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After a massive oil rig ran aground near Kodiak, Alaska, Shell Oil again faces questions about its ambitious and expensive plans to drill for oil offshore in the Arctic. The rig doesn't hold any crude oil but carries more than 150,000 gallons of diesel and lube and hydraulic fluids. Drilling opponents claim the incident shows that fierce weather and daunting logistics make the Arctic unsafe for oil production.

Hostess, the iconic brand behind Twinkies, Wonder Bread and Ho Hos, says it is going out of business. The company plans to shut down 33 plants and 565 distribution centers as it liquidates. More than 18,000 workers would lose their jobs. Already in bankruptcy, Hostess said a nationwide strike "crippled" the company's operations. The union representing bakery workers blames mismanagement for the company's demise.

Apple's CEO Tim Cook made news by announcing the company will start manufacturing a line of Mac computers in the U.S. But Cook, like Steve Jobs before him, says the main reason Apple produces most of its products overseas isn't about price. It's about a lack of skilled workers in the U.S.

Eating foods that cause your blood sugar to rise – like bagels, candy bars and juice – may be tied to acne flare-ups. How? Those blood sugar spikes can also increase hormones that stimulate oil production, researchers say.

Levels of inorganic arsenic found in rice worry some, but the FDA says more study is needed before it would recommend consumers change their diets. If you're worried, vary the grains in your diet and swap out sweet potatoes for rice as baby's first food, consumer groups say.

Regulators are warning some of the nation's largest banks to stop offering loans that are hard to distinguish from those given out by storefront payday lenders. The banks have been offering high-interest-rate, short-term loans to customers with direct deposit as an advance on their paychecks.

Russia's economy is going through a slump brought on by low oil prices and Western sanctions. But if the country's auto market is any measure, the economy faces a long and difficult road ahead.

In recent years, technology, education and government regulation have helped make the sport of surfing and finance less risky. Both have a lot in common and teach us a lot about risk.

President Trump says he wants to begin withdrawing from the U.S.-South Korea Free Trade Agreement. The pact was supposed to help U.S. companies sell more to Korea, but the trade gap is wider than it was when it took effect. The reasons have to do with regulations in Korea, the relatively weak economy in Korea and the U.S. consumer's love of spending.

Monuments play a different cultural role than do other kinds of artworks: To let a monument stand, or to take it down, is to take a political stand on its subject matter, says blogger Alva Noë.

Anita Elberse's new book, Blockbusters, examines the strategy behind making and marketing megahits. She tells NPR's Renee Montagne that content companies — publishers, movie studios and the like — can create blockbusters by dedicating most of their budgets to a select few likely winners.

Yahoo recently bought Summly, a news-summarizing app, for $30 million. But the company is ditching the app and only keeping the small team and the algorithm that drive it. So could this signal a change in companies buying fewer actual products and services and instead taking gambles on algorithms?

Canada has responded to U.S. tariffs on steel, aluminum and maple syrup with $16.6 billion worth of tariffs on U.S. products including beer, toilet paper and whiskey.

The integration of the Internet into ordinary life — everything from backyard barbecues to bathroom sinks — is a big theme at this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

The coronavirus outbreak that began in China is a double whammy for the global economy. China is both a major supplier to many U.S. companies and also a major customer.

An OPEC meeting last week sent oil prices tumbling when the cartel decided not to restrict production to boost prices. Now some are predicting parts of the U.S. will see gas prices under $2 a gallon.

In its season opening production, New York's Metropolitan Opera abandons the tradition of darkening the skin of tenors portraying the title role in Verdi's Otello.

She asked consumers to stop eating Nutella because it's made with palm oil, which contributes to deforestation. NPR's Rachel Martin talks with Glenn Hurowitz, managing director of Climate Advisers.

French law says only sparkling wine produced in the Champagne region can use the name. A new Russian law reserves the name for bubbly produced and sold in Russia.

Tobacco giant Philip Morris International is pivoting away from cigarettes. Part of its reinvention plan is to stop selling cigarettes in the United Kingdom in the next 10 years.