US may rely on aging U-2 spy planes longer than expected

Wars have come and gone. But for more than half a century, the CIA and U.S. military have relied on a skinny sinister-looking black jet to go deep behind enemy lines for vital intelligence-gathering missions.

Indiana's electric-vehicle bust

ELKHART, Ind. - For politicians betting on electric vehicles to drive job growth, the view from inside Think City's plant here is their worst nightmare: 100 unfinished vehicles lined up with no word whether they will be completed.

McDonald's pushes ahead with new look

With half-moon shaped booths, low stools, wooden blinds and flat-screen TVs, most patrons might expect to pay $8 for a burger, or $4 for a smoothie. But the decor isn't a harbinger of price. This is the new look of a remodeled McDonald's, purveyor of Happy Meals and value deals as well as upscale coffee drinks.

T-shirt maker has dual motive: Doing well, doing good

At Sevenly, a business started by young entrepreneurs in Fullerton, Calif., a key to the operation is the number seven.

New strategies propel dollar stores to strong growth

A few days after the New Year's holiday, clerks at the Dollar Tree store in the St. Paul, Minn., Midway neighborhood were busily setting up new displays celebrating Valentine's Day and Super Bowl Sunday. Any remnants of the Christmas holiday season were long stowed away, and the bright new merchandise enticed shoppers anew.

Business seek olfactory identity via 'scent branding'

Lately, it seems you don't have to be anywhere near a garden to stop and smell the roses.

Chinese investor's grad plans for US take a stumble

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Winston Chung came to Southern California two years ago like a standard-bearer for the new China, a wealthy Hong Kong entrepreneur with visions of creating an electric vehicle industry by reviving struggling manufacturing firms.