The retired high school principal doesn't a Judge: Health care subsidies 'abuse of discretion' 09/30/2014 07:28pm • JUSTIN JUOZAPAVICIUS Associated Press TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Some of the health-insurance subsidies being offered under the Affordable Care Act represent an "abuse of discretion" by the federal government, a federal judge in Oklahoma ruled Tuesday, marking another volley in a years-long legal fight th Stocks end lower ... ExxonMobile acknowledges fracking risks ... California to give up single-use plastic bags 09/30/2014 07:00pm • NEW YORK (AP) -- U.S. stocks have ended slightly lower today, leaving the Standard & Poor's 500 index 1.5 percent in the red for September, but still up 6.7 percent for the year. After a day of slight ups and downs, the S&P 500 fell five points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 1,972, while the Dow Jones Rep. Gerry Connolly calls for long-term transportation fix 09/30/2014 05:58pm • WASHINGTON -- With every pothole, traffic jam or Metro delay, Washington- area commuters can see the impact of the diminishing value of federal transportation funding. And now, a number of local leaders want to come up with a long-term fix to turn things around. "Why is it needed? The United St Colorado's pot market getting new competition 09/30/2014 05:30pm • KRISTEN WYATT Associated Press DENVER (AP) -- Colorado's new marijuana industry is in for a brand new element Wednesday -- competition.The state gave medical marijuana dispensaries and growers a nine-month exclusive on the new recreational pot business, fearing an unmanageable explosion of new busin Study: Gambling industry worth $240B, 1.7M jobs 09/30/2014 05:08pm • KIMBERLY PIERCEALL Associated Press LAS VEGAS (AP) -- U.S. casinos and the makers of the games found inside had a $240 billion economic impact and employed 1.7 million people in 2013, a study shows.That includes $38 billion in local, state and federal taxes the industry said it paid last year in gam Ask Adam: Determining the Current Value of Our Home 09/30/2014 02:30pm • This regularly-scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Adam Gallegos of Arlington-based real estate firm Arbour Realty, voted one of Arlington Magazine’s Best Realtors of 2013 & 2014. Please submit your questions via email. Q. We are going to be selling soon and have Walgreen posts 4Q loss on Alliance Boots charge 09/30/2014 12:44pm • TOM MURPHY AP Business Writer Walgreen booked a $239 million loss in its fiscal fourth quarter after swallowing a huge accounting charge from its Alliance Boots acquisition, but the drugstore chain's results still met Wall Street expectations.Walgreen Co. said Tuesday that it recorded a non-cash los McConnell's backers spend millions in Kentucky 09/30/2014 10:42am • DAVID ESPO AP Special Correspondent LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Two groups with close ties to Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell are on track to spend nearly $20 million on television advertisements to sway Kentucky voters, a staggering amount for a single race that stands as a textbook example of Albania borrows $150 million to improve power grid 09/30/2014 06:14am • TIRANA, Albania (AP) -- The World Bank is lending Albania $150 million (EUR118 million) to help overhaul its dysfunctional state-run power sector and pay for electricity imports from other Balkan states.The Energy Ministry said Tuesday the loan will also be used to boost the efficiency of bill colle Tech-friendly cities struggle with new biz rules 09/30/2014 05:50am • PHILIP MARCELO Associated Press BOSTON (AP) -- A renowned technology hub that is home to some of the country's top universities, Boston is emerging as an unlikely battleground for web-based businesses like Airbnb and Uber, with some saying more regulations are needed to prevent the upstarts from dis