Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Iowa lawmakers have approved a bill that provides farmers with additional liability protection for educational tours. The state House and Senate passed the legislation Thursday night. A February ruling from the Iowa Supreme Court said that educational tours for the...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — The Oklahoma Senate unveiled a new plan on Thursday to divert $80 million in state sales and use taxes over a four-year period to pay for the completion of an American Indian museum in Oklahoma City and build a new popular culture museum in Tulsa. A Senate budget...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Real-estate developers are breaking ground on downtown Salt Lake City's first new hotels since a Hyatt Place was built in 2009. The additions are for specialized segments of the hotel industry and won't satisfy the needs of the nearby Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A company that operates hotels and resorts around the world says it plans to hire about 180 people later this year for a new customer contact center in Wichita. Officials of the Kansas Department of Commerce and Starwood Hotels announced plans for the center Thursday....

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

___ Wal-Mart's 1Q profit, sales disappoint NEW YORK (AP) — The first few months of the year were tough for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. The world's largest retailer reported Thursday that its first-quarter profit edged up just slightly, and the company struggled with a sales slump in its namesake...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — When the school year ends a few weeks from now, millions of kids will head off to sleepaway camp for a summer filled with color wars, kayaking and bunk life. Most will have a great time, some will make friends for life, and many will look back on the experience fondly. But...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

NEW YORK (AP) — In a story May 15 about a new SARS-like virus spreading from patients to health care workers in Saudi Arabia, The Associated Press reported erroneously the location of the 20 deaths attributed to the virus. There have been no deaths reported in France and Qatar, only in Saudi...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

VISA BATTLE: Wrangling over efforts to increase the number of visas for high-tech foreign workers has strained a bipartisan deal in the Senate on immigration reform, showcased the power of big labor and splintered a once-chummy group of elite tech leaders hoping to make inroads in Washington....

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

WASHINGTON (AP) — To the U.S. technology industry, there's a dramatic shortfall in the number of Americans skilled in computer programming and engineering that is hampering business. To unions and some Democrats, it's more sinister: The push by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg to expand the number...

Updated: Thu, May 16, 2013

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — Mount Rushmore National Memorial may be the most famous landmark in the Black Hills of South Dakota, but it's not the only one. Covering approximately 8,000 miles (nearly 13,000 kilometers), the Black Hills are a small, isolated mountain range with a big Native...