Average rate on 15-year U.S. mortgage above 3 percent

State agency says school laptop program on track

Officials abandoned original bidding process in June

BOISE - State officials negotiating to supply every high school teacher and student with a laptop under Idaho's contested education reforms report that they're still on track to get the program started this fall - even after hitting a snag last month.

MUSLIMS: My point exactly

Recent rebuttals of my column proved my point. Good job of going online and getting your information to once again trash-talk Muslims. You missed the whole point of the article's intent.

House passes budget cuts

Nonbinding plan lays out vision for cutting $6.2 trillion

WASHINGTON - In a prelude to a summer showdown with President Barack Obama, Republicans controlling the House pushed to passage on Friday a bold but politically dangerous budget blueprint to slash social safety net programs like food stamps and Medicaid and fundamentally restructure Medicare health care for the elderly.

Sharing the warmth

Some walked in wearing thinning jackets, hooded sweatshirts or no coats at all.

Spokane health officials testing high-risk coronavirus patients, urging others with symptoms to treat at home

Spokane County residents who are experiencing the symptoms of respiratory illness tied to the coronavirus but who aren’t in a high-risk population should take the same steps as those experiencing the flu, Spokane Health Officer Bob Lutz said Sunday.

Susie's Home Kitchen opens

Business Bits

Resort-quality food with everything homemade for blue-collar prices is the promise of Susie's Home Kitchen.

World/Nation

The stay-at-home dad: Panda babies: How an afterthought became a favorite gift

No matter how well you know them, kids can surprise you with their preferences.

Buying power

Consumers keep spending despite higher taxes

Videogames to Vintner

Capcom head opens premium winery in Napa

NAPA, Calif. - After years of overseeing the company that gave the world "Resident Evil," "Street Fighter" and other gore-fest games, Kenzo Tsujimoto is trying his hand in the equally competitive - if less bloody - world of Napa winemaking.

Ask your audiologist...

Smithsonian asks judge's help with bug collection

Institution having hard time carrying out entomologist's wishes

WASHINGTON - Carl J. Drake spent his life studying bugs, everything from aphids to water striders. When he died in 1965, the entomologist left his life savings and his vast insect collection to the Smithsonian. But now Drake's will has become something of a pest.

The best of boats world

Expo continues through Sunday at Hagadone Marine Center

Boats float

Our closets are naked - of clothes made in USA

Two percent.

Stocks climb on Greek optimism

Tiny apartments considered by San Francisco officials

Movers and Shakers September 21, 2011

Clark, Atchley to address

Chickens give learning a reason

Today our school receives 13 laying hens; a donation from an amazing school nurse, Amy Bell, who sold her ranch to live the life of a city-dweller. The chickens are delivered early Monday morning by Amy’s husband, who trusts the children of Northwest Expedition Academy to nurture and care for their poultry. The office manager Michelle promises the chickens are in good hands as they place the last girl in the pen. Northwest Expedition Academy is now a farm.

Study: Gold star nutrition ratings appear to work

PORTLAND, Maine - A nutritional rating system using gold stars affixed to price labels on grocery store shelves appears to have shifted buying habits, potentially providing another tool to educate consumers on how to eat healthier, according to a new study.