from washington post:
NBC's "Today" show has hired someone with White House experience as a new correspondent - former first daughter Jenna Hager. The daughter of former President George W. Bush will contribute stories about once a month on issues like education to television's top-rated morning news show, said Jim Bell, its executive producer. Hager, a 27-year-old teacher in Baltimore, said she has always wanted to be a teacher and a writer, and has already authored two books. But she was intrigued by the idea of getting into television when Bell contacted her. "It wasn't something I'd always dreamed to do," she said. "But I think one of the most important things in life is to be open-minded and to be open-minded for change."
from ap:
It may seem like the country that used to make everything is on the brink of making nothing. In January, 207,000 U.S. manufacturing jobs vanished in the largest one-month drop since October 1982. Factory activity is hovering at a 28-year low. Even before the recession, plants were hemorrhaging work to foreign competitors with cheap labor. And some companies were moving production overseas.
But manufacturing in the United States isn't dead or even dying. It's moving upscale, following the biggest profits, and becoming more efficient, just like Henry Ford did when he created the assembly line to make the Model T.
The U.S. by far remains the world's leading manufacturer by value of goods produced. It hit a record $1.6 trillion in 2007 - nearly double the $811 billion in 1987. For every $1 of value produced in China's factories, America generates $2.50.
So what's made in the USA these days?
The U.S. sold more than $200 billion worth of aircraft, missiles and space-related equipment in 2007. And $80 billion worth of autos and auto parts. Deere & Co., best known for its bright green and yellow tractors, sold $16.5 billion worth of farming equipment last year, much of it to the rest of the world. Then there's energy products like gas turbines for power plants made by General Electric, computer chips from Intel and fighter jets from Lockheed Martin. Household names like GE, General Motors, IBM, Boeing, Hewlett-Packard are among the largest manufacturers by revenue.
from dealbook:
An investor group led by NBC Universal and two private equity firms clinched a deal for the Weather Channel on Sunday, after three weeks of negotiations over the sale of the weather news giant. Though the parties did not disclose the price, the buyers – NBC and the private equity firms Bain Capital and the Blackstone Group – will pay just under $3.5 billion, people briefed on the matter said... Others financing the deal are Deutsche Bank, which was also the buyers’ lead financial adviser, and General Electric’s GE Commercial Finance unit... JPMorgan Chase worked as Landmark’s financial adviser, while Wilcox & Savage, Kilpatrick Stockton, Venable and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom provided legal advice.
ge doesn't pay taxes; why should you?* 
