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House OKs GOP health bill, a step toward Obamacare repeal
WASHINGTON -- Relieved Republicans muscled their health care bill through the House Thursday, taking their biggest step toward dismantling the Obama health care overhaul since Donald Trump took office. They won passage only after overcoming their own divisions that nearly sank the measure six weeks ago. Beaten but unbowed, Democrats insisted Republicans will pay at election time for repealing major provisions of the law. They sang the pop song "Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye" to the GOP lawmakers as the end of the voting neared. The Republicans seemed unworried, many of them busing to the White House for a victory appearance with the president.
Calorie counts still come to some menus, despite rule delay
NEW YORK -- Calorie counts are popping up on some restaurant menus and for prepared foods at supermarkets, whether you want to see them or not. A federal regulation requiring food sellers to post the nutrition numbers by Friday was postponed again this week until next year, after years of delays amid opposition from pizza chains, convenience stores and grocers. But many chains had been scrambling to comply, and say they don't plan to alter course right now.
Americans hang up on landlines as cellphone homes dominate
NEW YORK -- A U.S. government study finds that homes and apartments with only cellphone service reached a majority for the first time in the last six months of 2016. On the flip side, nearly half of U.S. households still have a landline phone, even as it seems redundant in the era of cellphones. Some people want one for emergencies, others for older relatives to call. It's also a popular way to deal with telemarketers: Just send them straight to the answering machine.
U.S. productivity posts sharpest fall in a year
WASHINGTON -- The productivity of American workers fell in the first quarter by the sharpest amount in a year, while labor costs increased. Productivity declined at an annual rate of 0.6 percent in the January-March quarter after rising at a 1.8 percent rate in the fourth quarter, the Labor Department reported Thursday. It was the biggest decline since a 0.7 percent rate of decline in the first quarter of last year. Labor costs rose at a 3 percent rate, up from a 1.3 percent rate of increase in the fourth quarter.
U.S. factory orders tick up in March
WASHINGTON -- Orders to U.S. factories turned in the weakest performance in four months, although a key category that tracks business investment showed more strength. Factory orders edged up just 0.2 percent in March, a significant slowdown from February's gain of 1.2 percent. It was also the poorest showing since orders fell 2.3 percent in November, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Despite the overall decline, a key category that tracks business investment rebounded to a 0.5 percent gain. That is the best showing since December's 0.8 percent increase. The business category increased a small 0.1 percent in February.
In latest airline video, Delta boots family from flight
DALLAS -- Delta Air Lines is offering refunds and compensation to a California family that says they were forced off a plane and threatened with jail after refusing to give up one of their seats on a crowded flight. A video of the April 23 incident was uploaded to YouTube on Wednesday and added to the list of recent encounters on airlines that have gone viral, including the dragging of a bloodied passenger off a United Express plane.
Viacom beats forecasts but investors fret 'reteiring'
NEW YORK -- Viacom's second-quarter results easily beat Wall Street expectations, but its stock took a beating as investors feared it might lose revenue because a big cable provider moved to make some of the company's prime channels more expensive. Company executives acknowledged Thursday that Charter Communications had "retiered" some of Viacom's highest-profile channels -- including Comedy Central, MTV, VH1 and BET -- into higher-priced bundles.
Jerry Garcia's guitar truckin' to auction, could fetch $1M
NEW YORK -- Jerry Garcia's custom-made guitar is truckin' to auction in New York City.
The Grateful Dead frontman's guitar is called Wolf. Guernsey's auction house says it'll be offered May 31 at Brooklyn Bowl, a bowling alley, restaurant and venue for music shows.
The proceeds will go to the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center .
The guitar is being sold by devoted Deadhead Daniel Pritzker. The philanthropist, musician and film director bought it in 2002 at Guernsey's for $790,000. It could exceed $1 million this time.
The auctioneer says Wolf first appeared in a 1973 New York performance the Grateful Dead gave for the Hells Angels.
Garcia played Wolf everywhere from San Francisco's Winterland Ballroom to New York's Palladium and Egypt's Great Pyramids.
The 1977 film "The Grateful Dead Movie" was directed by Garcia and features extensive Wolf footage.
Garcia died in 1995.