WSJ.com: Today's Free Features

Today's Free Features

• On Parallel Tracks That Never Meet
  The growing separateness of couples' lives is drawing attention to the need to shore up emotional ties between spouses. The trend has become so prevalent that researchers are altering the structure of traditional marriage-education programs.

  

  

  


• Bloggers Evade China's Censors
  To slip past Internet censors squashing reports of a weekend riot in China's Guizhou province, some bloggers have started writing backward.

  

  

  


• Study Refutes Niche Theory Spawned by Web
  In 2006, "The Long Tail" made a splash arguing that the Internet, with its expansive shelf space, would mean a smaller role for mega-hit products. Now, a study suggests the Web is only cementing the prominence of a small number of cultural favorites.

  

  

  


• Kids Get Money-Wise at Camp
  Financial education is expanding to an unlikely audience -- younger kids, even grade-school students. This summer, school-age children will attend finance camp, where they'll take trips to a bank or delve into investing simulations.

  

  

  


• Steve & Barry's May Shut Stores
  Steve & Barry's is readying plans to close more than 100 stores and is contemplating a full liquidation should it not find emergency financing.

  

  

  


• Another Reason Fliers May Feel Like Victims
  Many foreign airlines refund taxes, fees and fuel surcharges on canceled nonrefundable tickets. But the U.S. levies the taxes at the point of purchase, refunding only if the fare is fully refundable.

  

  

  


• Hasbro to Take Its Games to the Movies
  Hasbro is ready to take its turn at board game-based movies, in a deal that departs from typical collaborations between toy companies and Hollywood.

  

  

  


• New Surgery Eases Toll of Breast Cancer
  Surgeons are offering an added benefit to breast-cancer patients: removing the tumor and cosmetically repairing the breast at the same time. This "oncoplastic surgery" could minimize the number of times a patient must go under the knife.

  

  

  


• Can New CEO Put Fizz Back in Coke?
  Coca-Cola President and chief operating officer Muhtar Kent is taking over as chief executive just as the beverage market is losing some of its fizz.

  

  

  


• Cyclone Brings Rise in 'Nat' Worship
  Myanmar may be best known for its Buddhism and burgundy-robed monks, but as much as 80% of the population also believes in "nats," a group of animist spirits. The cyclone has driven more followers to the country's shrines.

  

  

  

WSJ.com: Health

Health

• Abbott's Drug-Coated Stent Approved
  Abbott received FDA approval for its Xience V drug-coated stent, which is expected to be the market's top seller.

  

  

  


• AstraZeneca Wins Key Patent Victory
  AstraZeneca won a ruling likely to delay U.S. generic competition for its schizophrenia drug Seroquel until 2011.

  

  

  


• Pfizer Ends Direct Funding of Courses
  Pfizer is eliminating direct financial support for medical-education courses that are offered by third-party companies in an effort to temper criticism that it is improperly influencing doctors.

  

  

  


• Upgrade of Diabetes-Drug Standards Urged
  An FDA panel of outside medical experts said the agency should raise standards for approving diabetes drugs, a move that could affect the $5 billion-plus diabetes drug market in the U.S.

  

  

  


• Professor Defends Research on FDA
  A Harvard University professor defended research suggesting the FDA was making overly hasty approval decisions on medicines, an analysis the agency has criticized as mistaken.

  

  

  


• FDA Expands Salmonella Probe
  The FDA expanded a salmonella investigation focused on raw tomatoes to other fresh produce commonly consumed with tomatoes.

  

  

  


• Court Scraps Key Lead-Paint Verdict
  Rhode Island's top court overturned a 2006 verdict that found three former lead-paint manufacturers liable for creating a public nuisance.

  

  

  


• UnitedHealth Settles Suits
  UnitedHealth agreed to pay more than $900 million to resolve shareholder lawsuits stemming from an options-backdating case.

  

  

  


• FDA Approves J&J's Collagen Facial Filler
  J&J received FDA clearance to market Evolence, an injectable collagen for treating facial wrinkles. Analysts said the product marks the first significant foray by a U.S. pharmaceutical company into the cosmetic-medicine field.

  

  

  


• FDA Urged to Test Diabetes Drugs' Risk
  A medical expert urged the FDA to raise its standards for approving diabetes drugs, saying new drugs need to prove they don't increase cardiovascular disease, the leading killer of diabetics.

  

  

  

WSJ.com: Today's Most Popular

Today's Most Popular

• Can Barack Buy the Presidency?
  Democrats have a massive money advantage, but the candidate counts.

  

  

  


• Why We Went to War in Iraq
  The Bush administration carefully weighed the alternatives to force.

  

  

  


• The Politics of Can't-Possibly-Do
  Ground Zero is a perfect storm for everything that's wrong with American politics.

  

  

  


• Tips for Switch to Mac From Windows
  Many new Mac buyers are switching from years of using Windows computers. Here's a quick tip sheet on a few of the most common differences in using the two operating systems.

  

  

  


• America's Days Aren't Numbered
  Rome's most famous jeremiads marked the height of its power.

  

  

  


• Hedge-Fund Fugitive in Custody
  Fugitive financier Samuel Israel III surrendered to police, capping a 23-day odyssey that began when he faked his own suicide to avoid prison.

  

  

  


• Republicans Find Finance Loophole
  McCain's allies have found new loopholes in the campaign finance law he helped write -- and they're using them to reel in huge contributions. The controversial innovations illustrate the acute pressure Republicans feel to close the money gap with Obama.

  

  

  


• Langone's Heart
  At least someone stood up to Spitzer.

  

  

  


• 'I Thought It Was One of Ours'
  By James Taranto A daring hostage rescue in Colombia brings to mind an Israeli joke. Thursday 1:52 p.m. ET

  

  

  


• GM's Rebound Helps Spur Dow
  The Dow industrials finished higher by 73.03 points, or 0.7%, at 11288.54, as component General Motors rebounded from a sharp selloff a day earlier. Other major indexes ended narrowly mixed in an abbreviated session.

  

  

  

WSJ.com: US Business

US Business

• Businesses Taking Less Office Space
  Companies are taking less office space, driving down rents in most U.S. markets and giving tenants an edge.

  

  

  


• Yahoo Pursues Talks With Potential Partners
  Yahoo has picked up discussions with Time Warner over a combination involving AOL. News Corp. has also been hovering around Yahoo.

  

  

  


• Los Angeles Times to Cut Staff
  Tribune's largest newspaper, the Los Angeles Times, plans to cut about 250 jobs, including about 17% of its news staff, as part of the newly private media company's mandate to slash costs.

  

  

  


• Hedge-Fund Fugitive in Custody
  Fugitive financier Samuel Israel III surrendered to police, capping a 23-day odyssey that began when he faked his own suicide to avoid prison.

  

  

  


• UnitedHealth Settles Suits
  UnitedHealth agreed to pay more than $900 million to resolve shareholder lawsuits stemming from an options-backdating case.

  

  

  


• Construction Loans Sour Small Banks
  Regional and small banks are expected to report large losses from their mounting volume of soured loans made primarily to home builders.

  

  

  


• Paulson: Failures Can't Sink System
  Paulson said the near-collapse of Bear Stearns highlights the need for a formal procedure that allows large, non-bank financial institutions to fail without wreaking havoc on the broader financial markets and the U.S. economy.

  

  

  


• Energy Recovery IPO Ends String of Losses
  Energy Recovery's initial public offering rose 17% to $10 on the Nasdaq, marking the end a two-month losing streak for new stocks.

  

  

  


• Judge in Bear Case: Fair, Funny and Frank
  Judge Frederic Block, the federal judge presiding over the prosecution of two former Bear Stearns hedge-fund managers, is a colorful and down-to-earth jurist who frequently speaks his mind -- sometimes stirring controversy.

  

  

  


• Huntsman Tries to Force Hexion's Hand
  Huntsman filed counterclaims against Hexion in an effort to force the company to proceed with a proposed $6.5 billion buyout of Huntsman.

  

  

  

WSJ.com: What's News Technology

What's News Technology

• Yahoo Pursues Talks With Potential Partners
  Yahoo has picked up discussions with Time Warner over a combination involving AOL. News Corp. has also been hovering around Yahoo.

  

  

  


• Google Aims to Protect YouTube Users
  Lawyers for Google asked Viacom for permission to better hide information that might help identify YouTube users before Google complies with a judge's demand that it hand over YouTube "user logs" to Viacom.

  

  

  


• Vodafone Buys Ghana Telecom Stake
  Vodafone agreed to buy a controlling stake in Ghana Telecom from the country's government for $900 million.

  

  

  


• RIM Gets Stay in Visto Patent Case
  Research In Motion was granted a stay in a patent-infringement case filed by software maker Visto against the BlackBerry maker.

  

  

  


• Reliance Firms Still Feud
  Reliance Industries continued to pressure Reliance Communications' deal talks with MTN, asking for discussions in a possible prelude to going to court.

  

  

  


• VeriSign Names Bidzos Interim CEO
  VeriSign named founder Jim Bidzos as interim chief executive, replacing William A. Roper, who had spent the last year trying to slim down and refocus the Internet-registration company.

  

  

  


• JWT Wins Microsoft Account
  WPP Group's JWT ad firm has landed Microsoft's business-solutions advertising account, beating out McCann Erickson.

  

  

  


• Circuit City Director Quits
  The lead director of Circuit City resigned, a day after Blockbuster disclosed it was abandoning its pursuit of the consumer-electronics retailer.

  

  

  


• Nvidia Warns of Charge, Softer Demand
  Nvidia disclosed an overheating problem with some of its chips for notebook computers -- triggering a big charge -- and said other problems also will hurt financial results for the second quarter.

  

  

  


• IBM to Buy Competitor, Ending Suits
  IBM agreed to buy Platform Solutions in a deal that eliminates ongoing litigation and a potential competitor for its lucrative mainframe business.

  

  

  

WSJ.com: What's News US

What's News US

• GM's Rebound Helps Spur Dow
  The Dow industrials finished higher by 73.03 points, or 0.7%, at 11288.54, as component General Motors rebounded from a sharp selloff a day earlier. Other major indexes ended narrowly mixed in an abbreviated session.

  

  

  


• Obama Defends Comments on War
  Obama defended his position on the Iraq War after saying he may "refine" his position to withdraw combat troops within his first 16 months in office if military officials said such a timeline is unsafe.

  

  

  


• Freed Betancourt Sees Her Children
  Betancourt embraced her children for the first time in six years, saying the thought of them helped her stay alive during her time in captivity. The former Colombian presidential candidate was one of 15 hostages freed after being held by leftist FARC rebels.

  

  

  


• Payrolls Shrank Again in June
  U.S. payrolls shrank for the sixth consecutive month in June, decreasing by 62,000, as businesses faced with rising costs and a weak economy shed more jobs. The month's unemployment rate held at 5.5%. A service-sector reading also was downbeat.

  

  

  


• ECB Raises Interest Rate to 4.25%
  The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25%. Trichet suggested a series of rate increases was unlikely, even as he strove to keep his options open.

  

  

  


• Google Aims to Protect YouTube Users
  Lawyers for Google asked Viacom for permission to better hide information that might help identify YouTube users before Google complies with a judge's demand that it hand over YouTube "user logs" to Viacom.

  

  

  


• Ex-Refco CEO Gets Prison Sentence
  Ex-Refco Chief Executive Phillip Bennett was sentenced to 16 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to criminal charges in a scheme to hide the commodities broker's financial troubles.

  

  

  


• Israel Ordered to Start Prison Term
  Samuel Israel III was ordered by a judge to immediately begin serving a 20-year prison term. The former hedge-fund executive surrendered following more than three weeks on the run.

  

  

  


• Bear Stearns Assets Lose Value
  Assets the Federal Reserve agreed to accept from Bear Stearns to facilitate its sale to J.P. Morgan are now worth about $1 billion less than originally estimated, but the decline is not yet enough to put taxpayers on the hook for any losses.

  

  

  


• McCain to Meet With Mexico's President
  Immigration and trade were high on McCain's agenda as he wrapped up a three-day Latin American visit with a meeting with Mexican President Felipe Calderon.