HARRISONBURG, Va. -- Soaring corn and soybean feed costs are squeezing some of the big poultry companies that employ thousands of farmers and workers in Virginia and on the Delmarva Peninsula.

Federal health officials are one step closer to finding the cause of a three-month-old salmonella outbreak and are now warning consumers to avoid only Mexican-grown raw jalapeño and Serrano peppers.

The merger of XM and Sirius satellite radio companies raises a number of questions for subscribers of the two services and for Washington, which has been the home of XM for more than a decade.

AOL is slashing more products -- including some that had been promoted as on the cutting edge of the company's future -- as part of its effort to cut costs and focus resources on what is working for the beleaguered Internet giant.

First National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank were closed by U.S. regulators yesterday, the first institutions to fail since regulators seized IndyMac Bancorp two weeks ago following a run by depositors.

Stephanie Vann used to rely on payday loans to cover her rent and summer camp for her three children. She felt ashamed and kept her finances secret. But the short-term, high-interest loans seemed to be her only option.

Average prices per gallon SOURCE: AAA

DETAILS: About 685,000 Sky Scrambler and The Sharper Image wireless indoor helicopters, made in China and imported and sold nationwide from June 2007 through May.

The Senate cleared the last hurdle yesterday to passing a housing rescue aimed at sparing hundreds of thousands of homeowners from foreclosure and bolstering troubled mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Talks among seven key nations have produced "very encouraging movements" in efforts to produce a global trade agreement, a spokesman for World Trade Organization Director-General Pascal Lamy said yesterday in Geneva.

General Electric, which owns businesses ranging from light bulbs to NBC, said it will restructure into four units from six, a move that chief executive Jeff Immelt says will focus the company on growth. Immelt has been under pressure to shake up GE after disappointing first-quarter earnings.

NEW YORK, July 25 -- Wall Street ended a volatile week with a moderate gain Friday as better-than-expected economic data placated a market pummeled a day earlier.

MANILA, July 25 -- A hole the size of a small car in the underside of a Qantas jumbo jet carrying 346 passengers forced the pilot to make an emergency landing Friday after a rapid descent over the South China Sea.